Writing Wrongs

Got to Baycon at about 9:30 only running a wee bit late. Not really, I was planning on being there between 9 and 9:30. Did not find the art show until 10 - turns out we have yet another Escher site. The map on the Baycon site says the art show is in ballroom D, and that they are in the convention center. Ballroom D in the convention center is the size of New Jersey. Ballroom A, which on the map is half the dealer's room, is the size of Montana, and was set up for tonight's Mission College graduation.

Turns out the con is in the hotel, which has strategically arranged and labeled its rooms identically to the convention center's, and to add to the confusion, you go through a portal which is labeled "convention center" to get to the hotel's con rooms.

Once I found it, life was good. I was greeted by the art show mavin, and introduced to an energetic, knowledgeable woman spring-loaded into a very small package, whose name I did not catch but will later. She helped set me up with tape and hanger hooks, showed me how to brute force them into the pegboard, and after the half hour it took for me to hang the photos and put up the bid sheets and ID labels, she checked my list against the actual photos and bid sheets, had me make one minor correction (removing the direct sale price from iamradar's photo, so there's no maximum bid), and had me sign the sheet. Mavin gave me an Artist ribbon. I'm Artist #10, the first section by the left-hand wall. An excellent location.

From there I went to the lobby to read, and met up with johnnyeponymous who needed his ribbons refilled, so I gave him my three. Registration was not scheduled to open till noon, which meant 12:30. So I went to the dealer's room instead since it was supposed to open at noon.It wasn't. So, back to the reg line. kproche passed by, so I have him the light tan makeup I'd promised iamradar, since I was planning on being gone before she arrived. After reg I grabbed a hot dog at the impromptu junk food stand, and ate it outdoors behind the sushi bar.

Finished reading Sheri Tepper's The Fresco, a book which mastersantiago might find interesting, as it discusses the difference between believing in a deity and believing in the Scriptures, especially in the face of the Scriptures contradicting what we see around us in nature.

Found the room where the opening ceremonies were to take place at 2, and parked myself in the front row. Played with the VR settings on my lens, and will see tomorrow when I slurp them into the PC if what the user's manual said was true or not. They started at 2:09 "Right on time" according to con director Michael Siladi, tongue in cheek. It was short and sweet, just a quick intro of and hello from the three GoHs - writer, fan, and artist, and the toastmaster. The latter shows a lot of promise. I'm not familiar with the writer, but that's my fault, I tend to read a narrow set of authors.

Went to a panel which said it was about fear of technology, but turned out to be on how to attract new readers. The sign outside the door was in 2400 time, and started at 1600 instead of 1400. So I went a door or two away and found the Inventing future gadgets panel, and found myself falling asleep. It wasn't boring at all, but the brown cast of the room and its lights, coupled with an inefficient air conditioning system lulled me.

Went downstairs just in time to meet farmount as she was checking in.  Chatted with friends of hers who were in the lounge, since they called me over. I don't think I ever knew their names, but friends of Nightshade, so it was a fun chat. I guess I'm old-fashioned, it still surprises me to be introduced to "my girlfriend, and her husband". Though I suppose I can think of at least four sets of those I know.

At about 4 I found the car and drove here to the Starbucks I hide in when I'm done with work but too early to show up at the theater. It's about 5 now, and they are playing My Way, Frank Sinatra version (I also like Elvis' but nothing beats Richard Nixon singing that song). It's also the song which landed me my first role in a musical. And I performed it at my cousin's wedding reception in Brighton a couple of years ago. I may burst out in song, and blame it on the mocha.

I may head up to the theater early, or I may exchange the laptop for Black Like Me, the next book on my reading list. We have our usual 8 o'clock curtain tonight. Call is at 6:30, but I don't get into costume/makeup till 7:30.