Where was I?

Where was I?

Oh, right. The other 2 and a half days of DragonCon. Click here for the first 2 and a half days of the five day party.

So after the big parade where Aral and I cheered and jumped up and down, we ate lunch and saw some fan stuff and then split up. Aral went to meet up with Shrift; I went to work the Green Room.

Volunteering to work the convention allowed me to afford to go. I scored a discount pass and a discount room. I also liked the idea of working because I wanted to help make this fabulous thing happen. See, no one really gets paid to throw this party for 40,000 people. It's all held together by a bunch of wonderful people who work their asses off to make sure I have a good time. And I appreciate that!

I also was able to work one of the plum assignments. Susan and Andrew work the Green Room, the room that feeds all the special guests. It's like having a backstage pass to make Lt. Sulu a sandwich. And I dig that. I also dig listening to the writers and game designers and others sit around talking about what fans they are themselves. It's cool, man. I like feeding people, I like feeling like I help make the party happen.

But it was a lot of hard work. And I don't think I'll do it again next year. As much as I like the volunteers, and may even give 4 or 5 hours of my time to lend a hand, working 20 hours during the big party really took the piss out of me. I mean, a woman's got to sleep at some point, you know?

But Saturday night...wow. WOW. I drank and sat with a bunch of my favorite people. See, Aral and I got bumped up into a small suite totally by accident. Tony, Sue and I had specifically gone to the Hyatt and had our reservations linked up. But when I went to check in I found they were trying to put me on an entirely different floor!

I demanded to be on the floor where most of my friends were staying. They gave me the keys to a corner room with three balconies and a living room set. We had to wheel another little bed in because there was only one, but that was OK.

So Saturday Virgil and I went on a liquor run. I fired up the TV and we had a little party, watching the original American Godzilla release with Perry Mason, and Army of Darkness. Yea us! Cairy, Skeet, Virgil, Winn, Serena, Aral and I just chilled. And sometimes that's the best.

Around midnight, 1 o'clock, I kick everybody out of the suite because I'm getting tired and Aral's about to fall over. Cairy and Skeet and I hang out in the hallway. The Hyatt is one of those deals where the center is hollow, so as we hung out we could see all the activities going on other levels. Saturday night is the night for room parties, and we could watch the ebb and flow of people in other suites.

I wondered where Winn got to, and knocked on his door right near us. Winn was sharing a room with Tony, Andrew, and Paula, so I wasn't surprised when someone else answered the door. Cairy and Skeet were mildly surprised that it was a naked Tony though. This didn't shock me. I manage to somehow run into a disrobed Tony about once a year. I should mention here that this wasn't even the second or third random naked person I had seen that weekend, nor would it be the last.

And really, now that I think of it, I'm going to quit writing about that night. It was a good night, and you can ask me what happened after that when you see me in person. It was pretty amusing. Paula and Susan were trashed and funny.

I realized that night that I know the best guys. I really do. I know all the best men ever. My standards for men are actually pretty high, and that's because Cairy, Skeet, Virgil, Tony, Andrew, Dustin and a few other men put the bar just that high. I feel bad for 80% of the men out there, because they'll just never be that good, that understanding, that smart, clever, or creative.

So Saturday was good. Nay, Saturday achieved a greatness that few other Saturdays could seek to replicate. I will be telling stories about Saturday for a long time to come.

Sunday less so.

I worked again, and I was over-tired at this point, because it was four days through the thing. And Aral left, and this bummed me out, and I had to leave our room because even having the discounted thing for two days was a stretch for me.

So Sunday night I got angry. But I also got some sleep, and a good long conversation with Virgil, which always straightens me out. Cairy, Skeet, and Virgil had an encounter with a thief. But that's their story to tell, not mine.

Monday I had to work the green room all day, and say goodbye to loads of people. And that's just not any fun. By Monday night when Dinan drove me home from the hotel - I was too tired to take the train - I felt like a record played too slowly, like, well, like I had been partying for 5 days straight. Because I had been partying for 5 days straight.

But it was the best, really. I know everyone didn't have as great a time as I did, but I think some people were trying to do too much.

Aral wants to do this again next year. I have no problem with that, no problem at all.