Wiscon

27/5/09 11:45
madrobins: It's a meatloaf.  Dressed up like a bunny.  (Default)
[personal profile] madrobins
I had a splendid time. People kept saying "This can't be your first Wiscon," which I took to mean that I fit right in. I met people whose names I knew, people I hadn't seen forever, people I'd never met before. I read part of "Somewhere in Dreamland Tonight," at the Book View Cafe reading; talked about gender and robots (and got an idea for a story) and about the pros and cons of giving heroines (and heroes) offspring; watched [livejournal.com profile] klages do the auction from a wheelchair! and bring the audience to tears with her GoH speech; had lovely lunches and dinners and snacks with all sorts of people, and conversation after conversation after conversation with many more. And I am reminded of the pleasure of hanging out with really smart people--even though it reminds me I'm not as smart, well-read, well-educated or (in some cases) well-dressed as they are.

I know there were problems--there always are, because even the best convention is full of, like, people, who are at least in part made of fail--that were immensely painful to those affected. I missed a some of these problems by the simple expedient of being in the wrong place at the right time (if that makes any sense), and some because I'm not the target for that particular brand of fail. I've heard about a good deal of it after the fact, though. One panel in particular I am glad I missed, because it would have had me sputtering with rage, and I don't do rage in a useful way--I just sputter.

Possibly my very favorite moment of the whole convention was at the end of sign-out, when suddenly I found myself in a group of people singing old show tunes, spirituals, folk songs, more old show tunes. I forget sometimes how much I love to sing in a group. That made me uncomplicatedly happy.

And on Monday afternoon I went off with a bundle of people to play pool and drink draught cider and decompress from the weekend, and that was good too. I have my room reserved for next year and have already informed the Spouse that I'll be in Wisconsin for Memorial Day weekend (unless the school system decides to do something insane and have Avocado's 8th grade graduation that weekend or something, which I doubt).