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As to the show itself, it was really a mixed bag of good, if that makes any sense. I was really unused to all the smoke indoors, and so I ended up coughing from the time I left until a couple of days ago. The Orleans really needs to invest in a better air filtration system, honestly.
The casino had a sort of odd vibe about it. It was far better than the last casino I'd been in, a riverboat casino in Vicksburg where no one ever won, the entire time I was there. That was one of the most depressing, soul sucking places I've ever been. The Orleans, on the other hand, was more like your Grandma's casino. In fact, if your grandma was 65, chain smoking and drinking salty dogs while she whiled away the hours in front of a slot machine, then she was probably at the Orleans, and I waved to her as I walked by. Especially if she wears leopard print, too much eye makeup, and carries really silly handbags.
I got a lot of good networking done, though, and just a whole lot of seeing friends and hanging out. I had a few meals with Steve Kenson and his SO, Christopher, who are both divine. :) I spent an evening with Nancy Berman and Ann Dupuis, two very wonderful ladies whom I hope to see again this summer. They're all such good folks. I had breakfast one morning with Jason L Blair and his lovely wife and daughter, and they graciously allowed me to get my mommy fix by staring at their little girl in adoration while they got their food from the buffet. Again, just great people. I like them both very much. One evening, I got to have dinner with the FanPro guys, and that was a lot of fun too. I miss Rob Boyle and the rest of the old FASA crew, so it's really good to reconnect from time to time.
I got to have breakfast with the GoO guys, Jeff, Jesse, and Mark. It was just at the generic breakfast establishment in the Orleans, but you couldn't beat the company. I love those guys. :) Jesse took me out to the strip and we walked around and oohed and aahed (or at least I did, while he was largely amused at me, I think). The dancing water fountains were neat, but I kept thinking, "Wow! This is so cool! And it doesn't do a damned thing! People will just invent the most impressive yet useless things to entertain ourselves with, won't we?" Don't get me wrong, I was definitely impressed. It just seemed like an amusing metaphor for a lot of Las Vegas, is all.
I had the pleasure of meeting and talking with Aaron Rosenburg, Brian Snoddy, Eric Gibson (the new owner of WEG), and Louis Porter, Jr., all of whom were fun and some of whom I may get to work with in the coming year. I ended up rooming with GMS, which made for interesting morning conversation in which I got to hear about his previous evening's entertainments, which made it almost worth the arrangement in and of itself. I talked with Matt Forbeck for a while, and he's a very cool guy. It's the sort of thing where I'd like to work with him, just for the experience of it.
I got some great feedback on my fiction from James Lowder (who rejected my last story for the GOO anthology, but went out of his way to tell me why). I think Mike Stackpole has an inkling of who I am now, which is always nice, and promised to bring some of his info on agents to Origins so I can look over it. James also suggested that I throw my hat in the ring for novel stuff at WW after they get their fiction section back up and going, so I'll give that a shot, I guess. Not often someone who turns down your stuff thinks you should be writing novels, so who am I to argue, really? :)
There's also lots of editing stuff that went on, as well as a few more writing things. WotC doesn't hate me after my fiasco of last summer, and are still wanting to work with me more. This is a huge weight off my mind. I wouldn't have wept too much if they'd wanted to part ways, but I would have been sad to lose the opportunity. I'm also likely to get some editing work with them, which would be very, very sweet.
That's not an exhaustive list, but it's a decent summary. I forgot to gamble and ended up going to bed around midnight each night, which feels like something of a failure in Las Vegas, but so be it. The smoke was a real problem for me, unfortunately, coupled with travel fatigue and a bum ankle. I'll try to debauch more next year.
Tomorrow, I start back in on the questions. Wil, you're up next, probably with someone else. I will get through these, damn it! :)
The casino had a sort of odd vibe about it. It was far better than the last casino I'd been in, a riverboat casino in Vicksburg where no one ever won, the entire time I was there. That was one of the most depressing, soul sucking places I've ever been. The Orleans, on the other hand, was more like your Grandma's casino. In fact, if your grandma was 65, chain smoking and drinking salty dogs while she whiled away the hours in front of a slot machine, then she was probably at the Orleans, and I waved to her as I walked by. Especially if she wears leopard print, too much eye makeup, and carries really silly handbags.
I got a lot of good networking done, though, and just a whole lot of seeing friends and hanging out. I had a few meals with Steve Kenson and his SO, Christopher, who are both divine. :) I spent an evening with Nancy Berman and Ann Dupuis, two very wonderful ladies whom I hope to see again this summer. They're all such good folks. I had breakfast one morning with Jason L Blair and his lovely wife and daughter, and they graciously allowed me to get my mommy fix by staring at their little girl in adoration while they got their food from the buffet. Again, just great people. I like them both very much. One evening, I got to have dinner with the FanPro guys, and that was a lot of fun too. I miss Rob Boyle and the rest of the old FASA crew, so it's really good to reconnect from time to time.
I got to have breakfast with the GoO guys, Jeff, Jesse, and Mark. It was just at the generic breakfast establishment in the Orleans, but you couldn't beat the company. I love those guys. :) Jesse took me out to the strip and we walked around and oohed and aahed (or at least I did, while he was largely amused at me, I think). The dancing water fountains were neat, but I kept thinking, "Wow! This is so cool! And it doesn't do a damned thing! People will just invent the most impressive yet useless things to entertain ourselves with, won't we?" Don't get me wrong, I was definitely impressed. It just seemed like an amusing metaphor for a lot of Las Vegas, is all.
I had the pleasure of meeting and talking with Aaron Rosenburg, Brian Snoddy, Eric Gibson (the new owner of WEG), and Louis Porter, Jr., all of whom were fun and some of whom I may get to work with in the coming year. I ended up rooming with GMS, which made for interesting morning conversation in which I got to hear about his previous evening's entertainments, which made it almost worth the arrangement in and of itself. I talked with Matt Forbeck for a while, and he's a very cool guy. It's the sort of thing where I'd like to work with him, just for the experience of it.
I got some great feedback on my fiction from James Lowder (who rejected my last story for the GOO anthology, but went out of his way to tell me why). I think Mike Stackpole has an inkling of who I am now, which is always nice, and promised to bring some of his info on agents to Origins so I can look over it. James also suggested that I throw my hat in the ring for novel stuff at WW after they get their fiction section back up and going, so I'll give that a shot, I guess. Not often someone who turns down your stuff thinks you should be writing novels, so who am I to argue, really? :)
There's also lots of editing stuff that went on, as well as a few more writing things. WotC doesn't hate me after my fiasco of last summer, and are still wanting to work with me more. This is a huge weight off my mind. I wouldn't have wept too much if they'd wanted to part ways, but I would have been sad to lose the opportunity. I'm also likely to get some editing work with them, which would be very, very sweet.
That's not an exhaustive list, but it's a decent summary. I forgot to gamble and ended up going to bed around midnight each night, which feels like something of a failure in Las Vegas, but so be it. The smoke was a real problem for me, unfortunately, coupled with travel fatigue and a bum ankle. I'll try to debauch more next year.
Tomorrow, I start back in on the questions. Wil, you're up next, probably with someone else. I will get through these, damn it! :)
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Date: 2004-03-23 12:05 pm (UTC)From: