I didn't make it to anything con-related, which was a shame, but I was always incredibly busy or recovering from the busy-ness, helping out with Play On Con/Infirmary's party and also my housemate Dustin's Secret Agent party to some extent.
I picked up my landlord on Wednesday night from the airport, so that Thursday afternoon, he, my housemates, and I could all load up the vehicles and transport everything down to the hotel. We also had transport help from a few other friends, because there was a TON of stuff. This is my room full of random CRAP.
That night, I hung out with some old friends and some new friends and then got dressed to go to the Coffee, Tea, Or Me? party in the Presidential Suite. I bounced around in my white wig, dancing and seeing more people I hadn't seen in a while, and then I ran into my friends Sabrina and Wendie, who invited me to wander with them for a bit. We hit a private invite-only lounge, which was a great break from the hectic pace of the other party. My wig was driving me insane, so I headed to my room and took it off and returned to Jonestown's party to find my date who had been roped into tending bar, where I ended up pretending to help (but really just pouring punch and making conversation with people who ended up hanging around the bar). We ended up running out of booze! I don't know when I went to sleep, but I think it was around 3 or 4, and my twitter account says I woke up at 8, which is terrifying.
Friday was epic. It was all about acquiring cardboard and mixers and prepping for my group's party. Because there was a mix-up at the hotel with the party room, Dan and I didn't get to leave as early as we wanted to pick up some lights from IKEA and the cardboard from freakin' Duluth. We had to get ten nine-foot-tall pieces of cardboard and a big spool of corrugated cardboard, which was all used to line the walls of the party's "back room", and to build Fort Spreadeagle around the bed. Here is my car loaded up with cardboard!
The pieces on top were tied on and Dan tried to hold them on, but they tried to fly off once we hit 30 mph, which was unacceptable. There was no way we could drive 40 miles at that speed with him trying to hold the pieces down, so we pulled over and folded the nine-foot-pieces in half to put them in the car. That was fine, except that we had tied the doors shut and were climbing in and out of the windows until we could cut the twine with my car keys.
After a quick break, I headed back down the hall to the party room, where there was MUCH more setup to be done. This is the stuff we had out front:
A buddy and I headed out to Walmart at around 9:30 to get orange juice and stuff for the bar, as well as duct tape, and a few things for me, like tylenol and metatarsal pads and lipstick. We got back around 10:15, and the party had been set to start at 10, so we were all feeling slightly stressed. I ran to get ready, and kicked my friends out of the room- they said I was fairly nice about it, fortunately. My roommate kept making quiet unobtrusive trip to retrieve stuff from the pile o' crap there, and friend came back with hairspray and helped me out with costuming.
I think it turned out pretty well, considering I came straight from Wal-Mart and didn't have the time I wanted to work with my hot rollers!
I had the best time at the party, dancing and doing photo ops. Someone walked by in big boots and crushed my big toe, cracking part of the toenail, so I had to go track down the only person I knew who had bandaids and swear and bleed in my bathtub for a bit. Ow! I decided to ignore the blisters I'd acquired a few days earlier and put my shoes back on to keep the rest of my nails. I felt responsible later when con security came by to ask us to keep the folks in the hallway quieter and then to shut the door. I like to feel responsible, especially since the security guy was a face I remembered from the Whose Line events at my very first Dragon*Con and I got to finally talk to him. It ended up being a very late night; A few of us stuck around cleaning up the room until the sun came up.
It was also a relatively early morning- I think I was awake a little before ten. I lay in bed for a bit, went swimming and hung out in the hot tub, and then ended up having a late lunch/early dinner and taking a nap. That evening, I went to WalMart AGAIN, to buy stuff for my housemate Dustin's party.
We got a lot of weird looks.
Dustin's party was lots of fun. I got there late, because I was painting my date's hands and feet and face gold- he wore a gold bodysuit and went as the Goldfinger victim from the movie of the same name and won Best Bond Girl. I broke out my black catsuit as a nod to Emma Peel. Another friend I hadn't seen in a while showed up as well, and we accidentally made a modern Peel/Steed team!
I was also presented with a Party Judge badge, which was freakin' awesome. You guys, I had an excuse to run around to everyone's parties and drink their liquor and eat their food. Aw, yeah!
On Sunday morning and early afternoon, I babysat the Presidential Suite while all of Dustin's party detritus was cleared out. The decision was made to keep the hotel room an extra night, and a bunch of us went out for the traditional post-con Mexican meal. Back at the hotel, the pool and hot tub were FULL of people blowing off steam. Someone brought water guns and we had pool noodles, and water fights ensued, with my date pointing one end of the noodle at people's faces while I blew air as hard as I could into my end. And people kept letting us get close to them! You'd think they would learn! A pool noodle is not exactly a ranged weapon. Finally the pool closed, we all changed into real clothes or pajamas and headed to some friends' room for drinks and games. I was definitely feeling the love, and I had a very VERY good time.
To sum up- I had a great time this year. It was much better than last year for me. Unlike last year, there was no drama. I missed seeing a lot of people and I want to do more con-related stuff next year, but I think I struck the perfect balance for me this time. Plus, I avoided the con crud! Win!
I was really reminded why I loved conventions in the first place and have thrown so much money and time at them over the last seven years. I love my friends in the scene and meeting new people and seeing people package themselves as the people they either wish they could be or that they are on the inside, when the real world doesn't interfere. I love being part of people's support teams, I liked tending bar, and I love the building and costuming and planning that goes along with party throwing. Even at my lowest moments this past weekend, such as when I was trying to get ready for the party and was hurting so very badly, I was having a blast, and that is priceless.
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