D minus one

Are people really interested in reading about individual experiences at Worldcon while it's happening? I hope so.

As I mentioned in the last entry, since Nomi and I live locally we decided to get the room a day early to make check-in easier. There's a reason for this. Many fans bring a ton of stuff with them to a Worldcon -- for example, I was talking with dealer Mitch Botwin about the stuff he's got in storage -- and what Nomi and I bring is food.

You see, we keep kosher. And so in order to eat during the con, we need to have our food supply with us. Every time we go to a con, we always request a small refrigerator for our room. And many's the time that request has been mangled in one way or another. So by checking in early, we have more time to make sure that the fridge is in place.

Normally, I would have checked in at 3 PM, but last night I called the hotel to ask if I could get an early check-in. They said I didn't have to get anything special arranged, that there'd be no problem. Yay!

So this morning, Nomi goes to work and I write my five pages (in an hour!). I pack a few bags to start with and arrive at the hotel at 1 PM, all set to check in.

Guess what. Room's not ready. They have it, they know which one it is, but it's still being cleaned up. I'll be able to get in at 3 PM.

Since I now have two hours to kill, I decide to wander the con. Over in registration, I hook up with Dan Kimmel, local area movie critic who's commuting in from home for the con. I pick up my Hugo nominee packet (including ribbon and rocket pin) and we wander around a bit more. Dan's got time to wait, and he's enjoying being behind the scenes for the first time. (As he put it, to him it feels like the convention's already begun.)

We wander to Program Ops to say hello to Priscilla Olson and so I can pick up Staff ribbons for Nomi and me. We pass writer Shane Tourtellotte in the hall, who has to return a videotape for me, but is holding it hostage until I pass along his share of royalties for a novella we did together that's now on Fictionwise. We wander back to Registration, where I spot Mike Resnick with his 18 (19? 20?) Hugo rocket pins in his badge (as he says, it's his shtick). He and I have a pleasant half hour conversation before it's time for me to try to check in again.

(I notice that there are no lines at Registration. People are getting their badges very quickly. Kudos to the staff! Hope this keeps up!)

I wait for about ten minutes at the front desk, get my key, and am told that they will call in my refrigerator immediately. But I go to the room, and lo and behold! It's already there, plugged in and cooling down. Kudos to the hotel.

So now I'm back home. This evening, Nomi and I will have a taxi take us to the hotel, along with our three bags of food, four pieces of luggage, and whatever else we need. And then tomorrow, the con begins in earnest, and once again I will have no time at all to blog. (Just kidding, Blog Staff!)