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2007 DragonCon wrap-up

Well, another year, another $1000…

Yah, we’re done with DragonCon as far as the room and all that. We will still attend, but we’ve decided that this con is just not worth the money we spend every year. We are breaking even this year (what we had saved vs what we actually spent) and that’s a good thing, but honestly, it’s crazy to spend that kind of money for a few parties and a few panels. The ONE big panel we wanted to see (Terry Moore of Strangers In Paradise fame) we couldn’t due to the crowding issues at the Hyatt and frankly, that was the last straw. I’ve already bitched extensively about the 1.5 hr wait to pick up our prepaid badges and the long lines to buy our badges for next year, so yah, missing the one big panel was pretty much it for us.

So. Next year we will be the ones crashing on an air mattress in someone’s room. For FREE. And we also expect food, drinks and various other goodies to be tossed at us as well. After all these years of putting people up, I should hope that we’ll get the same hospitality! Taylor has already graciously offered up her room IF she gets one, that is. We shall see. Barry will have a suite, but again, we’ll see. [Never happened. Reciprocity rarely does when it comes to cons. -A]

Next year we want to go to the Decatur Book Festival and the Drive Invasion at the Starlight Six drive-in on Moreland on Sunday.

We totally love seeing everyone and all that, but about half our group is not attending the Con next year due to the jackassery of registration and crowds this year, so this con has lost most of its lustre. If they have any new guests (outside the TrekTrak), that will be an improvement, but still not worth the money.

We will attend ACE in February and Comic-Con in San Diego in July. Whatever is left over will go towards DragonCon. It won’t be much, I can tell you that. :-)

Anyhow, here are the requisite shout-outs:
Andy and Ellen!
Ted and Kelly!
The Cantley Collective!
Cat!
Barry!
Russell!
Pat!
Taylor and Jeff!
Chopper Dave!
Ben and Heather!
Black Heather!
Larry!
Walt and Susan!

We hope to see all of you next year when we come to the parties!

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Con was great

But got Con Crud. Ugh.

I’ll write about the con when I feel better!

Thanks to everyone who came by the room.

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One down, one to go

Mi trip is done, now: on to the Con!!

The MI trip was a pleasant surprise! We got bumped on the way up, which earned us $600 in cash coupons from Northwest Airlines – w00t! Not bad for a couple hours drinking beer at the airport! :-) We tried to get bumped again on the way home, but no such luck. But that’s ok, we are now officially going to Comic-Con next year! Squeeeeeee!

We had a wonderful time staying with Nick’s niece Meghan and her (very cute) boi Josh. They have a 7 wk old puppy that kept us all on our toes! He’s a beagle and OH SO CUTE! He can pee on your foot and give you a sweet look and you’re like “oooooo, how cuuuuuute!” It’s amazing, the power of the puppy! LOL

I also finally hit the sweet spot with Nick’s sis and could let my guard down enough to bond a little. We’re very much alike, which as always, is problematic to new relationships. But I had a few lightbulb moments and I think we’ve reached a new level of understanding. I like it! Nick’s other niece Kaitlin is a lovely young woman whom we’d like to scarf away from MI and bring her down here. She’s got to finish college first, but once that’s done, I hope we can have her down here for a bit. She’s aching to get away from Wayne, just as I was aching to get away from Knoxville. I totally understand!

A big shout out to Meghan and Josh for putting us up and to Teri, Ed, Caitlin, Theresa and Patrick for a great time! It was great to see all of you. We must do it more often! (damn, why does airfare have to cost so much??)

It was in the 60s and gorgeous in Wayne on Friday, then it rained the rest of the time. It was actually chilly! What a nice break from the upper 90s we’ve had here.

We are now in get-shit-done mode from now until the Con. I can barely even write NEXT WEEK without getting wound up! I’ve not heard from Andy, I’d better give him a call. I’ve got a magazine to get online, a house to scrub, a tub to caulk, costuming to arrange, shopping to do and let’s not forget the usual stuff like Moon bills, etc. Oy!

I’ll probably not post much until after the Con. We are not going on an out of town vacation this year, but we’ll be taking the week off and laying low here at home. I’ll still have inventory and such for the restaurant but that’s no biggie.

Off to get the magazine up! Ciao!

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Death of Elvis

August 16, 1977.

I was 11. I was watching TV or perhaps it was just on as always in my parents’ house. I was in the Red Room, which was one half of the converted 2 car garage of our rancher on Slade Drive in Knoxville, TN. The Red Room was Mediterranean style with low, wide red velvet couches and large square heavy lamps. The carpet was short red shag and the walls were paneled in white/black/grey paneling. There was a fireplace along the whole end of the room in the same white brick used for the whole house. The TV was one of those old large consoles.

The other half of this converted garage (and by converted, I don’t mean it looked like a garage, not at all, my dad was a builder, so it was completely finished) was my mother’s beauty shop. She did hair from the early 70s until the mid 70s. I remember the bouffants and the cases of lacquer hairspray. I remember the chair being coated in hairspray. She had a full counter unit with the sink and all that, the hydraulic chair (which brought my brother and me much fun when we were small) and two salon hairdryers. For those of you too young for such things, they were like this one, but lavender:

It was the afternoon, so I must’ve caught the very first reports. His death was announced at 3:30pm, so that’s when the news coverage must’ve been heaviest. Anyway, I saw the crawl across the bottom of the TV screen: “Elvis Presley dead at 42”. [I just looked that up and was slightly startled to find that he was only 42! He seemed older to me at 11, I suppose.] My mother was futzing in the shop, so I trotted in there and told her that Elvis was dead and she should come look.

She thought I didn’t know what I was talking about (natch) but came into the other room. I remember her staring at the TV in horror. She cried a little. I can’t remember anything beyond that, but I remember she was horrified.

Elvis was THE celebrity to girls in that narrow sliver between pre WWII and the Baby Boomers. These women were born between 1940 and 1945 and I’ve never met one who gives a shit about the Beatles. It was all about Elvis for them. My mother told me that she and her friends would go to the movie theatre and watch Love Me Tender over and over and cry their eyes out at the ending when Elvis’ character dies.

I think to them, Elvis’ death was probably similar to how the Kennedy assassination of the 60s was to their parents and John Lennon’s death to the Boomers. Or 9/11 is to our generation.

In an odd way, I’m glad I got to experience that with my mother. We have very few times when we connect and this was one.

And a note from me: I think Elvis was a pretty pretty boy and he could sing like nobody else. I was raised on Elvis records and remember that All Shook Up was me and my brother’s favourite 45 to play. We also loved Last Date by Floyd Cramer. :-)

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For Enquiring Minds

FGM issues are handled, everything is getting back to normal. I’ve learned a lot and I have a lot to integrate into my plans.

Thanks to everyone who asked what was up.

Thanks to my triumvirate who tolerate me, teach me and most of all love me.

:-)