I’m sure I’ll have more to say.
No, my wallet is still gone. I hope it turns up, but it looks unlikely I’ll get it before I leave. My mom got some money to me and all in all, it’s not a big deal (I had no money anyway, you see) so really, it’s just an annoyance at this point. Cross your fingers they let me on the plane tonight, though (which they should).
I would like to thank everyone who showed sympathy and support about my missing wallet — everyone from good friends to people I barely know. I know most of you couldn’t do anything, but I feel like people are looking out for me and that’s great.
So I really haven’t done anything today and I probably won’t, since we’re basically in the last hour (I did wander the exhibition hall a bit). It’s funny because I feel like I’m just now getting used to the experience. I said to a friend that if I had another week here, I’d get all kinds of things done. But maybe next year (and yeah, I’m already thinking about next year).
Honestly, in a lot of ways, this wasn’t what I expected. That is actually a good thing. I knew it was big and loud and crowded (three things I typically don’t like) and yeah, at times, it was a bit much for me. But there’s enough going on that it’s the sort of show you want it to be. Like the TV/movies stuff? You can do that. Like waiting in really long lines to watch video clips that will almost instantly end up on the Internet? You can do that. Want to wear your lovingly-assembled Dazzler costume (although I didn’t actually see a Dazzler costume)? You can do that. Or if you’re like me, you can just spent a lot of your time bouncing from panel/presentation to panel/presentation (and luckily, my tastes aren’t popular so those are easy to get into).
You can just hang around the big publishers or check out the small press area. You can buy toys or original art or jewelry. Is the con too big? Maybe. But on the other hand, I think it’s size is actually its strength. It’s a cliché, but yeah, there’s something for everyone here (and everyone does seem to show up).
I know there was the stabbing and the typical “Free Hugs” kids (maybe I’m old, but I find them pretty sad) but I really didn’t see any bad or questionable behavior. I’m sure it went on, yeah, but I’m glad it didn’t seem like a big creep fest to me. I wouldn’t say the attendee split was 50/50 in terms of male/female, but I think it was pretty close (more men, obviously, though).
I know I have more to say and I’ll probably think of it, but my thoughts keep wandering and I keep spacing out a bit. My shoulders are sore (I packed light! But carrying around bags for four days will do that) and as much as I love my Macbeth shoes for their comfort, my blisters have developed blisters of their own. I would’ve loved to have done more today and tried to talk to a few people, but the wallet thing derailed that and left me a little out of it to function.
The con has an hour left and then I’ll head to the airport (my flight leaves at 10:45 p.m. — it’s an overnight one — so while I want to be there early to deal with my situation, there’s no point in being there too early). I’m actually sad it’s ending.
But yeah, the wallet thing still kind of sucks. But not enough to ruin the experience.
