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Friday, Beth and I got to ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
mnemex's office, where I bolted down half a tongue sandwich. We went with mnemex to the Fung Wah bus stop. The bus was loading up, and we were assured that there were seats for all. bugsybanana almost didn't get on that bus, because she knew it was the 5:30 bus, and we had planned to make the 6 pm bus. We, of course, had assumed that, as it was a quarter to or ten to six, the bus was the 6 pm bus. Fortunately, bugsybanana saw mnemex through the bus window, so she got on too.
Despite my folks' fears about snow (which came later in the weekend), poor tire treads (my father told me about the penny test), and Chinese terrorists heading for Boston, we got to South Station smoothly enough. I even did it on one dramamine, rather than taking a second halfway through the trip. From there, we hailed a cab. The first didn't take us, the driver claiming he was there for someone in particular. The second took us, the driver claiming that the other driver had been lying. He got us to the hotel, though it took more walking back and forth than we liked to find an actual entrance to the hotel.
agrumer had already checked in and watched Samurai Champloo, teasing me about how far behind the fannish cool pop culture curve I was. Beth picked up her registration just in time. I bolted down the rest of my sandwich and changed clothes to something less wintery. mnemex and I just missed registering, as reg closed at 11. He went to the gaming room. I said hi to people, including ladymondegreen and akawil.
I hooked up with Beth for some shopping. I was good, possibly because there were fewer dealers this year, and not all the dealers on Dealers' Row were open past midnight on Friday. I did buy some hair sticks that were on sale, but avoided the nifty-but-expensive coat, and the inexpensive-but-bulky axe. mnemex wouldn't leave gaming to see these, but agreed to check them out on Saturday. It was about 1:30 am. Beth and I went to look for filking, but returned to inform mnemex that it had closed down around 1 am. agrumer noted how dead things were for a Friday night at an Arisia. The gaming clearly wasn't, as mnemex didn't get in until about 5 am or so.
Saturday, I didn't manage to make a noon panel on what to do when the power level of the game one's gming starts soaring out of control. Beth and I did make the panel on plotting, which was good, if general. I think I could probably be on some of the gaming panels at this point. I also dragged her to the beginning of the Women and Gaming panel. I think most people should probably go to the first 10-15 minutes of one of those, if only to observe who shows up, the gender balance, who talks, and so on. This year, it seemed a bit duller than last, though that may mean that things are improving. Attendence was good.
I showed mnemex the jacket and the axe, and he helped talk me out of both. I picked up 2 used paperbacks and got a leather jacket repaired. I was pretty sure someone at Arisia would have a sewing machine.
agrumer and bugsybanana ate out, while Beth, mnemex, and I ate what we'd brought with us, just like we did for breakfast. We all did some party crawling, and all of us at least poked our heads in at the filking. mnemex and I stayed the longest, partly because once it dipped below critical, we knew that when we left, it would end, and partly because once it dipped below critical, there was a lot of good stuff we'd not heard before. And good company.
Then, the key follies commenced. Earlier, Beth had needed to replace her key, and assumed it had died from being too close to her cell phone. Now, mnemex went to replace his, and we got fresh keys for all in the room. Then, we hung out withnancylebov, and walked her back to her room, discovering her key had died too. We went back down to the front desk and confirmed that the keymaker was on the fritz.
Sunday, we learned that buses weren't running, but trains were. Fen could check out up until 2, extend until 4 for 1/3 of a night, till 6 for 1/2, or overnight. agrumer decided to get a train ticket, and bugsybanana, Beth, mnemex, and I asked him to front for us as well. We got tickets for a 3 pm train. The concierge suggested leaving no later than 12:30-1pm. We headed out at 1 pm, reaching South Station via the T with over an hour to spare. We ate, read, and played games until 4:20, when our train arrived in the station. The folks at the table next to us marvelled at how quickly we cleared our table when the gate was announced. agrumer found us the comfy part of the train to sit in, and we read, chatted, and dozed till pulling into Penn Station. agrumer and bugsybanana went home. Beth, mnemex, and I tried to find a place to eat in Penn Station, learning that the expensive restuarant, Tracks, is cheaper than the less high quality places, but also, alas, closed earlier. We wound up at Bombay Garden, a nice Indian place on Seventh Avenue and 23rd Street. Then, we all made our way home, mnemex and I discovering we needed to shuttle to Grand Central to get the 7 train.
mnemex's office, where I bolted down half a tongue sandwich. We went with mnemex to the Fung Wah bus stop. The bus was loading up, and we were assured that there were seats for all. bugsybanana almost didn't get on that bus, because she knew it was the 5:30 bus, and we had planned to make the 6 pm bus. We, of course, had assumed that, as it was a quarter to or ten to six, the bus was the 6 pm bus. Fortunately, bugsybanana saw mnemex through the bus window, so she got on too.Despite my folks' fears about snow (which came later in the weekend), poor tire treads (my father told me about the penny test), and Chinese terrorists heading for Boston, we got to South Station smoothly enough. I even did it on one dramamine, rather than taking a second halfway through the trip. From there, we hailed a cab. The first didn't take us, the driver claiming he was there for someone in particular. The second took us, the driver claiming that the other driver had been lying. He got us to the hotel, though it took more walking back and forth than we liked to find an actual entrance to the hotel.
agrumer had already checked in and watched Samurai Champloo, teasing me about how far behind the fannish cool pop culture curve I was. Beth picked up her registration just in time. I bolted down the rest of my sandwich and changed clothes to something less wintery. mnemex and I just missed registering, as reg closed at 11. He went to the gaming room. I said hi to people, including ladymondegreen and akawil.I hooked up with Beth for some shopping. I was good, possibly because there were fewer dealers this year, and not all the dealers on Dealers' Row were open past midnight on Friday. I did buy some hair sticks that were on sale, but avoided the nifty-but-expensive coat, and the inexpensive-but-bulky axe. mnemex wouldn't leave gaming to see these, but agreed to check them out on Saturday. It was about 1:30 am. Beth and I went to look for filking, but returned to inform mnemex that it had closed down around 1 am. agrumer noted how dead things were for a Friday night at an Arisia. The gaming clearly wasn't, as mnemex didn't get in until about 5 am or so.
Saturday, I didn't manage to make a noon panel on what to do when the power level of the game one's gming starts soaring out of control. Beth and I did make the panel on plotting, which was good, if general. I think I could probably be on some of the gaming panels at this point. I also dragged her to the beginning of the Women and Gaming panel. I think most people should probably go to the first 10-15 minutes of one of those, if only to observe who shows up, the gender balance, who talks, and so on. This year, it seemed a bit duller than last, though that may mean that things are improving. Attendence was good.
I showed mnemex the jacket and the axe, and he helped talk me out of both. I picked up 2 used paperbacks and got a leather jacket repaired. I was pretty sure someone at Arisia would have a sewing machine.
agrumer and bugsybanana ate out, while Beth, mnemex, and I ate what we'd brought with us, just like we did for breakfast. We all did some party crawling, and all of us at least poked our heads in at the filking. mnemex and I stayed the longest, partly because once it dipped below critical, we knew that when we left, it would end, and partly because once it dipped below critical, there was a lot of good stuff we'd not heard before. And good company.
Then, the key follies commenced. Earlier, Beth had needed to replace her key, and assumed it had died from being too close to her cell phone. Now, mnemex went to replace his, and we got fresh keys for all in the room. Then, we hung out with
nancylebov, and walked her back to her room, discovering her key had died too. We went back down to the front desk and confirmed that the keymaker was on the fritz.Sunday, we learned that buses weren't running, but trains were. Fen could check out up until 2, extend until 4 for 1/3 of a night, till 6 for 1/2, or overnight. agrumer decided to get a train ticket, and bugsybanana, Beth, mnemex, and I asked him to front for us as well. We got tickets for a 3 pm train. The concierge suggested leaving no later than 12:30-1pm. We headed out at 1 pm, reaching South Station via the T with over an hour to spare. We ate, read, and played games until 4:20, when our train arrived in the station. The folks at the table next to us marvelled at how quickly we cleared our table when the gate was announced. agrumer found us the comfy part of the train to sit in, and we read, chatted, and dozed till pulling into Penn Station. agrumer and bugsybanana went home. Beth, mnemex, and I tried to find a place to eat in Penn Station, learning that the expensive restuarant, Tracks, is cheaper than the less high quality places, but also, alas, closed earlier. We wound up at Bombay Garden, a nice Indian place on Seventh Avenue and 23rd Street. Then, we all made our way home, mnemex and I discovering we needed to shuttle to Grand Central to get the 7 train.