Done over the weekend (20100702 Fr - 05 Mo)

[mdlbear]

0701-4 Westercon+ConChord.  Pasadena Hilton 626-577-1000
  * 3 memberships purchased 20091128
  * reserve Westercon/ConChord room ($129/night) conf# 3390509396 
    0702 Fr - 0705 Mo (3 nights)  No laundry available.  Use hotel towels.
    ... and   `there IS a laondromat.  240597866

0702 Fr
  o laundry - pads
  * up 6:30; W=193; drugs, nose, teeth
  * last minute packing:
    * CPAP, drugs, neti pot; pads and other laundry
  @ Wonders World: 25 Bizarre Buildings @saffronroses 
  * air in the tires
  @ Legal analysis: "Polyamory as a Sexual Orientation"
    ysabetwordsmith
  * caught some of the Bohnhoffs' concert, all of Paul Kwinn's
  * Paper Wings in the Kazoo nominees' concert
  & circle singing.  Bears, Lad, QV
  * bed 1:30ish.  Tiny room, 5 people.  Squish.

0703 Sa
  * up 8ish (?); drugs
  : (11:29:59 AM) me: The free wi-fi is, unfortunately, not worth a whole
    lot more than one pays for it.  Too slow to work over, though it'll do for
    web browsing. 
  * Kazoo award: category: dragons; song: Paper Wings
    Serious, but hopeful, and with a good melody.  I'd have been ok with
    losing to Gilda and the Dragon.
  * most of Marilyn Miller's concert. Oh, fracking, yes
  * Stone Dragons
  & bought copy of Hearth and Hive from Tom J.
  & motorcycle jacket $75 at Interfilk auction.  Asked to try it on, and the
    opposition (Sue Fox) conceded.  (Johno said that the entire room agreed
    that it looked right on me.)  Showed off to Wolfling via skype
  * Seanan's GOH concert
  : Typical Hilton service: 1:45 in the restaurant.  The kids ended up in
    the bar after the restaurant filled up, and got served in about 1:30
    Apparently the restaurant isn't normally open in the evening.  WTF??
  " QOTD:
    Waiter: Can I get you more drinks?
    Me and Colleen in chorus: Only if they're on the house.
  "
  : annoyed but not a bit surprised that the hotel doesn't have feeedback
    forms at the desk... and that "recent stay comments" doesn't work until
    after you check out.  
  * 10pm polyamory circle (after Masq.)
    sang Bigger On the Inside, The River
  % the idea that I might look "seriously hot" in that jacket is... odd.
  * sang Get Up and Go
  : Desktop switcher broken after upgrade.  Sucks.

0704 Su
  * up 9:30; drugs, nose; bath
  * 11am  Lynn Gold, Jordin, Allison Lonsdale
  * 2pm   2fers:  Rosie, Riverheart.  Not my best performance of Riverheart;
    kept getting distracted.  They were using a condenser mic, and there was
    a very noticable ring of not-quite-damped feedback.  Remind me not to
    use a studio condenser mic on stage, and ask for an SM58 next time
  : wtf: So the YD calls me to find out where Colleen is so she can ask
    Colleen to ask me to give her a $20. 
  * Dead Dog:  Can't Get It Up (rq. from Lee Gold)
    (08:30:44 PM) me: Lee Gold requested Bound for Hacker's Heaven
  : desktop switcher broken because I rebound the change workspace keys?
    probably not -- they're probably independent:  the keys work.
  * left the circle about 10:30; went out on Vampire Megabyte and Uncle Ernie

0705  Mo
  * up 8ish; drugs, nose  
  : apparently the free internet was only for the con.  :P Silly bear; I
    thought Hilton had found a clue somewhere.  Good thing I'm using git.
  * out of the hotel around 11?  Home 8:15ish.  Lunch at Pea Soup A's.
  : Colleen had great difficulty getting in and out of the van.
  * bed ~11

Oh. Right. WesterConChord. A good, mostly-relaxing weekend, which sort of surprised me. Taking a teenager (the YD's friend K) along who was paying for her room and board by taking care of Colleen made all the difference.

I did a fair amount of singing, in circles and a two-shot (where I did Rosie and Riverheart, but not all that well).

The high point was definitely the Interfilk auction, where I got a black leather jacket. After the bidding got up to $75 I asked to try it on, at which point the person bidding against me said something to the effect of "ok, it's yours". N. said this meant I must have looked "seriously hot" in it, but my little bear-like brain is having a great deal of trouble with that concept. And somebody took my picture with the wenches; I hope that shows up on LJ soon. Then you can judge for yourselves.

And the Kazoo award -- "Paper Wings" won in the "Dragons" category. Being the only nominee who actually showed up at the concert to sing their own song undoubtedly helped. Plus the fact that it's serious, hopeful, and has a pretty melody. I wouldn't have minded losing to "Gilda and the Dragon", though.

Art show. We got a lovely print of a dragon and teapot by Sue Dawe (in the auction), a fused-glass tile titled "Eye of Argus", and a Cthulhu-themed ceramic butter keeper and spoon jar that I had come close to buying at a previous con.

The hotel had free internet for the duration of the con, but it wasn't fast enough to make ssh to home a pleasant experience. I did my note-taking on a local copy and synchronized (via git) when I got home. Hence the multi-day post.

Not nearly as much talking with friends as I would have liked, of course, but I introduced a couple of new people to my music.

Colleen was having a pretty bad time of it, between leg cramps, a lot of difficulty walking and getting between the car and the scooter, and the narrowness and height of the bed. Grump. She still enjoyed the con, though. As did I; a lot more than I expected to.

Comments

[jcbemis.livejournal.com]

wish I'd had more time to spend with you - I was dealing with achy legs too

[mdlbear]

Me too; there's never enough time at a convention for just hanging out with friends.

[kyburg.livejournal.com]

Did the weather behave for you guys as well? 'June gloom' at the LACC kept the high temps below 80 all weekend, and largely well below that - refreshing!

[mdlbear]

Pretty well. I never actually got outside the hotel during the con, but it was overcast and cool yesterday going home.

[acelightning.livejournal.com]

So where's the picture of you wearing the jacket? ;-)

[mdlbear]

See next comment. I'll link when ifics posts them.

[acelightning.livejournal.com]

Fair enough, thanks!

[ifics.livejournal.com]

I took several pics of the wrenching and you with the jacket on. I will be posting them to Flickr later this week.

[mdlbear]

Yay!! Many thanks!

[saffronrose.livejournal.com]

I hate high beds, esp. without steps next them. I have a hard time getting in, moving over, and always fear I'll fall out while asleep, esp. if it's Kurt & me in a queensize.

For Colleen, it's got to be many times worse.

[mdlbear]

It was me and Colleen in a double, and so high she couldn't sit on it with her feet touching the floor. I was constantly in danger of falling out.

I am coming to heartily dislike Hiltons.

[saffronrose.livejournal.com]

Can't say as I blame you. I really like Embassy Suites when you can get their lower rates.
So many places that offer free breakfast offer no protein in them. Some places, you might get a boiled egg or yogurt. Big whoop. I'd rather go to a place with a cafe attached, or even without, if there are nearby diners.

[dormouse-in-tea.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you had a good con!

Please pass on to Colleen my well-wishes -- I hope the con-recovery is smooth and rapid.

[septemberlilac.livejournal.com]

You got free internet? I had to pay for mine. I even asked about it straightaway at check-in. "Nine ninety-five," they said, smiling through their pointed teeth...

[mdlbear]

That's weird. When did you arrive at the hotel? I arrived Friday evening, and was never presented with the usual pay screen. It showed up Monday morning.

[septemberlilac.livejournal.com]

I arrived at the hotel midday on Friday. First tried the internet access on Friday evening and the pay screen immediately popped up. Maybe the Hilton just hates me - a sentiment I'm starting to return.

[johno.livejournal.com]

If you got on the internet in the lobby or meeting rooms, you didn't have to pay. Just acknowledge the TOS and you were given access.

The system would remember you, so that if you went up to your room, it would let you right in.

I would consider this a hole in their accounting system.

[mdlbear]

AHA. I lucked out, then. Definitely a hole in the system.

Well, yeah.

[chaoswolf]

I confess, as a former teenager (and now adult) who likes to wear black leather jackets, when someone tells you that you look "seriously hot" in a friendly manner they are attempting to compliment you. When someone says you look "seriously hot" and offers you a water bottle, it means (usually) that you've got to be either stupid or have a reason like a motorcycle for wearing a black leather jacket in the middle of summer.

N meant it as a compliment, I think.

Re: Well, yeah.

[mdlbear]

Oh, there's no question that she meant it as a compliment; it's just that it's not a kind of compliment that I've ever had to wrap my head around before.

[johno.livejournal.com]

Ifics has posted his photos.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/56928511@N00/sets/72157624335994691/with/4779010806/

Mine are still in process.

[mdlbear]

Thanks!

[it-aint-easy.livejournal.com]

The hotel had free internet? I paid for mine.

[mdlbear]

Apparently only if you first got on in the lobby rather than in your room. Bug in the registration system.