Events

[lolotehe]

Chris and I got up at whatever and I had a few cups of coffee. We walked down to the train-station and took the rail in, exiting Pearl Station, making our way to the Sheraton Hotel.

It was the last thing that would go smoothly.



We stood in front of the information booth because it was a good place to meet people. As our party (the remaining members of Ninja Hell: Kendall and Logan) slowly drifted into place, we watched the pre- and on-site registration lines crawl along. The smell was deafening (I mean that).

Went upstairs to take the bridge over (because it was hot outside) and waited in line for an elevator so we could get to con-ops to get the badges. They sent us to programming.

Walked down the hall to programming, where they did not have our badges. They said the badges were at registration (in a "special" pile), but we didn't wait for an elevator because someone showed us a stairwell we could use. Yay.

Back across the bridge and down the broken escalator (did I mention that?) to the registration area. Spoke to the information desk (because we weren't going to wait in that line), who went over to registration, who said it was actually in the other building, central tower, fourth floor, City View 7.

Walked across the street, waited in line for an elevator, found City View 7, where the LARPers were. They had no idea what we were talking about.

Walked down the hall to press\industry, asking if they knew who was supposed to handle this and they walked up back to con-ops, programming.

At this point, we had to wait for Mundee to show up and show ID (she was supposed to get the badges this morning, but had decided she didn't want to wait in line for an hour, so didn't.) She said she would meet us in the room "in five".

A half-hour later, Mundee appears (she had to wait for an elevator) with Hans in tow and he's being cranky. We discuss how crazy all of this is and she tells me about how she always gets Katie's badge.

Eventually, we all go back to registration and pick up three of the six badges we had requested (Katie's included). This accomplished, Mundee leaves, because Hans is really starting to make a scene.

We go back to programming in the other building, where we wait for someone with more power than god (Megan). It is explained to Megan that we have been verified, and that the person who was slated to collect the badges earlier this morning had to leave because her three-year-old was getting fussy.

"He's four," I say.

The lovely woman who has been helping us out this whole time raises her eyebrows.

Megan, the ninjas, and I all truck back to the elevators to wait so we can go back across the street to registration. This is when I lost the other members of my party because there was only room on the elevator for Megan and myself (we had already let three full ones go past). I said I would get everything handled and get back in touch with the ninjas.

I get the additional three badges and call my party. I tell them where to meet me.

While waiting for them, Mundee calls me. She wants to know if I can go find Bruce, get some money from him, use that money to go buy some food, and them bring it to her in her hotel room.

I explain I am waiting for the rest of my party so I can give them the badges that we have spent the last four hours trying to get.

She asks if I can do it after that.

I explain that as soon as that is done, I am going home to meet Ed and Dan, who are bringing equipment to my place, and that I would have done that earlier, but my schedule is a little off right now.

Mundee sighs.

I get on the train and ride back to my place, and wind up walking the two blocks with a pack of kids from the con who are staying at a cousin's place.

While cooling off, I make new labels for the badges. I wash my face and put on a new shirt.

Dan and Ed arrive, unpack the trunk, and I let Dan know what was going on with the badges. I hand him his and Katie's badges (with lanyards I provided). We wait for the sun to go down. I cook up some chicken and cheese ravioli with Alfredo sauce and we head out to the con.

First things first: Dan has to drop off the buttons he's been making for Mundee since last week (when she asked him). We find Bruce and give him the bag of buttons and Katie's badge.

Ed has to go get his badge. He comes back fifteen minutes later with two (and the con has given him some money for running the karaoke room), so we go to the bar.

I see Doc. He hits on me.

We make it up to the White Lightning Productions room-party, and it's effortless because it's not in a tower with a long line for the elevators. I let the ninjas know where we are so I can give them the labels I made.

At some point, Dan, Ed, and I explained the "ugly shirt" thing we do during cons. It makes us easy to find by other members of our party. It's almost like a clan tartan on the battle-field.

The evening over, we head back to my place, but it's ninja-plus-one who will crash on the couch tonight.

Dan was supposed to crash here tonight with Chris, but Mundee had asked him Wednesday afternoon if he could feed her cats and water her plants on Saturday.

Comments

[davemerrill.livejournal.com]

That's um... that's kind of special. Kind of a passive-aggressive free-for-all where everybody gets to play. I mean, the people involved here are all adults in their 30s and 40s with decades of convention-attending experience, the convention itself is in its 22nd year, you'd think this shit would be, you know, handled by now.

Ed seems to be the champion here, I think.

[lolotehe]

Ed is masterful at this. It's astonishing.

I admit, this post was passive-aggressive on my part. I was mad. I was thinking about how to tell the story without devolving to that, but it just kept coming up. It was a critical detail!