Arisia 2015
This past weekend my other half and I made our way out to Arisia. This makes the second year that we've gone together, and ended up far more organized than last year in terms of actually figuring out things we'd like to do if time allows. I love going to conventions, but attendance is costly, not just admission but in terms of food, sleeping space, parking, and travel. We manage Arisia by working in exchange for crash space in a shared room, food, and admission.
In this case, I spent a good bit of time reading picture books to small children. I'm not crazy about kids, but reading books to them is something I can do all day. It's an entertaining experience, you start out reading a book to one child, and before you know it you have 10 kids trying to sit on your lap and handing you more books. I also ended up being 'adopted' by some of the kids who weren't so happy about being in daycare, I guess being willing to sit quietly with them (with or without picture books) has its advantages. My other half is pretty awesome with kids, be it building blocks, playing with cars, or playing "monster" and letting them climb all over him for an extended period of time.
The downside of working a convention is you flat out won't get to do everything you want (well, that's almost always an issue, but it becomes more so when you're earning your keep). But we managed time to explore the dealer's room, play a board game, visit the art gallery (and chill with the amazing Lee Moyer), sit in on some panels, and of course, have an excuse to dress up in costumes.
My wedding dress made an appearance, as did the suit my other half got for 'free' thanks to the wedding party tux rentals. The nice thing about the R2-D2 dress is that (at least with yoga pants on), I could actually remain in garb while watching small humans. What I don't have pictures of is my Library dress, which is absolutely adorable (and has real sized pockets, take that women's clothing!).
One thing that kills me every year is some of the amazing book selections in the Arisia dealer's room. Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately for my wallet) there was limited room in my luggage as well as the whole lugging everything through mass transit issue. We picked up a few small things, including some new tea and an absinthe spoon from Tea & Absinthe, but no big ticket items from any of the vendors this year.
We did make one 'big' purchase though. Both of us went to Arisia planning on coming home with some artwork. The art show there showcases a wide range of tastes and talents so we were sure we could find something we'd like. Last year we left wishing we had planned to stay late enough to purchase & take home a piece. As soon as we walked into the art show I realized that I knew exactly who the Artist Guest of Honor was, and how the hell did I manage to miss that ahead of time? I adore Lee Moyer's work, he is a fantastically talented artist, and as I've learned, a wonderful person to meet. His work can be found across a number of SF/F publications, as well as in a series of "literary pin-up" calendars. If I had more funds, I probably would have come home with several of his pieces, but in the end brought home Theora. My other half secured a piece titled "Data Dump" by another artist who's name escapes me, but features a robot on a toilet. Once it's framed that will end up in our bathroom. Yes, we're adults.
We managed to hit a few of the evening panels, and my other half had a blast at a Nerf war. Taking part on the two literature panels was an absolute blast, and myself and one of the other panelists have an idea for a panel that we're going to try to get approved for next year. The rooms weren't packed, but we still had a pretty good turn out for 10PM panels (you know, right around prime party starting time). I also have an even more expanded to read list thanks to the fantastic suggestions of my co-panelists.
I'm going to do the panel break downs in separate posts, since I went in to both with page long book lists. So, once I get them up, I'll link to them here:
In this case, I spent a good bit of time reading picture books to small children. I'm not crazy about kids, but reading books to them is something I can do all day. It's an entertaining experience, you start out reading a book to one child, and before you know it you have 10 kids trying to sit on your lap and handing you more books. I also ended up being 'adopted' by some of the kids who weren't so happy about being in daycare, I guess being willing to sit quietly with them (with or without picture books) has its advantages. My other half is pretty awesome with kids, be it building blocks, playing with cars, or playing "monster" and letting them climb all over him for an extended period of time.
The downside of working a convention is you flat out won't get to do everything you want (well, that's almost always an issue, but it becomes more so when you're earning your keep). But we managed time to explore the dealer's room, play a board game, visit the art gallery (and chill with the amazing Lee Moyer), sit in on some panels, and of course, have an excuse to dress up in costumes.
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| To quote a friend, "Much steampunk. Very cosplay" |
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| Just another droid |
One thing that kills me every year is some of the amazing book selections in the Arisia dealer's room. Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately for my wallet) there was limited room in my luggage as well as the whole lugging everything through mass transit issue. We picked up a few small things, including some new tea and an absinthe spoon from Tea & Absinthe, but no big ticket items from any of the vendors this year.
We did make one 'big' purchase though. Both of us went to Arisia planning on coming home with some artwork. The art show there showcases a wide range of tastes and talents so we were sure we could find something we'd like. Last year we left wishing we had planned to stay late enough to purchase & take home a piece. As soon as we walked into the art show I realized that I knew exactly who the Artist Guest of Honor was, and how the hell did I manage to miss that ahead of time? I adore Lee Moyer's work, he is a fantastically talented artist, and as I've learned, a wonderful person to meet. His work can be found across a number of SF/F publications, as well as in a series of "literary pin-up" calendars. If I had more funds, I probably would have come home with several of his pieces, but in the end brought home Theora. My other half secured a piece titled "Data Dump" by another artist who's name escapes me, but features a robot on a toilet. Once it's framed that will end up in our bathroom. Yes, we're adults.
We managed to hit a few of the evening panels, and my other half had a blast at a Nerf war. Taking part on the two literature panels was an absolute blast, and myself and one of the other panelists have an idea for a panel that we're going to try to get approved for next year. The rooms weren't packed, but we still had a pretty good turn out for 10PM panels (you know, right around prime party starting time). I also have an even more expanded to read list thanks to the fantastic suggestions of my co-panelists.
I'm going to do the panel break downs in separate posts, since I went in to both with page long book lists. So, once I get them up, I'll link to them here:
- Speculative Fiction : The Year in Review with Morgan Crooks and Gillian Daniels (mod)
- Orgasmatron : The Erotic & Not So Erotic in SF/F with JoSelle Vanderhoof (mod), Connie Wilkins, and Victoria Janssen
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