From the Hole

confloorWith the holidays now behind us things have been pretty quiet. I suspect this to be the calm before the storm. With several major events approaching fast quiet little meetings and planning sessions are taking place behind closed doors. Agreements with various parties are being made and soon there will be . . . conventions! The USS Tiburon will be out and about being active or just attending not less than five separate of these mass gatherings.

If you’ve never been to a con you’ve been missing: dealers rooms (where you can spend far too much for those few trinkets you’ve never known existed but none-the-less have always wanted); large / crowded rooms with lots of things to see and hear (from guest speakers to art work, lectures to ceremonies, models and robots, books and toys almost anything you could imagine); parties (the best cons tend to be at hotels and have at least two parties each night and more often than not the alcohol flows like water – personally I can do without that and tend to skip the party scene altogether); crazed fans in costume (anime, Star Wars, Star Trek, Babylon 5, and other characters you’ve never imagined congregate in large numbers at con time); friends both old and new (there are some people that I only see at conventions and it’s nice to catch up with them, by the same token I always make at least one new friend even if the friendship only lasts for a day or a weekend); and last but certainly not least STARS (you might bump into them in the hallway, ride with one on the elevator, certainly up on the main stage answering the same questions they’ve been asked 500,000 times and, depending on who they are, maybe even at one of the aforementioned parties)

With everything you’ll do, see, and experience at a con you’re sure to be exhausted afterward. Many regular con goers that I’ve known over the years will take the day after a con weekend just to relax and depressurize. (This is especially true if they were active in the con’s operations or hosted a room, panel, or table during the con.)

If you’re planning on participating in your first sci-fi convention be ready. You never know, you might find yourself going to another and another . . . .

‘Til next month!

The Second Officer