2005-04-27 - 9:58 a.m.
Why are we here, again?
Harv is right. It surely does suck. Tracy introduced me to the Tech crew that worked the Star Trek conventions in Hunt Valley, and I worked them as well for a couple of years - no pay, but free entry to the con, the chance to play with a spotlight, and the occasional meeting of famous people was fun enough without getting any cash for my efforts (such as they were). Before I went with her, I'd never been to a Trek Con - for me, it had always been the fantasy cons (yes, I was a dweeb, but I was a dweeb with cool costumes, so nyah). It had been a while even since a fantasy con (I stopped going around my 22nd birthday), and Trek was a whole new ball of waxy yellow build up. People watching is the main sport at these things if you're not actually a rabid fan. I could sit for hours in the halls or the main ballroom watching the people - they're much more colourful than your average mall goers. There's also a heavy air of otherworldliness about people's mood - an effort to cram into a weekend all the time you can get with like-minded people, who presumably will not treat you the way most normal people do the rest of the year. That, and getting laid. They're very keen on getting laid. It's fun being a cute girl at Trek conventions - kind of like dynamiting fish in a barrel. I used to wear an outfit similar to the one I wore to Bob's party this year (different coat and thigh-high boots), and I left a trail of dazed nerds reeling in my wake.
Hey, you don't get to make that kind of impact very often. I took complete advantage of this, working my way to the front of lines, getting people to buy dinner and drinks, and generally being evil. The best part, of course, was having a partner in crime who understood *exactly* what it all meant, and why we should laugh at it. I think my favourite moment *ever* was watching a panel discussion of the cancelling of ST:Deep Space Nine, where a kind of geeky (okay, *Super* geeky) guy stood up, made an impassioned speech about how they *couldn't* cancel DS9, and ended with an indignant "People's LIVES are affected by this!". Somehow, we both knew he wasn't talking about the cast and crew. Good times, good times. Temple of Trek - now that's something to experience, especially if you're doing the lights, so no-one thinks you're actually there to *worship*. A whole church, based on the Star Trek Universe - I'm not even sure what deity they worshipped, but they seemed very intent. Unfortunately, I didn't get to see the whole thing - I got a bad case of the giggles, and had to leave. Far be it from me to disrespect someone else's belief system, no matter my personal opinion. After all, I'm an Anglican. As far as I can tell, we worship the Royal Family and little hats with ridiculous feathers. Good times. Yes indeed.
Dorsal - Ventral
Funnier than me: James Lileks disclaimer!
all words copyright Laura Mellin 2000-2005
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