Home Again!

Back From Minicon 39 . It was a wonderful three days in downtown, surrounded by my tribe. It was good for the soul.

The first thing different this time was we got to park downstairs in the handicapped lot. This was important because the parking ramp has no elevator.

Once inside we met our roommates, Mreauow and her sweetie, who we've roomed with before. We unloaded the car and got to our room fine. The room was kind of small, being slotted near the elevator, and seemed even smaller when you realize we are none of us skinny people. We went to a reading by Pamela Dean , then off to a panel about Computers & Magick. Mreauow's sweetie was on the panels, and it was a good panel, except that one spectator apparently came for the single purpose of heckling the neo-pagans and other believers in real world magic. Later we adjourned to the room and ate from our bunch of munchies we all brought.

careswen and I went to opening ceremonies, then off the hear Adam Stemple play in the satellite lounge. Adam gave his usual powerful performance. Sadly Adam forgot to bring his new CD. If you're interested in buying one, they can be found at Fabulous Records .

The next day started off with a reading that had been moved. We went to several panels, including a few featuring Steven Brust , an author whose work I admire, and Peg Kerr , a local writer who has some well-respected work on the market, including "The Wild Swans". After a group of marathon panels, we crashed in the room for a time. Afterward, and after we met up with out friend Andy we all went to Brit's Pub, which is traditional for our group, then back to the hotel.

careswen and I went to a reading by Adam Stemple of his new book, which was actually read by Trevor Hartman, while Adam played guitar. The crowd was small, consisting of careswen, Andy, and myself. The only others were Adam's wife, his sister and the Fabulous Lorraine from Folk Underground . Once they finished we all, the whole lot of us, lock, stock, and Adam's guitar, picked up and descended on another panel. Afterward Careswen and I went back to the room and rested. The last panel of the day was a dramatic reading of Jolly Blackburn's comic strip "Knights of the Dinner Table", which turned out to be hysterical. careswen volunteered to read the part of Sarah. It was a blast, and a wonderful way to end the day.

Sunday morning Mreauow and her sweetie packed up and left earlier than us. We went up to the Consuite and ate breakfast, something we might start doing regular. Andy dropped by again as we ate. After breakfast, we loaded up the car, and then hung around the hotel for awhile. At about 1PM we decided enough was enough and climbed in the car and came home.

We picked up a few nice things in the dealer's room, but still managed to come in under budget.

All in all it was a good trip!

Home Again!

Back From Minicon 39 . It was a wonderful three days in downtown, surrounded by my tribe. It was good for the soul.

The first thing different this time was we got to park downstairs in the handicapped lot. This was important because the parking ramp has no elevator.

Once inside we met our roommates, Mreauow and her sweetie, who we've roomed with before. We unloaded the car and got to our room fine. The room was kind of small, being slotted near the elevator, and seemed even smaller when you realize we are none of us skinny people. We went to a reading by Pamela Dean , then off to a panel about Computers & Magick. Mreauow's sweetie was on the panels, and it was a good panel, except that one spectator apparently came for the single purpose of heckling the neo-pagans and other believers in real world magic. Later we adjourned to the room and ate from our bunch of munchies we all brought.

careswen and I went to opening ceremonies, then off the hear Adam Stemple play in the satellite lounge. Adam gave his usual powerful performance. Sadly Adam forgot to bring his new CD. If you're interested in buying one, they can be found at Fabulous Records .

The next day started off with a reading that had been moved. We went to several panels, including a few featuring Steven Brust , an author whose work I admire, and Peg Kerr , a local writer who has some well-respected work on the market, including "The Wild Swans". After a group of marathon panels, we crashed in the room for a time. Afterward, and after we met up with out friend Andy we all went to Brit's Pub, which is traditional for our group, then back to the hotel.

careswen and I went to a reading by Adam Stemple of his new book, which was actually read by Trevor Hartman, while Adam played guitar. The crowd was small, consisting of careswen, Andy, and myself. The only others were Adam's wife, his sister and the Fabulous Lorraine from Folk Underground . Once they finished we all, the whole lot of us, lock, stock, and Adam's guitar, picked up and descended on another panel. Afterward Careswen and I went back to the room and rested. The last panel of the day was a dramatic reading of Jolly Blackburn's comic strip "Knights of the Dinner Table", which turned out to be hysterical. careswen volunteered to read the part of Sarah. It was a blast, and a wonderful way to end the day.

Sunday morning Mreauow and her sweetie packed up and left earlier than us. We went up to the Consuite and ate breakfast, something we might start doing regular. Andy dropped by again as we ate. After breakfast, we loaded up the car, and then hung around the hotel for awhile. At about 1PM we decided enough was enough and climbed in the car and came home.

We picked up a few nice things in the dealer's room, but still managed to come in under budget.

All in all it was a good trip!