teddy_radiator | Well, Where Do I Begin?

I'm a big one for firsts. I remember my first real kiss, my first good sex, my first fanfic review, my first book sell. I will definitely remember my first con.

The Hubs, who from now on will be called, "He-Who-Must-Be-Revered", cleaned our house from top to bottom while I was away. The place didn't look this good when we first moved in. He is also determined to be at 2015 with me. I've already decided I'm going to do a tea-tasting session; he'll be my helper!

I roomed with droxy, irishredlass, silverdoe7127, sabrebabe and sempraseverus. Irish was Con Mom, and kept us all regular and awake with coffee and Con cookies and great food, and I got to watch the magic of Droxy's Polyjuicing into Snape, Filch and Nearly Headless Nick. Doe gave me a beautiful heart necklace, which I will treasure, and Sabrebabe was the best sleeping buddy in the world. And what can I say: Sempra!

I'm so sorry for her loss; it her mother's condition was serious, but the doctors were cautiously optimistic at the time she left. I'm so sorry for her loss.

The Con was well-organised, chock full of things to see and do, and the people were amazing. I met shanemagnum, maf779 and snarkysneak, and feel I made great friends in them. I got to squee with drinkingcocoa, christev and pokeystar (who I swear I've met before!!!), I fangurled over foxestacado and vizen, and basked in the love and grace that is logospilgrim, who was so breathtakingly beautiful I felt I should kneel every time I saw her. I got to finally meet (and run out of time to talk with) alabastard and alabastardragon, who were so beautiful and fun it was a joy just watching them from a distance. Talking to them was one of my biggest fangurl moments!

I had a ball putting together my costumes, and was thrilled to be in the fashion show, where I terrified some poor boy in the front row, when I shouted, "You! Do you have any overdue library books? Would you like some?" I got the award for "Most Likely to Know the Dewey Decimal System". It was a hoot!

My talk couldn't have gone better - it was hilarious, though. I had decided to advance my PP presentation myself, and I realised about three pages in that I'd forgotten to do it. Good job, too; the next thing I realised is that I'd actually started doing page 7, and had to back track to page 4. If I had been using the slideshow, it would have been a hopeless mess. No worries; I'll put it together with the script on my web page. Someone asked me to do a transcript, so I will. I had a really good, receptive group in attendance, which was my biggest fear - that I'd be giving the talk to myself.

I didnt get to attend any talks on Saturday - Voldemort's Revenge hit (the combination of a detox drink and Con cookies, I fear) and I was in the loo for most of the day - I missed a lot of talks I'd been looking forward to. Next time, I'm going to be more vigilant about going to talks - that's a big regret. I did get a marvelously sweet cocktail called Sex on a Snape, which I loved, and tried several from the Dark Bartender, who was very indulgent with us in trying new things. I got some awesome swag at the Craft Fair, and very nearly gave into temptation to buy a $100 witch hat - well, it went beautifully with my ball gown!!! I managed to remind my self that I had no way of getting it home, and remained strong. I did purchase a wand, which is stunning. I want to figure out a way to display it.

The ball was marvelous - I got my dance with Droxy, and later drinkingcocoa told me she'd watched, then felt like a voyeur for watching such an intimate moment. It was very special - I got a little emotional dancing with Droxy. It was as if everything about Con I had come to love all rushed into that one single moment in time, and I realised I was truly part of something massive, something bigger than the Con itself.

Later, after they played "Don't Stop Believing" and everyone was chanting, "MISTI-Con! MISTI-Con! MISTI-Con!" I turned to drinkingcocoa and said, "You know what that sounds like? 'We belong...We belong..." She looked at me in surprise and said, "You've just given me chills!"

I'd just given myself chills. It had finally happened; the magic had touched me, and I felt the combined energy of hundreds of people cheering themselves on with a big, "GO ME!"

Because that's what the Con was ultimately about - recognising that you are in a group that 'gets' you, that thinks you're cool and beautiful and valuable. The 'geeks', the misfits, the dreamers, the ones that don't always fall into the conformities that life expects of them, the people that want to be able to look at one another in the eye and say, "Yes, I understand, you don't have to turn yourself inside out trying to explain or justify it". They were all there in their flawed and beautiful glory, and I was there with them. I have never felt so accepted, or beautiful anywhere else on earth.

Thank you, Irish and Droxy, for telling me I would go to Con this year, and that I would room with them. I was an experience I will never forget, and hopefully that feeling of belonging will remain with me for a long time - at least until Con time comes round again in 2015.

Current Mood: drained
Current Location: Writing Nook
Current Music: Don't Stop Believing - Journey

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

karelia.livejournal.com

You ARE beautiful, so why not feel that way all the time. ;)

Thank you for posting this reflection of a con. I fondly remember my experiences and would not want to miss them for anything in the world.

From:

Everything I Know, I Learned From Dahlra - Thingish Thoughts From A Bear of Very Little Brain

Well, Where Do I Begin?

Page Summary

Style Credit

Expand Cut Tags