World Fantasy
Nov. 3rd, 2009 06:16 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
nonionaySo my first World Fantasy Convention was awesome, awesome, awesome!
Highlights include:
-a kickass panel on Steampunk (I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that this convention would have the precious combination of intelligent, diversely opinioned panelists and polite audience members with insightful questions)
-Lunch with Sän, Carol Berg (one of Sän's favorite authors) and Ellen Kushner (one of my favorite authors.) Ellen terrified me by threatening to leap out into traffic at every corner (she's a New Yorker, and has now cemented my view of New York as this adrenaline-pulsing nightmare where I'm forced to run after friends as they throw themselves into the path of oncoming cars.) Carol and Ellen fantarded at each other, and it was adorable.
-In a similar vein: watching![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
kenscholes meet Tad Williams. Also adorable.
-Meeting Tad Williams myself while handing himawriter's copy of Tailchaser's Song. He said he appreciated seeing beat up copies of his book, and was highly amused by the "validation" marks caused by Penny the cat. (Many thanks to csinman and technology. Tad Williams wasn't at the mass signing when we were, but later, Sän saw on Twitter that Williams was having an impromptu signing. He texted me, and I hustled off to complete my mission.)
-Scotch and truffles at the Daybreak reading.
-A giant steampunk balloon shaped cake, chocolates and pastries and drinks to die for at the Soulless release party, my first absinthe (I seem to be overcoming my hatred of licorice.)
-Meeting newbies like myself. For a while, I wandered with the Clarion Uber-Blob, which consisted of the unholy melding of members of Clarion 2008 and 2009. At one point, while wandering the party halls looking for someone familiar to latch onto, I ran into a girl who, like myself, is The Roommate of a Clarionite. She was also looking for familiarity, and since we'd met once earlier (with the Clarion Uber-Blob), we glommed together. This was not only her first WFC, it was her first convention ever. We met Greg Bear in an elevator, and I got to tell her my story of meeting Greg Bear in an elevator.
Back in the day, I hadsaycestcay adopt me and show me around at my first big convention, for which I will be eternally grateful, so I'm happy I was able to do the same for someone else.
-Meeting my old friend Bill for drinks. I haven't seen him since college, ten years ago, and he drove all the way down from the north Bay Area to see me. Way back when, he started a student newspaper that I ended up volunteering for. I can clearly mark that as the first time I truly grabbed a hold of my destiny and started to create my own path.
-Early morning talks with two of my roommates, sitting in our pajamas on the floor beside the bathroom (and coffee pot!) talking about writing, religion and woman stuff. I had some awesome roommates. Thanks, guys.
-And other things that are strange and wonderful and totally not what I was expecting to happen there, but in retrospect, were inevitable. I've scored friends and opportunities, and I've learned that one of my defining characteristics--being calm, quiet and unassuming--which I've often thought a hinderance in networking, has turned out to be my most valuable asset. Thank you to everyone. I hope I don't screw this up.
Highlights include:
-a kickass panel on Steampunk (I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that this convention would have the precious combination of intelligent, diversely opinioned panelists and polite audience members with insightful questions)
-Lunch with Sän, Carol Berg (one of Sän's favorite authors) and Ellen Kushner (one of my favorite authors.) Ellen terrified me by threatening to leap out into traffic at every corner (she's a New Yorker, and has now cemented my view of New York as this adrenaline-pulsing nightmare where I'm forced to run after friends as they throw themselves into the path of oncoming cars.) Carol and Ellen fantarded at each other, and it was adorable.
-In a similar vein: watching
kenscholes meet Tad Williams. Also adorable.-Meeting Tad Williams myself while handing him
awriter's copy of Tailchaser's Song. He said he appreciated seeing beat up copies of his book, and was highly amused by the "validation" marks caused by Penny the cat. (Many thanks to csinman and technology. Tad Williams wasn't at the mass signing when we were, but later, Sän saw on Twitter that Williams was having an impromptu signing. He texted me, and I hustled off to complete my mission.)-Scotch and truffles at the Daybreak reading.
-A giant steampunk balloon shaped cake, chocolates and pastries and drinks to die for at the Soulless release party, my first absinthe (I seem to be overcoming my hatred of licorice.)
-Meeting newbies like myself. For a while, I wandered with the Clarion Uber-Blob, which consisted of the unholy melding of members of Clarion 2008 and 2009. At one point, while wandering the party halls looking for someone familiar to latch onto, I ran into a girl who, like myself, is The Roommate of a Clarionite. She was also looking for familiarity, and since we'd met once earlier (with the Clarion Uber-Blob), we glommed together. This was not only her first WFC, it was her first convention ever. We met Greg Bear in an elevator, and I got to tell her my story of meeting Greg Bear in an elevator.
Back in the day, I had
saycestcay adopt me and show me around at my first big convention, for which I will be eternally grateful, so I'm happy I was able to do the same for someone else.-Meeting my old friend Bill for drinks. I haven't seen him since college, ten years ago, and he drove all the way down from the north Bay Area to see me. Way back when, he started a student newspaper that I ended up volunteering for. I can clearly mark that as the first time I truly grabbed a hold of my destiny and started to create my own path.
-Early morning talks with two of my roommates, sitting in our pajamas on the floor beside the bathroom (and coffee pot!) talking about writing, religion and woman stuff. I had some awesome roommates. Thanks, guys.
-And other things that are strange and wonderful and totally not what I was expecting to happen there, but in retrospect, were inevitable. I've scored friends and opportunities, and I've learned that one of my defining characteristics--being calm, quiet and unassuming--which I've often thought a hinderance in networking, has turned out to be my most valuable asset. Thank you to everyone. I hope I don't screw this up.
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no subject
Date: 2009-11-03 03:30 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-11-03 03:32 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-11-03 05:49 pm (UTC)*waves*
Date: 2009-11-03 05:55 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-11-03 11:37 pm (UTC)Color me unsuprised, and glad you realized. It makes you very comfortable to glom onto when one is searching for familiarity. :)