This weekend was one giant happy blur of barely remembered things. I was, of course, at Can Con 2014 - Canada's speculative fiction convention. It was a spectacular weekend, which I can barely remember. No, it didn't pass by in a drunken haze. I am recovering from an illness, and I was very busy before and during the weekend.
Still, it was exceptionally grand.
I placed the stock and the other things necessary for setting up a table at a convention in the living room after training Thursday night. Then collapsed into bed. Friday I went to work as usual. I would have liked to have taken the day off, as it was the first day of the convention, but I had used all of my holiday days for my trip to Australia this year.
The Amazing Flatmate, whose amazingness cannot be argued, took all the stock and stuff to the Sheraton Hotel downtown and set up my table for me. She then looked after my table until I go there after work. I arrived around about 5:40ish and enjoyed the company of awesome folk in the dealer's room until my first panel.
I had been included in a panel discussing the past, present and future of fandom with incredibly speculative fiction author Jo Walton and writer Madeline Ashby. Sitting between them, I felt like the dunce between two duxes. I should probably explain the idea of dux. Dux, at least in my high school, was the top of the class. You could have to dux of your particular grade and them the dux of the school. Sitting there, I was neither.
Still, both Jo and Madeline were wonderful people and it turned into an incredibly interesting panel about fandom. They were really great panellists. Liz Westbrook-Trenholm moderated that panel and did an excellent job at it too.
Despite this panel being at eight o'clock at night, we had a decent audience, and they were wonderfully intelligent and involved as well.
I don't really remember what happened after that panel. I know I went to the washroom to cry a little. I wasn't upset, but I needed to flush out the awful nerves I get when speaking in front of people. I don't think that will ever change.
I'm pretty sure I went home immediately after that. Without a car, I resolved to walk home. It was a beautiful evening, though I did have to dodge the tipsy idiots leaving whatever event was happening at TD Place... I remember being vaguely annoyed by that, but don't remember why exactly. Ordinarily it doesn't phase me. I arrived home, had a shower and collapsed into bed.
Perhaps it doesn't seem all that exciting for a first day, but did I mention I was on a panel with Jo Walton and Madeline Ashby?
I'm also probably not doing it any justice. I'm really very tired right now, what with the very busy weekend and still recovering from an illness and all that jazz.
Éric of Aspiring Something was also at the convention, and it was lovely to meet up with and chat with him a while. As I didn't get to any panels on the first night, I'm really interested to hear his experience.
Well, I should stop blathering on and go do something productive. Like sleep. Or something.
*I apologise for the incoherent rambling that is today's blog post. Tomorrow shall be better. I hope.