What a day to go kite flying

[austin_dern]

We actually drove back to our hotel, the overflow one, in order that we could ride the shuttle bus intended to run every half-hour between the overflow hotel and the con hotel. Since we had bunny_hugger's car maybe we didn't need to do this, but it would avoid any problems in finding parking spaces, and while skylerbunny expressed skepticism about the schedule of the shuttle it seemed to work by my clock. As we set out, I found my electric toothbrush had decided it should just start running and keep running until I hit it. And I decided to leave my jacket at the hotel since, after all, I was going to be indoors except for the very brief times going from shuttle to hotel room and what would I need a jacket for that for?

The ride over was swift and reasonably friendly, although bunny_hugger had slight problems getting into the shuttle with her bunny paws covering her feet. They throw off her footprint. My first goal at the hotel was to get my proper con badge and packet of information, so skylerbunny and I set off for the registration line. My visions of registration lines were set by the ancient cons I attended back last millennium (while I attended many Genericons I was staff on all but the first one I attended, when I was a mere guest, and the last, when rcoony and I just kind of snuck in, but it was the Sunday so who cares), so I was expecting sluggish things and a heft wait. I was wrong, way wrong: we were through the check-in after maybe five minutes, and we went off in search of bunny_hugger.

Once we'd got back together we sorted out just where the various interesting things were, such as the con suite and its dangerous abundances of potato chips, pretzels, M&Ms, and so on; and the little display set up by the Kane Area Rehabilitation and Education for Wildlife charity being supported by the convention. They had a fennec, among other animals, and he was occasionally held up for display while showing that sort of slightly squinty look at the world which implies he was got up about three hours before a decent waking hour.

We also scouted out the art show for potential purchases. I didn't have anything in mind, but it's always worth poking around in case something interesting turns up. The most attractive things were a set of sake cups with bunny drawings on them, particularly a set with a rabbit who seems to slyly think he can drink more sake than he actually can, which would be wonderful for bunny_hugger but which had a buy-now price (if I remember right) way out of what was affordable. Still, there might be the hope of the bids not getting out of control or the piece not going to open auction. It would, of course, by the law under which the neatest item is impossible to secure, but that's to be expected.

Another goal, with bunny_hugger, would be going around the dealer's room and the Artist Alley looking for someone able and willing to do con badges for the two of us. I hadn't brought a custom badge, just the generic convention one, and for that matter had never quite got around to getting a custom badge drawn for me back in the old days. Of course, in the old days, I had to explain exactly what a coati was. This has changed, since ``Austin Dern'' became a regular persona of mine. It used to be people thought a coati was just a typo for a winged serpent god; then I went through a long phase where people who knew me for four or five years suddenly came to me and said, ``I was watching a nature show and saw coatis on it! I had thought you'd made up the species before!'' But that doesn't come up so much anymore; they've heard of the make. I suspect the cartoon Brandy and Mister Whiskers finally put coatis into people's dim consciousness.

One other thing we'd need to get to, and that I felt a bit of anxiety about, was finally meeting in person bluerain --- with whom I've had a fairly tumultuous relationship --- and orv --- whom I've known longer and much more peacefully --- and augustforth --- whom I've known a long while although not truly intimately --- and kevinjdog --- whom, well, I suppose I can count as acquaintance. My experience usually has been that people are easier to know in person than online, but, I can't say that's based on a statistically significant sample. Anything might happen.

Trivia: Apollo 17's Command Module splashed down 19 December 1972 1.0 nautical miles from its designated target, and 3.5 nautical miles from its recovery ship. Source: Apollo By The Numbers: A Statistical Reference, Richard W Orloff. NASA SP-2000-4029.

Currently Reading: But Didn't We Have Fun? An Informal History Of Baseball's Pioneer Era, 1843 - 1870, Peter Morris.

Comments

[bunny-hugger.livejournal.com]

I think you mean augustforth. >:)

[austin-dern.livejournal.com]

Ah, well, I did say I wasn't really intimate with augustfourth after all.

[skylerbunny.livejournal.com]

Somewhere in a recent entry in the last few days I was put down as 'skylerrabbit'. I was going to point it out (and made a mental note to myself at 6:30 in the morning to do that, then promptly forgot), but I think it's been corrected already!

There are rare times I've had to use that...usually when 'skylerbunny' was used by me and I promptly forgot the password to whatever it was, so I understand that confusion.

[austin-dern.livejournal.com]

Yes, it was. I find I keep not remembering whether you should be SkylerBunny or SkylerRabbit, and I keep consistently picking wrong. Then I remember that I had it wrong before, and that it should be SkylerBunny. Then my mind collapses the two facts and I remember that SkylerBunny is wrong.

[rcoony.livejournal.com]

Even Anthrocon no longer has the 5-hour lines anymore. Though even still, I go expecting it to happen.

[austin-dern.livejournal.com]

It's disconcerting is what it is. Even when I've registered online a week ahead of time.

[chefmongoose.livejournal.com]

You're welcome. :)

(We still have long lines. But in Pre-registration, we can now process well over 500 people per _hour_. We manage about 100 per hour on On-site registration.)

[austin-dern.livejournal.com]

I don't think we were quite pressing at a hundred per hour, although with so few people it's hard to really test things. Still, the lack of a queue was disorienting. Maybe they need to have some people standing around to give the impression of a line. (See old anecdote about my parents at the Russian Embassy in Manhattan.)

[mondhasen.livejournal.com]

The most attractive things were a set of sake cups with bunny drawings

Saw them online- superlative workmanship. Don't understand her (artist) aversion to doing more.

I've had the pleasure of meeting but one of my online acquaintences. I'm fairly solitary outside of family or work.

[austin-dern.livejournal.com]

Ah, you know the set we were looking at, then. The only reason I'd understand for not wanting to do more of that work is that it's probably challenging work.

[kevinjdog.livejournal.com]

It was great to meet you.

[austin-dern.livejournal.com]

Oh, yes, and it was great meeting you. I don't want it to sound like it was a disappointment or something I wasn't looking forward to. I just wanted to say that we do have a pretty casual online acquaintance despite having very close relations with some of the same people.

[chahala.livejournal.com]

Sounds like you had a wonderful time... still need to meet you in RL... have known you for what? 10 years online?

Tarka

[austin-dern.livejournal.com]

I did have a wonderful time, yes. And I've known you online for getting near fifteen years now, going back to Brazilian Dreams II, I believe.

[chefmongoose.livejournal.com]

I am familiar with the annoyed squint of fennec. It remains *still* adorable on those critters.

I imagine the sake cups were from Dingbat? She's been doing a lot of work in that medium of late.

Coatis have slowly been gaining visibility in the fandom, indeed; I think it's a combination of Kaput Otter drawing one of them frequently in lesbian scenes, and your continued presence online, plus a shot of vermouth.

[austin-dern.livejournal.com]

Yes, those are Dingbat's cups, and boy they're impressive.

Now, see, I didn't know about Kaput Otter, but then that's not the sort of thing I go out looking for. As for my continued presence ... eh. I suspect everyone who might be interested in my existence has already found me, but maybe there's some word gone out anyway.