I woke with a sore throat this morning which is a small price to pay for the activities that filled the last five days. I've had a slightly different Wiscon since I've become involved with the organizational side of things. It's busier but no less enjoyable. I cut back even further this year by not signing up for panels or readings but things seemed to stay just as busy. A lot of the Wiscon concom completely give up their lives for the span of the con to make it work. To those of us on the outside it seems so seamless but it isn't.
Lots of highlights, too many to count, but here are a few:
Singing along to karaoke Centerfold by J. Giels Band with Cliff
Sushi, twice, with Karen
Visiting with Jeremiah and Par, though my time with them was way too short
Sharing stories of convention geeky shyness - you know those times when you find yourself alone and panic and think that no one likes you, knows you, wants to hang with you..
Hanging with Elad and hearing about his life and girlfriend
Seeing Maureen McHugh - actually, walking right past her, gorgeous but hard to recognize with her temporary straight hair - and Bob again
Meeting people at packet stuffing and registration
Finding out that David Moles had been in Tokyo at the same time I was, although he was in high school and I was in college. It was an amazing moment to find we'd both found the best two places for American style burgers, the well-known Hard Rock and lesser known, Homeworks.
Lots of great advice on pregnancy, motherhood, etc. from all the wonderful new mom authors at the con - and no this is not a way to say that I'm pregnant. Sorry Mom and Dad.
You've got to check out the link below to Technorati's Wiscon tag page and check out the photos. There's the one of the cutest photos ever of Alan and the much cuter Meghan McCarron (sp?)
I love hosting the party at Wiscon. Over the past few years, we've kept Wiscon dancing and for the past two proved that a SF convention can handle karaoke. This year, the Speculative Literature Foundation was a co-sponsor and we had a great turn-out. While we were cleaning up and shooing people out of the suite at the end of the party this year (at 3:15 a.m. ) the con party organizers, Scott and Jane, mentioned the possibility of moving the party to the ballroom next year which would allow later nights, less crowding and more room for socializing and watching. We'd be able to bring our beer and cider and other refreshments although there might be a corkage fee. We'd have an actual dance floor and might be able to bring in a real DJ and equipment. All of these are big plusses. The thought of moving off of the party floor makes me panic a bit, though, since so many of the people hang out in the hall outside the party at least part of the time and come and go from other parties. Would anyone come see us downstairs? If anyone reads this, let me know what you think.
wiscon
2 comments:
Kristin, it was wonderful to see you again, even though we didn't get the chance to talk much.
Personally, I like the fact that the karaoke party is on the sixth floor, and that if you get overwhelmed by the experience, you can just go out into the hallway for a bit, or wander into one of the other quieter parties for a while.
Though I did notice a few people fleeing in claustrophobic terror at the number of folks in the room this time. Moving things down to the ballroom would alleviate this, and allow for some breathing room.
In other words, I'm absolutely no help.
Kristin, I'm also of two minds about the idea. On the one hand, it would give the hallway folks room to breathe inside the ballroom itself, and there wouldn't necessarily be a need to shut down at 3 AM--although I'm not sure if that last is a good or a bad thing :-) On the other, the room might be too big, and it might take longer for the karaoke to get rolling, and the sort of intimate feel of the party might be lost. But, you know, it might be worth trying once.
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