robotech_master

Hello again. Been a while. I got into work an hour early today, so as to beat the torrential rain forecast for right when I'd usually be heading out to work, so I have a little time on my hands. So, what the heck, might as well write a little in my journal.

Saw Mary and the Witch's Flower last night. Was a pretty good movie. Not quite up to Miyazaki's standards, but entirely decent "Ghibli lite" animated storytelling. This MoviePass membership my brothers and sisters in law got me for Christmas is really paying off. I calculate I've already saved about half of what the whole yearly membership cost, just from seeing four movies. And the big hit movie season is still to come. I don't know how long MoviePass is going to be able to remain in operation--but as a friend suggested, I should get the most out of it while I can.

Of course, by the time I got out, the buses were no longer running. Luckily, I had my bike with me, and we're in the midst of a winter heatwave so it was about 50 degrees. It wasn't a bad bike trip home, even if I did end up getting a little muddy from all the winter melt-off. It's still 50 today, and will be a little warmer. So all the ice and snow is going to be gone...but I have my doubts that all the water from the melt and the rain will be gone by the time the temperature dips below freezing again. I anticipate a lot more use of my cane in the near future.

In other news of the good variety, my Gen Con press pass was approved right away this year, without any of the awkwardness I had to go through last year. Of course, that would come after I'd spent $120 on a full price four-day pass just in case it didn't. Oh well; the $10 service charge I'll have to pay for getting a refund is relatively cheap, as insurance against the press pass not coming through goes. And as much as I've spent at the Sams liquidation sale, that refund will be mighty useful.

I guess that's about all I have to say at this point. May write more later.

Well, about to go to bed for my last night of sleep in my own bed until Monday night. Wow, I'm psyched. In 24 hours, I'll be sitting on board a big grey doggie just about ready to pull out of the doggie-station, and nervously wondering if I'll be able to get any sleep at all on the trip. I'm still undecided as to whether I should take a blanket to go with my travel pillow (on the one hand, it'll just be one more bulky thing to keep track of, I don't know for sure whether I'll need it on the way in, and I definitely won't need it on the way back; on the other hand, it might help me sleep better on the bus). What if I've packed too much stuff? Which bag should I check?

What's more, I have to worry about the Linksys router I'm getting in tomorrow. I need to set it up as soon as I get home, so it will be fully-functional for the trip when I won't be home to reset it, and I'm concerned that the couple of hours I'll have for the task might not be enough. Ah, pre-trip jitters…

At least I've got the latest version of Xjournal on my Wallstreet (well, the latest that will work on OS X 10.2.8, anyway) so I can livejournal from the event if I find a place to plug in and set up. But more likely I'll be using the LJ phone-blogging feature to drop in some audio chats. If I do, it would be nice if someone would transcribe them for me, but I won't hold my breath too hard.

Got a call from a City of Heroes friend (well, actually a pair of them) a couple hours ago, we talked for ten minutes. They're already at the con, were disappointed I wasn't. Oh well. The important stuff from my perspective doesn't happen 'til Friday anyhow. I'll be seeing them then.

Well, time to go get in bed, and dream about forgetting important things on my trip.

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…

I just found out: I'm going to be able to make it to GenCon this year!

I didn't think I was going to be able to make it. It was always a theoretical financial possibility, given that my brother lives in Indianapolis so I could avoid hotel fees, but I wasn't sure whether I should really be paying $200 or so in transportation costs plus con fees given how frequently my financial situation swings. But yesterday a friend who works for a company that's going to be presenting there offered me a free pass, and I discovered that if I left Thursday night and returned Monday afternoon, I could get a round-trip bus ticket for $90. Then I just had to get that Friday and Monday off from my boss, which I did…and boom.

I should be pulling into Indy on big grey doggie at about 8:30 on the morning of Friday the 12th. My plan is to walk directly from the bus station to the convention center, which is less than half a mile away, spend the day there until my bro comes to get me. I'll be in town through Monday afternoon, when the big grey doggie takes me back.

I'm going to be carrying my cellphone with me, so I should be contactable that way. I'm chary of giving the number out in public spaces, so if you're going to be there, get with me with an alternate contact method and I'll get it to you. I've gone ahead and paid for a couple months of LiveJournal paid service so I can be texted via their text msg interface, too, and my phone also has AIM and Yahoo on it, though I can't guarantee I'll be signed onto them all the time…

This is gonna be a blast!