The Ironman of conventions

As I eluded to last week, in order to get the most out of WorldCon you have to pull some long days.  Now, I knew this going in. I've had long days like that before. I made it through a six hour tech rehearsal before giving my all on stage during the first dress rehearsal and I did it without turning into a zombie. I figured if I can do that, this would be no problem.

Oh, no no. This was much, much more.

This was like babysitting all four of my nieces, then doing to tech rehearsal before swimming five miles. And then five hours later you have to get up and do it again. All I have to say is thank heaven there was a Starbucks within fifty shuffling steps of the elevator. (If it's not a Conventions site selection rule yet, it should be.) I may have to do some endurance training before my next WorldCon because Saturday morning, not only did I hit the proverbial wall, I was pushed through it by a truck, run over, and dragged for fifty feet. Not only did I want to sleep for a week, I had no motivation whatsoever, and my feet were incredibly sore. Ok, wearing four inch heels at the Tor party may have had something to do with that last one, but that's just between you and me. Shh!

(Side note: It took two weeks for the blisters to heal so next time I'm definitely taking heels that are no taller than three inches.) (What? Don't look at me like that. Fantastic shoes make me feel more confident.)

I will admit that WorldCon is longer than the average Con and I wasn't the only one who was partied out and in desperate need of cruellers Saturday morning. The way I see it, this gives me even more reason to pace myself better next time because my networking abilities on those last two days were severely hampered by fatigue. I also think this makes it even more important to be there on the first day so I can meet as many people as I can when I'm refreshed and can make the most of the opportunity. Hopefully I'll remember these lessons. I don't expect to make it to another WorldCon until Spokane in 2015, but we'll see. Miracles can happen.