torquill: Art-deco cougar face (dark)
[personal profile] torquill
I showed up at Baycon around 1:30ish, wandered a little, bought a badge, and got more familiar with the new venue. I ran into several people I was delighted to see ([livejournal.com profile] supersniffles, [livejournal.com profile] childe_dirk with M, [livejournal.com profile] mactavish and [livejournal.com profile] hitchhiker, [livejournal.com profile] johno, [livejournal.com profile] catnip13, [livejournal.com profile] silverkun, [livejournal.com profile] kyburg, and several others). Same old acquaintances with new haircuts, new costumes, new laugh lines. A couple of faces that brought to mind past drama. After a little while, I found myself getting a little teary-eyed.

No, wait... that was because of the depression that suddenly gripped me. Hrm. I was feeling a little anxious, too, and the air quality in the hotel was none too good, so I went outside to catch my breath. Ten minutes later, I felt fine -- stable, reserved, cheerful. Went back in, and within ten minutes I was depressed again; within twenty I was crying.

Sigh.

I stuck around until 4 in the hope of seeing [livejournal.com profile] unseelie23, but with a dead phone battery (double sigh) I couldn't contact much of anybody while I was wandering the hotel. I talked to ConOps about the fact that I was physically unable to attend the con I had paid for a badge at, and after being assured that they would do their best to get me some sort of refund, I left a note for the Hiss and Purr about the air quality with Cynan. I said my farewells to everyone I could find (I'm glad [livejournal.com profile] firestrike awakened before I left so that we could touch base) before heading for the car; sorry if I missed anyone.

Something in the hotel, probably fumes from their not-so-recent remodel, plays merry hell with my system. The fact that it hasn't dissipated even after a year or two, plus the bad air quality I was picking up on while I was there, says to me that their ventilation is so piss-poor that they'll just keep recycling the same VOCs for another few years. So: Baycon is out of the question for this year, and the next, and quite possibly 2010 as well. I'll have to see when we get to then.

Sucktastic. I go to the con because it has a bunch of people I really like all in one place, some of whom I only get to see there... I was especially looking forward to buttonholing Pat McEwen to talk about the forensic anthropology work on the El Mazote massacre in El Salvador. Guess not.

Have fun, guys, and I'll have to see you elsewhere. I can hope that Baycon chooses not to continue with the Santa Clara Convention Center for the next two years, but (if you'll pardon the expression) I'm not holding my breath.

Date: 2008-05-26 01:02 (UTC)
From: [identity profile] catnip13.livejournal.com
I've often said Baycon is the closest thing to a high school reunion youll ever catch me at.

I hope you are feeling better quickly. There's something in the linens here that is giving me a monster headache in the morning, but that is typical of just about any hotel I stay at.

I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to do more than say hi. We should try to hook up sometime this summer.

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