1. I am home sick today, which would be a bummer if I had been going to have a holiday, but is almost kind of nice since I would have had to work.
2. We might get snow this week. *points to icon* Jack and I have a very similar opinion of this prediction.
3. AT5: Reverberation (February 11-13)
I haven't said much about AT5. I didn't say much before I went, partly because I was terribly busy getting ready, and partly because I went through a brief season of paranoia about telling the internet I'd be out of the country.
One of the nice things about having just one guest is that the con is much more relaxing and laid-back than most. Hence, the Q&A sessions were the majority of the con programming. I think![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
pepper's posts about the Q&A sessions are way more detailed than mine would be. You can find them here and here.
Each one of the sessions was entertaining--I don't know exactly how AT manages to make every question a good question, or how she seems to genuinely connect with her fans, but it's a true gift. And to think I was worried about four sessions being too many. Hah.
Part of AT5 is that every participant gets a photo and two autographs. Having already done the picture and autograph thing, I wasn't nearly as nervous this time around. I also wasn't worried about being terribly witty or memorable, so everything went rather smoothly, despite my internal squeezing about the whole thing. *g* I met a really nice girl at the con who had never been before, and she was just adorably nervous--we'd gone first through the photo and autograph lines, so we were able to reassure her that there was nothing to worry about. (I did see her later, so she must have made it.)
I also thought that the whole con was really well-organized and friendly. At one point on Saturday I said that I thought it felt a little too cliquish, since there were tons of people who knew each other already and there were plenty of in-jokes, but the more I thought about it, the less that seemed true. People knew each other, including Amanda, who knew quite a few of the fans by name, but everyone was really friendly, and I think the organizers really tried to include people who were new. I know that at the photo sessions, they asked if it was someone's first time, and then made everyone feel welcome. Also, by that point I was fairly tired, so I didn't spend a lot of time outside the Q&A's or photo/autograph sessions mingling, either.
The other thing about this con is that it is for charity--Hearing Dogs for Deaf People and Sanctuary for Kids--and I really wasn't sure how that would work. The auction was quickly out of my price range, which was a little disappointing (I actually did try to bid on something, but I'm putting that down to a sort of temporary insanity.), but you could also tell that people were having fun, and that it wasn't about the stuff, but about the charities, which was nice.
There were all sorts of little things in the con room you could buy or donate, too, so even if you couldn't do much at the auction, there were raffles and pictures, and a drawing that I used up all my drawing luck for the next ten years with, since I won three (small) prizes for five tickets.
If I were superstitious, I'd say that's why I didn't end up winning the raffle for having coffee with Amanda. *g*
All in all, a good weekend. I'm considering going to the next one. :-)
2. We might get snow this week. *points to icon* Jack and I have a very similar opinion of this prediction.
3. AT5: Reverberation (February 11-13)
I haven't said much about AT5. I didn't say much before I went, partly because I was terribly busy getting ready, and partly because I went through a brief season of paranoia about telling the internet I'd be out of the country.
One of the nice things about having just one guest is that the con is much more relaxing and laid-back than most. Hence, the Q&A sessions were the majority of the con programming. I think
pepper's posts about the Q&A sessions are way more detailed than mine would be. You can find them here and here.Each one of the sessions was entertaining--I don't know exactly how AT manages to make every question a good question, or how she seems to genuinely connect with her fans, but it's a true gift. And to think I was worried about four sessions being too many. Hah.
Part of AT5 is that every participant gets a photo and two autographs. Having already done the picture and autograph thing, I wasn't nearly as nervous this time around. I also wasn't worried about being terribly witty or memorable, so everything went rather smoothly, despite my internal squeezing about the whole thing. *g* I met a really nice girl at the con who had never been before, and she was just adorably nervous--we'd gone first through the photo and autograph lines, so we were able to reassure her that there was nothing to worry about. (I did see her later, so she must have made it.)
I also thought that the whole con was really well-organized and friendly. At one point on Saturday I said that I thought it felt a little too cliquish, since there were tons of people who knew each other already and there were plenty of in-jokes, but the more I thought about it, the less that seemed true. People knew each other, including Amanda, who knew quite a few of the fans by name, but everyone was really friendly, and I think the organizers really tried to include people who were new. I know that at the photo sessions, they asked if it was someone's first time, and then made everyone feel welcome. Also, by that point I was fairly tired, so I didn't spend a lot of time outside the Q&A's or photo/autograph sessions mingling, either.
The other thing about this con is that it is for charity--Hearing Dogs for Deaf People and Sanctuary for Kids--and I really wasn't sure how that would work. The auction was quickly out of my price range, which was a little disappointing (I actually did try to bid on something, but I'm putting that down to a sort of temporary insanity.), but you could also tell that people were having fun, and that it wasn't about the stuff, but about the charities, which was nice.
There were all sorts of little things in the con room you could buy or donate, too, so even if you couldn't do much at the auction, there were raffles and pictures, and a drawing that I used up all my drawing luck for the next ten years with, since I won three (small) prizes for five tickets.
If I were superstitious, I'd say that's why I didn't end up winning the raffle for having coffee with Amanda. *g*
All in all, a good weekend. I'm considering going to the next one. :-)
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2011-02-22 07:17 am (UTC)From:I trust it is one of those quick but annoying bugs and will pass on soon.
Feel better, please! she says politely
no subject
Date: 2011-02-23 05:21 pm (UTC)From:Thanks!
no subject
Date: 2011-02-21 09:01 pm (UTC)From:Brilliant weekend:)
no subject
Date: 2011-02-22 03:03 am (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2011-02-22 08:16 am (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2011-02-21 11:05 pm (UTC)From:On reflection, it did feel a little cliquey to me, too, but... it didn't spoil it, you know? I was happy to stay in our little group, because we had little enough time to chat as it was, so I didn't feel the need to socialise with other people (that girl was such a sweetie, though!). If I'd been there on my own, I would've gone to the ball and so on.
no subject
Date: 2011-02-22 03:06 am (UTC)From: