![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
From Fernley to Westercon
Jul. 3rd, 2013 11:40 pmThis morning, I "slept in" a whole two hours, getting up at 7 instead of 5. Amtrak's California Zephyr came through a little late, sometime after 8 AM, and as is my usual practice, I went out and waved at the train as it passed.
After dealing with work things that chased me even while on vacation, Lisa and I finished packing the van with our personal luggage and the electric ice chest, and set out westward. We stopped in Reno and bought non-perishable groceries that will mostly allow us to eat in the room without having to go off-site for anything. (There isn't a lot within walking distance, using the hotel-provided shuttle takes time and advance planning, and we don't want to lose our superb parking space.) Besides, it's cheaper.
Caltrans had cleared the mudslide just west of the border, and there were no restrictions as we headed through the area of yesterday's mudslide this afternoon. The trip went without incident, and we arrived at the hotel at 3 PM. Our room was ready for us. Checking in behind us were Kent Bloom and Mary Morman, who had just arrived in a taxi from the Amtrak station. They said, "We saw you wave at us this morning." They were on board the Zephyr as it passed, spotted me waving, and guessed it must have been me based on them approaching Reno and knowing where I live.
( A Great Hotel Room )
We had a look at the Atrium where Match Game SF will be tomorrow and agreed that it's laid out wrong for what's going to happen there. Talking to hotel liaison David Gallaher, we learned that he expects the layout to be fixed tomorrow. Lisa and I were allowed to move the Match Game tables onto the stage. While we prefer to do the show with the traditional ranked seating, with one row of panelists above the other, the layout here and the size of the stage means that we'll have the two rows of three panelists on the same stage level, staggered diagonally. If we didn't do this, we'd waste too much of the space in front of the stage and the audience would be pushed off to the sides and unable to see the show. Lisa has also been promised a Tech Desk near where one of the few power outlets in the Atrium is, and the use of lots of gaffer tape to tape down the necessary cables to the speakers. We're also the "opening act" in the Atrium tomorrow, so we have nearly unlimited time to do our own setup tomorrow afternoon.
We saw many of our friends arriving early, and because we were not constrained for time the way we will be the rest of the weekend, joined Linda Deneroff and Brad Lyau in a trip in the hotel's shuttle van over to Arden Fair Mall, where we had dinner at the food court. We were not going for finw dining, just good conversation. We're apt to eat from our purchased supplies much of the rest of the weekend, though, just on time considerations.
( But Not a Perfect Hotel Room )
And now it's time to get some rest. Westercon had somewhat more than 700 members pre-registered coming into the convention, and won't be breaking any membership records, but I'm certain that it's the right sized hotel for the convention. This was where Sacramento's Eclecticons 4 and 5 were held, over twenty years ago, and the 500 or so people events we held then were around the right size. This should be an Awesome Westercon.
After dealing with work things that chased me even while on vacation, Lisa and I finished packing the van with our personal luggage and the electric ice chest, and set out westward. We stopped in Reno and bought non-perishable groceries that will mostly allow us to eat in the room without having to go off-site for anything. (There isn't a lot within walking distance, using the hotel-provided shuttle takes time and advance planning, and we don't want to lose our superb parking space.) Besides, it's cheaper.
Caltrans had cleared the mudslide just west of the border, and there were no restrictions as we headed through the area of yesterday's mudslide this afternoon. The trip went without incident, and we arrived at the hotel at 3 PM. Our room was ready for us. Checking in behind us were Kent Bloom and Mary Morman, who had just arrived in a taxi from the Amtrak station. They said, "We saw you wave at us this morning." They were on board the Zephyr as it passed, spotted me waving, and guessed it must have been me based on them approaching Reno and knowing where I live.
( A Great Hotel Room )
We had a look at the Atrium where Match Game SF will be tomorrow and agreed that it's laid out wrong for what's going to happen there. Talking to hotel liaison David Gallaher, we learned that he expects the layout to be fixed tomorrow. Lisa and I were allowed to move the Match Game tables onto the stage. While we prefer to do the show with the traditional ranked seating, with one row of panelists above the other, the layout here and the size of the stage means that we'll have the two rows of three panelists on the same stage level, staggered diagonally. If we didn't do this, we'd waste too much of the space in front of the stage and the audience would be pushed off to the sides and unable to see the show. Lisa has also been promised a Tech Desk near where one of the few power outlets in the Atrium is, and the use of lots of gaffer tape to tape down the necessary cables to the speakers. We're also the "opening act" in the Atrium tomorrow, so we have nearly unlimited time to do our own setup tomorrow afternoon.
We saw many of our friends arriving early, and because we were not constrained for time the way we will be the rest of the weekend, joined Linda Deneroff and Brad Lyau in a trip in the hotel's shuttle van over to Arden Fair Mall, where we had dinner at the food court. We were not going for finw dining, just good conversation. We're apt to eat from our purchased supplies much of the rest of the weekend, though, just on time considerations.
( But Not a Perfect Hotel Room )
And now it's time to get some rest. Westercon had somewhat more than 700 members pre-registered coming into the convention, and won't be breaking any membership records, but I'm certain that it's the right sized hotel for the convention. This was where Sacramento's Eclecticons 4 and 5 were held, over twenty years ago, and the 500 or so people events we held then were around the right size. This should be an Awesome Westercon.
