figmo | Pre-Con Report (Reply)

I've been bad about posting because I had two nasty deadlines this week:

A Performance Characteristics and Tuning manual. This involved using OCR software to "scan in" 32 pages done in Mathematica and then hand-convert the equations and exponentials, not to mention hand-checking the numbers.
The Local Resources Guide for ConJose. This involved last-minute fact-checking. (Lots of places I listed back in June had closed.)

Making these was exhausting, especially the performance book. I've never done that kind of thing, and just thinking about those pages after pages after pages of numbers makes me want to gag.

I wound up having to get an extension on the former for work; that was okay. I turned in both items Wednesday. I don't think the latter ever got posted to the ConJose web site (sigh). Instead, they printed up the crummy and (IMHO useless) two-page list of stuff.

I had around three hours of sleep between Tuesday night/Wednesday morning because I was so worried about getting work done. I drank lots of coffee, and I worked like crazy. The LRG got done before sunrise, but the other book got done around 7pm. After I turned it in I went to my friends Mike and Karen's for a pre-Worldcon barbecue and ran into lots of friends from all over the world. It was also the first time I had seen their place in daylight, so I got to go on the tour of Karen's wonderful garden.

After eating a little, I went to the Savitzkys. I'd promised

mdlbear and

chaoswolf I'd show, and I did. I contributed to the food and drink pot even though I didn't take anything because they're always so generous and because I rarely notice a collection cup any more. I was there to socialize, and I did. There were lots of wonderful folks there, too, although the crowd wasn't as diverse.

Next I went to the airport to pick up my friend Sue and her six-year-old son, Matthew. Warren had set up the guest room with two beds (the guest bed and a cot) for them, and he'd been cleaning house like a madman. I had the car washed before I went out. Warren was worried Matthew might want to jump up and down on the bed. Somehow I wasn't worried. I figured if he was the typical fannish kid he could behave.

Anyhow, I picked them up. I was looking forward to the visit, as I hadn't seen Sue in years and hadn't met Matthew. Matthew was tired and cranky and wanted to go to sleep. He also loudly proclaimed he "hates dogs." I was now fearful for my little baby doggie.

I was tired and stupid and wound up taking the "scenic route" home. We got gas at the station near the radio station (yes, I did go the wrong way, but I saved significantly on the gas price, and Sue covered, which was sweet of her). Eventually we got to the house, which reeked of Pine Sol (I wish Warren would use something else!). The boy was asleep in no time flat. Sue and I stayed up a little bit but were both very tired. Besides, we had to be at the con early, so we'd planned on a good breakfast at Hobee's.

I slept through the first 15 minutes of my alarm, but I eventually got up and started showering. While I was cleaning up, Sue and Matthew went to Lady's pen and Matthew actually played with Lady. He was, much to my relief, no longer averse to her. They're both still "cat people," and that's cool. There's also a big difference between "I hate dogs" and "I like cats better, but I can deal with your dog." Besides, I love my puppy. :-)

Breakfast was good. I knew what I wanted: the South of the Border ommie. Lots of black beans, salsa, guacamole, and sour cream (with Tabasco sauce added by me). High protein, high fiber, and guaranteed to wake me up.

We then drove to the con hotel. I had their stuff shipped to our room and checked us in, obtaining extra keys (we had a four-person room and six occupants; you do the math) in the process.

[More to come when I'm more awake...]