This being my third WorldCon, I’ve come to learn that there comes a point during the convention where days stop having meaning. There are panels, people, scrambles for food, more people, parties, then a weary collapse into a bed where just enough sleep is achieved that you can do it all over again the next day. In that regard, this WorldCon hasn’t been any different than the others I’ve attended.
Because my phone tells me so, I know that it is Saturday. I’m writing this post from the lobby of the other hotel. I’ll talk about that in a moment.
Friday morning was just like Thursday morning, in that I got up, took a leisurely jaunt to the con suite where I had an apple and some water for breakfast. Then I went to join up with a bunch of people to do the Walk with the Stars. Again, it was a sweaty almost-forced march along the river. It’s a great way to wake up and get the blood flowing, except for how hot it is. I wound up shuffling off to my first panel of the morning with my shirt clinging to my skin.
The first panel was about converting books to ebook format. I hadn’t looked into it before that panel, and wasn’t sure what was going to be involved. It turns out that I really only needed to be there for the first two minutes, where the presenter explained that you need to know a little bit of HTML and CSS to be successful. There was a hand-out as well, so I didn’t need to take notes. It wasn’t a terrible panel, it just wasn’t one that I needed to attend.
After the panel I hurried on to a Kaffeeklatsch with Lee Harris, the main editor with Angry Robot. Lee Harris is a fantastic individual. He talked about Angry Robot and shared with us some interesting information about how Angry Robot selects new authors. Everyone I’ve met associated with Angry Robot is just fantastic, and Lee Harris is no exception.
After the Kaffeeklatsch, I deviated from the WorldCon routine that I’d established two years ago. I let my schedule go, and just sort of wandered. I went to the Dealer’s Room and visited with Howard Taylor and his people. I also met up with Greg Close and M Todd Gallowglas. Greg Close is a great guy, and has been sharing his table space with Michael and another man, whose name I don’t fully remember. I remember that it is Bill, and that he’s selling his Dad’s books.
We went to lunch together in the food court. After that, I wandered again. Around 3PM, it occurred to me that I could head back to my room and write for about an hour. I opened my laptop, edited a few words, and realized that I was very sleepy. I napped for about an hour, which is very unusual for me.
I got up and out in time to make it to George R. R. Martin’s reading. I let him spoil a little bit of the book I’m reading so that I could hear him read a chapter from book 6 of Ice and Fire. It was really good! He took a few questions and talked about some other stuff he’s working on. He’s a very intelligent, well-spoken presenter.
When the reading was through, it was time for dinner. I met up with Michael, Greg, and Jim Doty for dinner. There was nothing interesting or exciting about the food, but the company was excellent.
With dinner done, I went off to help set up the room for the Convolution party. Once the setup was done, the evening of partying began.
There isn’t a ton I can say about the parties. There are tons of people floating around in different states of inebriation. Myself, I had a little bit of wine, and a tiny bit of Scotch under Michael’s useful instruction. I mostly drank water, though. I wished that I had had more alcohol in my system, as that would have greased the gears for being social.
Meeting people and talking casually is a little bit outside my comfort zone, but it’s what you do at the parties. Being pressed in by bodies on all sides, inundated with all of the sound and noise that comes with that is downright uncomfortable, but is a part of the con nightlife that must be endured. I did my best, forced a smile on my face whenever I remembered to, and occasionally squirmed my way out to the hallway to catch my breath.
In spite of the things I’m complaining about, and in spite of myself, I did have a good time. I met some fun and interesting people, and I think a lot of them got the impression that I was fun and interesting, too.
Before I put a bow on this blog post, let me touch on the Convolution party again, and explain why my daily wrap-up is going up the following morning rather than that night. The laptop that the party host had brought wasn’t going to work for what she wanted it to, so I volunteered my laptop. I had enough presence of mind to remember to close out my party evening at the Convolution party so that I could get my laptop. I was too tired to remember to actually take it with me.
Today, I slept in a tiny bit, and I didn’t go on the Walk with the Stars. I’ll write later tonight about how the rest of the day went.