laramie

I survived MiniCon! – Not only that, I had a great time.

Before the convention started I spent days on my preparations: updating my inventories and printing out new name/price tags for all the bookmarks, old and new. (The new tags are smaller and more discrete than the older ones.) The process of attaching all the new tags was time consuming, but it enable me to discover a few bookmarks that I’d overlooked in the initial round of preparations.

I also constructed a nice display box for my prints, postcards, greeting cards, etc. – making a fabric cover with pockets to hold various items. (After the weekend’s experience I think I need some additional work on my display, to make better use of the limited space. "Go tall," I tell myself.) While I was working the landlady showed up with several friends and began painting the house. So, while I worked busily getting ready for MiniCon I was accompanied by the sounds of banging and scraping from outside (which sent the cats into hiding), and people trooping in to use the bathroom. The upside of this is that the house is no longer a bright magenta.

Wednesday I had a dentist appointment in the morning, and in the afternoon I retreated into my room to recover – hardly emerging until nightfall, when the painters went away. The upside of this is that the pain from my fractured tooth was reduced considerably, by the morning’s work. They removed an old filling to examine the fracture, refilled it, and took impressions for the temporary crown they’ll ‘install’ at my next appointment.

Thursday morning I took care of the week’s shopping (normally a Saturday chore) and assembled my stuff for Art Show. Set up for the show was scheduled to start at 1PM at the hotel. I arrived about 1/2 hour early, and schmoozed with DavidW until we were ready to start. There were only a couple other helpers at first (Peer Dudda, Mark Richards) but before the panels were entirely assembled more helpers showed up (including bonz_lizard and chirosinger). Once the panels were ready I went ahead and set up my own artwork and completed the paperwork. I wanted to have the framed art and beaded bookmarks that would be in the Art Show all settled before tackling set up in the Dealer’s Room. (This was my first year with a Dealer’s table, and wasn’t sure how long that would take.)

Once things were settled in the Art show I hung out with bonz_lizard; we wandered around the hotel, waiting for chasophonic to show up (he’d been on jury duty.) We wanted to stick around to attend Harlan’s talk. Finally, we left a message with cakmpls at Registration that chasophonic could find us at TGIFriday’s, and we went ahead for some supper – sharing a nice conversation and an excellent chicken-pecan salad - and dessert, when chasophonic found us.

I enjoyed talking with bonz_lizard then and throughout the weekend, when we were sharing our Dealer’s table. We shared confidences such as stories of injuries - bonz_lizard and I both were dropped downstairs by relatives in our infancies. (her ribs were injured; my nose.)

We finished dinner just in time to get back to the hotel and catch the beginning of Harlan’s talk. At one point he was telling an elevator story, and used the word, ‘schvitz’(?). I asked him what it meant and he came right up to sit down beside me, put his hand on my shoulder and explain it in graphic terms. (Basically, ‘pouring sweat.’) (jolest took our picture, and promised me a print.) Harlan’s talk was certainly entertaining! It went over the allotted time, but no one seemed to mind. I went home directly afterward, conscious of the need to be up early and ready to set up in the Dealer’s Room. (Greg told me we could get in as early at 9AM.)

The long and short of that is that I did get there at 9AM, and was done with my set up by 10:30 (when Bonnie, more sensibly, arrived to do her set up) – and the Dealer’s Room wasn’t scheduled to open until 3PM. Being at loose ends, I volunteered my services to dreamshark, to act as a roving reporter for the Bozo Bus Tribune. I wandered around the hotel to keep her updated on the status of Registration, Con Suite set up, and other areas. I solicited off-the-cuff remarks from Ctein and Hope Liebowitz on local eateries, and wrote about Art Show. dreamshark remarked, (the 3rd time I ran in shouting ‘hold the presses,’) that she had created a monster.

I slowed down after getting a late lunch at the Burger King, and was ready to sit still at my Dealer’s table for a while. When I wasn’t talking with bonz_lizard or with passing people, I got out my sketch book and colored pencils and spent some time drawing a visualization of what goes on inside my head when I’m meditating. Meanwhile Bonnie abused some poor defenseless wool. Somewhere in there a couple items sold.

I left the Dealer’s Room a little early so as to have time to rehearse a Shockwave skit for Opening Ceremonies. (I was to be the voice of Lady Tottington; the story was a bastard offspring of ‘A Boy and His Dog’ and ‘Wallace & Grommit in Curse of the Were Rabbit,’ script by barondave). Unfortunately the script never aired as planned. I had planned to rewrite the ending slightly – so that, rather than be eaten by Grommit, Lady Tottington would assert herself in definitive terms, proving once and for all that a lady is NOT dog food. Instead, Ellison’s GOH speech ran long and there was no opportunity for us to perform the skit. I’m not bitter. It was not meant to be.

After Opening Ceremonies I attended the RiverFolk concert, and after that I stayed for the general music circle. I had lots of fun, but was sorry to have to leave at midnight. I was commuting from the hotel to St. Paul – and had to get some sleep before getting up early enough to commute back to the hotel in time to open with the Dealer’s room again at 10AM. I did manage to make the commute (but forgot to bring back with me the paper clips I wanted.)

Saturday at the Dealer’s Room went much as Friday had: more gabbing, more drawing and a few more sales. This time I was drawing the layout for a collage I’d long envisioned and hoped to produce during the Collage Therapy workshop that evening. In the meanwhile I urged bonz_lizard to save the orange, crocheted dino-shaker for Richard Tatge, since it so clearly should be his, and I couldn’t afford to buy it for him.

My concert was scheduled for 4:30. I left the Dealer’s Room at 4 so that I could tune up in advance of my performance, and catch at least part of Floyd’s performance. (I was very impressed. I haven’t heard a lot of Floyd’s music, and it’s a shame: he has a good voice, and is well worth listening to.)

As for my own performance, I was a little too nervous to take careful note of everyone who was there, but I know my closest friends were all present (cari_rose, crytel, thorintatge, Richard, markiv1111, Louie, as well as Floyd.) I noticed every flub in lyrics or chords, but cari_rose and Louie told me I sounded good. Thanks to cari_rose for joining me in singing ‘Mary O’Meara’ and to Richard for joining me on ‘The Ballad of the Three Kings,’ by Gordy Dickson.

I enjoyed using the microphone and amps a lot – I could do more in the way of vocal subtleties without having to strain for volume. It was my first time in recent years singing ‘Starry Night’ at a con; I thought it sounded good vocally, but am not sure my arrangement of the bridge worked as well as I’d like. (I slowed it down and let the mandolin trail off entirely where it goes, “you took your life, as lovers often do,” and I didn’t pick up the pace again until it went into the 3rd verse. Reactions? (From those in attendance). How did you like that arrangement? Should I stick with a more standard approach?

Anyhow; I got a few good reactions at the time, but, in the meanwhile I’d left bonz_lizard alone at our dealer’s table, so I didn’t stick around to catch Howard Harrison’s performance when it followed mine. (And I had to edge past Harlan with my instrument and stuff, since he’d set up his chair in the middle of the aisle after coming in with Howard.)

When the Dealer’s room closed I went to the hotel restaurant for supper . No one I knew was handy, so I invited someone I’d just met (at the Opening Ceremonies rehearsal) to join me. Suzanne knew Bill Christ, and had been recruited to help with the radio skit production just the hour beforehand. She’d done a lot of work in theater and with troubled youth, and we had an interesting and enjoyable conversation.

Dinner ran a bit late, though, for me to get to the Collage Therapy workshop on time to start with the rest of the participants. When I got there I jumped right into the action, using the pieces I’d sketched earlier in the day – and had lots of fun joking around with the other collagists. I joked about how there was no need for a psychologist to interpret my work – everyone could already see that I was sick: my imagery showed a silhouette of a human figure contorted in agony while being burned alive in the flames of crass consumerism.

After the collage session broke up I went to catch markiv1111 and Louie in concert – and after that to participate in the general music circle. (This time I had left extra food for the cats, and left a side window open so I didn’t have to worry about getting home early to feed them and let them out.) I stayed later than on Friday night, but still got home by 2:30AM.

When I got to the Dealer’s table again Sunday morning I heard from bonz_lizard how chasophonic didn’t get back to their room until nearly 7AM! All morning I kept swearing how next year I WILL get a room. No more of this leaving the good parties early because I have to commute to the con.

Sunday, the Dealer’s Room was only open until 4, but bonz_lizard and I wanted to leave by 3 to catch Closing Ceremonies (and davidwilford wanted us checked out of the Art Show by 2PM). In the meanwhile things went much as before: lots of gabbing, a few sales. I bought a couple of eggs from elisem that netted me some nice big laboradorite beads (look for them soon in bookmark form.)

bonz_lizard gave me a couple good ideas for next time I do a Dealer’s table. (CONvergence.) She suggested that I include a small set of colors (crayons, markers or colored pencils) with the coloring books (even if it means charging a little more) – and I thought o having some loose pages out for people to color while they’re at the table. (They can keep their work!)

Bonnie and I took turns taking down our work from the Art Show (so the other could watch our Dealer’s table while the one was in the Art Show.) We started taking down our dealer displays between 2-3. (Bonnie finished a lot sooner than I did, but I left my bundles there during Closing Ceremonies and hauled them to the car afterward. )

I’m afraid I wasn’t much help with Con Suite clean up – too tuckered from hauling my Art and Dealer stuff around. I worked on a puzzle, then went out to dinner with Nate, Louie and Hope Liebowitz. We stopped off at DreamHaven where Harlan was doing a signing, to consult with GregK re where to set up the Sunday night music circle. We went to a Vietnamese place, Quang’s(?) where the spring rolls were especially good – and enjoyed some congenial conversation before heading back to the convention.

The Sunday night music circle was, in some ways, the best. It was ‘just family’ – a relaxed atmosphere with old friends. Howard Ashby Krantz joined us. Richard and thorintatge participated. (I was pleased to introduce Thorin’s genius for silly lyrics to the wider audience it deserves.) I stayed until the circle broke up (earlier than I liked) and finally made my way home.

Since I had a job interview on Monday afternoon, and a temp assignment on Tuesday, I didn’t get around to putting my convention gear and goods back where they belonged, and catching up with weekend chores until Wednesday. And here it is Thursday before my con report is finally ready.

At MiniCon I picked up a freebie book, A Princess of Roumania; the alternate world in the book has an England that was destroyed by flood.

Which may explain last night's dream of being caught in a flood: watching huge waves approach while we climbed to the roof, and wondered whether the Americans would send aid.