Wiscon Notes

I'll be brief, because I want to get back to the convention.

I arrived yesterday, checked in, got the staff at the overflow hotel to promise to fix the door lock, and got lunch at the first decent place I found, which was a noodle chain. I should have been more adventurous, but I was tired and hungry. Went to the convention and registered, and almost immediately bumped into annafdd, which was a nice start to the convention. I was a little apprehensive about coming here, because the usual group of people I usually hang out with is not here, but it worked out very well yesterday. Anna was delightful company, and simply by tagging along with her I found myself talking to plenty of interesting people. The convention set up one of the ballrooms as a con suite, and I was disappointed this morning to realize that was only a temporary thing—the permanent con suite is way up on the sixth floor, far away from the action. I think conventions work best when there's a vast area to hang out in near programming.

I went to bed early last night, after only one panel. I went briefly to some of the parties, but after getting separated from the people I went there with my natural anxiety in crowds asserted itself and I fled. I really need to cling in a more leech-like way to people; having just one or two "comfy" people to talk to makes a huge difference in that sort of situation.

For breakfast, I stopped by the farmer's market, and ended up getting a small blueberry pie, some molasses cookies, and homemade chocolate candies. Untraditional, but filling.

I checked out the art show this morning, which turned out to be rather small, and most filled with mediocre art or kitsch. I did like some animal paintings on feathers, however, which were very nicely done. At first I thought the art incorporated feathers, and I took a closer look to see if the feather were real, before I realized that the painting was actually on the feather. There were also some good photographs by Mary Ann Mohanraj.

That's all for now. (Oh, one other thing—I finally saw Pacific Overtures at Signature Theatre the other night, one of the few Sondheim musicals I hadn't seen, and had a very good time. I commend the production, if not the seats.)

WisCon Notes 2

I went to several panels today, and spoke at one. My comment was about 40% babbling, or at least that's what it felt like; the true percentage may have only been 20% or 30%, but in any case, it was enough to make me feel foolish. I very much prefer writing to public speaking, because I can ensure that I'm 100% articulate, instead of 60-80%. (I think my comfort zone is in the 95%+ range.)

The moderator (who is an old friend) was kind, but whenever you make a total mess of a sentence because you can't remember what words you've already used, you're in trouble.

Aside from that, and a brief encounter with porcinea that I had to run away from because I lost my Pocket Program and needed to go find it, I didn't run into anyone I know until dinnertime, when I loitered in the lobby until I found a dinner group to join. We went to a Thai restaurant, where the fried tofu was too dry, but the Mekhong Fried Rice was very tasty, and the conversation was good.

The best line today that I was just a hair too slow-witted to utter came when I was in the bathroom and I heard a voice at the door saying, "Oh, this is the Men's Room." "That's all right, we're feminists," is what I should have called out.