(WLP Auction customers, the end of this post has relevant info for you...)

TRAVEL NOTES: For those who haven't noticed, the D/FW area is like a game of
SimCity run amok. Freeways running hither, thither and yonder  with no
reason or rhyme, commercial or high-rent residential blocks in the middle of
nowhere...

and the airport, my Christ the airport which I spent an hour lost in before
I gave it up and went off to arranger my hotel room.

HOTEL: No, I didn't stay in the con hotel, not for $90 a night. I stayed at
the Motel 6 Airport (on SH 114 about two miles east of the Airport North
Entrance). Much recommend. The hotel is a step above any other Motel 6's
I've ever been in, extreme comfort at $37/night.

DEALER'S ROOM: is different in reality than on paper. Instead of the traffic
coming straight down the aisle as I'dthought, it mosrly forked off to the
right and left me hanging out with Planet Anime right across from me
(ooooyyy!!!).

Still, I did $3700 for the weekend.

EVENTS: Can't say- during dealer's room hours I was kind of stuck, and
Saturday night I spent hanging around Fred Perry and taking snapshots of the
people coming out of the masquerade. There were some -very- good costumes
this year.

FANFIC: Missed the meeting on Friday (stopped by the bar at 8:15, nobody
there), couldn't hit the panel the next day. Did get to meet MegaZone for
the first time in person (and, true to form, put my foot in my mouth doing
so), also saw Zen (but not his spatula), Nicolas Leifker, Chris
'Robotech_Master' Meadows, and a couple of others whose names I can't remember.

GAMING: Awful. Truly awful.

I was supposed to have a play-test for HENSHIN! and spent a wad of money
getting ready for it, talked it up to dozens of people... and then, at the
last minute, they changed -rooms- on me. One person- ONE- showed up.

This seems to have held true throughout the convention. None of the gaming
staff had any clue where and when games would be held, schedules were -not-
posted anywhere besides registration (or if they were, I never saw 'em) and
schedules were not listed with room names on.

FACILITIES: The hotel -itself- is very nice. However, its location REEKS.
It's not close to ANYTHING, and getting one's parking ticket validated every
time you want to eat for less than $10 sucks big time.

Even better, on Friday I -lost- my parking ticket. I didn't know it at the
time, but I was in 'Infield Parking,' which meant I COULD NOT GET MY CAR OUT
WITHOUT A TICKET. After about an hour of pacing, griping, and yawning, the
bellhop pulled out an old ticket which I used to get out of the lot and
threw away before I got to the booth.

FLU BUG: On Sunday I woke up with a severe sore throat. The illness grew
worse as the day wore on, and only with help did I get my things loaded into
the truck that evening. (Worse yet, I left the table I brought from home -at
the con-.) Right now I'm still very weak, have little appetite, and am just
about over my antihistamine reaction- yes, I'm one of those who find the
cure more painful than the disease. 

All this means that my work load is going to suffer a bit until I can get
well and unload the truck. Ugh.

Anyway, I had fun at A-Kon, and I'll be back next year, but Lord I hope they
have it somewhere ELSE.

Redneck, aka Kris@WLP



Kris Overstreet's email has changed...
http://www.detnet.com/redneck/ - Redneck Gaijin Online
http://www.wren-spot.com/wlp/ - White Lightning Productions
http://www.jurai.net/~redneck/dvpbem/ - In Nomine: Dark Victory PBEM
http://www.wren-spot.com/wlp/milkmaid.html - The Magnificent Milkmaid
... but his sig hasn't -- redneck@detnet.com