ConFusion AAR

So what do you do when the fan club that you're a part of has an event at a local con and you have to work, but you can choose your own hours? Well, if you're me you head out to the con and leave early so you can go work. Or at least you plan to, but we'll get there.

If you're reading this and you've never been to a con, you're probably wondering what the point is. The point is simple. It's to have a good time. If you are a fan of Science Fiction and/or Fantasy or any of it's variations (Paranormal Romance and Supernatural Horror both come to mind) then you know what I mean when I say that no one gets it. The jokes, the references, the reason you're scared of a pineapple salad, the just don't know. It's not their fault per se, and I'm not trying to demean anyone, but if you're one of us you get it. We've all felt the frustration of having to find alternate ways of acting and communicating because the general public doesn't get us. Here's the thing: The person standing next to you at a con feels the same way and has been through the same stuff.

If you were the kid who had to endure the taunts (and Lord knows I was) then this is the place to be. You can sit down next to someone you don't know and talk to them about that episode of ST:TOS that still has you confused. (Ok, so that conversation was with the GF on the phone last night, BUT SHE GOES TO CONS!) When someone looks up and says "Luke, I am your father," you can look back at them and say, "That's not the right line," and someone will start cheering.

Listen, I can hear you in the back. You're talking about massive expense and telling me that not everyone is rich. You're right. I've been the guy with no car living in a motel. I know what that's like and I certainly don't want to make you feel bad about yourself. Seriously though, for those of you who aren't at absolute rock bottom it's not that expensive, especially if you live in a metropolitan area. Transportation should be cheap. You can sleep at your own house at night (just don't drink and drive -there are lots of parties at cons) and food and beverages in the consuite are free. Yes, at most cons that includes beer, but I'm not a beer drinker so I won't comment on the quality of it. How much a con badge costs is variable per con, but some have day passes that you can get pretty cheap. Saturday is usually the most expensive day, but it also the longest so there is that to think about. So Saturday is the best day to go if you're only going to do one day and you can afford the extra little bit. If you're only going for one day I recommend against Sunday because it ends early and there's not that much fun stuff. If you can't go then I'm sorry but if you can go then go.

Oh, and yes I know some people dress up in cosplay. That pic above is the closest to true cosplay I've ever gotten. Most people don't dress up. Any con I've been to and/or heard of is okay with people showing up in whatever they like as long as they can't be arrested for indecent exposure. (Yes folks, you do need to keep your privates private.) One of my favorite parts of a con is seeing all of the people in cosplay. I, however, have neither the skills nor the budget for some big time production. I go anyway and it's okay. No one says a word about it and most of them are dressed just like me anyway.

*SIGH*

So how was the actual con, Jimbo?

Why thank you for asking. I had a great time!

The real reason I went is two-fold: One, as a member of The Royal Manticoran Navy, I wanted to help at our recruiting table. Mission accomplished. I actually got one guy to stop and talk to me and someone else signed him up! It was exciting. Two: I love the Honor Harrington books and don't know anyone else who reads them (even though you can download the first two for free from Baen to find out how awesome they a... Uhh... if you like them or not.) and I thought I'd try to sucker someone into talking about the books with me. That worked too. We had a wardroom (you non-TRMN types would refer to it as a "party.") and toward the end there were four of us talking about some of the stuff from the books. So mission accomplished there as well.

But wait, there's more.

If you go to a con with some type of realistic goal you can almost always accomplish it. This is known. But why stop with merely doing things that you went to do? Why not have some extra fun? I mean, you're there. You paid for it (unless you're ghosting which you're not supposed to do, but I uhh.. may have done it at some point). Why not see what else you can do? Here's what else I did:

 I got to listen to oodles and bunches of geek music. Seriously. We had people playing recorders for a bit and had some people playing ukuleles both days I was there. It was a good time.

I hit up the dealers room and some of the people in the fan space. Being a Christian and a geek, I bought a book about Christian geekery. That one kind of excited me. I also picked up a couple of comics and another novel, any of which may appear here once I've had a chance to read them. I hadn't really been planning to spend any money, and there was certainly no requirement to go into the dealer's room at all, but well... Yeah. I am Jimbo. Watch me spend.

(As an interesting aside, Blogger's spell checker doesn't like the word Jimbo. It sucks to be Blogger though because I hereby cast aside the bullying and use my name as I would like to!)

Did I mention the party? We had a party. I didn't do much drinking because I didn't have a room (see, I practice what I preach) and I didn't want any problems getting home. So I stopped drinking at like ten and didn't drive home until three. I hadn't really consumed that much booze to begin with, so I was good. A good time was had by all and most of the attendees were not members of the TRMN but we never expected them to be. I will say this much though: If you ever visit a TRMN wardroom and you have a chance, drink a missile pod. It's a fun experience, although the shot itself is kind of girly and sweet.

I hit up the Consuite for free grub and free drinks. I don't drink beer ever (not my thing) so that was out. I did, however, get down on some free tacos for lunch and my share of a free party sub and salad for dinner. I drank lots of free Faygo too. The consuite volunteers were extremely helpful and actually gathered up some cans of Faygo so I could get this pic for my GF who lives out of town and wants to try some Faygo when she visits.

So thank you ConFusion staff! I'm trying to talk her into coming with me next year. Wish me luck!

I also geeked out and did some stuff with my TRMN buddies to try to get myself promoted within the organization. With any luck, I'll be an ensign soon! I also qualified myself for Communications, so if my promotion goes through (wish me luck again) I'll hopefully be the new Communications Officer and do most of the writing for my ship. That was more skull sweat than I've expended since my college days but I enjoyed it and it was worth it. How many other people can say they've been an officer in a fictitious navy?

Oh, and I talked to people. The Little Red Reviewer was super cool and she has a Kickstarter going.I think I might steal her idea. Do you guys think anyone would buy a book of my best posts so far? It's worth looking into I think. I also go to talk to a guy in a super-cool cosplay that I didn't quite recognize, but it was a full suit of futuristic armor with a gun and it glowed in spots. I had to stop him and recognize him for his hard work and let him know how awesome it looked because AWESOME!!!! Actually, there were lots of other people I talked to as well, but I need to get out the door and go to work.

And that, for me, was the con. Veni, vidi, vichi or sumfin'. All in all , it was a great time and I'm already planning to go back next year.