Musings
an Online Journal of Sorts

By Alyce Wilson

We got up at about 7:30 on Saturday, The Gryphon and I, and had showers then went downstairs.

The hotel restaurant had a breakfast buffet. I had some French toast, eggs and some fruit, a much bigger breakfast than normal for me, but I figured it would hold me over for a good long time.

People always bring snacks to Otakon meetings, but I'm getting better at resisting them. I try not to snack until I'm genuinely hungry, and then I limit what I eat.

I don't believe that you should deprive yourself totally, especially on a weekend, because then you end up being miserable and it's harder to stay on your diet.

The meeting got underway, and the first thing we did was some group brainstorming on what Otakon does right and what needs to be improved. I was complaining about the index cards not having lines on them, so the first thing I wrote down was, "Bad at buying index cards with lines on them." After that, I got more serious.

Then we broke up into separate groups for discussions on specific topics. My group talked about how to improve intra-staff communications, things like pre-event planning, e-mail, web boards and correspondence, and at con communications, via radios and phones.

The sessions were productive, and when our group finished talking about everything our group leader wanted to discuss, we got to socialize for a little bit. Then we got a break during which we were served a buffet lunch in the hallway.

Now, I'd had such a large breakfast that I really wasn't hungry, but I didn't want to be forced to fill up on snacks later in the afternoon. I'd already had one small piece of this completely wicked chocolate caramel bar, dropping a few chocolate crumbs on my pink shirt which melted. I'd had to use soap and water in the bathroom to get rid of the resulting brown streak.

So instead of having nothing, I had a salad, a couple spoonfuls of pasta salad, some rice and some vegetables. I sat down next to The Gryphon, who'd been in a different group during the first session. Everyone seemed to be in good spirits.

After lunch, we were supposed to join a second session of our choosing. I looked at the topics and decided I didn't have as much to contribute on any of them. So I started talking to a friend of ours I think I previous nicknamed the Book Lover. We got talking about everything from our awkward years to God and the nature of religion.

I also ended up talking to the Reg Queen (who needs a new nickname now that she's no longer going to be handling Otakon registration) about some interesting things she's found out about her family's history, such as the fact that some of her ancestors were tried and sentenced as witches in New England but escaped punishment with the help of a rich friend who paid to have them released.

During the break, I tried to take a picture of the Pikachu catapult in action that one of the staffers had brought, but with little luck. At the suggestion of my ex-boyfriend, The Invisible Man, I was able to capture the action with a mini-movie, but it's too large to post here. However, I took a still shot later of the Pikachu in the basket that actually looks like he's suspended in air.

Following the second 10-minute break we conducted a regular meeting. In it, we reviewed the topics we'd been discussing in the breakout sessions, so everyone could know what had been decided.

The Book Lover was getting very hungry, as was her husband, The Martial Artist. So they and my friend The White Rabbit and I all agreed to go to dinner somewhere. We had to wait for The Gryphon to finish up with his presentation on the group he'd run.

Meanwhile, I went up to the room, changed and grabbed my coat and The Gryphon's coat. I'd brought some dressier clothes along, but it was too cold to bring the tan miniskirt I'd brought: it had been hailing all day outside. I compromised and instead put on my red Margaret Cho T-shirt and a black jacket with the boots I was going to wear, but kept on my tan corduroy pants. I took a pic using my camera's timer.

We felt like Italian and two were listed on the handout from the front desk. I asked the manager which one he would recommend. It seemed as if he didn't really know, but he picked one anyway, Mama Lucia, so we went there.

While it was reasonably inexpensive and definitely close, it wasn't exactly a sit-down restaurant. You ordered at the counter and then took a table. When your food was ready, they called you up. Still, the food was good and there was a lot of it. I ordered the Shrimp Scampi and knew before I even started eating it that it would be too much food. So I asked for a box and bundled up half of it before I'd even touched it.

The plan was to give it away to someone to give it to. When we returned to the hotel, the first people I asked told me about someone who might appreciate it, so I made a delivery and he was, indeed, happy for free Shrimp Scampi.

Back in our room, The Gryphon and I took a nap and then headed back downstairs to socialize. In the first room we encountered, a lot of people were gathered around a laptop, watching fun downloads like commercial parodies and music videos. I joined them for awhile.

That entertainment ended when the laptop started going all wonky. So I walked next door.

As soon as I walked in, I was urged to help model Otakon gear for the online store. I spoke to the photographer, who suggested that me and another girl, the Med Student, both wear the pink baby Tee's and have some pictures taken together.

We tried on the shirts together in a storage room off to the side. When we tried to get back out the door was stuck, so we had to open it with a really loud noise and everybody looked at us. There we were, wearing our matching pink T-shirts. So of course, there was only one thing to do.

"We're out of the closet!" I announced, and we hugged each other. Everybody laughed.

We had fun posing for the pictures, because the photographer, who's a member of the staff, was really professional and good at giving us direction. Afterwards, he had a digital display and could let us see the pictures. I was really pleased with several of them and asked him to get me copies.

Then I hung around and snapped some pictures of other people, including one brilliant one when one of the guys was messing around, trying to act glam.

I had a lot of fun that night, going around to different tables where people were playing board games, making silly jokes. But The Gryphon started to fade, and I had to admit I was tired, too. This time we got to bed at a more reasonable time, about 12:30. We had one more early morning to go.

More on the Otakon planning retreat:

October 18, 2004 - Weekend Retreat

October 20, 2004 - Time Drifts

Copyright 2004 by Alyce Wilson

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