RTBTCKI Con Drop is a real thing

Once a convention is over and one has to return to reality of daily life, there is a certain sadness that seems to well up. I call it Con Drop. Part of it I think has to do with leaving all that energy of the convention for your normal energy. For me it use to be leaving all my friends and like-minded folks that I only got to see a couple of times a year at convention. This would be before the internet was really going. Now I can stay in touch with many of the folks I met or know through various forms of social media so that helps because we can commiserate and slowly go back to normal.

I feel it less than I use to but I still have that sadness that X convention is over. The ones we go to regularly are the ones that are the hardest.

Today is all about unpacking the car since Peter is driving it back on his own. Well that and my glasses because they have vanished who knows where. I thought they were on the table next to my computer but not there. Then I had a vague memory of putting them somewhere unusual so that will be an adventure. I did find my former pair that are working but I can tell that I am going to get a headache.

The next step is putting the convention away. DragonCon takes the longest to do in this since there are things we take and use there we don’t at any other convention. Also I need to do a book count since Peter has a convention next weekend.

DragonCon is the end of our summer convention season that really starts in May with Phoenix FanFusion. They book end very nicely.

It was nice to see more fans drinking water and using the water stations at conventions rather than imbibing in alcohol the entire weekend or drinking soda or coffee drinks all the time. Over the years fandom has gotten better about looking after its collective health. I consider this a very good thing because that means my friends will be around longer.

I saw more courtesy to those who have a harder time getting around. Yeah, there are times that people are unkind and places where it hard to get around but over all I saw people deferring elevators to those who could not take the stairs for love or money. Also less aggression by the scooter contingent to get through was nice as well. Cooperation is the only way we can all get to where we need to go.

It was nice to see all these conventions have a big push for “Costume is not Consent”. DragonCon had a place you could go and report such incidents in or out of costume. And they aren’t kidding about the badges being yanked from the perpetrators.

If you are going to wear high heels and are not use to it or some funky shoe/boot/costume that puts your foot in a position that it is not use to, please oh pretty please practice with it at home. Wear them until you know you have mastered them. And build to it. I have a pair of boots that took me about two months to break in by wearing them for short periods of time and working up to a day at a convention. Especially if it is part of your costume.

Heatstroke is a real thing so know the symptoms. Heat exhaustion happens right before it. I had a number of friends over the summer because of the heat end up in bad shape for a bit. I had a touch of heat exhaustion a couple of time but recognized it and addressed it before it got worse.

Photographers are getting better about going off into a corner and getting that pic they want. However I did end up in photos that I was not part of because it was the middle of a crowded area and I had to get from point A to point B. Sorry but the public path is the public path. If you had moved even 10 feet to your right, you would have been out of traffic.

I would like to thank everyone who came up after panels I did and told me how much they enjoyed what I had to say. I try to educate when on panels so everyone walks out with something they didn’t know. I know I have learned a lot over the years from other panelists. Also I am always willing to show people how I build my puppets. I want people to take what I have done and get it to the next level.

I had a great summer filled with wonderful experiences and I would not give that up for the world. It is also nice that we are now slowing down for a bit before the convention circuit starts up again. NYCC looks like a go this year. Might have one or two that I am forgetting before we are off to Farpoint next year.

I am grateful to everyone who worked the conventions we attended. Thank you to all.