Musings
an Online Journal of Sorts
By Alyce Wilson
August 26, 2005 - Riding It Out
Time to clear the BCC
Our last day at Otakon, The Gryphon and I actually slept in. I didn't have to be at Registration until noon, so I told The Gryphon I'd stick with him until I was needed, wearing my assistant human resources hat.
As it turned out, there weren't too many fires to put out in the morning, and many of the same faces we'd seen last night in tears were now sporting smiles.
At 11 a.m. we attended the Con Feedback session, where members tell us what they liked and what they wanted to see improved. I listened particularly for comments relating to my departments and heard nothing but compliments for registration, as well as one or two construction comments regarding the program book, which we'll be actively considering for next year.
The session was still going at noon when I slipped out to head for Registration.
At this point, with only a few hours left of the convention, we began
tearing things down. This meant organizing all our supplies into storage
bins for use next year, as well as writing an inventory of materials specific
to registration. Office supplies were turned in to the main Con Ops. We
could have used more guidance on exactly how to do the inventory, though,
because the person in charge of loading out was busy elsewhere until 2.
At 2 was when we put out stacks of unused badges to give away to members. There's an interest in them every year, as they've become a highly collectible piece of Otakon memorabilia.
We made them wait in a line (which many people consider an Otakon Olympic event). One member joked that this was such a terrible long line, being only about 15 people long. We told him that if he wanted to we could make him stand aside longer until everyone had gone through a couple times. He declined.
When the time arrived, we let them proceed in an orderly fashion, keeping an eye on them to make sure nothing got ugly. Didn't want to call in the paramedics because people were clawing each other over the last Gundam Seed badge.
As the line slowed to a trickle, we had some time to chat. I discovered that one staffer, the son of the head of Tech Ops, has something in common with me: we've both lost a lot of weight over the last few years. He's lost 60 pounds and I've lost 80. I never would have guessed that from looking at him; he seemed very fit.
This was the same staffer who I mentioned on Thursday night, who wore cat ears the entire con, so for lack of a better nickname, I'll call him Cat Boy. I forgot to mention an amusing mistake that happened Thursday. We had to send our runner out to inform the line staffer that he was a guy! Apparently, said staffer was directing people to go to "that girl in the cat ears," and one of the members finally let us in on it. Personally, I don't see it; must have been his long hair.
Cat Boy was certainly getting some attention at the con this year, in particular, from a fan girl in a blue kimono who started chatting with me about how much she'd enjoyed the con and how much she'd bought in the Dealers' Room.
At this point, Cat Boy found a big pink bow that had apparently fallen off a cosplayer. He was trying to figure out what to do with it when the fangirl suggested he pin it to his butt. Or, to be more specific, at the top of the tail he was already wearing. He wasn't hard to talk into it, and she also had an easy time convincing him to pose for a picture with her, tail and bow prominently displayed.
Later on, I saw the same fangirl, dragging a Dread Pirate Roberts cosplayer behind her.
"She collects them," I told The Gryphon, then shared the story with him.
While we watched the line filter through, we joked with Cat Boy that someone would recognize their bow and demand its return. "That's my pink bow," they'd exclaim.
"Wrong. It's my butt pillow now," we suggested should be his reply.
We were all getting slightly punchy by this point.
One thing we found while breaking down Registration was a plastic badge holder someone had doodled on with a Sharpie. I liked it so much I kept it as a souvenir.
Cat Boy's cousin came for him, then, and The Gryphon started to need my assistance, so we left The Cat in the Hat in control, a reg lieutenant famous for wearing his red and white striped hat during the con.
The next several hours went by in a blur as I accompanied The Gryphon to the various departments under his supervision. This frequently meant waiting for him while he took part in private meetings, but I made my own fun, such as, for example, helping to document a tragic balloon accident that took place in Spec Ops.
Whenever I saw someone who had reached their breaking point the night before, I checked with them and made sure they were doing better. Most of them seemed to be. It's amazing what a little sleep can do for you.
At the close of The Gryphon's duties at the BCC, he still wasn't done. We changed and headed over to the hotel, where the staff party would be held, also known as the Dead Dog party. The Gryphon was also supervising this event, since it fell under personnel.
Again, I ended up chatting with friends while he was on official business, resolving last minute issues. In this case I hung out with Otakon's legal counsel and his wife, as they related their own experiences at this year's convention.
When we
headed over to the buffet dinner, I checked in with some old friends,
such as The White Rabbit, The Dormouse, The Book Lover and The Martial
Artist, before sitting, by invitation, with some registration staffers.
Took me a couple times to get a good photo of them, though, because people
kept closing their eyes. Finally, I had to turn off the flash.
There was some confusion as to when people were supposed to start eating, because the food was brought out too early, before the con chair even arrived. But when he did, we gave him a standing O, and he in turn got a bit verklempt while thanking us all for our hard work.
And then, the party officially began. I won't say too much, except for a couple personal things.
The staffer running Dead Dog, who celebrated her first wedding anniversary this summer, married as she is to the head of Guest Relations, kept referring to The Gryphon as my husband, then correcting herself. I assured her that she need not apologize, as we both intend that to be the future arrangement. She wasn't the only one to make that mistake that evening, either.
I personally
had a great time this year at Dead Dog, and it was good to see everyone
relaxing and enjoying themselves. And that's all I'll say. What happens
at Dead Dog stays at Dead Dog.
More from Otakon 2005:
August 30, 2005 - End of the Ride
Musings on Otakon 2006:
August 8, 2006 - Bunny Ears of Command
Musings on Otakon 2004:
August
10 , 2004 - Overture to Otakon
Musings on Otakon 2003:
Moral:
Fangirls can talk catboys into almost anything.
Copyright
2005 by Alyce Wilson
What
do you think? Share your thoughts
at Alyce's message board (left button):
