This is the last installment of RT Con 2008 since there are only two days left.
Saturday, 19 April 2008
THE BOOK FAIR
A huge room full of tables where authors sit (or stand) and wait for eager readers (and some writers) so pounce on them for books and autographs. This madness started at 11am and ended at 2pm.
I had no print books to sign and sell so I made myself a gopher for Flash to make sure she drank something to keep from being dehydrated and nibbled on cookies and such. I didn’t buy anything though I had planned to buy Wild Wishes.
Due to a faulty battery in her oxygen machine, Camille Anthony had to be relocated from her table to a place near a plug outlet. The only place available was the EC Caveman table at the front of the room. The guys were very gracious enough to share when I asked and told them the situation. It wasn’t a dire emergency since she still had an hour of battery life left, but I didn’t want it to run out and then start looking.
The event would have gone really well, except not all of Flash’s books that she wanted were there, namely Keeper of the Flame. But, she wasn’t the only one who didn’t get books she’d ordered. One author Vivi Anna sold out in the first fifteen minutes and was left with an empty spot. She put up a sold out sign and wandered around.
The signing was almost over when we lost power, or so we thought. It was the last half hour and the whole floor went dark. No one thought it was weird until later that night. We thought it was a power outage but Dennis said all the other floors were still lit. AND, the emergency lights and the service corridor lights never came on. The popular theory was that Obama or some of his people, who had been staying at the hotel at the same time as the convention, had orchestrated the lights-out so they could sneak him out of the hotel.
There’s nothing wrong with that except there was a room full of people navigating thru a very crowded and cramped spaces. If anyone had fallen or gotten hurt the hotel would have been in trouble. The other clue that the whole blackout wasn’t a random happening was that the lights didn’t come back on, they faded in, like someone was using a dimmer switch.
The excitement ended. Dennis and I hustled Flash out to lunch with some real food. We were joined by Wendi, my mom, and Eve Vaughn. There was a sandwich shop whose name I can’t remember that everyone had been gushing about so we ate there. It was good too. Nice sized portions.
After that we headed back to the hotel so Flash could get some rest because she needed it. From her dress not fitting properly (a prior bout of sickness made her lose weight) to her books not being ordered, she was stressed out. Well, on our way back in we ran into Adrian Paul (Highlander). We wanted a picture but he was in a hurry. He said he’d be right back and never returned. That was a disappointment since I had wanted a picture at least.
That night was the Mr. Romance competition and the Cover Model Reunion dinner. No one was in the mood to do the Mr. Romance thing and no one had paid extra for the Cover Model Reunion dinner. Not to mention, Wendi had set up a non-RT function for us.
She got us into a local BDSM club for a demonstration. It was fun too. We all (Dennis, Flash, Wendi, Melissa Glisan, and me) piled into Eve’s rental minivan to head further into the madness that is Pittsburgh. The place is tucked into a very discrete spot. If you didn’t know where it was, you’d never find it.
The proprietor gave us a demo of a fire flogger (very neat) and the different whips and floggers. He even demo’d on some of us (me included). Not the fire flogger though. After the demo, I was able to say with some finality that I am NOT into spanking or being hit. I do not like pain. It pisses me off not turns me on. But this demo gave me much needed info for later books and we were able to talk to people in the lifestyle.
Going to the BDSM club meant we missed out on a huge DRAMA-fest that happened at the Dorchester party. If you don’t know about it, then you’ll have to hunt down other people’s RT Con 2008 blogs. I have no personal, firsthand details so will not write about it.
We got back from the club and decided to hang out in the bar. Joy from Joyfully Reviewed and Natalie, her sister, were there with their friends talking about their “snake” (inside joke) problem. I got a snack and we joked around with them for a bit before heading to bed.
Sunday, 20 April 2008
The last day. My original plan was to go to the Samhain Publishing Sayonara and then hit the road. Well, I did go to the Sayonara (thusly named because Japanese food was served — sushi and potstickers), but I didn’t leave right after. I ended up visiting with Flash and yapping, trying to cheer her up.
Even though Samhain served food, there wasn’t really enough so I was still hungry and so was Mom. Flash and Dennis were hungry too so we all trekked down in search of the sandwich shop we’d gone to with Wendi and Eve the day before. Well, we didn’t find it. We found something better. The Six Penn Kitchen.
Let me tell you, the food there was soooooo good Dennis, Flash, and I are ready to drive back to Pittsburgh just to go there. The prices were fair for the amount of food they give you and it’s a lot and it was GREAT! I totally recommend the place if you’re in Pittsburgh for whatever reason.
After the crappy service at the Hilton, the people at Six Penn were angels. The waitress smiled at us when we entered and we were sold. ;P (Yes, service at the Hilton was THAT bad).
After really good food, we headed back. Mom packed herself off to the airport and I went to hang out in Flash’s room for a little bit before leaving. A little bit turned into a few hours. After a while, I was almost thinking of staying in their room and heading out later since they didn’t plan to leave until Monday.
Well, Flash wasn’t feeling that great and Dennis was antsy. None of us wanted to be in that hotel longer, so we packed up our stuff and got the heck out of dodge. Dennis and I spent the whole trip home leapfrogging (separate cars).
I was so happy to see home when I got back. I took a nice looooooong shower then went to bed.
That was my first RT Con. The hotel aside, it was great fun. I know what to expect next year and can better prepare. I have a whole list of stuff I learned (I’ll do a post on that soon) and I’m going to be very prepared for 2009.