Kevin Standlee: Fandom Is My Way of Life

As most of you who follow me know, I am an engineer for an international logistics-management company. Therefore, it gets me really annoyed when I cannot figure out a solution to what seems like a relatively simple "retail" logistics issue, and that is what happened today.

( Venting my Annoyance )

Even if I didn't have the second-checked-bag allowance on my return trip, it would be less expensive to pay for a second bag to carry the excess baggage, all of which are my personal effect and nearly all of which I brought with me than to deal with all of this nonsense. From looking at the website, I conclude that the Royal Mail does not actually want to deal with things like shipping packages.

All that is left now is to divide my things between the two bags: one is large and hard-sided, while the other is smaller and soft-sided (my WFC 2021 tote bag). Unfortunately, it is safer to pack the larger, heavier things in the larger bag, which risks overloading it. I'll figure it out eventually.

And yes, I know the likelihood of that rocket-shaped trophy attracting the attention of Security is pretty high. I expect it did happen in Iceland. But it's wrapped in bubble wrap with a label around it in large letters saying what it is and even including a pointer to the Hugo Awards website, so I think the most that will happen is that they'll look at it and determine that it's just a big hunk of chrome-plated zinc.

Over the past few days, I've been working with Westercon 74's Registrar, Linda Deneroff, to get the correct extract of the names and mailing addresses of all of Westercon 74's supporting members who haven't yet upgraded to an attending membership. These are the people who voted in the election at SpikeCon last year but who have not yet spent the $10 to upgrade to an attending membership. This discounted price offer ends at the end of February when the base attending membership price increases to $50. I used the database extract to prepare a mailing to those roughly sixty members to remind them that if they want to get that bargain-priced upgrade, they have to do so by the end of February. Starting March 1, the extra discount expires, and from then on, an upgrade to attending is whatever the current attending membership price is less the $20 advance-supporting-membership/voting fee they paid in Layton.

( Mailing Accomplished )

After breakfast this morning I took all of the letters over to the post office and mailed them. As it happens, I know that two of them won't travel too far, as there are two other addresses of Westercon 74 members here in Fernley. Yes, there are members of the convention other than Lisa, Kuma, and me living in this town!

While we did e-mail all members with e-mail addresses with this information included in PR1 when we published it last month, we know that some members' e-mail addresses are invalid, some e-mail systems interpret our mailings as junk mail, and also that some people don't pay much attention to convention e-mails. We hope that a paper letter gets our members' attention and lets them know that they have one last chance to save a lot of money on a Westercon 74 attending membership.

We still send out some Christmas cards; however, this year's batch of railroad-themed cards didn't arrive until after Lisa got back from the SMOFCon trip, and we were therefore unable to sign and mail them until yesterday. Thus I expect that they won't arrive until after the holiday except for those people on the US west coast.

Remember that box that I shipped from the Bay Area to theoretically meet me in Austin? I shipped it (and the poster tube) from San Francisco Airport station on December 1, paying Priority Mail postage for both of them. The poster tube was there when I got to Austin on December 4, but the Box never arrived.

I called the hotel last night and left a message with the front desk manager asking if the box ever arrived. (I left written instructions to have them refuse delivery and have it returned.) The manager called me back this afternoon and told me that it did eventually arrive in Austin last Saturday, December 12 -- more than a week after the Tube arrived. As far as I can tell, the Post Office didn't put the Priority Mail stickers on the box, so it was treated as Parcel Post.

The Hilton Garden Inn Austin gave it back to the postal carrier for return to sender on Monday, December 14. With any luck, the box will finally make it back to my office in San Mateo by the time I get back. When I get back is still an open question, though.