No Post Since August, Really?
I haven't done this for a while, so I tried to not be too ramble-y.
Rundown of happenings at Naka-kon
I got to the Hyatt at 6pm Wednesday night. It was almost an hour before the next person arrived, Jes our Hotel liaison. The two of us checkes in our set of rooms for the evening, and awaited the rest of the ConCom crew. The evening was a mix of tasty Mexican food and panic as we finallized a few things. I sat down and remade a bunch of signs that we didn't end up using because our Pubs Director was already on top of things.
I went to bed around midnight, and got up at 7 to prepare for our 8am meeting between the convention and hotel staff. It's always a good time making sure that everyone is ready for any last minute changes and room arrangements. I ended up emailing a finalized schedule just after the meeting to Dana, the manager who works with us, so she could get the right event titles and room setups planned.
There was a short break after the meeting to grab some food before the Convention Helpers arrived to begin the Great Unloading. All of the items we had stored from the previous year, as well as any recent purchases were removed from the rental truck and placed in Pershing before being taken to various locations around the hotel. AV's Batcave, the ConCom boardroom, the Exhibit Hall for Vendors' setup...
Guests began arriving on Thursday night. I was even drafted to make a run to the Airport. I used my authority to make a passing Guest Staffer come along to help out/keep me company. I got my first hug of the weekend from Amelie at the airport before being told to park and wait for Patrick Seitz. He has a great voice and it was fun to chat with him on the way back to the hotel. I also ran into Clarine Harp in the Hyatt lobby and relayed that I was a fan of a webcomic character she inspired before I knew she was a voice actress.
Also on Thursday night I got a manicure from my friend Teresa, so my hands would not be too rough from months of UPS work. You know, in case I had to shake a bunch of hands over the next few days. (I did.) That pretty much ended my Thursday. I may have gotten the most sleep that night, before waking up Friday to move everything to the rooms they belonged.
The AV director and his main assistant were stuck in the Main Programming room almost all of the day, helping ALSDEAD, our awesome Japanese band, to get set up and sounding good. I, with a few of my Panels staff, helped out the remaining AV crew get the ballrooms and meeting rooms set up for the panels and showings that would be hosted from 4pm onward.
There was a bit of stress when I, and another staffer, had to call around to almost every single electronic store in the area to locate some Japanese => American power converters. We wanted to make sure the band's instruments didn't get too hot and go all 'splody. I didn't hear of any exploding musicians, so I believe we succeeded.
My main focus on Friday night was the Formal Ball. I had a brand new (to me) tail-coat and fancy white vest/bowtie combo to show off. Gavin Goszka, another musical guest, was already setting up his keyboard and warming up when I got to the room. He and Teresa, who was his assigned guest staff, left after he finished to go get all fancy-fied. That gave me the honor of starting off the Ball and welcoming the attendees to the room. I am very lucky I was able to pull my friend Jon from the line to work the door and enforce our Dress Code. At least until I was able to request a volunteer to man the entrance. Thanks, Jon! Thanks, volunteer dude!
The Ball itself was in a slightly larger room than last year, but it had a lower ceiling. This made fighting the crowd's talking with my music a bit harder. I will definitely take that into consideration for next year. As well as finally looking into a ball-room dance instructor so everyone can learn some good steps. I did end up teaching a few ladies some waltz/box steps as I danced, but more help would be good. One of my fave comments was from a person who said he greatly preferred the music I was playing to that of the Dance Party. :P
After the ball ended, I called up the hotel to bring the chairs back in and helped the panelist to set up his computer to run his Zombie panel. There was a line waiting for his panel almost as long as the one for the ball itself. Whoa.
So, my Friday ended at 1am. Saturday began at 5am, because I had to wake up in time to shower and get dressed for my shift in the boardroom at 6. We always have at least two people stationed in the room in case someone needs to leave. That made me happy because once 6 came around I was able to get cash from the other on-shift worker and make a Panera run. I am so happy they open at 6 on Saturdays, and have tasty breakfast souffle.
There was only one canceled panel Saturday morning, because the panel leader had to go and remake a bunch of D&D character sheets from scratch. Cursed water damage! There were a few 'passings around' of AV equipment from room to room, but I believe everything ended up running well. The Cosplay ended up starting a little late. Partly due to people still coming in and finding seats, and partly due to waiting on printers to print out papers for Jon and I to read as MCs.
There were fewer flubs in line between the two of us this year compared to last. I'll chalk my side to me actually getting lunch and a nap before the event started. I assume Jon's prep was similar.
The halftime entertainment was the Karaoke Finalists like last year. My friend Cassie made the group this time, and that girl has pipes I didn't know she had. Her song was sans music and I was stunned at her power.
After the singers was the Kojokan Samurai group out of Iowa. They did a full performance piece with swordsmanship, drums, and flute playing. They even stalled for judging by telling a few jokes. I must say that I did not plan to help end the stalling, but I just happened to have promise Jillian a cupcake and had stored it inside my podium to make sure no one else ate it. So when the judges returned as the Kojokan were down to singing Hakuna Matata, I knew exactly what to do. :3
That was the end of my visible presence on Saturday night, but I still was awake until close to one working on things behind the scenes. Sunday was my most free day, schedule-wise, and I was even able to do a small bit of shopping in the Vendors' Room. I picked up 3 classic anime VHS for $2.
I did end up helping out once again with the Tea Party. We had a few great helpers who volunteered less than a week before the Kon that assisted Lauren with table settings and center pieces. They also helped during the Party by keeping an eye on the others at their table and trying to stay on top of emptying tea-pots. I bowed out at the very beginning to return to my room for my tail-coat once again. I returned surprisingly quickly considering Sunday elevator wait times. I did my best to make the rounds of the room and keep tea steeping as best as I could. Lauren was a great hostess; she had a bunch of games planned and everyone seemed to enjoy the event greatly. I had been worried that I'd set aside twice as much time for it this year as last, but all in all, it went well.
That was the last event I had a hand in on Sunday. Tear down went surprisingly well. I had all four of my staffers on the clock to unhook, organize, and pack away the AV equipment for easy storage and locating for later need. I was able to go back to my room and pre-pack some of my luggage before changing and heading up to the Staff post-kon party.
That is a highlight of the weekend. I'm finally able to chill, hang out, and chat with guests and other staff.
Monday brought the reverse of Thursday. Using my UPS trained skills to pack up the rental van and getting it all prepared to return to storage.
Then, back to home. Unloaded my car. Took a nap, got a shower and went to work at UPS. The first two hours there I still had a Kon level of adrenaline coursing through me. By the time break came around I was calmed down to where I wasn't forcing myself to run around fixing every problem I saw.
Rundown of happenings at Naka-kon
I got to the Hyatt at 6pm Wednesday night. It was almost an hour before the next person arrived, Jes our Hotel liaison. The two of us checkes in our set of rooms for the evening, and awaited the rest of the ConCom crew. The evening was a mix of tasty Mexican food and panic as we finallized a few things. I sat down and remade a bunch of signs that we didn't end up using because our Pubs Director was already on top of things.
I went to bed around midnight, and got up at 7 to prepare for our 8am meeting between the convention and hotel staff. It's always a good time making sure that everyone is ready for any last minute changes and room arrangements. I ended up emailing a finalized schedule just after the meeting to Dana, the manager who works with us, so she could get the right event titles and room setups planned.
There was a short break after the meeting to grab some food before the Convention Helpers arrived to begin the Great Unloading. All of the items we had stored from the previous year, as well as any recent purchases were removed from the rental truck and placed in Pershing before being taken to various locations around the hotel. AV's Batcave, the ConCom boardroom, the Exhibit Hall for Vendors' setup...
Guests began arriving on Thursday night. I was even drafted to make a run to the Airport. I used my authority to make a passing Guest Staffer come along to help out/keep me company. I got my first hug of the weekend from Amelie at the airport before being told to park and wait for Patrick Seitz. He has a great voice and it was fun to chat with him on the way back to the hotel. I also ran into Clarine Harp in the Hyatt lobby and relayed that I was a fan of a webcomic character she inspired before I knew she was a voice actress.
Also on Thursday night I got a manicure from my friend Teresa, so my hands would not be too rough from months of UPS work. You know, in case I had to shake a bunch of hands over the next few days. (I did.) That pretty much ended my Thursday. I may have gotten the most sleep that night, before waking up Friday to move everything to the rooms they belonged.
The AV director and his main assistant were stuck in the Main Programming room almost all of the day, helping ALSDEAD, our awesome Japanese band, to get set up and sounding good. I, with a few of my Panels staff, helped out the remaining AV crew get the ballrooms and meeting rooms set up for the panels and showings that would be hosted from 4pm onward.
There was a bit of stress when I, and another staffer, had to call around to almost every single electronic store in the area to locate some Japanese => American power converters. We wanted to make sure the band's instruments didn't get too hot and go all 'splody. I didn't hear of any exploding musicians, so I believe we succeeded.
My main focus on Friday night was the Formal Ball. I had a brand new (to me) tail-coat and fancy white vest/bowtie combo to show off. Gavin Goszka, another musical guest, was already setting up his keyboard and warming up when I got to the room. He and Teresa, who was his assigned guest staff, left after he finished to go get all fancy-fied. That gave me the honor of starting off the Ball and welcoming the attendees to the room. I am very lucky I was able to pull my friend Jon from the line to work the door and enforce our Dress Code. At least until I was able to request a volunteer to man the entrance. Thanks, Jon! Thanks, volunteer dude!
The Ball itself was in a slightly larger room than last year, but it had a lower ceiling. This made fighting the crowd's talking with my music a bit harder. I will definitely take that into consideration for next year. As well as finally looking into a ball-room dance instructor so everyone can learn some good steps. I did end up teaching a few ladies some waltz/box steps as I danced, but more help would be good. One of my fave comments was from a person who said he greatly preferred the music I was playing to that of the Dance Party. :P
After the ball ended, I called up the hotel to bring the chairs back in and helped the panelist to set up his computer to run his Zombie panel. There was a line waiting for his panel almost as long as the one for the ball itself. Whoa.
So, my Friday ended at 1am. Saturday began at 5am, because I had to wake up in time to shower and get dressed for my shift in the boardroom at 6. We always have at least two people stationed in the room in case someone needs to leave. That made me happy because once 6 came around I was able to get cash from the other on-shift worker and make a Panera run. I am so happy they open at 6 on Saturdays, and have tasty breakfast souffle.
There was only one canceled panel Saturday morning, because the panel leader had to go and remake a bunch of D&D character sheets from scratch. Cursed water damage! There were a few 'passings around' of AV equipment from room to room, but I believe everything ended up running well. The Cosplay ended up starting a little late. Partly due to people still coming in and finding seats, and partly due to waiting on printers to print out papers for Jon and I to read as MCs.
There were fewer flubs in line between the two of us this year compared to last. I'll chalk my side to me actually getting lunch and a nap before the event started. I assume Jon's prep was similar.
The halftime entertainment was the Karaoke Finalists like last year. My friend Cassie made the group this time, and that girl has pipes I didn't know she had. Her song was sans music and I was stunned at her power.
After the singers was the Kojokan Samurai group out of Iowa. They did a full performance piece with swordsmanship, drums, and flute playing. They even stalled for judging by telling a few jokes. I must say that I did not plan to help end the stalling, but I just happened to have promise Jillian a cupcake and had stored it inside my podium to make sure no one else ate it. So when the judges returned as the Kojokan were down to singing Hakuna Matata, I knew exactly what to do. :3
That was the end of my visible presence on Saturday night, but I still was awake until close to one working on things behind the scenes. Sunday was my most free day, schedule-wise, and I was even able to do a small bit of shopping in the Vendors' Room. I picked up 3 classic anime VHS for $2.
I did end up helping out once again with the Tea Party. We had a few great helpers who volunteered less than a week before the Kon that assisted Lauren with table settings and center pieces. They also helped during the Party by keeping an eye on the others at their table and trying to stay on top of emptying tea-pots. I bowed out at the very beginning to return to my room for my tail-coat once again. I returned surprisingly quickly considering Sunday elevator wait times. I did my best to make the rounds of the room and keep tea steeping as best as I could. Lauren was a great hostess; she had a bunch of games planned and everyone seemed to enjoy the event greatly. I had been worried that I'd set aside twice as much time for it this year as last, but all in all, it went well.
That was the last event I had a hand in on Sunday. Tear down went surprisingly well. I had all four of my staffers on the clock to unhook, organize, and pack away the AV equipment for easy storage and locating for later need. I was able to go back to my room and pre-pack some of my luggage before changing and heading up to the Staff post-kon party.
That is a highlight of the weekend. I'm finally able to chill, hang out, and chat with guests and other staff.
Monday brought the reverse of Thursday. Using my UPS trained skills to pack up the rental van and getting it all prepared to return to storage.
Then, back to home. Unloaded my car. Took a nap, got a shower and went to work at UPS. The first two hours there I still had a Kon level of adrenaline coursing through me. By the time break came around I was calmed down to where I wasn't forcing myself to run around fixing every problem I saw.