Update the second - Gafilk

[kitanzi]

I got a taste of Gafilk Thursday night but it was mostly just enough to say hi to early arrivers and swap hugs and not have to sleep apart from ACat. Friday morning, bright and early, my very sweet sweetheart drove me home to get my car to go to work. My plan was to drive to the North Springs MARTA station after work and take that to the airport, then the shuttle to the hotel. That would have been something like an hour and a half (at least) so when Spencer volunteered Friday evening to pick me up at home after work I whooped loudly enough to startle my two remaining coworkers! As a result I got there just after 9 and caught almost all of unclechristo's set, then a bit of Nate's before I went back to reuniting with all the people I hadn't seen in FAR too long. I absolutely can't remember everyone I hugged, but there is nowhere like fandom for collecting them. ACat and maedbh7 and I went hunting for a late dinner at about ten thirty and had to settle for Waffle House. Well, it was food and it was in walking distance and the chinese place was closing just as we got to it - you take what you can get, and it wasn't awful. I didn't last a whole lot longer once we got back and completely missed open filking, but that's pretty common for me.

Saturday morning I blearily got out of bed with the idea that I should go see if the con suite crew needed anyone to suite-sit while groceries were got. Chris was happy to leave me to it while she got breakfast and when she got back I decided to go collect my roommates for breakfast myself. They were still in bed, so I rousted them out and we went for lunch, as I recall, instead of breakfast. I think that was over at the AW/KFC, but we got fed and came on back in time for Howie's SuperSecret Guest concert, which was really good! I heard but didn't actually see most of the other two concerts (A very rocking set from Rand and Adam of Ookla the Mok, then the usual stellar performance from quadrivium.) If I remember right, I spent an hour or two trying to convince Myra she should leave the registration table to me and go get food. It certainly took that long to get to actually go, but that's not a bad place to hang out and let friends come find you, either. Somewhere in here I also got to browse the dealers' room, but I missed most of the 2x10 since the hotel beds and I cordially hated eachother and I needed to catch up on sleep. I don't think I got more than a doze, though, since Maedbh7 and I had more fun just chatting and snuggling and enjoying company. It was a more than fair tradeoff, and ACat actually came up just before the banquet, entirely frazzled, to change and let us know it was time to come on down.

The banquet was one of my favorite bits! The food was quite decent, the company was marvelous, there were no major crisises for the concom to have to work out for it, and the house band was indescribable! In fact, there was a dance floor (since the banquet was in the ballroom, why not?) and they got people right off their seats and onto the floor! I know for a fact there are lots of photos out there and I'm trying to find them all. It was just soooo much fun, and I've always said I don't dance, but I guess ACat and mnemex both proved me wrong, at least for certain (loose!) definitions of the word dance! Anyhow, it was hugely fun and I hope we can do that again next year. For one thing, I'm noting the people whose con reports say they went to the banquet but didn't dance - and I mean to change that next time!

After the banquet was Mich's concert and oh wow - can we keep her? She doesn't simply play keyboard, she dances it. The caliber of musicians we had for the whole con was very gratifying and heady, and even in that crowd Mich stands out. Just... wow. Following that, the Interfilk auction. I always go and always enjoy, but by the time it's done I'm always glad it's OVER, because it always seems to drag out longer than intended. Still, lots of fun if only for the wenches and the silliness! (How would YOU sell a pair of Scooby Doo boxers?)I didn't actually wind up buying anything, but that's okay, next time.

It all ran pretty late, so after that I grabbed a piece of cake from the Dessert Social and followed ACat, nrivkis and mnemex upstairs so we could socialize while she got a massage. She looks very cute pregnant, but this hasn't given me any more inclination to try it myself than I already had - in other words, none. I crashed out after that and missed open filking again, but yeah, that's normal for me.

Sunday morning I woke up before everyone else again (yeah, there's a reason I keep crashing before the rest of you nightowl types) but eventually channeled Belgian Waffles convincingly enough to lure the other two upright and off to the hotel buffet. unclechristo peered in just after we sat down so we waved him in and he regaled us with stories while we all attacked breakfast. The man's almost as good a story teller as he is a musician, and that's saying a LOT! After that we went back up and got our stuff together and checked out, since I'd already been told we couldn't have a late checkout. I caught a bit of the EcumeniFilk, but made a point of showing up for the "Keyboard Thing" since anything that involved Mich, Mary, Blake and an unknown number of other excellent keyboard players and at least two keyboards was bound to be interesting, whatever it evolved into. What it actually evolved into turned out to be a fascinating and playful infinitely mutable sort of jam session with up to three musicians/5 hands on each keyboard. It was magic if there ever was any, and I'm very happy to have been there.

All good things must end, though, and eventually we had to have Closing Ceremonies. Srangers No More brought the usual tear to everyone's eye, Cat and Callie brought even more with a lovely, lovely song for Howie (he tried to put a little comic relief into it, but it was still lovely) and we had the usual recognition for the concom, and the Handing Out of the Hats for the guests and Toastmistress. ACat and I figured we'd take the chance to get a very small group together to try that chinese resturaunt again, and this time we got a nice dinner there. Afterwards, back to the hotel and a good chunk of the Dead Beastie Filk (dog,cat,fish, I don't care)then back home to rest and try to be ready for work the next morning! (ACat was still off for a couple more days, but I still was stuck with that blackout restriction.) plaid_dragon would be staying with us another week, but she stayed the extra night, so we headed home with maedbh7 for the time being and a wistful sigh to be leaving behind so many we'd miss.

Comments

[pocketnaomi.livejournal.com]

You don't need to be pregnant to look very cute, sweetie. :)

[kitanzi.livejournal.com]

Awwww, thank you. :) *hug*