It all started as a typical DragonCon. We went down and picked up our badges on Thursday night then proceeded to the bar to mingle and wait for Andy.
We met a guy from FEMA who had been deployed to Atlanta in case the hurricane (Ernesto?) became a big deal. We also met a guy named Mark who was puffing a pipe on the bar’s Cigar Porch and Nick began chatting with him about pipes – which is Nick’s new hobby. As it turns out, Mark is also an artist who put together an Art Crawl to promote the smaller artists at the con who did not get into the Art Show. Andy finally showed up around 11:30pm and joined us on the Cigar Porch where we stayed for about an hour more. We had to leave since our check-in was Fri, but we also decided that next year we’ll check-in on Thu so as not to miss the first night fun.
Friday we checked in and got to see the luxury of our suite/room combo. W00t! It was awesome! So much space! So much privacy! We get loaded in and proceed to set up for Andy’s party. Walt and Susan came by, then Andy and Walt went back to Walt’s room for the HOMEMADE oatmeal stout that Walt had whipped up for the party. Let me give a HUGE shoutout to Walt for that stout! It was deeeelish! And I don’t even like stout! So, people start to filter in around 7:30pm and the drinks are flowing. Around 9, Andy and I decide it’s time to try out the piperazine he’s procured.
It wasn’t long until we were off to the Bad Trip Tent.
As it turns out, piperazine is a bitch to get the dosage right. Andy says he read that article, but apparently he did NOT read the “Afterword” part. He gave me approximately 20x the dosage I needed and probably 10x the dosage he needed. After puking my guts out for about 2 hours, I ended up in bed, sitting up, unable to open my eyes for a couple of hours more. It was like taking the best hit of X you’ve ever had and multiplying that by 100. Intense nausea, too much visual input, core temperature spiking so high that your skin hurts, pretty much a very bad trip in every way. Andy hurled only once, but he felt shitty for hours, too. :-/
Thanks to the Bad Trip Tent, we totally missed Andy’s party and the first 36 hours of the con. The only good thing to come of the Bad Trip Tent was that Black Heather joined us and got some shut-eye on Friday night! While the Bad Trip Tent wasn’t a nice experience, it was a very educational one. I’ve never, EVER had a bad trip of any kind, so now I have a bit more sympathy for those like Nick who are often in the Bad Trip Tent for one reason or another. The intense misery of the first 5 hours will not soon be forgotten by me! I was lamenting the ‘weak, lame ass’ excuses for X available these days, so I guess I got my wish for stronger more intense drugs! LOL Despite it all, I really think that piperazine could be a fun trip if the dose was correct. Correct, as in about 20x LESS than what we took.
The moral of the story: Don’t blindly trust DOCTORS!! LOL
I have to give Nick MAD PROPS for taking over as Julie the Cruise Director while I was incapacitated. He did an awesome job! What a guy! It was comforting hearing the party in the suite while we were in the misery of the Tent with the TV on mute. Everyone still had a grand time and that was a great thing. Thanks, Nick, for keeping the party rockin’ and making everyone’s con experience a good one. I appreciate it! ::smooch::
So, Saturday afternoon, we exited the Bad Trip Tent to enjoy some of the con. I finally gave Andy his gift, which was the Ozzy “Diary of a Madman” signed record. We managed to actually LEAVE the room by Saturday night. I felt well enough to have some wine and we went walking amongst the revelers. We tried the “Pirate Party” which turned out to be a total bust, then we went to the Klingon party, which was totally lame. That could NOT have been the same Klingon party we’ve heard so much about!! We turned in fairly early Saturday since we’d not slept at all Friday/Sat.
Sunday was the Iron Artist panel, with Ted Naifeh and Bill Stout competing. I bid up Ted’s piece and ended up buying it for $300. Didn’t really mean to, but at $280, Nick said “What the hell! Go ahead!” So I did. Ted still lost the contest, but $300 went to some charity that no one could tell me the name of. Eh, well. Sunday night was Kelly’s birthday party. I drank a bunch of champagne and wore my corset with the tulle skirt I made. It was a great outfit! A little long, but it looked fabulous.
Monday was the irritation of loading out of the Hyatt. They had a newbie Front of the House manager who was not only clueless, but does not speak English very well and CLEARLY has NO experience with any sort of crowds. The Hyatt is run by asshats, from what I can tell. Once you’re in, the service is exemplary, but getting checked in and especially checked OUT is like an act of congress. They totally SUCK at check out. Of course Mohamed the Moron made everything worse and had me screaming mad by the time I was finished with him. He is a complete TOOL.
So, the Con was not a total bust, mainly because I got to spend some time with Andy and we got to talk about all kinds of stuff. It was good to renew our bond! Peas and carrots, that’s us! I feel better about his decision to marry (despite the kids) and I hope that his girl will come to terms with how Andy and I are. We can’t really help it, it’s just the way it is! When we’re together, our pod is there. I like it that way and I hope that his girl can allow Andy and me to be friends without becoming Psycho Chick like so many other women have when they meet me. ::fingers crossed:: [Sadly, she is a psycho like all other insecure chicks. I’ve not spoken to Andy in years. And probably never will again. :( -A 2016]
Next year, there will be no experiments! I’ll have a wild con and I’ll have a lot more to say!