Vacation - Day 5

Awesomeness! So I had a friend at PlayItOn Con in Alabama that the one party I should try to get into was the SFWA party (Science Fiction Writers of America)....so basically got in by the most random of circumstances when I thought I wouldn't. I met a few people, and I still mostly suck at networking but who knows what might happen for the rest of the con.

I got up at an ungodly hour. Skip kindly drove me to the airport since the train only comes once an hour at that time of the morning. I made my flight, and it was boring but uneventful. I had a layover in Houston for an hour. I might have been tempted to call people and offer to meet them but really...I'd just seen them all a few days ago, there's hardly anything novel in seeing me now. :) (Whoo! It's uncle Tom for 20 minutes between flights...we haven't seen you for 2 whole days!) ;)

The flight to Reno from Houston was kind of aweful because I had middle seat in tiny tiny seat. There were women in their late fourties on either side of me who were also going to the con. It was awkaward at first because while I slept I accidently leaned on either of them at least once so then I just stayed awake but we becan talking. They were both very interesting people. One is here because of her husband and is German and the other is a children's librarian (like Julie used to be). Haven't seen them yet but I'm sure I will.

The Peppermill is an awesome hotel. If you want a romantic getaway and you're coming to Reno it seems to be the place to be. Later on after everything was done I did kind of wander through and explore and its...kind of dungeon like with lots of bright glittery lights and traps to take your money but it is also (like a d&d dungeon) laced random bits of coolness like bars, lounges and such. There was also this really sophisticated sports betting area that was totally empty. The unfortunate side effect is that it is also very filled with smoke...well, only a little but a little goes a long way. Still, the art on the walls is gorgeous, and I like the whole feel of the place. Staff are also exceedingly friendly. Atlantis, by contrast seems slightly more family friendly but just more...lame...somehow. It reminds me of a slightly degraded version of the resort from the Battle Star Galactica Pilot without the bee aliens...

So when I arrived my room wasn't available so I went to the convention center. I got my badge and scoped the place out. The dealer's room is VERY book friendly, and I think I'll have to get some while I am here. It's about the size of one of the two dragon con rooms but with just the same level of quality. However the entire con seems to have only 5-6000 people? (hard to say exactly.) Not any mega media celebrties (except perhaps George R.R. Martin at this point who I think qualifies in his own right) but lots of Sci Fi Writer heavy weights. They also have this cool thing called a Voodoo board which allows you to message people who are the con using old fashioned paper. There's a Jordan Ricks here but I'm not sure if he's cousin Jordan....problem with having a titanic family is you never know if someone with a name is or isn't your cousin. :) If there were 10000 living descendants of Thomas E. Ricks 20 years ago, by now there are likely what....50000?

So I got dinner. I went back to the apartment and got my room. Very nice. I went ahead and paid about $20 extra a night (since I'd already paid for everything back in Febuaray) to get the Peppermill Wing, and as I mentioned, its gorgeous. They have a nightclub here I want to go to at some point but I didn't bring the shoes for it, but buying a pair of shoes for a nightclub seems silly....but I might get a $20 pair or something of the Frankenstein shoes...We'll see.

People REALLY like the Cthulu Polo shirt I picked up at Dcon last year. I need to get 1-2 more this coming year. Tshirts are easy but business casual geek wear is harder to find especially if it is low key enough to wear in other settings.

Signed up for a Dresden Larp that will run today. I'm going to be a 'Hard Bitten Warden' by the name of Mercy Harlan. Should be awesome. My ribs are driving me nuts though. I slept on them and it is just going to suck until they heal. But I'm really enjoying the timezone shift...its noon EST and I'm still in my room but outside its only 9am....hehheheh. Awesome.

So I went to the 'meet and greet' for the writer's program and ran into a cool girl named Jasmin. We were both lost and found the party room together. We talked a lot. No, she has a boyfriend and she's 21. But thanks for the subconcious enthusiasm dear reader. ;) At any rate, we talked a lot but I also randomly ran into someone in her 'group' and introduced her to him. Then more conversation ensued. Then I started to work my way in to thank Oz (who is running the program and was my primary objective in going there because I wanted to thank her) we ran into Gregory who was also a writer and an interesting person and Jasmin, Gregory and I started talking. Eventually I made my way and found Oz and thanked her and then moved on to randomly sample the other parties. I'm getting better at navigating these things and talking to people but I've noticed I tend to do better if I give myself some secret mission. Maybe tonight I'll do something like, "Talk to five people, one of whom must be dressed like a pirate." We'll see.

So I randomly ran into Jasmin and Gregory again at another party. I talked with them. And Gregory was receiving a text from a friend of his and then he was going to go up to the SWFA party. So we all went. Well we went in just fine but it turns out that no member of SWFA had actually invited us (even though Gregory did no someone) so the person checking the badges (not actually at the door but apparently that was complicated) was concerned, so we were going to leave when someone who was a member vouched for us and we got to stay. Which...was really really cool, I just wish I had gotten the name of the guy who did it. :)

I did mention I suck at the networking thing right? But regardless, I made 3-4 contacts last night who may one day be famous or something. Given their personalities (since I haven't read their work) I can easily see it. I think networking is easier with peers rather than people who are 'above your station' as it were. At least for me.

At any rate...at some point I'm going to get out and do productive things. Ish.