Loscon 49
Last year, Kris and I volunteered to set up the Friday night Ice Cream Social. This year we did it again. I think this is going to be an ongoing thing. Once you volunteer for something and you’re good at it, they keep asking you back. The first thing we did was buy the toppings.
The hotel provides the ice cream. This year the flavors were chocolate, vanilla and raspberry sherbet. I was scooping out the raspberry until one of the hotel staff took over. Then I monitored the three tables to make sure they didn’t run out of bowls, spoons or napkins. There was also ice cream made on the spot using liquid nitrogen. That’s a regular and very popular event at our ice cream socials. This year’s flavor was coffee – so I stayed away from it.
Earlier that day I did attend a panel about, “Why is Alternative History Fantasy so Appealing?”. Being a writer of steampunk, this is a big interest of mine. I also went because a friend of mine, Brandy June, was on the panel. She is a newly published author of two books, “Gold Spun” and “Curse Undone”.
We didn’t have much time to chat with each of us running to panels. She usually stops by the Blood Drive and we catch up there. Which brings me to Saturday…
Saturday morning, Kris, Liz (Mad Woman w/a Box) and I were on the freeway heading to the con when our phone knocked. It was a message from our American Red Cross rep. I was driving, so Kris called her. Due to a lack of staff, particularly a supervisor, they had to cancel our Blood Drive at the last minute. They had been working on finding staff for us, but the closest other Blood Drive was in Escondido, and it was too far for the nurses to drive from there to LAX. It was the first cancellation we have had in 34 years.
It was weird. The three of us felt lost. We didn’t know what to do with ourselves on a Saturday at Loscon without the Blood Drive. We did attend some panels, but the best part was extra time to spend with friends, some of which we now only see at cons.
Kris did have a reading from her, “Dragonfly Temple Chronicles” book series in the evening. I provided the balloon dragonflies.
After that, we party-hopped a bit until we were tired.
And then went home.
Sunday, since we no longer had to be at Closing Ceremonies to do the Blood Drive raffle, we decided to beat the traffic and go home early.
In the end, it was a fun con, despite the lack of the Blood Drive. We are already scheduled with the Red Cross for next year’s Blood Drive. Being the 50th anniversary of Loscon, we will be presenting the “Veins of Gold” Blood Drive.
Dennis
193rd blog completed.
First Steampunk novel: 75,769 words. <– Past 75,000. Goal: 80,000.
Second Steampunk novel: 783 words.
Second Steampunk screenplay: 157 pages.
First Steampunk screenplay: Need to update with notes from the novelization.
Third Steampunk screenplay: 38 pages.
And yesterday I started on Gallon 15.
Love their decorations. Note the sign in the corner.
Leave a Reply