(I’ve realized I was counting days from when we checked into the hotel, rather than when the convention started – whoops.)
Wednesday! What happened on Wednesday? Well, this is where note-taking or the old days of excessive social media would simplify life. Instead, from here on out I will be forensically reconstructing my timeline from photos, credit card receipts, and group chat messages – but if I get something mixed up please blame the fog of con.
I’d made the incomprehensible last-minute decision to not pack sandals. Logic being, I’d want comfy sneakers for the extensive indoor walking during the convention, and once in Santa Monica post-con I could buy cheap flip flops if needed. But half a day in Anaheim and I knew I wasn’t gonna survive wearing socks all week.
With some time before breakfast I headed to the Ross, about a thirty minute walk down the road which the 50 bus also runs down. Apple Maps has live bus locations, so I figured I’d walk over and catch the bus at a stop if that worked out and get my steps if not. I ended up walking half way there and the full way back and boy oh boy was it hot out there. This informed the rest of my outdoor adventures for the week, anything over twenty minutes walk was a bus or car while the sun was out. I found exactly the shoes I needed though, and wore them basically every day till I got home, and several times since, so no regrets.
When I got back John and I had out first vacation breakfast at IHOP, a sensible ten minute walk from the hotel, near a cluster of restaurants that included our dinner spot from the previous night, as well as a Walgreens, and a CVS where we picked up some room snacks. This little oasis was our most frequented destination during the convention, along with the Anaheim Garden Walk five minutes further along.
It was finally time to get badges, check in with mimo, and hang art. At reg we immediately spotted Christopher J. Garcia and Jason Schachat! I haven’t seen Schachat in ages, and he was also collecting a badge for his now-four-year old son(!), we caught up excitedly while John gently tried to shepherd me throught he process of collecting my regular and staff badges plus my finalist packet. Badges in hand, John and I checked with move-in, but they were staffed up for the moment, so John went off handle games room duties, while I went over to the ACC to the Exhibits Hall, home of both the Art Show and the Fanzine Lounge.
Teamsters were still running cables in the art show and it was otherwise fully staffed, but the Fanzine Lounge was just Garcia surrounded by piles of stuff, vaguely moving furniture around, and ocassionally wrestling the slowly collapsing Rotsler posters back into position. I couldn’t leave him like that, so I pitched in there until the art show was ready for me.
A lot of art was already up, including mail in art and the wonderful Frank Kelly Freas exhibit near the entrance, and many more people were bustling about their panels and tables. Check-in had the usual low level bureaucratic chaos vibe that all convention art shows seem to share, but honestly set up might be my favourite bit of the art show; everyone is buzzing, no one is worried about sales yet, and its when you’re most likely to run into and chat with the other artists. I had a great spot, directly by the 3D art tables in front of a ceramicist called Felicia Martinez, and around the corned from Vanessa Applegate. Once done with my stuff, I took the opportunity to do a walk-through in preparation for my virtual docent tour and was impressed by the quality and variety this year.
By this point a lot of early arrivals trickling and were busy setting up if they were staff, artists, or dealers, or hanging in the proto-barcon in the Hilton lobby. I ran into the inimitable Joseph Price, just casually hanging out with his perfectly coiffed, new (to me) silver fox hair, we caught up for a bit, chatting about mutual Bay Area friends who might or might not be making it this year.
Then I popped up to the room and… well I had a lie down. Just laid down for a sec and decided that was quite nice actually. I’ve always said that afternoon naps are one of the most delicuous parts of a convention – a little quiet between whirlwinds, knowing there is an entire convention right outside the door, is a lovely feeling.
I didn’t nap on this ocassion, instead I checked the various group chats and scrolled the convention Discord, enjoying the chatter from folks virtual, on-site, or currently making their way conwards. It’s always especially fun seeing the first-timers seeking advice in the Discord, plus there was plenty of useful talk about food, transport, etc. I do still miss the days when you could see everything in a hashtag, since not everyone joins the convention Discord, but in most ways it is superior, I think.
Eventually I roused myself to join Kevin and Lori Anderson from Hugo, Girl! and Duncan McGregor for a beer. Kevin and Lori had dinner plans, so John and I, plus Schachat, Garcia and his kids JP and Bella, Duncan, and Dave O’Neill, all went over to Sabrosada for more delicious Mexican food.
The rest of the evening was full barcon, the lobby slowly filling up with today’s arrivals. We mostly hung with Lori and Kevin, Olav Rokne and Amanda Wakaruk, Schachat, and probably other folks I’m forgetting, and were happily in bed before midnight.
