The deal was this - finish the book on time, and get to go to Dragon*Con in Atlanta as a reward. I bought my pass in anticipation of reaching my goal and getting that tasty carrot. This was wise, since as you know, I got the manuscript in to the publisher about ten days early. I frantically prepped lessons for my classes in my absence (I hated missing class - really. I like teaching and I think I'm indispensable, so I don't like not being there) and off I went. While I didn't get to do everything or meet everybody (sorry Lissa and Rhonda), it was - noteworthy.
I'd been to cons before - Akin and I met at the infamous "canned flan" in Burbank back in December, after all - but this was just . . . other. Something like 45,000 attendees with interests ranging from computer gaming to Star Trek to anime to science fiction to Doctor Who to (of course) Whedon. Costumes are the norm and I'm sure any poor Muggle who booked a room at any of the three host hotels without knowing what was happening came out shocked and stunned. I saw stormtroopers and Doctors and Sailor Moons and Batman but I also saw the Death Star Construction Crew (complete with blueprints), the Tick (complete with spoon) and Delirium (complete with fish).
I loved it all.
After all, in so-called "real life," most of us (not just con-goers) are mundane. We fret about paying the bills, whether the car will last through the winter, how much overtime we're putting in at work that takes us away from those we love and so forth. But we are so very much more. Whether your passion is anime or football, passions are good and having people to share those passions with is even better.
I'm already planning for next year. Without the pressure of writing a book.
Who knows? Maybe the geeks will inherit the earth. When we do, it'll be an earth worth living on, I feel sure.
8 comments:
Passions are good, and I'm a special fan of manias myself. I went through a little X-Files mania when I first discovered it, and more recently, of course, ye olde Buffy mania.
It sounds like a great time.
Eventually, there will be pictures. Oh, the humanity!!
What amazes me is the sheer variety of insanity people manage. I'm not really a "crowd of people" person, so I don't see myself going to conventions, but I always enjoy the con reports.
George R.R. Martin--one of my favorite fantasy authors despite large volumes of Depressing to be found in his voluminous doorstop novels--has a story about a tub of Jell-o which is particularly disturbing when you realize that he is a man of Girth.
Mercedes Lackey--one of my very least favorite fantasy authors due to the fact that she writes books about shiny magic horses--claims to have been viciously attacked and have had to have her bodyguard (whose name, amusingly, is Pony) fight off the attackers.
Ahh, SF people! You are bizarre!
Glad you had a good time. You are right on the money about the importance of having passions. If not for mine, I'd end up in a rubber room somewhere. I saw some video on t.v of "Dragon Con" and when the reporter said "these people come from all walks of life, they teach your kids, work on your cars, and fix your computers", I couldn't help but think of you. Good luck on trying to take over the world... You said that right? Or was that BRAIN??? (Cue the theme music)
I salute you! I've never dared to brave one of these things, though I did venture to a Renaissance Faire once, and it was a little bit similar in the surreality it evoked, but on a much, much smaller scale.
A couple of my students were there, and brought back a BtVS souvenir for me--wasn't that thoughtful? Looking forward to your photos!
You should go into more detail about your experience there. This was a good entry, but I would like to have read more about it.
And yes, going to events where you share your passion with others who are interested in the same thing is awesome. I went to Concord back in April to a national gaming tournament called MLG (Major League Gaming...www.mlgpro.com). I went with my brother and two of our closest friends.
I had a blast. Some of the event was a downer since we didn't do as well as we thought, but the sounds you could hear from 100s of TVs at once was just amazing and we met a lot of people.
Anyway, hopefully you do another entry in the near future where you go more in detail about your experience at DragonCon.
Don't worry, MIkey - more is on the way!!
Post a Comment