The tl:dr version? You know it’s been a good con when you’ve been so busy that the time just flies by. That’s what Orycon 2014 was like for me. Lots of panels, lots of meeting up with folks, not enough meeting up with folks and just waving at people I would have liked to spend more time with, and so on.
There are several happy advantages to not teaching these days which really made this con. First of all, I was able to meet up with friends on Thursday night. There were some glitches, mostly due to the train that Alma was on running out of fuel. On the Columbia River bridge. Sitting there for two and a half hours. Would anyone really believe that this happened? But it did.
Not working meant I had time to do a quick run to the barn before the con on Friday to get Mocha out and lunge her, so that she only went two days without a work (important when you are rehabbing a horse from a long-term injury). Then I met up with a friend for whom Orycon 2014 was her first sf con ever…and got to experience Friday through her eyes. She took some good pictures of me at my first panel (as well as–urm–some rather–um–interesting expressions). Then we did some shopping, including getting her fitted for a corset, which looked ravishingly glorious on her. Later on, I participated in a critique session with friends Frog and Esther Jones for a lovely person in her early phase of writer development, and as always learned a few things for my own writing in the critique. Since she is a local to me, we’re keeping in touch.
Saturday was a blur of readings, panels, and then a rousing good time with rowdy friends at dinner. It was such a blur and busy time that I had to go home and collapse before the Jay Lake memorial. I regret missing it, but there was no way I could hold on until 10 pm. OTOH, I wouldn’t have passed on the double grand entrance that Bob Brown and I made into several parties. One of the features of Radcon in past years was that at least once Bob would scoop me up and carry me around. All part of good fun, and every piece of it was well within my personal boundaries (trust me, if someone crosses a boundary with me, they KNOW). Bob and I haven’t done this for YEARS, and it felt good to be joking and playing in that way again.
Sunday was another flying blur with good panels. The only fly in the ointment is that I discovered this morning that I left a bag of books at one of the booths that my books were placed in. However, I’m hoping to get those books back and have talked to those people.
But there was oh so much more. Good professional conversations about the business of writing, running into old friends who I haven’t seen for years, and having a great time with my people. Another set of pleasant convention memories for the books.
And now I’ve gotta finish putting stuff away, go to the barn and deal with horse, then come back and put some words down. Deadlines are looming on two stories. Time to get back to work.
