Westercon, Day 1
Departed the house early for Westercon yesterday morning. Arrived to find the Seatac Doubletree Hotel weirdly quiet for a convention Friday. In fact, when I first walked in, I did a double-take, wondering if I'd gotten the convention dates wrong. What people were in the lobby were clearly not SF convention types, and I had to walk much deeper into the hotel to find any signs that an actual science fiction convention was going on. It was strange. It was also early, and I chalked up my initial impression to the time. I made my way to pro registration, picked up my badge and materials, and then proceeded to the Green Room. The halls were unnervingly quiet. Signs on the walls indicated that, yes, there was a convention going on, but it was just odd. I'm so used to seeing the Doubletree teeming with people as it is during Norwescon that the dearth of people just weirded me out.
Turned out that I wasn't the only one who felt that way. Though the convention became more populated as the day progressed, it was still sparsely attended. A number of the people I ran into remarked upon it. Estimates indicate that there are about 700 registered members. Both my panel programs turned out nice numbers--each room was three-quarters full. At the same time, the halls were never what I would call crowded, and I just kept feeling like something was missing. I never thought I'd miss the overcrowding of Norwescon.
My two panels went very well. It's been quite some time since I've been on convention programming (mostly due to scheduling conflicts, I haven't attended a convention since Worldcon last year), and I felt like I was firing on all cylinders. I was especially pleased with the panel called "Genre Games," about why publishers and booksellers categorize books by genre, and whether or not such categorization is still relevant in today's market. Susan Matthews was an excellent moderator, one of the best I've ever had, and I enjoyed the discussion a great deal.
I had a delicious lunch with Renee Stern of the Fairwood Writers Workshop, an old friend whom I haven't visited with in far too long. After my second panel, I spent some time in the hotel bar with Kat Richardson, Dave and Mike Bara, Patrick Swenson, Manny Frishberg and one or two other folks whose names I'm embarrassed to admit I didn't retain.
Patrick and I decamped after about an hour and went to 13 Coins for dinner with Harold Gross and Eve Gordon to celebrate my and Harold's upcoming birthdays. We raised a glass to markbourne, whose absence is being keenly felt this week (we shared a birthday, he and I, and would often celebrate together). The food was delicious. I had the seafood saute: prawns, scallops, and sole sauteed with mushrooms and onions in a lemon cream sauce with spaghetti. Dessert was a caloric splurge that I'll be working off for days: a fresh-baked chocolate-ship cookie a la mode. We all tasted each other's desserts: the zabaglione that Harold ordered, which I'd never had before, was out of this world. We talked about travel, about getting older, about movies. I've missed Harold and Eve, I realized, and we ended the meal promising not to let so much time go by without seeing each other again. I'll be working to make sure we keep that promise.
Harold and Eve dropped me off back at the hotel. I debated going home at that point, but decided to check out parties before I left. Like the rest of the convention that day, the parties were attended but were unusually restrained. I stayed only another half hour before departing.
I start today with an early panel, which partly explains why I'm posting at 6:15 AM. Insomnia, stress, and the blues explain the rest of it. I may not stay at the convention much past my second panel today. I'll have to see how I'm feeling. I enjoyed yesterday, but this melancholy that descended at day's end yesterday has lasted through sleep and has got me feeling a little less social today, even despite the obvious sunshine that's coming.
Turned out that I wasn't the only one who felt that way. Though the convention became more populated as the day progressed, it was still sparsely attended. A number of the people I ran into remarked upon it. Estimates indicate that there are about 700 registered members. Both my panel programs turned out nice numbers--each room was three-quarters full. At the same time, the halls were never what I would call crowded, and I just kept feeling like something was missing. I never thought I'd miss the overcrowding of Norwescon.
My two panels went very well. It's been quite some time since I've been on convention programming (mostly due to scheduling conflicts, I haven't attended a convention since Worldcon last year), and I felt like I was firing on all cylinders. I was especially pleased with the panel called "Genre Games," about why publishers and booksellers categorize books by genre, and whether or not such categorization is still relevant in today's market. Susan Matthews was an excellent moderator, one of the best I've ever had, and I enjoyed the discussion a great deal.
I had a delicious lunch with Renee Stern of the Fairwood Writers Workshop, an old friend whom I haven't visited with in far too long. After my second panel, I spent some time in the hotel bar with Kat Richardson, Dave and Mike Bara, Patrick Swenson, Manny Frishberg and one or two other folks whose names I'm embarrassed to admit I didn't retain.
Patrick and I decamped after about an hour and went to 13 Coins for dinner with Harold Gross and Eve Gordon to celebrate my and Harold's upcoming birthdays. We raised a glass to markbourne, whose absence is being keenly felt this week (we shared a birthday, he and I, and would often celebrate together). The food was delicious. I had the seafood saute: prawns, scallops, and sole sauteed with mushrooms and onions in a lemon cream sauce with spaghetti. Dessert was a caloric splurge that I'll be working off for days: a fresh-baked chocolate-ship cookie a la mode. We all tasted each other's desserts: the zabaglione that Harold ordered, which I'd never had before, was out of this world. We talked about travel, about getting older, about movies. I've missed Harold and Eve, I realized, and we ended the meal promising not to let so much time go by without seeing each other again. I'll be working to make sure we keep that promise.
Harold and Eve dropped me off back at the hotel. I debated going home at that point, but decided to check out parties before I left. Like the rest of the convention that day, the parties were attended but were unusually restrained. I stayed only another half hour before departing.
I start today with an early panel, which partly explains why I'm posting at 6:15 AM. Insomnia, stress, and the blues explain the rest of it. I may not stay at the convention much past my second panel today. I'll have to see how I'm feeling. I enjoyed yesterday, but this melancholy that descended at day's end yesterday has lasted through sleep and has got me feeling a little less social today, even despite the obvious sunshine that's coming.