Dirac Angestun Gesept

Tuesday night had one last con-related event, a birthday get-together for Feòrag NicBhrìde. Local friends as well as congoers joined the birthday girl at a local brewpub, and much fun was had by all including the Elder God in Attendance and the assorted Minions.

So, in the aftermath of Worldcon…I’m still dead tired (and today’s “fun” at work hasn’t helped). I enjoyed myself most of the time, but not all of the time. I didn’t meet all the people I wanted to meet; those I did meet I often didn’t get enough time with; I made one oops that cost me a great deal of energy in running home and back, and another which put me in a low mood for quite some time…and hit several of the drawbacks to commuting, but not enough of them to want to pay for four nights of a hotel room, especially since I wouldn’t have had any roommates lined up.

Lessons learned from things I did wrong (or not at all), for the future:

Get there earlier for stuff I want to do/see/have a seat for. Look for a line and find out what it’s for when something’s about to start (or signups for something are about to start). Plan meals with folks in advance instead of trying to line up dinner plans at 1700. Be less afraid to say hello to people, but try not to presume too much (for example, be aware of what they’re doing and don’t interrupt). Go to more parties. Print a map of how to get to the Zipcar and how to get the Zipcar back to the hotel once I pick it up, taking those damn one-way streets into account. Keep blister bandages where I can find them if I’m walking across the bridge every night. Don’t over-optimize by not bringing the books I really really want signed because the autograph session isn’t scheduled for that day; opportunities may arise. Put the camera back in the bag after copying off the photos. Swing by the con suite more often. Think about volunteering again (it’s been a long time since I last worked on a con) or even, perhaps, program. If I do get a room at a con, bring tea supplies and entice interesting people with them.

Things I did right:

I tried not to stress too much about missed panels, missed meetings, missed opportunities–mostly successfully. I was able to help people out in various ways, often small but meaningful (getting cups for tea, pointing them in the direction of a particular room, lugging a heavy bag through Government Center) and making the world that little bit better each time. Each time, feeling like I’d done someone a good turn helped as an antidote to some of my frustrations. I also tried to treat myself right with food (and chocolate as appropriate); while I delayed meals, I did get three each day at some point. (Of the 5-2-1 rule, the sleep was the aspect nearest to being missed each day.)

Future con attendance:

Next year’s Boskone is for sure, and Arisia is a possibility. I’m enticed by the thought of Minicon. Interaction (Glasgow Worldcon) is not looking probable; CascadiaCon (Seattle NASFiC) a strong possibility. LAcon IV, looking possible. Nippon 2007, tempting as all hell; maybe a round-the-world flight itinerary would work with it.

Up and off to the Hynes for the last day of the con. A quick pass through the ConCourse, then off to the Con Suite for the Michael Burstein kaffeeklatsch. It was lots of fun, especially since all five non-MAB folks at the table knew him (and were known to him) in one way or another (including his wife Nomi, of course); this meant that he got to introduce each of us to the group, explain how he knew us and/or tell a funny story about how he knew us, and then onward with the discussion. Michael and Nomi are great folks, and it was nice to meet other folks they knew–all of them interesting.

After that, I headed to the “Obsolete High Technology” panel, with Charlie Stross, Jordin Kare, Bob Metzger, and Bill Higgins. More fun, particularly Charlie’s comments about traditional British product design (like the ICL “One-Per-Desk” computer). Afterwards, Bill and I went for lunch and time to meet in person (since we’ve been USENET correspondents for years and years).

Another dealers’ room swing, then off to “TV Storytelling: From Arcs to Episodes”. I actually don’t watch that much SF TV (having managed not to get interested in anything since ST:DS9, and dropping that before it ended) but I still enjoyed the discussion, even if the examples were mostly missing me.

Off to the closing ceremonies, which began with fife & drum and ended with bagpipes. Lots of bagpipes, or at least lots of bagpipe volume. As they led us out into the ConCourse, I met up with someone I hadn’t talked to in 15 years (since, er, Noreascon 3) and then off to meet the LMB listies as they got ready to go to Toscanini’s.

We headed out to catch the #1 bus, and waited. And waited, and waited, and waited…as a bunch of four buses headed the other direction! Eventually I had to leave to make it to the airport to meet an incoming flight, so I made my goodbyes and headed for the T to go to the airport.

As I got to the platform, I noticed a fellow con attendee and old acquaintance trying to deal with a suitcase and backpack, both full of books (imagine that!). I provided some minor assistance getting her and her acquisitions to the airport, and thus extended my con-related activity by an additional half-hour or so.

I didn’t make it back for Dead Dog or any of the other later activities. Home, exhausted, and with work the next morning….