Kevin Standlee: Fandom Is My Way of Life

Today I celebrated Halloween and also a milestone in my long, slow weight loss. I recently passed 250 pounds (about 113 kg), the lowest weight I've had since my peak of 330 pounds (150 kg) about twenty years ago when my diabetes was diagnosed. I haven't be doing a specific weight-loss program, and there have been both ups and downs, but returning from Europe, I found that there are things into which I could fit from many years ago, and it was time to take a little bit of a chance with things this year.

( Hello, Kayla, It's Been a While )

I really enjoyed myself today. Some of my costumes have been very uncomfortable, and while they looked good, they were so difficult to wear that I couldn't wait to get out of them. But aside from the chance of wardrobe malfunctions and slightly too small shoes (pointed toes look good but are hard on my feet), this was, as I called it, "Office Lady," although Lisa dubbed it "Substitute Teacher," which also works, and it's not uncomfortable, so spending the whole day in it was fine. It was a little chilly outside, but not too bad today.

(The pink outfit to which I linked at the start of this entry had 4 1/2-inch high heels, and the first time I wore it, I wore it all day at my office before going home, having a short break, then going back out to Halloween parties in Chico. It was great fun, and I was a finalist in several contests but didn't win any. I think I made some people uncomfortable. But the outfit itself was painful to wear. I couldn't feel my feet by the time I got home, and I didn't get feeling in my toes until Thanksgiving! That's why when I re-equipped for this excursion, I got flats. I'm tall enough already. I wish I had better photos, but that's the only one I have, digital photos not being ubiquitous back then.)

I'm not sure when Kayla will come out again, but when I look at the smile on Kayla's face, I don't think it will be thirty years before her next visit.

I continue to wake up ahead of my alarm, but that was still several hours after my normal rising time. After a negative COVID test cleared me to be able to face the day and after refilling the makeshift icebox in the room's second sink, I got showered and got breakfast from the nearest Starbucks (that's about 850 m today because the close one isn't open on weekends). After that, I took the Pemmi-Con material down to our info table and set things up. I was ready by 10, but apparently things down that way didn't open until 11. That's okay with me; I answered messages until people showed up to whom I could talk about NASFiC.

I tried to take more pictures today of the many wonderful costumes that passed our table. Unlike yesterday, I am not going to post them all to this entry. Click through the photos behind the cut and they will take you to my Flickr account, where you can look at all of them.

( Sunday at CC39 )

Spike joined me in the afternoon and we spent out time talking to anyone who came by about NASFiC, including in many cases trying to explain what Worldcon was and why NASFiC exists and no, there won't be a Pemmi-Con in 2024, just this one convention in 2023, although there is a strong probability that there will be a 2024 NASFiC in Buffalo, New York on account of they are the only group that filed a bid to host it. However, as anyone who has followed me regularly knows, being the only bid on the ballot doesn't guarantee success.

I hadn't expected to sell many memberships this weekend, but we've sold a total of four (including some upgrades from voting to attending), which three more than I expected.

We packed up the table at 6 PM. Neither Spike nor I will be able to be at the table until after Noon on Monday, and the convention ends at 2 PM, but we intend to be here from Noon to closing. I've found that it's a good idea when possible to be out there at the end because there are people who have talked to us that will dither over buying a membership and put it off until the very end, so if you're not there to take their money, they may change their minds by the time they're back home.

I once again walked to BurgerIM to get dinner. This time I tried the salmon burger, to report on it to Kuma Bear. This was salmon with a pineapple slice and barbeque sauce. It was good, but I think I like the Spanish Beef better.

By the time I finished dinner, the Historical Masquerade was over and people were socializing in the foyer of the ballroom. I was happy to socialize, and also to go in and watch the awards, because the ballroom was sufficiently uncrowded (and most people were masked) that I didn't feel threatened. There were awards and photographs and congratulations, and that was the end of the last big event of Costume-Con 39. There's still the one day remaining, but the big events are done.

I walked across the "overland route" (the rooftop shortcut from the ballrooms to the hotel tower, a walk that always reminds me of the scenes from my Doctor Who film "The Zombie Legions" that we shot on that walkway, and I briefly visited room parties. I didn't have anything to eat or drink (although I took a bottle of water back to my hotel room with me), but it was sufficiently uncrowded and people were in my opinion being sufficiently well-behaved that I was comfortable socializing for a while. However, when my day starts early, it also ends early, and I wanted to allow enough time to write this up as well.

Tomorrow I have to run up to Palo Alto to see my doctor. I'm braced for bad news. Not as bad as others of my friends have had, though. We'll see what he has to say after he completes my first annual physical in more than three years.

I walked down to the nearest Starbucks this morning to get breakfast, and learned that is closed weekends. I'm glad to learn that today so that I can make plans for tomorrow. It's a huge hardship; the next-closest one, which is open on weekends, is only about 350 meters farther away.

Around 10 AM, I went down and found which table was for Pemmi-Con, then set up our sales table.

( Letting the Convention Come to Me )

Spike Parsons, who is Pemmi-Con's promotions and publicity person and put together the table material, joined me later in the day until we closed around 6 PM. We packed things up and I took stuff back to the room, then I went out to get dinner. I returned to the burger place from which I got take-out last night and instead of one of their "regular" burger packages, built one up from parts, so to speak, this time with the pre-seasoned patty. I may try and lamb or salmon burger next time

Last night, I wanted some milk, and ended up spending $5 for a tiny container from the hotel gift shop. This evening, I bought a half-gallon for $4 from a convenience store and iced it down in one of the hotel room's two sinks. I figured that even if I end up throwing half of it away, it's still a better deal.

( Evening Event )

Most people headed off to the parties, but to be honest, I'm already uncomfortable enough without more crowding. Besides, my hours don't fit the parties anymore. I wish I'd remembered to go by the Con Suite and get a couple of bottles of water, though.

Tomorrow morning is the Big Event: Adam Savage will be appearing from 9 AM and doing autographs and pictures thereafter. We only have him in the morning, and he's doing us a big favor by coming by. I hope to be able to see him. Then for me it's back to the Pemmi-Con table for most of the day. Rather than wearing my Winnipeg t-shirt, however, I'm planning to wear my WSFS uniform. More about that tomorrow.

Day 2 (Saturday) of Loscon 47/Westercon 73 was just packed with activity for Lisa and me. We managed to make breakfast happen in the room this time with less hassles than yesterday. We were able to open up the Westercon 74 Fan Table by 10 AM, but had to leave it in the hands of other members of the convention committee: Lisa and I had to go sort out getting an output from the sound board in California 4 (where the Business Meeting would be held at 11:30) run to Lisa's Panasonic P2 camera, in order to get better sound.

This was the first time Lisa's camera was in the field using the new camera case. It seemed to work well, and it was easier to transport than in the box we've used for the past few years. If we'd had some more time to work on it (we never seem to get enough time), we could have had better audio; however, this was still better than it would have been if all we had was the in-camera microphone.

After the Business Meeting, we took that camera gear back to the hotel room and then returned to the Westercon 74 table. My time was split between talking to people about Westercon 74 and discussing possible Westercon 75 sites with multiple people. I told several people variations of the same thing: come to Lisa and me with a proposal for a viable site and committee and we'll consider it. We're making no decisions here today, nor this month, nor probably until February.

It appears to me that some people think that because I gave the same answer to everyone, that I somehow have already made a decision, which is silly. I have said what I personally would like to happen, but we have to think of Westercon overall. I can't make a decision until we hear from more interested entities. Who knows, maybe not having to go through the bid-campaigning process may shake loose some more viable bids.

Meanwhile, I managed to shoot a small number of photos of people in costume as they came by.

( Only a couple of those who passed the table )

In the mid-afternoon, Lisa and I went down to Carl's Jr. again for lunch. I was not going to face doing Match Game SF on an empty stomach.

Loscon programming, at my request, scheduled MGSF a little later than the regular program grid would have called for, and left the space open after us. Both of these things were important. It still put Lisa in a pickle, because the technical set-up can be tricky, and when there are bleeps and feedback (which is almost inevitable) while people are coming in to the room, people complain or laugh, and Lisa really dislikes the pressure this puts on her.

( Match Game at Loscon )

It was a great load off our minds that there was nothing after us. That gave us a relatively easy hour or so of disassembling the gear and storing it back away. We'd borrowed a cart from ConOps for a few hours, and thanks to having moved the minivan over to a good space in the parking garage, we were able to move three cartloads of gear out to the Astro tonight. We returned the cart to Ops, went and got burgers again and had dinner.

There are parties here at Loscon, but we are too worn out to attend them. Besides, it took a few hours to edit the material from the Business Meeting out of the camera and into the form for the two videos I uploaded to YouTube, then to post them on Twitter, Facebook, File 770, and DreamWidth/LiveJournal.

Sunday should be somewhat easier. We still have the Westercon 74 table, but not much else until Closing Ceremonies, where it will be my honor to receive the Gavel of Westercon in my capacity of next year's convention chair (in contrast to my temporary custody of the Gavel to chair the Business Meeting). But meanwhile, it's time to try and get a few hours of sleep. Other folks at Loscon will party overnight, and I wish them well.

Along with the photos of me from Aussiecon Three, Lisa produced two photos from what I think was the last FanimeCon held at Foothill College, long before it became the monstrous huge pop culture event it is today. Lisa wore two of her costumes at that convention.

( Lisa Hayes as Lisa Hayes )

She had another costume that is great to look at but really difficult to wear for long periods.

( Lisa Hayes as Sailor Jupiter )

There is a pocket in the Robotech outfit, but the Sailor Scouts don't seem to have any way to store anything. They seem to get whatever they need out of "hammerspace." Consequently, she needed the Sailor Jupiter Support Squad (me) carrying stuff and providing logistical support.

After finally getting shut of the Business Meeting, I had a few hours of time to attend Worldcon.

( It's Colonel Chinstrap! )

We didn't have a lot of time to ourselves, and Lisa's feet were howling from the hard concrete floors, so we changed out of our costumes and I went off to help count Site Selection ballots. The full results will be in the Worldcon 76 newsletter and are not official until received by Sunday's Business Meeting, but there were no surprises in the vote tally for the two uncontested races.

Lisa turned in early — I can't blame her for that, as she's been working very hard — and I didn't have a whole lot of energy myself.

( Saturday Evening at Worldcon )

I walked over to the Fairmont with Scott Sanford, but I didn't brave the parties. Instead, I went to Safeway and bought a few things for Lisa and me, and then stopped at Taco Mania on the way back and bought a burrito because I'd missed dinner on account of the ballot count and writing up the results for the newsletter. (Unfortunately, food service at Callahan's had ended by the time I got there.)

I headed back to the hotel room, where Lisa had been trying to sleep. I hope I haven't disturbed her too much. I hope to get some sleep soon myself, but I know from experience that if I don't write these posts as soon as I can, I never will. And at that, I'm leaving out some other good stories from a packed day that I simply don't have enough time to tell them all.

It was a long middle day of Worldcon, but a good one.

I couldn't say anything about it until they officially announced by distributing their PR 0, but Lisa, Kuma Bear, and I were selected as the Fan Guests of Honor of Westercon 72 in Layton (Salt Lake City) Utah for 2019. We are very honored to have been selected to be Westercon's guests.

Incidentally, if anyone wonders how this interacts with the Utah in 2019 NASFiC bid, especially considering that I've already been FGoH of a NASFiC (2005, SeaTac): As I understand it, the plan, consistent with past Westercon/Worldcons, is for the NASFiC, should Utah win that bid, to have a separate group of Guests of Honor in addition to Westercon's guests.

After lunch, we newly-minted Westercon Guests kitted up and set forth on an expedition under the leadership of Colonel Chinstrap.

( Chinstrap and Company )

After a few hours about in costume, we changed back to "civvies" and had an early dinner at My Big Fat Greek Restaurant (which we not only like a lot, but is nearby) before getting ready for Match Game SF.

After getting the Business Meeting out of the way this morning, we mostly had the afternoon off. So we thought it was time for Colonel Chinstrap to put in an appearance with his aide (Lt. Hayes) and orderly (Pvt. Bear).

( The Colonel's Staff )

We went to a late lunch in the bar, which is expensive, but because the hotel refuses to serve any meals other than breakfast in the restaurant (despite ample evidence that they could make a lot of money by doing so), it was the only on-site choice available to us. We admired the many good costumes here at the convention.

( A Few That I Was Able to Snap )

Earlier in the day, I ran across autopope and asked Charlie when his autograph session was. He said Sunday at Noon, but that he'd sign stuff now if I liked. I said, "I haven't paid for the books yet!" and headed over to the Dealer's Room to collect my purchases from Cargo Cult Books.

( Kuma Bear Makes New Friends )

This evening, the three of us (Lisa, Kuma, and I) made the rounds of the parties, although I got separated from Lisa early on as smoffing broke out around me. Thanks very much to Pablo Vazquez (chair of the San Juan in 2017 NASFiC bid) for providing me the joke that I milked throughout the evening.

Me [in Colonel Chinstrap voice]: "I just came from the San Jose in 2018 Worldcon bid party. They said they were doing a 'sixties' theme tonight. I didn't realize they meant nineteen sixties!" [looks disappointed]

I later found Lisa who had retreated downstairs where it was cooler, and we decided that 11 PM was our limit and we turned in for the night, grateful again that we laid in some groceries in the portable ice chest.

This afternoon, the Westercon newsletter reported that there were over 1400 members of Westercon so far, which makes it the biggest Westercon in years.

Thanks to getting away from Day Jobbe by 11 AM (which is one reason I'm at work at 6 AM every day I'm down there and usually work ten-hour days Monday-Thursday), I was able to get home just before 6 PM, even with the rain and wind. There was no snow at the summit although it had been raining. (It's snowing there this morning; I'm glad I made it over when I did.) I stopped several times, all of which for legitimate errands, but I do admit to wanting to show off. OTOH, I just barely fit into those slacks, and really don't fit into them when sitting down. I need to lose weight or buy bigger white slacks the next time I want to wear it.

I asked Lisa if she wanted to put on one of her costumes and have us go out a little bit. She said we could do that and do some things here in Fernley rather than go clear into Reno as a storm was rolling in over us.

( Enter Colonel Chinstrap )

People seemed quite taken by the matched threesome. We've worked out that Colonel Chinstrap must be the ancestor (through my mother's side, I guess) of WSFS Colonel Standlee of the Chicon Ground Crew, who is in turn an ancestor of WSFS Captain Standlee. All three hold equivalent ranks, although Captain Standlee is a civilian space cruise ship commander. Maybe he commanded a space navy ship before retiring to the cushier life of sitting at the Captain's Table on long interstellar voyages with rich passengers.

This first day of Worldcon was my WSFS day, with a panel about Introduction to the WSFS Business Meeting and the WSFS Mark Protection Committee. Because of that and in honor of the convention's opening ceremonies, I squeezed into my WSFS captain's uniform from Interaction. There were even people who recognized me from the 2005 Worldcon for wearing it.

( QueueCon )

I attended the Opening Ceremonies, which were entertaining; alas, I had a terrible time understanding what most of the people were saying, and I don't think it was just the accents. The amplification distorted things a lot, and most people don't know how to use microphones.

( More Scenes of Loncon )

After grabbing lunch with Lisa, I went off to the Introduction to WSFS panel, which actually had a decent turnout. Mark Olson, Linda Deneroff, and I went through the basics of WSFS procedures and tried our best to de-mystify the meeting. I hope it helps.

Loncon 3 very generously printed an entire WSFS Special Issue of the convention newsletter, The Pigeon Post with all of the early WSFS Business News. My thanks to flickgc to volunteering to do this when the amount of WSFS news I submitted ran to being able to fill six columns.

( WSFS MPC )

In between the Intro To WSFS and WSFS MPC Meetings I attended a CanSMOF board meeting — Worldcons being one of the few times we can muster a quorum of the CanSMOF directors.

I did not go to the Retro-Hugo Awards ceremony, instead having an unrushed dinner. After dinner, we returned to the Fan Village, where the evening parties were in full swing.

( Tiki Dalek Invades Loncon )

Lisa and I spent several hours individually mingling and talking at the Fan Village. It was fun, and I was glad I did so; however, it means it was after Midnight by the time we got back to the hotel, and I still hadn't posted the 1939 Retro-Hugo Award Results or updated the 1939 Retro-Hugo web page, not to mention posting the photos I took today and writing up the first day's activities.

As always, there was far more than this to write about (such as my successful deliveries of difficult-to-get-in-UK things to Cheryl and to Flick that I'd been carrying with me from the USA), but this is all I can manage, because it's very late and we have to be up early in order to be in place for the 10 AM WSFS Business Meeting, where Lisa is recording and I am "performing" as the reporting member of two WSFS/Business Meeting committees and the lead proponent of a large proposed amendment to the WSFS Constitution. Despite sleeping 14 hours last night, I need some sleep tonight.