Pain - Pleasure - Pain

Well, I'm back from Continuum.

I will try to record my thoughts and experiences from the con later. Maybe. I realise that even for the best of cons, and this is one of those, that I always just fail completely to capture my thoughts. Many times have I tried. Many times have I failed. Possibly its an overload thing. I am hoping that lj will cure the problem.

But what impacts my thoughts right now is the three phase nature of the experience. This is a general observation for all out of town cons, but even more noticeable this particular time. The thing is, the con is bookended by two pieces of travel. In this case Wellington to Melbourne and vice versa. I really don't like the business of getting to a place and the bit that is by far the worst is the whole plane trip thing.

It isn't that I'm afraid of flying - I'm not. It is that the whole thing is incredibly boring and uncomfortable. I arrived in Melbourne feeling tired and grumpy. I arrived back in Wellington feeling tired sore and grumpy. And it isn't as if anything really went properly wrong (because lobelet wasn't there :-) - it was just the basic nature of the experience. Its a good thing the bit in between was so good.

More rational analysis of the good bits later.

Hoofing it

Spot the underlying theme here while I describe day 1 of Continuum.

I arrived in Melbourne the day before and got a good night's sleep so I was up early and had a good breakfast with plenty of time before registration opened. So I had a nice long walk around the park, nosed around the MCG and generally tried to get familiar with the immediate block or so. I got back and did the same around the interior of the hotel until I found the registration desk. With half an hour to go until complete registration started, things were in a bit of a panic as usual for these things. I helped out by standing around putting last minute fliers into the video programme. Then sat in the comfy chairs chatting to Russell Kirkpatrick, gillpolack and various Voyager writers coming to say hello to Russell. I went to an interesting panel on "Weird History" and got out to lose my place on those comfy chairs. So I stood around talking to various people.

Then Rose Mitchell dragged me off to the Goat Brewery. My first tram ride in my third visit to Melbourne then a walk to dark alleys where the brewery is. Great beer. Quick tour. Rush back to the con for the opening ceremony - stood in the Tram all the way because of the footy crowd.

Short sharp, to the point opening ceremony. Then the great debate - one of the best items at a con ever. Neil stole the show of course although the others all did their part superbly. I talked to Russell afterwards - he said that he was tempted to do more but Neil was just so funny and so charismatic that he just sat back and left him to it.

Walked down to Bridge street for a meal with Paula McGrath and Donna Heenan - great to see them again. Had Duck Ravioli at a Malasian restaurant. Yes you read that correctly - I just had to try it.

That theme - it is the number of times I describe foot related activity. As we walked back from Bridge street my left foot started to hurt a lot. Its an old problem with the planar tendon that flared up. Boy oh boy did it hurt each time I lifted the weight off that foot. So I went to my room to take the weight off and promptly fell asleep - woke up a few hours later just long enough to get into bed to continue that sleep.