FC 2004 Report: Monday (#5 of 5)
Jan. 27th, 2004 01:51 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
the_gneech10:50 a.m.: No dealer room today, and really no panels that grab my attention. I am currently sitting in the room where "On the Internet, Everybody Is an Artist" panel will be held in ten minutes, theoretically, but I'm the only one here at the moment.
T'Chall very kindly agreed to let poor abandoned Jaded Fox crash with him, since I am checking out today (great moments in bad communication, sorry dude!), so after arranging for morning food and coffee, we grabbed our bags and lugged them to T'Chall's room, showing off sketchbooks while we were there. I didn't have that much in the way of other artists' stuff to show off (just the pieces by Jonas and Thomas), but I enjoyed looking through the other guys' books.
Then we wandered down to the lobby and lurked for a bit, saying our goodbyes to Derek Dasenbrock, ChipUni (although I'm sure I'll see him again later on), Wesha (who I finally forced to take his cameo artwork), Cooner, and a double-handful of others. The con is definitely winding down ... the hotel restaurant had as many dull business-traveler types as it did furries, if not more. (I tried to interest Cooner into going with Kerry for his Extreme Fitness shirts, and he said he'd consider, but we'll just have to see.)
It's panel time, and the panelists have not shown up yet. Good morning. :)
3:50 pm -- The 11:00 panelist didn't show, apparently due to a crisis at work. ChipUni came in to give the announcement and only-half-jokingly suggested that I should go up and talk on the subject. I thought about it, bud, and I wanted to help you out, but at that stage of the morning, I wasn't confident of my ability to pull a panel out of my hat that was worth attending. I think, given that there were only five of us in the room, that it was probably better that the panel be canceled, than done half-vast, so to speak. If you'd been able to give me an hour to work on it, I probably could have obliged.
So I went to the anime panel instead, after which Jaded, T'Chall, Watts, Tyrnn and I had lunch, sat around for a bit chatting with Kamau first and Higgins later, then went over to Starbucks. That was followed by lounging around playing with my stuffed Kero and Tyrnn's Godzilla, while Tyrnn sketched the whole thing. It was fun and low-key.
11:00 pm (CA time) -- On the plane currently 27,899 ft over Modesto and moving at 571 mph. Tired, but not quite tired enough to sleep on the plane ... yet. Attended the "Growl and Purr" session, basically the con's feedback, which was very positive on the whole. Given the monumental task that putting on a con is, they did a great job, I think, my own registration snafu notwithstanding. This was followed shortly by the Dead Dog Party, the first one I've ever attended in any real capacity. It was interesting ... everyone there was obviously exhausted beyond words, but at the same time incredibly upbeat and positive. It really was a happy event, even if a little bittersweet because it was, of course, the end. :)
Kerry arrived during the staff's "Lion Man" awards (good choice of title, I must say!) and once they finished and the dancing began, we moved on. (I would have loved to stay and dance, but it was getting dangerously close to flight time, and Gneech needed food, badly.) It's worth mentioning here that one of the Lion Man awards was given to Rory, an extremely cool guy who is another one of these instantly-likable types like T'Chall, Jonas, or Kerry. I first met him at FC2002, where![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
level_head and I were attending the opening ceremonies and mistook him for Gene Catlow. Big dodohead that I am, I walked up to Rory (who was messing with the sound system, as he always seems to be), offered my hand, and said, "Hello, Mr. Temple, it's good to meet you and I love your work." Rory looked at me, blinked a few times, then laughed and said, "No, I'm not who you think I am, although I can see how you'd make that mistake. And I love his work, too!" After extracting my paw from halfway down my throat (not so yummy), I chatted with this mysterious not-Gene-Catlow figure for several minutes and have been greeted with a big smile and a wave or a hug every time since. :)
Speaking of hugs, when it was time for Kerry and I to hit the road, T'Chall wouldn't let us leave without three hugs each. Then Kerry and I went to a western-style steakhousey sort of place for dinner, where we had a pleasant chat about the past, present, and future, and what a long, strange trip it's been. The chat continued on the way to the airport, ranging from topics such as the difference between church and religion, memories of relatives, and the ever popular topics of life, the universe, and everything. I got on the plane approximately $400 richer after con expenses are deducted, and happier than ever to be a cartoonist in general, but involved in the furry community particularly. I have great friends who have come to feel like family, and I'm meeting more all the time. I have a terrific business partner, a dedicated fanbase, and a lovely wife waiting in Virginia to pick me up when the plane lands in the morning. Far from having post-con depression, I am vastly content. :)
Some post-con notes to myself:
1) The marker case, as cool as it is, was something of a problem in the cramped space of the dealer room booth. Furthermore, a lot of the sketchbook pages just made the markers BLEEEEED all over the page, ugh! I may be well-advised to follow Derek's model of taking "every OTHER marker" instead of all 144, as well as taking the easier-to-carry and less-prone-to-bleeding colored pencils, and trying to find a good mix.
2) Do not fill the suitcase on the way out to the con -- because if you buy artwork, you'll have to either cram it into the suitcase which is already full, or ship it.
3) Jaded was an exemplary roomie, and I'd be happy to share the room with him again in the future if it should come up.
4) SUBURBAN JUNGLE CAMEO PARTY. 'nuff said.
5) Never underestimate the value of having a wide variety of friends. If I hadn't spotted Jaded sitting in the hotel lounge Saturday night, I'd probably have ended up feeling a bit down and lonely 'cause most of my regular prowl mates were off doing other things. Instead, because of that one contact, I am now also on friendly terms with Bennie and Sue Deer. Diversification is a great thing. ;)
6) On a related note, my improving one-on-one sociability is like a present from the benevolent universe. By the end of this con I honestly felt like I could really consider myself on friendly terms withnicodemusrat, Jonas, Chipuni, Spiritwolf, Derek, Cooner, Kinkyturtle, Jaded, Tyrnn, Watts (one day, I _will_ remember your name, dude!), Tim Fay, Bennie, Sue, Athelind, Wesha ... wow, am I forgetting anyone? I scored points with Kage, made more personal acquaintance with aeto, chmarr, Spiritwalker, Yappy Fox, dozens of others ... and of course I got to see many beloved old friends like Kamau, Smrgol, Innerwolf, Vince, and Thomas. Great people, all of them, even the ones who aren't people. ;)
7) Art show? Portfolio? We'll see. I've got to get the strip back on an even keel first, but now's the time to start working towards AnthroCon. Maybe I should write to Kage about getting in on t-shirts...
8) The Handspring! Writing the con report as the con has gone by, rather than trying to hold junk in my head to write down later, has made all the difference. I've got to get more in the habit of using this thing. I could spend some of the $400 on getting the new one that I've been eyeing, maybe, but I'm not sure if I want to do that or get some nice Valentine's Day present for Laurie instead. I'll have to ponder that...
Well, that's pretty much it, I think. We're already past Salt Lake City and in fact we're just passing into Colorado -- it tookspikerotty and I two days to get that far in his Mustang! Two days over going over the same endless stretches of highway over for miles and miles and miles and miles, with the only thing to distinguish one mountain from the other being that some of them had a Flying J on top ... wow.
Speaking of which, I haven't talked to Spike in a long time. I really ought to do that ... tomorrow. Now, I need to turn this thing off, switch off the overhead light, and try to spend as much of the rest of the flight as I can asleep.
Good night, world, and have a really, REALLY awesome tomorrow. :)
-The Gneech
T'Chall very kindly agreed to let poor abandoned Jaded Fox crash with him, since I am checking out today (great moments in bad communication, sorry dude!), so after arranging for morning food and coffee, we grabbed our bags and lugged them to T'Chall's room, showing off sketchbooks while we were there. I didn't have that much in the way of other artists' stuff to show off (just the pieces by Jonas and Thomas), but I enjoyed looking through the other guys' books.
Then we wandered down to the lobby and lurked for a bit, saying our goodbyes to Derek Dasenbrock, ChipUni (although I'm sure I'll see him again later on), Wesha (who I finally forced to take his cameo artwork), Cooner, and a double-handful of others. The con is definitely winding down ... the hotel restaurant had as many dull business-traveler types as it did furries, if not more. (I tried to interest Cooner into going with Kerry for his Extreme Fitness shirts, and he said he'd consider, but we'll just have to see.)
It's panel time, and the panelists have not shown up yet. Good morning. :)
3:50 pm -- The 11:00 panelist didn't show, apparently due to a crisis at work. ChipUni came in to give the announcement and only-half-jokingly suggested that I should go up and talk on the subject. I thought about it, bud, and I wanted to help you out, but at that stage of the morning, I wasn't confident of my ability to pull a panel out of my hat that was worth attending. I think, given that there were only five of us in the room, that it was probably better that the panel be canceled, than done half-vast, so to speak. If you'd been able to give me an hour to work on it, I probably could have obliged.
So I went to the anime panel instead, after which Jaded, T'Chall, Watts, Tyrnn and I had lunch, sat around for a bit chatting with Kamau first and Higgins later, then went over to Starbucks. That was followed by lounging around playing with my stuffed Kero and Tyrnn's Godzilla, while Tyrnn sketched the whole thing. It was fun and low-key.
11:00 pm (CA time) -- On the plane currently 27,899 ft over Modesto and moving at 571 mph. Tired, but not quite tired enough to sleep on the plane ... yet. Attended the "Growl and Purr" session, basically the con's feedback, which was very positive on the whole. Given the monumental task that putting on a con is, they did a great job, I think, my own registration snafu notwithstanding. This was followed shortly by the Dead Dog Party, the first one I've ever attended in any real capacity. It was interesting ... everyone there was obviously exhausted beyond words, but at the same time incredibly upbeat and positive. It really was a happy event, even if a little bittersweet because it was, of course, the end. :)
Kerry arrived during the staff's "Lion Man" awards (good choice of title, I must say!) and once they finished and the dancing began, we moved on. (I would have loved to stay and dance, but it was getting dangerously close to flight time, and Gneech needed food, badly.) It's worth mentioning here that one of the Lion Man awards was given to Rory, an extremely cool guy who is another one of these instantly-likable types like T'Chall, Jonas, or Kerry. I first met him at FC2002, where
level_head and I were attending the opening ceremonies and mistook him for Gene Catlow. Big dodohead that I am, I walked up to Rory (who was messing with the sound system, as he always seems to be), offered my hand, and said, "Hello, Mr. Temple, it's good to meet you and I love your work." Rory looked at me, blinked a few times, then laughed and said, "No, I'm not who you think I am, although I can see how you'd make that mistake. And I love his work, too!" After extracting my paw from halfway down my throat (not so yummy), I chatted with this mysterious not-Gene-Catlow figure for several minutes and have been greeted with a big smile and a wave or a hug every time since. :)Speaking of hugs, when it was time for Kerry and I to hit the road, T'Chall wouldn't let us leave without three hugs each. Then Kerry and I went to a western-style steakhousey sort of place for dinner, where we had a pleasant chat about the past, present, and future, and what a long, strange trip it's been. The chat continued on the way to the airport, ranging from topics such as the difference between church and religion, memories of relatives, and the ever popular topics of life, the universe, and everything. I got on the plane approximately $400 richer after con expenses are deducted, and happier than ever to be a cartoonist in general, but involved in the furry community particularly. I have great friends who have come to feel like family, and I'm meeting more all the time. I have a terrific business partner, a dedicated fanbase, and a lovely wife waiting in Virginia to pick me up when the plane lands in the morning. Far from having post-con depression, I am vastly content. :)
Some post-con notes to myself:
1) The marker case, as cool as it is, was something of a problem in the cramped space of the dealer room booth. Furthermore, a lot of the sketchbook pages just made the markers BLEEEEED all over the page, ugh! I may be well-advised to follow Derek's model of taking "every OTHER marker" instead of all 144, as well as taking the easier-to-carry and less-prone-to-bleeding colored pencils, and trying to find a good mix.
2) Do not fill the suitcase on the way out to the con -- because if you buy artwork, you'll have to either cram it into the suitcase which is already full, or ship it.
3) Jaded was an exemplary roomie, and I'd be happy to share the room with him again in the future if it should come up.
4) SUBURBAN JUNGLE CAMEO PARTY. 'nuff said.
5) Never underestimate the value of having a wide variety of friends. If I hadn't spotted Jaded sitting in the hotel lounge Saturday night, I'd probably have ended up feeling a bit down and lonely 'cause most of my regular prowl mates were off doing other things. Instead, because of that one contact, I am now also on friendly terms with Bennie and Sue Deer. Diversification is a great thing. ;)
6) On a related note, my improving one-on-one sociability is like a present from the benevolent universe. By the end of this con I honestly felt like I could really consider myself on friendly terms with
nicodemusrat, Jonas, Chipuni, Spiritwolf, Derek, Cooner, Kinkyturtle, Jaded, Tyrnn, Watts (one day, I _will_ remember your name, dude!), Tim Fay, Bennie, Sue, Athelind, Wesha ... wow, am I forgetting anyone? I scored points with Kage, made more personal acquaintance with aeto, chmarr, Spiritwalker, Yappy Fox, dozens of others ... and of course I got to see many beloved old friends like Kamau, Smrgol, Innerwolf, Vince, and Thomas. Great people, all of them, even the ones who aren't people. ;)7) Art show? Portfolio? We'll see. I've got to get the strip back on an even keel first, but now's the time to start working towards AnthroCon. Maybe I should write to Kage about getting in on t-shirts...
8) The Handspring! Writing the con report as the con has gone by, rather than trying to hold junk in my head to write down later, has made all the difference. I've got to get more in the habit of using this thing. I could spend some of the $400 on getting the new one that I've been eyeing, maybe, but I'm not sure if I want to do that or get some nice Valentine's Day present for Laurie instead. I'll have to ponder that...
Well, that's pretty much it, I think. We're already past Salt Lake City and in fact we're just passing into Colorado -- it took
spikerotty and I two days to get that far in his Mustang! Two days over going over the same endless stretches of highway over for miles and miles and miles and miles, with the only thing to distinguish one mountain from the other being that some of them had a Flying J on top ... wow.Speaking of which, I haven't talked to Spike in a long time. I really ought to do that ... tomorrow. Now, I need to turn this thing off, switch off the overhead light, and try to spend as much of the rest of the flight as I can asleep.
Good night, world, and have a really, REALLY awesome tomorrow. :)
-The Gneech
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2004-01-27 11:06 am (UTC)~ Lappin' it up in London
no subject
-TG
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Date: 2004-01-27 11:50 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-01-27 11:58 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-01-27 12:49 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-01-27 11:09 am (UTC)Good luck for next year!
no subject
Date: 2004-01-27 11:41 am (UTC)-TG
no subject
Date: 2004-01-27 02:31 pm (UTC)I didn't have time to do more than fanboy you. I'm terribly sorry! I wish that I were able to sit down with you over lunch, chat with you about a bunch of topics, and take some time... but being an events director stopped that.
I'm glad you had a good time, and I hope I'll see you next year!
no subject
-The Gneech
no subject
Date: 2004-01-27 05:10 pm (UTC)T'was awesome to meet you. ^_^
no subject
Date: 2004-01-28 01:46 am (UTC)Here's wishing you a great tomorrow too! *wags*
no subject
Date: 2004-01-28 10:15 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-01-28 10:59 pm (UTC)Thanks for the note, T'chall!
I'm definitely thinking about it...just have to reconcile the $500-1,000 it would be, whereas FC iz only around $75 for me :9
If ya wouldn' mind emailing me (it's listed on my LJ page), mebbe we can stay in touch a tad that way too. Don' worry, I'm not a voluminous emailer, and I don't send out all those endless spammy jokes :>
Glad ya had some good times and some good scritches!
*wags feathers*
Re:
Date: 2004-01-29 09:33 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-01-28 10:23 am (UTC)Is it time for Anthrocon, yet? :)