Orycon 28 Report
Nov. 20th, 2006 06:42 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sinanjuSo ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
snippy and I attended Orycon 28 this weekend. It's the annual local science fiction convention. It takes place at the Marriott just downtown from here.
Second year for Orycon at this venue; the old hotel, a little farther away but still in town, closed down for remodeling/renovation/repurposing (depending on the rumor du jour) so Orycon had to find a new home. We got a room for the convention despite being right here in town--not having to drive to and from the con is worth it, as well as having a place to drop stuff off that you don't feel like wearing/carrying all day. Plus, you have a place to rest and recuperate away from the crowds when you're feeling overwhelmed.
We took Friday and Monday off--as usual--so we could get there early on Friday and recuperate today. The kids came up from Eugene on the train; I picked them up about noon and drove straight to the hotel.snippy had arrived earlier and already had a room assigned to us. The kids had their own room as well.
snippy and I had a lot of fun at the convention, though it was more about the people we met and interacted with than the convention events themselves. We only went to three panels this year, though we did cruise the dealers room and the art show. snippy spent some time with Aahz, a friend of hers, early in the con. Last August, at WorldCon, Aahz introduced us to Angela and we hit it off despite not actually spending that much time with her then. I spent all of Friday evening (and well into the wee hours of the morning Saturday) with Angela and a crowd of her friends, first in the hotel bar while snippy hung out with Aahz and company.
After a couple-three hours in the bar, Angela and company (and I) adjourned to cruise the Art Show reception and make many snarky comments about the art therein. After that we adjourned back to the bar until they threw us out, then sat in the restaurant level lobby for a good while longer. It was great fun.
I got up at the crack of 10 a.m. Saturday to attend a panel that our friend Rory was on, then Snippy and I grabbed lunch with Rory and his daughter at a local brewpub a few blocks from the hotel. After that we did nothing much in particular in the afternoon. That evening Snippy and I spent a lot of time with Rory in the hotel bar. Snippy and Rory drank whiskey. I actually indulged in a strawberry dacquiri! Various friends and acquaintances came and went. It was very enjoyable.
After Rory left, we split up. I wandered around to gaming, to hospitality, and the dance. At midnight, when the traditional Orycon witching hour music was not forthcoming, a number of dancers flocked to the DJ table to insist on hearing it. The DJs were quick to oblige. First we got The Time Warp from Rocky Horror, followed up by Rasputin by Boney M, which got the floor shaking as the dancers formed a huge circle and began kicking and dancing in unison.
Sunday morning Snippy, Twoson (who shared our room that evening) and I ate a room service breakfast and then attended a 9 a.m. self-defense martial arts class taught by Rory. It only scratched the surface, of course, but it was informative and entertaining. After that, we cruised around a bit, hit the dealers room again, and generally enjoyed the con until it closed down. The kids checked out and at about 5:30 Snippy and I drove them to the train station for the trip home.
At 6:30 Snippy and I arrived at Rimsky Korsakoffee, a local coffee house, to have coffee* and dessert with Angela and a couple of her friends. Alas, it turns out that the coffee shop opens at 7, so we had to sit on the front porch--it's in an old house--in the cold til they opened the doors. Once we got inside, Angela worked her way through most of the dessert list, I think, repeatedly frustrated by the waitress returning to tell her "we don't have that tonite, either!" Eventually she actually ordered something they could deliver. Snippy and I both ordered hot chocolate, given that we don't like coffee.
Did you know that some places--like Rimsky Korsakoffee--put coffee into their hot chocolate syrup? Neither did we! Snippy was not happy to discover coffee contaminating her hot chocolate. However, being who she is, she expressed her displeasure, set it aside, and moved on. She didn't let it ruin her otherwise enjoyable visit with everyone.
Afterward, Snippy went home because she was very tired after the con. I went back to the hotel to the Dead Dog party, as did Angela and her friends. It was a very low-key "party"--mostly con volunteers and a number of hangers-on like us--sitting around talking and drinking up and eating up the last of the con food/drink supplies (which is the raison d'etre of the party, if you don't know).
Unfortunately, eventually the volunteers began making toasts to one another and insisted that everyone in the room be silent and attentive while they did. And that would have been fine if they'd left it at one, two, maybe even three toasts. But they had a captive audience and fully intended to capitalize on it. We were cooperative at first, but eventually began making snarky comments to each other.
After about "twenty soul-destroying minutes of boredom" (as one of Angela's friends put it), when they were thanking "the third spearman from the left" (my contribution), and the organizers of this little mutual masturbation society began dragging unwilling volunteers to the front to make toasts, we'd had enough and everyone at our table stood up and walked out.
We settled in the lobby of the hotel, where we stayed until after midnight talking about conventions, and relationships, and books and tv and movies (mostly of the science fiction sort, but not entirely) before we called it a night. And then I came home, wheresnippy and I have spent today lounging around and resting up. It was a good con.
*Neither Snippy nor I actually drink coffee. I like the smell but never learned to like the taste. Snippy actively dislikes both.
snippy and I attended Orycon 28 this weekend. It's the annual local science fiction convention. It takes place at the Marriott just downtown from here. Second year for Orycon at this venue; the old hotel, a little farther away but still in town, closed down for remodeling/renovation/repurposing (depending on the rumor du jour) so Orycon had to find a new home. We got a room for the convention despite being right here in town--not having to drive to and from the con is worth it, as well as having a place to drop stuff off that you don't feel like wearing/carrying all day. Plus, you have a place to rest and recuperate away from the crowds when you're feeling overwhelmed.
We took Friday and Monday off--as usual--so we could get there early on Friday and recuperate today. The kids came up from Eugene on the train; I picked them up about noon and drove straight to the hotel.
snippy had arrived earlier and already had a room assigned to us. The kids had their own room as well.snippy and I had a lot of fun at the convention, though it was more about the people we met and interacted with than the convention events themselves. We only went to three panels this year, though we did cruise the dealers room and the art show. snippy spent some time with Aahz, a friend of hers, early in the con. Last August, at WorldCon, Aahz introduced us to Angela and we hit it off despite not actually spending that much time with her then. I spent all of Friday evening (and well into the wee hours of the morning Saturday) with Angela and a crowd of her friends, first in the hotel bar while snippy hung out with Aahz and company.After a couple-three hours in the bar, Angela and company (and I) adjourned to cruise the Art Show reception and make many snarky comments about the art therein. After that we adjourned back to the bar until they threw us out, then sat in the restaurant level lobby for a good while longer. It was great fun.
I got up at the crack of 10 a.m. Saturday to attend a panel that our friend Rory was on, then Snippy and I grabbed lunch with Rory and his daughter at a local brewpub a few blocks from the hotel. After that we did nothing much in particular in the afternoon. That evening Snippy and I spent a lot of time with Rory in the hotel bar. Snippy and Rory drank whiskey. I actually indulged in a strawberry dacquiri! Various friends and acquaintances came and went. It was very enjoyable.
After Rory left, we split up. I wandered around to gaming, to hospitality, and the dance. At midnight, when the traditional Orycon witching hour music was not forthcoming, a number of dancers flocked to the DJ table to insist on hearing it. The DJs were quick to oblige. First we got The Time Warp from Rocky Horror, followed up by Rasputin by Boney M, which got the floor shaking as the dancers formed a huge circle and began kicking and dancing in unison.
Sunday morning Snippy, Twoson (who shared our room that evening) and I ate a room service breakfast and then attended a 9 a.m. self-defense martial arts class taught by Rory. It only scratched the surface, of course, but it was informative and entertaining. After that, we cruised around a bit, hit the dealers room again, and generally enjoyed the con until it closed down. The kids checked out and at about 5:30 Snippy and I drove them to the train station for the trip home.
At 6:30 Snippy and I arrived at Rimsky Korsakoffee, a local coffee house, to have coffee* and dessert with Angela and a couple of her friends. Alas, it turns out that the coffee shop opens at 7, so we had to sit on the front porch--it's in an old house--in the cold til they opened the doors. Once we got inside, Angela worked her way through most of the dessert list, I think, repeatedly frustrated by the waitress returning to tell her "we don't have that tonite, either!" Eventually she actually ordered something they could deliver. Snippy and I both ordered hot chocolate, given that we don't like coffee.
Did you know that some places--like Rimsky Korsakoffee--put coffee into their hot chocolate syrup? Neither did we! Snippy was not happy to discover coffee contaminating her hot chocolate. However, being who she is, she expressed her displeasure, set it aside, and moved on. She didn't let it ruin her otherwise enjoyable visit with everyone.
Afterward, Snippy went home because she was very tired after the con. I went back to the hotel to the Dead Dog party, as did Angela and her friends. It was a very low-key "party"--mostly con volunteers and a number of hangers-on like us--sitting around talking and drinking up and eating up the last of the con food/drink supplies (which is the raison d'etre of the party, if you don't know).
Unfortunately, eventually the volunteers began making toasts to one another and insisted that everyone in the room be silent and attentive while they did. And that would have been fine if they'd left it at one, two, maybe even three toasts. But they had a captive audience and fully intended to capitalize on it. We were cooperative at first, but eventually began making snarky comments to each other.
After about "twenty soul-destroying minutes of boredom" (as one of Angela's friends put it), when they were thanking "the third spearman from the left" (my contribution), and the organizers of this little mutual masturbation society began dragging unwilling volunteers to the front to make toasts, we'd had enough and everyone at our table stood up and walked out.
We settled in the lobby of the hotel, where we stayed until after midnight talking about conventions, and relationships, and books and tv and movies (mostly of the science fiction sort, but not entirely) before we called it a night. And then I came home, where
snippy and I have spent today lounging around and resting up. It was a good con.*Neither Snippy nor I actually drink coffee. I like the smell but never learned to like the taste. Snippy actively dislikes both.
