vakkotaur

At RCFM Sunday night someone I then did not know or not know well wanted in on the dead dog party but was broke. I made a quick arrangement, effectively giving him a very small sum to gain entry. It would not have been a loss worth worrying about. I really expected not to see it again and get not much more than a "thank you" for it.

That was not the correct assumption. It turns out it was haystack who got a little help that night. I also recall jugularjaguar (well, Draconis, anyway) giving him some grief about the arrangement. And after that, I pretty much forgot about it. After all, how many times does one hear about a repayment that never comes?

haystack did not forget. He asked for my address a while ago. Today I got the result. A short letter with a sketch on it and repayment of more than the sum I lent him. He didn't have to do that. He did it anyway.

While it is extremely unlikely that Jim Groat is reading this, I can answer his question of Thursday afternoon about my being at RCFM: "You drove all the way down from Minnesota for this? Why?!" Why? To be with some of the coolest, most fun, and most honorable people around, that's why.

Not a complete list, perhaps...

Get my own local area (city) map for wherever a con is. I might not always have as good directions or a navigator.

Find pictures of the guest(s) of honor before the con so I have a shot at recognizing them if I run into them.

Look in the con book for the full schedule and copy relevant bits to something even more portable if not already listed.

Getting a couple cheap cookie sheets to store artwork between during travel is a good idea. While nothing was really bent, it was a close call even with the precautions taken.

Miniaturizing my electronics kit is probably a good idea. I didn't need all that much of it, and space in the trunk was tighter than I cared for. (Granted, much of is taken up with stuff I hope to never use, but I have it in case I do need to use it.)

More large zip-lock bags would be useful.

It is a Bad Idea to seal the cooler without any coolant. Especially in hot weather and especially if not dry inside the cooler. Something will start growing in there.

I'm pretty sure I'll go back to RCFM next year. I don't see any reason not to, really. I'll miss the Des Moines RenFest again, assuming it happens again, but that's not too big a deal.

I'm pondering Midwest FurFest now. It's got a few things going for it, for me. It's within one day's drive. It's not as big as AnthroCon. It's not during faire season. It's during a nicely cool time of year. On the downside, it is in Chicago or close enough.

Maybe next week, after Siouxland RenFest this weekend and when KT should be back online again, I'll talk with him about it. Oh yeah, I need to be sure I can take a few days off for it, too, and still be able to deal with Thanksgiving and Christmas travels. In the meantime, any suggestions or recommendations?