GaFilk 2009, Friday

[nlbarber]

It's the weekend for GaFilk, my local filk con, and the only con I regularly go to. I missed last year as I was helping cope with my father's health problems, so it's good to be back. The crowd seems a little smaller than usual--guess that's somewhat a reflection of hard economic times, and perhaps some of weather.

Atlanta got a "wintry mix" of precip yesterday which at my house was perhaps approaching an inch of snow, in places on a thin layer of ice. As usual, Atlanta is not coping well with this--not many drivers can cope with the conditions, there's not much capability for spreading sand or deicing stuff on roads and bridges. Summary: GaDOT says don't drive if you don't have to. Major roads, especially the interstates, are mostly clear, but then there's the ice patches, and the ramps, and most secondary roads have problem spots. And Atlanta is hilly and has lots of bridges. I did run errands yesterday and found one store open, but Weight Watchers was dark. As the temperature has dropped back to the teens, they are predicting we'll have to cope with significant (for us) ice-on-roads for several days.

Back to GaFilk...

I drove down fairly late yesterday, having delayed trying to get stuff done related to Daddy's estate (insurance issues, bookkeeping for end-of-year so younger brother can proceed with tax stuff) and got here about 5:30. I got checked in and dumped all my stuff in my room, found registration, and collected my badge and banquet ticket. As usual, I know lots of faces and can even dredge up names, but as a introvert/wallflower/lurker/whatever, I don't think any of these people know me. I just say hi or nod a greeting. I made a pass through the little dealer's room and picked up one book from Larry Smith (a Patricia Briggs early work--just got hooked by her Alpha and Omega books, read or re-read all the Mercy Thompson books, and now am looking for the rest of her stuff), then dashed the short distance to Arby's for a little food before opening ceremonies.

The con kicked off with the usual Happy New Year champagne party (it's the new year for filk, or fandom, or maybe just for filking fandom in Atlanta, or just an excuse for champagne...) with toasts and confetti. I immediately hooked up with mbernardi and filkferengi , and shortly after that my friend Mike Mallory appeared as well. Mike M. and I worked together in Jackson, Miss. before I transferred to Atlanta. He's now retired, and in the last few years discovered filk. I sat between Michael and Mike (confusing, that) catching up with both of them--with Mike it was the personal and office gossip of 2 years, with mbernardi it was mostly iPod Touch comparisons--he's only had his a few weeks. I'm ashamed to say that he's gotten his a lot better organized than mine is--I'll try the excuse that all the upheavals of the past year kept me from figuring out which of the (5? 7?) note-taking programs I want to use, and how to get the maximum number of ebooks into a single reader. I'm raiding his knowledge base....

GAFilk's evening proceeded with the My Filk! gameshow/trivia contest. First round of questions were provided by Super Secret Guests Ellen Kushner and Delia Sherman, which made for pretty detailed folklore/mythology questions that largely stumped the teams. GaFilk tradition is that all the guests make up the judges panel, and Kushner and Sherman had a great time with the final judging of the filksong challenge, involving all the judges trailing across the room in a line, with balloons (from the New Year's decorations) trailing from ribbons wrapped around their necks. She then explained they were a hung jury. [rimshot] After My Filk!, the ConCom's Choice concert was by Dene Foy, who had nice material, some his, some from others. I got diverted briefly during this by giggles from Kushner, Sherman, and Brenda Sutton as they stared pruriently at a blue balloon and a red balloon rubbing suggestively together in a ceiling vent.

After the concert, mbernardi pumpkined. I wandered into the con suite for a while, came back to the main filk room to see that the open filking, as usual, was slow to form--lots of general socializing happens first, especially on the first night. I decided to retire to my room and perhaps come down later...but ended up getting absorbed on the Internet (curse you, mbernardi , I grabbed 4 new apps for my iPod!) and stayed up too late without even the excuse of listening to filk.

Comments

[mmegaera.livejournal.com]

Pumpkined [g]. A verb I had never heard before I started dipping my toes into fandom a few years ago, but just love.

I'm glad you're having a good time. Stay safe on those roads.

[nlbarber]

I've used it in the past, but this time was influenced by Michael's use of it as he departed last night. And again tonight--we all (me, mbernardi, and filkferengi) pumpkined just as the open filk was starting. At 12:15 am, you understand, after a full day of concerts, the banquet for me, and the Interfilk Auction.

Such a descriptive verb.