Hydy's Blog

ChiCon 7 Was a Blast September 6, 2012

Spent the weekend in Chicago, from Thursday night through Monday lunch time. It was a ton of fun, though I really didn’t do as much of the actual convention as maybe I should have, responsibilities (fun) and sleep intervened. As did several really nice meals. We gathered for our own brand of quiet party that first night, meeting all the people we didn’t know yet, and some we had not seen for a long time, but would be working with the rest of the weekend. There had been some load in earlier, but Rich and I didn’t get there until mid-party.

Friday morning and afternoon we spent cleaning up and preparing the suite and three adjoining rooms for two nights of public parties. The rest of the gear arrived and we made a couple trips through the freight elevator to finish stocking the room. Carpet was covered, Christmas lights were hung, and a very cool holodeck door frame was installed. The DJs set up, the punches were mixed and we were ready to go.

Both nights were excellent parties. Nearly 500 guests the first night(causing the temperature differential alarm to go off), and many more than that the second night(thankfully we had better air circulation). We were voted best party of the con, and most people were glad to be a part of it. Some of the more middle-aged of our guests were even tickled to be ID-ed at the door, saying it had been quite some time since that had happened. We had so many fleet there, that even working was easier, most shifts not lasting more than an hour, unless you wanted it to. The four rooms gave us a nice flow, and the lack of horizontal surfaces and the great job of commemorative cup sales, meant I didn’t even have to spend all my time picking up abandoned cups.

As for the food. It was quite the adventure. Friday lunch we walked through the Pedway(an interesting, indoor way to get through downtown), to a place called Wow Bao, which serves “hot Asian buns.” These are spongy round pastries with your favorite flavors stuffed inside. We had chicken teriyaki, as well as some traditional fried dumplings. Friday dinner was deep dish Chicago pizza, it was amazing an huge. I couldn’t even manage two full pieces. Saturday I went back to the Pedway for lunch, but the subshop didn’t have beef, so I ended up with a nice tuna(better for me anyway). For dinner, I headed out via a very terrifying cab ride with friends to Weber Grill. I had a delicious prime rib, wonderful garlic mashed potatoes and nicely grilled asparagus. Excellent meal.

Sunday was busy with putting the rooms back together and getting all the gear back into trucks, vans and trailers. I’m pretty sure I missed lunch this day. So, for dinner, a bunch of us went out to Houlihan’s. Where we shared some homemade potato chips (I avoided the drizzled cheese), Ahi tuna wrapped in wonton, and some shrimp that I also avoided. For dinner, I had a plate full of broccoli, mashed potatoes and meatloaf. Nothing spectacular, but a very tasty, and filling meal. We dropped in on a couple parties that night, but one was too quiet, and the other too loud and bright, packed with people we didn’t know, so we ended up hanging out in one of our hotel rooms, though, I admit, I was nearly asleep during this, listening to stories and jokes.

Monday was final pack out for most of us, and a long drive home, now in the daylight, for Rich and me. The fields of windmills are far more fun in the dark, with their single red, blinking eyes. I imagine Don Quixote would be more convinced of their dragonish nature had he seen them in modern times. We found out that we won best party on the drive home, and tired spirits were buoyed, even into the next day. All in all, it was quite the successful weekend away.