And Back to the Con
Jun. 30th, 2013 11:27 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
stormdogWhen last we left our intrepid hero with dental issues, he was leaving Lake Geneva for an hour-long trip back to Wheeling and DucKon.
I was feeling pretty good when I left.
Reading that sentence is almost making me laugh right now. Ok. Perhaps 'better than I expected' I would is perhaps more accurate. At the time, everything seemed good; I think maybe I just wasn't mentally processing the experience yet. I looked in my rear-view mirror after sitting in my car and changed out one blood-soaked piece of gauze that I was biting between my teeth for another. The light-headedness was gone. I decided I'd stop at a Wendy's on the way to get a Frosty. I *really* wanted a Frosty.
I finally found one near (I thought) to the hotel and stopped. I thought the bleeding would have stopped by then so I could take the gauze out of my mouth and go in to place an order. Removing the pieces of fabric, I found that this was not the case. Instead, I put fresh gauze back in and called Danae to ask her (since she was coming back to the convention) if she'd be willing to pick up a Frosty for me on the way since I didn't want to make people in the restaurant deal with me. She told me that a fruit smoothie would really be a better idea as I probably needed something with some usable nutrition. She would call me when she got to Jamba Juice to ask what kind of smoothie I wanted. I was a little frustrated. I *really* wanted a Frosty. But she was also right, and I'm grateful.
I continued on my way and managed to get a bit lost. I called Danae for directions, which she kindly provided. She told me that she was at the juice place and asked what kind of smoothie I wanted. I started crying because the question was just too damned complicated. She told me to go back to the hotel and rest and she would be there soon. "Thank you," I squeaked between breaths.
I got to the hotel and found that roommate Pen's son was watching TV in it. I wasn't able to figure out how to deal with that, so I went back to my car to nap. Danae called to check on me and I told her what was going on. Shortly after, I got a call from Lisa saying that she was going to talk to Pen and folks so I could have the room to myself for a few hours. Danae had called her, and neither of them were going to let the situation stand.
Both Danae and Lisa did so much to take care of me this weekend when I couldn't really manage it myself. I am deeply grateful to both of them. It's a word I rarely use because I generally steer clear of the religious connotations, but I am blessed to have such wonderful, caring girlfriends.
Pen and her family were wonderful too, being more than willing to give me space in the room, let me eat a bit of their yogurt when I couldn't manage real food, and letting me use their hot-pot to heat some soup that Danae and I bought later for me. They deserve a big thanks as well.
My memories of coming back to the room are a bit fuzzy, but I think Lisa ensured I was in bed and had a dark quiet space to sleep. I was too tired to undress or anything; I just laid down and fell asleep. I was awoken by Danae with a big orange smoothie which I slowly consumed all of. It tasted *so* good. After being a nurse for a while, I think she went out to play games, and I slept again. I finally woke up a few hours later feeling much, much better. The world seemed like a manageable place again.
I found Danae, and she and I went shopping for more soft foods I could eat. We got yogurt, soup, things like that. I ate while we played more board games with a cool couple we met who live fairly near her. Yay for an expanding social circle!
My biggest disappointment of the convention was waking up too late on Saturday to set up my camera gear and photograph the singing tesla coils. It was one of my major goals at the con, but I just wasn't up to it. Hopefully I can manage it another time. There wasn't a great deal of interesting-to-me content at the con in general, unfortunately. I'm finding myself wondering whether I want to go back next year. I'll have to give it thought, and see what's going on around pre-reg deadline. The problem is that it's about the only local convention that happens when I'm not swamped with school things, so it's really tempting just because of scheduling. I kind of want to try running a panel myself, maybe something that looks at aspects of fandom from an anthropology theory perspective. Dealing with dental issues did not help my perception of the weekend either, I'm sure.
Regardless, I got to spend time with my girlfriends, which makes me happy. I feel indebted to both of them for their love and care this weekend. I got to see Pen again, who it's nice to spend time with. I got to chat with Pan about photography stuff; we talked of getting together for photography of several kinds, including possibly modelling for him. I chatted with Sue (another friend I rarely see) for a while in the con suite. And I met the aforementioned gamers, who I hope Danae and I see more of in the future. While the weekend had its ups and downs, there was a lot of good stuff in it.
At DucKon - Pic-a-day 28 June 2013
Copyright Stormdog 2013
I never did get that Frosty though....
I was feeling pretty good when I left.
Reading that sentence is almost making me laugh right now. Ok. Perhaps 'better than I expected' I would is perhaps more accurate. At the time, everything seemed good; I think maybe I just wasn't mentally processing the experience yet. I looked in my rear-view mirror after sitting in my car and changed out one blood-soaked piece of gauze that I was biting between my teeth for another. The light-headedness was gone. I decided I'd stop at a Wendy's on the way to get a Frosty. I *really* wanted a Frosty.
I finally found one near (I thought) to the hotel and stopped. I thought the bleeding would have stopped by then so I could take the gauze out of my mouth and go in to place an order. Removing the pieces of fabric, I found that this was not the case. Instead, I put fresh gauze back in and called Danae to ask her (since she was coming back to the convention) if she'd be willing to pick up a Frosty for me on the way since I didn't want to make people in the restaurant deal with me. She told me that a fruit smoothie would really be a better idea as I probably needed something with some usable nutrition. She would call me when she got to Jamba Juice to ask what kind of smoothie I wanted. I was a little frustrated. I *really* wanted a Frosty. But she was also right, and I'm grateful.
I continued on my way and managed to get a bit lost. I called Danae for directions, which she kindly provided. She told me that she was at the juice place and asked what kind of smoothie I wanted. I started crying because the question was just too damned complicated. She told me to go back to the hotel and rest and she would be there soon. "Thank you," I squeaked between breaths.
I got to the hotel and found that roommate Pen's son was watching TV in it. I wasn't able to figure out how to deal with that, so I went back to my car to nap. Danae called to check on me and I told her what was going on. Shortly after, I got a call from Lisa saying that she was going to talk to Pen and folks so I could have the room to myself for a few hours. Danae had called her, and neither of them were going to let the situation stand.
Both Danae and Lisa did so much to take care of me this weekend when I couldn't really manage it myself. I am deeply grateful to both of them. It's a word I rarely use because I generally steer clear of the religious connotations, but I am blessed to have such wonderful, caring girlfriends.
Pen and her family were wonderful too, being more than willing to give me space in the room, let me eat a bit of their yogurt when I couldn't manage real food, and letting me use their hot-pot to heat some soup that Danae and I bought later for me. They deserve a big thanks as well.
My memories of coming back to the room are a bit fuzzy, but I think Lisa ensured I was in bed and had a dark quiet space to sleep. I was too tired to undress or anything; I just laid down and fell asleep. I was awoken by Danae with a big orange smoothie which I slowly consumed all of. It tasted *so* good. After being a nurse for a while, I think she went out to play games, and I slept again. I finally woke up a few hours later feeling much, much better. The world seemed like a manageable place again.
I found Danae, and she and I went shopping for more soft foods I could eat. We got yogurt, soup, things like that. I ate while we played more board games with a cool couple we met who live fairly near her. Yay for an expanding social circle!
My biggest disappointment of the convention was waking up too late on Saturday to set up my camera gear and photograph the singing tesla coils. It was one of my major goals at the con, but I just wasn't up to it. Hopefully I can manage it another time. There wasn't a great deal of interesting-to-me content at the con in general, unfortunately. I'm finding myself wondering whether I want to go back next year. I'll have to give it thought, and see what's going on around pre-reg deadline. The problem is that it's about the only local convention that happens when I'm not swamped with school things, so it's really tempting just because of scheduling. I kind of want to try running a panel myself, maybe something that looks at aspects of fandom from an anthropology theory perspective. Dealing with dental issues did not help my perception of the weekend either, I'm sure.
Regardless, I got to spend time with my girlfriends, which makes me happy. I feel indebted to both of them for their love and care this weekend. I got to see Pen again, who it's nice to spend time with. I got to chat with Pan about photography stuff; we talked of getting together for photography of several kinds, including possibly modelling for him. I chatted with Sue (another friend I rarely see) for a while in the con suite. And I met the aforementioned gamers, who I hope Danae and I see more of in the future. While the weekend had its ups and downs, there was a lot of good stuff in it.
At DucKon - Pic-a-day 28 June 2013
Copyright Stormdog 2013
I never did get that Frosty though....
