Post Penguicon Thoughts
I did some significant self-analysis this weekend. I am an introvert. I enjoy spending time with friends and making new friends, but I like to sneak up on new friendships. This is one reason that my life is made easier by Howard. He is very good at stepping forward and making conversation, this allows me to hang back and listen until I have a comment to contribute to the existing conversation. I’m not shy, but I like to join conversations, not start them. Throwing me into a crowd of strangers solo, while travel-tired, resulted in me fleeing to Howard to beg for help. I like to think of myself as a confident/capable person and yet I fled for security, that was almost more upsetting than not having anyone to talk to. Howard dropped everything to be with me, and an incredibly kind person came to help with the rescue. She treated me with kindness and respect when I felt like a blubbering idiot.
Friday I felt alone, Saturday I spent surrounded by friends. I don’t think Howard went around whispering “Be nice to Sandra please.” But everywhere I went there were fun people to talk to and things to be done. The difference was probably in me somewhere, maybe I adapted overnight, maybe I just started running into the same people more than once, maybe I just wasn’t as tired. The end result of the weekend is that I have this jumble of thoughts and impressions that I’m just not sure how to organize. I don’t want to lose anything though, so I’m going to resort to a list.
Everyone kept asking me if I was enjoying myself. I’m not sure whether they asked that of everybody, or if they knew I was upset on Friday, or if I didn’t look like I was having fun.
Playing Star Munchkin with Darth Paradox, Shelly, Rob Balder, Ian I-never-got-a-last-name, and Evil Mcmullin (That’s what his badge said) was a blast. Webcartoonists are very practiced at making jokes and so there was much laughter.
The Aegis consulting crew was amazing. Their sword work and party hosting skills were unsurpassed. But the thing that truly amazed me was the camaraderie that the crew had for each other. These people had worked and played together and they all respected one another and exuded confidence. Even more amazing was the way they were able to extend that camaraderie to include others. Howard and I and Jay Maynard went out to dinner with them and despite the fact that they all have a copious supply of shared experience which we didn’t share, I still felt like I was part of the group. That’s a skill set I’d like to cultivate in myself, the ability to make a total stranger feel welcome and part of the “family”. Sal & Heather went even beyond the mark in putting up Howard for three days and then making sure I got to take a tour of their amazing house and property.
Having breakfast with Peter Salus and his wife Mary was a delight. Being with a couple who have been married happily for 30+ years is a joy because they coordinated everything so well. I loved the chance to listen and get a glimpse of the perspective of someone who has been around for twice as long as I have. In this case age not only conferred wisdom, it also handed out wit and good humor.
Hanging out with Howard and Rob Balder was a blast. We had a wonderful discussion about publication and self promotion and other webcomicy concerns. The discussion was serious and important, but it was also hilarious because Howard and Rob kept feeding eachother straight lines. Yet another reason I love being in the webcomic business rather than the IT business.
I don’t drink and most of my friends locally don’t either. The same was true in the town I grew up in. So this was the first time I’ve ever been at a party where people were drinking with the intent to get really drunk. I kept watching for the classic comedic “I’m drunk” behaviors, but I never really saw them. To be honest unless I saw someone holding a drink in their hand I couldn’t tell whether they’d been drinking or not. This probably means I’m still pretty clueless about alcohol consumption. The really cool thing was that not once was I ever pressured to take a drink that I didn’t want. In fact most of the friends I made were already aware that I didn’t drink and so I was never even offered one. This was so different from the scare stories about drinking parties that I was fed as a teenager, that I’ve had to readjust my thinking. It doesn’t change my comittment to not drink, but it does add to my store of experiences from which I’ll eventually extract wisdom.
The Chaos Machine was a blast. I didn’t actually do much engineering, but by the end of the Con I felt like I’d made friends with most of the folks who had spent most of the Con tinkering with it. Unfortunately there were so many new names that I’m unable to remember them all. I can call up faces, but names slip away from me.
Getting a call from my brother on Sunday night because Gleek had gone into a non-linear tantrum wasn’t much fun. I spent about 40 minutes on the phone trying to talk her down to a point where she would cooperate with my brother again. It worked, but unfortunately that event is the one that looms largest in her memory of the weekend. Kiki spent the weekend coughing and sick. Link had so much fun he didn’t want to go home. Patches occasionally asked “where’s mom?” but wandered off after being told “She’s on a trip with your dad.” I expected him to cling once we returne home, he hasn’t. Just when I think I know my kids …
There is more stuff I want to say. I know that there is, but I’m drawing blanks right now and I’ve got to get on top of finances and laundry.