More GenCon dithering

Been reading some GenCon survival guides (here's one and here's another) as well as an amusing article linked from a Slashdot story. Getting more excited about going, and pondering how I'm going to get around and what I'm going to do while I'm there. Funny as it may seem, I hadn't even thought about getting in on any of the gaming going on. I'd been thinking of going mainly for the Robotech panels, maybe some City of Heroes stuff, and the dealer and anime rooms.

Now I'm wondering…should I take my long cardboard box full of all my Shadowfist cards? I hardly ever get anyone to play it with around here, I might actually find some gaming partners there. Hell, I might actually find the company that makes Shadowfist (whoever that is these days) there. Now if only I could remember how to play it.

My plan had been to pack my clothes and miscellaneous other supplies into a big duffel bag I have, and also carry my laptop computer bag with me. That would make the two items of carry-on I'm allowed by the big grey doggie. But then I got to thinking, maybe I should have a backpack, too, to tote around all the stuff I pick up on the con floor (as well as character work-ups for art commissions, snack food, etc.)? Alas my prior backpack, a Mt. Dew courier bag that I got from a Pepsi promotion a few years back, has gone missing, probably left in a taxi (though when I called the cab company they had no knowledge of it). I guess I'll have to buy another. But if I do that, it will mean that something will have to be checked on the bus. My laptop (which I won't need on the bus, given that the battery is kaput and there's no power plug-ins) or my duffel bag (which was going to contain my reading matter, space for the blanket I might take with me for bus sleeping, and so on)?

Then there's the question of snack food. I hadn't thought about that before reading those GenCon guides, either. Might be time to hit the grocery store again for boxes of granola bars, cheese and crackers, and so on. There are some guides that even recommend bread, peanut butter, and jelly, though I'm not sure where I would keep those given that I'm not going to be in a hotel. I'll probably have to resign myself to nonperishable snackies and a short walk when it comes to mealtimes.

I'm already planning to put my credit cards, driver's license, and some cash in the PDA wallet I carry in a front pocket, and leave my regular wallet packed, to minimize the risk of getting pickpocketed by the criminal element who are drawn to large gatherings of people. But I'm wondering, should I invest in a few travelers' checks too? I had expected to do most of my purchasing by credit/debit card or, if I had to, personal check (note: must remember to pack the checkbook) so I didn't think I'd need them, but on the other hand I don't know whether everyone will take cards or if I might need to withdraw some cash too. In this day of electronic banking, are travelers' checks still all that necessary?

Definitely have to remember to pack the toiletries (particularly deodorant). And probably throw some extra vitamin C pills into the ziplock baggie of vitamins I'm planning to take along. It would suck to come down with something in the middle of the convention.

What else am I forgetting?

Ah, getting ready for a convention is such delightful agony…

The Plus of Surplus

I love the "exanimate" mood marker. It sends people scurrying for dictionaries to figure out, "Just what the heck kind of mood is exanimate?" And when you drag yourself back home from a long afternoon of biking around in the hot, hot sun, it just seems so applicable.

After work, I bussed down part of the way and biked the rest of the way to the Army Surplus store way way out west of town. I figured that if I wanted a good, sturdy, big backpack for cheap, I would find what I needed there. The back-to-school backpacks offered in Kmart would be too small and shoddy, and the camping backpacks there would be too big and expensive. For what I needed, only something milspec would do.

And they had just what I needed. A big ol' olive-drab cotton canvas knapsack, with backpack shoulder straps that could snap together into a single over-the-shoulder strap, sized to fit plenty of snack food and convention swag, priced at only $18. A polyester belt pouch at $13 was probably less of a bargain, but it had lots of pockets for miscellaneous little gee-gaws (camera, microcassette recorder, dice, etc.) and the main pocket was just the right size to conceal a 20oz water or pop bottle, meaning that I can stay constantly hydrated throughout my con-going experience.

But that wasn't all I found: I also came across a Coca-Cola reusable 35mm fixed-focus-with-flash camera for $6, pre-loaded with film. Given that disposable cameras are about that much for a single use, it was a bargain, albeit a slightly kitschy one. I just need to pick up a few rolls of cheap film for it ere the trip. I also grabbed a pack of travel trash bags for 59 cents, and a little travel first-aid kit in a plastic case for $6. You never know when you might need it at a con, after all. Then I happened across where they were selling Clif and Luna bars, 6-for-$1, marked down from 63 cents each. They only had one flavor of each, but beggars can't be choosers and that's an insanely good price for geek solid-rocket fuel. I grabbed $4 worth (3 of Clif, 1 of Luna).

And finally, there was a USS Theodore Roosevelt CVN-71 baseball cap that I just had to have, for the sheer obscure Robotech fandom in-joke value of it. I wonder just how many people will "get" it?

I was tempted by a few other gimmicks, like the LED flashlights, but I thought better of it; I can get them cheaper from SciPlus when/if I have the disposable income to place an order. I packed it on up, then rode my bike to the nearest bus stop where I waited half an hour to catch the last evening bus to take me most of the way home. (On reflection, I probably would have been here sooner if I'd just biked all the way, but I was overheating enough already.) Then I headed home, turned on the air conditioning and electric fans, shucked out of sweaty clothing, and grabbed a Powerade for some cool-down refreshment.

Whew. What a day. But at least all my running about prepping is by and large complete. Now it just remains to pack and stuff, and wait for the busy day.

Em-obasama! Em-obasama!

"Makes you wonder what they'll be doing for the half-time show" on Transbuddha

Postscript: another essay journal entry up

One more thing: I made a new post to my essay journal today, about an interesting development in digital cinema. Rather than being used just for big releases, it's now also being used for releases that are too small to merit spending the big money to get 35mm prints made.

Also, just in case folks weren't aware, my essay journal is available as a LJ syndication feed, suitable for adding to friends lists: allivegottosay