Intercon D

[juldea]

So, like, I have to post some kind of wrap-up... but I'm tired and want to sleep. So I'll try to do this shortly and sweetly.

I managed to bugger out of work 10 minutes early on Friday and got to Alewife by 5:50. This didn't help me much, however, as my ride still didn't show up until 6:10. Then, we got lost on the way there (we were going the right way, she thought we weren't and turned around, then we called and found out we needed to turn around again, yet she managed to get back on the highway going in the same direction the second time, so we had to go further and then turn around...) and therefore didn't make it to the hotel until much after 7.

This meant I missed the intros and was late for the mechanics lessons for Road to Impunity, and that combined with sleep deprivation and my own anxiety about the stuff meant I lost cohesion and couldn't go through with the game. It wasn't good. londo, being awesome, walked me back to the hotel room and tried to get me to feel better. I sent him back to the game and tried to sleep, but wasn't because being alone made me cry. So I put clothes on and hung out in the Con Suite talking to various people I barely knew, and then to Christian, who had some good things to say to me that helped me calm down. Oh, then I found tpau, who dragged me off to find gower, one of the head GMs of the big game I was playing the next day, and talk to him about it so that there wouldn't be a repeat of what had happened. That helped a LOT (see below).

Finally met up with laura47 and hung out with her a bit until Impunity ended and I got to have londo back. ;) He was a bit spinny with game stuff, and running around visiting people he knew, but I got enough of his attention to feel much better. Also, there was a piano on the first floor of this grand ballroom place. londo took me to the 'business center' where one can get online computer and printer access and we downloaded me some sheet music (600 AD from that page) which I did a (if I say so) rather amazing job at sightreading. For those who don't know, playing the piano provides immense emotional comfort to me.

Finally went to bed about 3:30am, meaning 45 hours awake with <2 hours of sleep during. Go me! Oh, londo and I were graciously allowed room space with tpau, learnedax, Josh, and Nomi (I don't know the LJ names of if they have them). I got to sleep in the bed Friday night with learnedax and tpau! (It went ax, tpau, me, for those curious). Luckily I'm comfortable enough with them to sleep without having to wear pants (yes, wore underwear, but nothing heavy on my legs). Although apparently tpau says I'm a very affectionate sleeper... and learnedax says that in the morning I matter-of-factly informed him that I wasn't wearing any pants, although I don't remember this incident (tpau was apparently in the bathroom at the time).

londo ended up not sleeping Friday night, and I didn't adequately communicate to him that he was responsible for waking me up early Saturday morning, so I slept until Josh woke me up 10 minutes before "not quite Return to Watership Down after all" started. No time to shower - I just threw on pants and went to play a bunny. This being a larp (1) run by good friends and (2) totally low stress, I didn't have any problems with it besides my cell phone ringing off the hook with worried friends responding to my friends-only emotional phone post the night before. Heh.

After bunny game was The School for Young Women Specializing in the Arts of Grace and Maidenly Submission. This was a 9 (I think) hour larp! I was scared to death going into it, seeing as how I had cracked the night before. But, as I said, I had talked to gower, and had the bunny larp under my belt at that point, and plunged right in. My character, Buttercup (from Princess Bride but, erm, twisted like all characters in the game were), was good for me to play, too. She was simple and unassuming and did a lot of reaction instead of action. This was calming to me because it didn't require me to feel like I had to do complicated things and know lots. :)

Also, so many straight hours of larping with good larpers meant I learned a lot in that one game. I noticed early on my tendancy to do the "formal speech" thing - speak stiffly, not use contractions, etc. So I spent a good while working on that, trying to talk comfortably to people in character. Also, as I got more comfortable throughout the game, I realized that next time I will want more things to do - more action. This will be good to know for my next application. :) Oh, also, the boy playing my love interest was pretty cute. That's always a plus.

So, I came out of that game feeling pretty good and happy with the experience. Sadly, some of my friends didn't - londo and learnedax in particular. See their journals for more on that, I suppose. Don't wanna air their dirty laundry here. ;)

Let's see, after School there was lots of sitting around and talking, eating, I went back to the piano a few more times, and I changed into my hawt club clothes for the dance but didn't actually go to it until one of the many instances of londo's awesomeness occurred. I was sitting at the registration table, printing out more sheet music from someone's laptop, when he walked out of the room where the dance was and told me to come with him right then. I was befuzzled but followed, only to hear that Meatloaf's "Paradise by the Dashboard Lights" had started playing. I have a very deep attachment to this song, and that londo remembered so and got me up to dance for it gives him uber bonus points. I then stayed in the dance for probably about an hour, shaking my groove thang. Got mr_teem and learnedax up for some dancing, too. And apparently did some impressive shimmying... ;)

Then there was another collapse. This time I shared the floor with londo. We woke up when learnedax and tpau left for breakfast/larping and took their bed, finally waking up around noon only because we had to vacate the room for checkout. Then there was more socializing and piano playing, the closing ceremonies (during which I didn't win any raffle prizes, doh), and the Dead Dog! Dead Dog = hordes of larpers descending upon an unknowing restaurant. We went to someplace where I had a huge hamburger because I badly needed protein after the fare we had lived on at the hotel. There was more socializing, but finally laura47 brought londo and me back to my house at about 8pm. We quickly went to bed and slept for over 12 hours - yum.

So, today I woke up, hung out with londo more, went to work, came home and read tons of LJ, then went to MIT to meet laura47 and get the purse I left in her car. :P Now I've written this and I need more sleep...

Overall: Intercon was much like an OMP, but with gaming in place of the drinking. ;) I had a good time, and I will have another opportunity to play Impunity if I go to Intercon Mid-Atlantic (plus an opportunity to play a larp that includes a space shuttle simulator, and HOLY WOW do I want to do that), so I'll probably sign up for that and figure out some way to go to it eventually.

And yes, I can larp! Something londo didn't tell me until after the 'con, because he is (as I've said before) awesome, is that Intercon is home of hard-core larpers, and if I've successfully larped with them I can larp with anyone (hopefully most of you understand why he's awesome for not saying this until afterwards). So, woo.

Next time I won't sleep deprive myself so much... ;)

Speaking of, goodnight!

Comments

[laura47.livejournal.com]

Oh, also, the boy playing my love interest was pretty cute. That's always a plus.


quillion? (Chris)

[juldea.livejournal.com]

The name is right; the journal gives me no hints. ;)