Pretty darn good Balticon

[maugorn]

That about sums it up. The parts that could have been better basically would have amounted to bonus points, but my baseline was awesome.

It was a very pleasant start of the weekend to give punkwalrus a ride to the con. For one thing, it's more fun riding with company. For another, it got my butt into gear a whole lot earlier than I usually get it going. Lately, packing and getting going are very slow and depressing for me. I think that I'm letting pre(whatever) anxiety get to me too much and it was very useful to not be not thinking of myself and use that as an impetus to just pack efficiently and not dilly dally. Our conversations on the way up were very fun, interesting, and just the right amount of weird. So I was happy to do it.

From there, the con just took off.
For one thing, it was one of the most profitable cons I've had. I *RAN OUT* of copies of _Heart Of Green_ to sell. And I moved a bunch of the previous CDs too, especially _Live At Darkover_. I believe that I've sold more CDs at this Balticon than I ever have at any con previous. I could be wrong about that. My very first *cassette tape* of music was _Minstrel At Large_ which I debuted and offered for sale at Disclave 1988 (20 years. Hm) I moved an awful lot of those then, but I don't think it was as many as I did this weekend.

I put on an excellent concert which was not quite sparsely attended, but the audience enthusiasm more than made up for it. Alas, things didn't quite come together to record it.
Filking was good and I'm blown away by how many people came up to me and wanted CDs and had positive comments. I also heard some folks who really impressed me- Two guys in particular (whose names I forget) really moved me. I suspect we have alot in common in our attitudes towards making arrangements rather than just accompaniments.

Didn't get to do as much "hallway" playing as I have, mainly for scheduling reasons, and partly because they put so much stuff in all of the hallway spaces that would have worked out well for it.

Peter Beagle gave an *excellent* concert. I wish his guitar had been mic'd a little less hastily, because he's a damn fine guitar player. But even so- excellent concert, and he is SUCH a nice guy to talk to too! He may have been planning it all along, but it sure seemed that some of the things he said were continuations of a conversation he was having with me and Sonya shortly before and he played my favorite of his repertoire too!

Medieval Dance went well. Our band was: Me, gorgeousgary,albedoblue,& luscious_purple. Everyone played great and we also managed to have some fun too. Albedo and I got excellent chuckles when we pulled out kazoos during Childgrove, but the laughter yielded to impressed silence as they started to realise that we *were* doing actual counterpoint on them.

Tea and Tarot was very good. I keep worrying that I'm going to turn over cards and start reading and that what I say will make absolutely no sense, and the insight I offer will be completely wrong and irrelevant, but it keeps not happening. The one downside there was that when it came time to wrap up, that the representative of the folks who were to have the room after us, burst in very bossy and more than a little mean to get us out of their way. That may have been a front or an act, but act or not, I didn't get it, and it gave me a not good first impression. Fortunately the lady from that crew I *did* talk to is very nice and not at all like that, which is good as she will be under my watch at MDFF as an entertainer.

I did one very evil thing: at the "Let's play with Legos" event, I showed some eager youths how to make a very easy to build and powerful lego cannon that's powered by a single rubber band. A couple of them caught on very quickly and so I know that my sinister invention is now loosed upon the world.

Got to do some excellent hanging out. Had some excellent conversations, and got roped into a few more too. Went to a party or two. (Had a very nice time at one getting to know a new friend better). Had some surprise encounters with some old friends and acquaintances, who seemed genuinely happy to see me. Made and reinforced some friendships and connections with at least one other con and I may be performing there in the future. I got some little bits of musical work done, (one thing of which I'll be writing about in another entry), and tweaked a couple of arrangements.

And here's the best part: No drama.
No one seemed to be leading villagers with pitchforks and torches angrily chanting my name.
There were no rumors of anyone vowing for revenge or plotting my downfall.
There were no hints of anyone attempting to poison my friends or turn them against me.
(At least I didn't hear of such, so if it *did* happen, my good times were refreshingly immune to such efforts)
There *were* people whom I don't get along with at the con. We neatly and efficiently stayed out of one another's way and kept to our own good devices and had our own good times. (well, that's what *I* did) I LIKE this way of being.

The downest of the few downsides was that, in order to keep my overhead low and make Balticon as profitable as it was, I cut back alot on spending, especially for a room. For one night, I rode home with Sonya, and for the other two, I camped out in my van. The van is comfy for camping in, to be sure. At VARF and Spoutwood and some other events, it's actually perfect. But at a con, it's kind of a downer. Being so primitive right outside of a place with running water, and other comforts is not as fun or romantic as having a steel tent in a primitive site.

But it did lead to the best quote of the weekend.
Background: My pal R is a very old friend, and she always fends off my advances with a smile and a laugh. Anyway, I was up very very late getting a good case of the heebie jeebies watching _28 Days_ and _28 Weeks_ Later_ in the movie room. I noticed that R came in with a couple of people and after awhile just sort of slumped in the corner and dozed off. After the movies, and she stirred, and I thought I'd check and see if she was crashing in the film room (as I've done a few times myself) and offer her some slightly more comfortable space if she wanted. Film rooms are NOT comfy crash sites, whereas my van, while primitive, is pretty damn comfy in comparison. I told her that if she needed it, I was willing to offer her some space in my van, and that *if* she needed it, that I would behave myself for the night.
And added with a roguish grin:
"But,..After that, the chase is back on again and I'll revert to my usual self".
Turns out that she did have a room but was just being company for the creepy movie, but laughed and replied:
"Damn, Maugie. How in the HELL are you able to be so sweet and such a cad in the same breath?"

It was a good con.

Comments

[seishonagon.livejournal.com]

It was great hearing you at the con! You do fantastic Scottish love songs (Heather on the Moor is one of my favorite songs in the whole world - thank you so much for singing it!) and Lovecraftian reggae!

[maugorn.livejournal.com]

It's one of my faves too! I'm very proud of my arrangement, and am incredibly grateful to gorgeousgary from whom I first heard it.