ConClave report
ConClave was fun. Although I agree with everyone else that it was not as fun this year as the other conventions, having any convention at all is not chopped liver! I got to do all the checklist of things that I went to Conclave to do.
- I sat in the hot tub with and Frank: check.
- I played Navia Dratp with and : check.
- I eventually got some cuddles from three girls: check. I am clearly improving at it. I am trying to get over the learning curve of social touch because I like it a lot and want more of it. I'm still learning the timing, how far to go, how to initiate. I tend to observe a lot as a role model.
- Most importantly, I sought out and spent time with some of my favorite people, who I have recently been thinking that I don't spend enough face time with, and who I felt needed some encouragement or friendship maintenance or both. "Not enough smiles on certain faces," my socialometer was saying recently. They were in good spirits and it was very rewarding. And yet ironically, it turned out that if anyone needed maintenance it was the friend who I see all the time and whose needs were under my very nose. You see, although CafePenguicon was an unqualified success both from fun and from registrations (thank you Kimba) my best bud Bill was run ragged and understaffed, so that he was crispy at the edges and not his usual self. His mind was on a stressed-out businesslike fast track and couldn't be distracted. My attempts at the usual banter and singing along only provoked "phbbbffbt blah" from him. I guess some occasional frowning is inevitable in any ambitious undertaking of responsibility. As has said, "Running SF conventions is Fun and we do it because the results are Wondrous, Magical, and Good. Repeat as necessary. Don't forget to breathe." I attempted to help Bill this weekend as much as I could. The up shot of all this is that I am discovering that the care and feeding of con chairs is something that matters to me very much. Never have I met such worthy and overworked people.
Comments
rikhei on Oct. 25, 2004 10:08 AM
It was good to meet you this weekend. I hope you don't mind that I have added you to my friends list...
matt-arnold on Oct. 25, 2004 11:12 AM
Thanks! I have added you to mine. Very nice to meet you and finally learn how to pronounce your name.
cosette-valjean on Oct. 25, 2004 11:54 AM — Yeah! :-)
I'm so glad you had a great time. *hugs*
I like it when you are happy.
thatguychuck on Oct. 25, 2004 3:05 PM
Heh. I never expected to become a role model, but I guess you could do worse for a cuddling role model. < grin >
You looked a lot more relaxed than I've seen you in a long, long time. It was great seeing you.
delosd on Oct. 25, 2004 4:17 PM — Feeding the ConChair
Worrying about Bill's crispiness level and trying to see to it is an admirable goal! Through direct experience I know how crispy-fying it is to do the Cafe, and I had a full-time girlfriend there to help me! (Along with the redoubtable Ron & Kimba.) If you don't mind, let me give a few words of advice:
* You'll always have a lack of volunteers, or too many no-shows. Keep your expectations about how much you'll be able to do reasonable.
* Remember that the ConChair should be there primarily to socialize and evangelize, not to keep the coffee pots clean and the popcorn filled. The best way to help him is to get all the 'little stuff' attended to. Let the Chair *be* with people.
* In the days following the con, the ConChair will hear lots of comments about how this wasn't good enough, or how that could be improved, or why things weren't as good this time as some other time. DON'T LET THE CONCHAIR get depressed by this! These aren't complaints... really! What they are are the words of people that love Cafe Penguicon, and want to see everything be perfect. They wouldn't comment if they didn't care! Try to remember that - as hard as that may be. Repeat the mantra - "criticism is a GOOD thing".
* Make sure that the volunteers running the Cafe have fun, and don't get too toasty. The best way to guarantee that the folks that drop by have a good time, is to have the Cafe already filled with Penguicon people having a good time!
And thanks to all of you for carrying on the Cafe Penguicon.
(Steve Gutterman)
treebones on Oct. 25, 2004 8:17 PM
And we of the con chairing persuasion truly appreciate it. (:
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