Thursday, July 5, 2012

ConTemporal in Review

This isn't the post I wanted to make, but ah well. If I keep putting it off it'll never get done.

Contemporal was this past June 23-26 up in Chapel Hill, NC. I went specifically because my awesome friend and costumer-deluxe Kim was on staff and looking for suckers panelists. I stayed with her, Mary, my cousin Angela, and Chainmail Chick Allegra. Basically it was like a giant nerd sleepover with costumes. WEE!!

I got there Thursday afternoon and found the room easily, although the front desk people were oddly slow. There were four of them up there, only one person in line besides myself, yet it still took 10 minutes of waiting to ask for the key Kim had left me. >_< After settling in I wandered around till the girls showed. Angela, Allegra, and myself went to the Guest of Honor dinner. If it wasn't for all the steampunk costumes I would have though I was at a wedding. Cash bar and rubbery chicken FTW. We did have some interesting company. Ruben, writer and artist for <a href="http://www.maskedmanor.com/">Masked Manor</A>, was at our table. Well, I should say that we hijacked his table, but he was alone so he had no choice. Apparently my personality was a bit...surprising to him. While I won't repeat what was said/done, I will note that apparently my ladies thought the best part was seeing the reaction on his face when I'd open my mouth and do what I do. Needless to say I don't need booze to act like a complete ass. XD Still, I made a lasting impression on him when he wrote "Dear Morgan, You're dead to me. Love, Ruben :)" in the front of the GN I bought from him. See, the smiley face means he still likes me! :D

On Friday my panels were oddly placed. I had a 4pm, 10pm, and 11pm. O_O In all honesty they were fun though. I had Wigs at 4 with Jeanne *brainfart*, who is actually a top-notch special effects/hair stylist. She worked on Hunger Gamers as well as freaking everything else that's filmed in NC. We had a good giggle when we realized upon trading business cards that we both used the same stock images from Vistaprint. My 10pm was a bust because it was directly opposite Jennie Breeden's Kilt Blowing, but that was good because then I got to go. Note: Owen needs a kilt NOW!!! My 11pm panel (A Costume for Every Body) was pretty darn full, which was shocking considering the time slot. We talked about a variety of things, and I'm fairly sure people enjoyed themselves. The guy with the 12 year old scotch to share didn't hurt either! I was finally able to see the appeal of Steampunking an established character. Scotch Guy made a point to talk about his Steam-Captain Marvel and how he made it work for his plus-size frame. SG needs to run his own panel because that stuff made sense.

Saturday was surprisingly mellow. I had a costume basics panel with some pirates (damn I love cons), then the rest of the day to chill till the costume contest. Kim did an amazing job!! I can't say that enough. GOOD JOB KIM!! It went smoothly although there was some behind-the-scenes drama, but that's normal. Aside from some miscommunication it was all good with my ladies. After that I kind of crashed (as I always do post-contest). I went back to the room to pack/order pizza while the others spread out to wreak havoc. Angela and Kim eventually joined me for pizza which was DELICIOUS.

Sunday was a bit of a downer since I had to say good-bye. After a few minutes of wandering I packed up and made the 5 hour drive home. I don't know if I'll return next year as my attendance is solely based on my ladies being there, but if it happens I'll be looking forward to it. :)

A few random WTF's and lol's:
~"Oh, so YOU'RE Morgan Skye." said by the volunteer when I picked up my Guest Badge Friday morning. Wow, didn't know I had a rep already! I guess I did more damage at the GoH dinner then I thought...
~Late night brownie parties need to be a thing at all cons forever because brownies at 11pm are heaven.
~Minor suck: a head staffer thought I was a volunteer because I was helping with Friday morning setup. When I saw her later in the ConCom room she turned snotty when I asked were the Green Room was. I politely showed her my Badge and asked again. She didn't apologize, but she did grumble something about making Guest badges bigger next year. *le sigh* I don't mind helping, and often do without being asked, but seriously LOOK before you assume!
~On that note the Green Room was so cool! Had a good chat with lots of people on all sides of Steampunk. <3 Also, bananas and apples! As many as you could carry!
~The emcee for the contest was HOT. James? John? Jason? Meh, whatever. He was from Penny Dreadful, was wearing SP Boba Fett, and had a sexy beard. I didn't flirt, and for that I'm proud of myself.

The End!
cross posted from Livejournal