30 Con Questions
Bob Snare put this test up on Facebook, and since it didn’t ask me for all my FB profile data first, I decided to go ahead and take the test:
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1. Fan, fen, geek, gamer, otaku, or other (if “other,” what)?
Gamer geek fan.
2. First con attended?
RoVaCon 7 (1982), late Sunday only. Took a while for me to forgive my dad for that one.
3. At what age did you attend your first con?
I’d have been in my late thirteens.
4. Suffer from “post-con depression?”
Not so much. I’m often kinda relieved to turn life back down a few notches.
5. How many cons a year?
Counting only the SF/F/anime-based ones, two to four, depending on many factors.
6. What type of con’s your fave?
The ones I get to attend, which will usually be close by, and have several friends going as well. I like cons that are aimed a a wide range of fandoms, because it’s more likely there that I’ll find stuff in which to get involved.
7. Do you go to cons for the guest, panels, or general con experience?
The general experience usually, with secondary emphasis on panels.
8. Do you hit room parties?
Yep, if I know some of the folks there.
9. Do you get drunk? If so, how much?
Nope, I only drink on rare occasions.
10. Drunken con sex?
Not drunken, no.
11. Any regrets?
Nope. I made an unwise choice or two in my youth, but I learned from them.
12. Have a “con look,” clothing wise?
Either a hall costume, or tidy jeans-and-t-shirt.
13. Do you costume? If so, costume contest? Ever won?
I have won “Best Presentation” awards for contest skits, but these days I mostly just hall costume.
14. Specific “con footwear?” If so, what kind and why?
Sneakers, ’cause I’ll be on my feet all day; or whatever the hall costume requires.
15. Go to the con with a specific person or group?
Yep, I like to go with my friends from the SW Virginia and Hampton Roads fandoms.
16. Meet up with a specific person or group at a con?
Old friends from the Northern VA and North Carolina fandoms 🙂
17. Best con experience?
See below.
18. Worst con experience?
There have been so many, of so many different kinds, that that might take me weeks to answer properly. Even then, I could divide it into stuff that happened to me, to people I observed, to the entire con, on the way there or back, food-related… I’d hate to bore anyone with the stories.
19. Do you do the art show? Buy art or hang?
With rare exceptions, I buy. The first piece I ever placed in a show – a VTSSFC crowd portrait – sold, and may still be in Ron Jarrell’s possession, but nothing else ever did.
20. Dealer’s room? Dealer or patron?
Usually patron unless I’m watching a table for someone else. I don’t spend as much as I used to, though.
21. Do you go to a con with a budget? If so, do you stick to it?
Yep. Actually, my budget has built-in emergency leeway in it, in case I find something that’s worth a week of ramen, so I’m pretty good at not leaving the con broke.
22. Do you stay in the hotel? If not, where? Do you gang up to make the room cheaper?
Yes. I am old and tired, and need to be able to go back to the room and nap. I will share with my sweetie and another couple if we all like each other lots.
23. What do you do for food?
I bring bread and cold cuts, and will usually eat dinner out with friends on Saturday.
24. Do you frequent the con suite?
In and out over the course of the evening, looking for a conversation or a cool costume.
25. Do you game? How much? What type?
Yes, but I tend not to at cons very much. It’s time-consuming, and I’m not hardcore enough to go up against the other gamers. I buy gaming stuff though. These days I do a lot of non-CCG card gaming.
26. Have you ever been staff at a con? If so, what?
I’ve run a lot of panels, from Iron Artist to lifestyle stuff. I judge Costume Calls fairly often, and get roped into improv entertainment a lot ’cause people know I’m a ham.
27. Have you ever senior-staffed a con? If so, what did you do?
I co-chaired a couple of them. I’m really not very good at it.
28. More literary, art, or media-oriented?
Yes. I don’t care, just grab my interest.
29. When do you usually arrive and when do you leave?
I usually arrive mid-afternoon Friday if the roads are okay, and leave mid-afternoon on Sunday.
30. Met an important person in your life at a con? If so, whom?
Well, I met the person who introduced me to Starfleet at a con, that only changed my life massively.
Some of these questions ought to be spun off into full-size journal entries at some point. I’ve done some wacky stuff, and my friends have done even more.
Tags: conventions, costuming, fandom, friends, gaming, memes, parties, travel
