GaFilk Report

Well, as in years past, I spent most of my time in the consuite, being the consuite person. I did get out to the music quite a bit this year, though.

Friday was a bit of a nightmare to start. I had to take DS and DD with me, and DH picked them up when he got off work. So I was running around trying to get the consuite set up with the kids underfoot. They weren't bad, but they were kids, and it was a bit frustrating. As someone pointed out, they were bored and exicited at the same time, and that's a bad combination. I did bring things for them to do, but they quickly abandoned them. On the upside, I had lots of help this year moving things in. :)

Once I was all set up and ready to go, things calmed down. DH came for the kids, and went and got me chinese from the place a block from the hotel. Not the greatest food in the world, but not awful. The opening ceremonies went well, and the con was off to a good start. I hung out in the consuite for awhile, and then wandered over to the filk room across the hall. Teri was there, and sang Sheild Wall for me. :) Lots of other great music going on, but I was pretty tired, and don't remember much of it. I closed the consuite down not long after 3 am, and headed up to bed. Unwound a bit listening to Leslie Fish's Undertaker's Horse on my boombox, and went to sleep around 4.

Saturday, I woke up at 9, showered, and headed down to open up the consuite. Someone had donated a couple of boxes of sticky rolls to put out for breakfast. I had one, and they were yummy. I hung out and talked to a few people. At 2, I caught the Teri and the Space Pirates concert. It was excellent, as Teri and company usually are. I must admit, I could do without the electric guitar, though. I bought their cd, and Barb nominated me for sainthood, for a combination of giving her correct change, and having Splenda and Diet Rite in the consuite. :D I checked out the hucksters room, but decided to hold off on any purchases until after the interfilk auction. I really wanted the Rifles and Rhymes tape up for bids, and knew it would go for a pretty penny, being, as they say, "unobtainium". I restocked the consuite at several points during the day, and people seemed to be enjoying it. Bottled water and Diet Rite sodas were both new this year, and both very popular. During the Banquet early in the evening, Michael and I made a run to the grocery store for more supplies, and then went out to dinner at the chinese place.

When we got back, it was almost time for Kathleen Sloan's concert. She did a great job. I especially liked her Catalog Queen song. After the concert, it was time for the auction. The tape I wanted quickly went beyond my price range, ending up selling for about $150. Still, the interfilk auction is always prime entertainment, and I had a blast. After the auction, open filking commenced. I checked the state of the consuite, and then settled down in the main filkroom with my stitching. I had my minidisc recorder with me, and Teri graciously agreed to sing Threadfall for me, so I could capture it. Unfortunately, the next day I discovered that there hadn't been a battery in my mike. Oh well, there's always next year. Again, much good music, some of it from our Interfilk guest, Steve Savitzky. Again, I closed up the consuite shortly after 3, and headed up to bed. Unfortunately, my key card wouldn't work. People had been having problems with them all weekend. It wouldn't have been a major problem, except the lobby was full of soldiers being checked in. So, I took myself back to the filking, and hung out for 45 minutes or so, nearly falling asleep in my chair. I then went back to the front desk, where the remaining soldiers kindly allowed me to go ahead of them, for which I was greatly appreciative. Thanks guys! Then, I discovered the front desk had no record of my room being occupied! Eeek! That was finally sorted out, and I got up to my room a bit after 4, and in bed by 5.

Sunday, up at 9:30, a quick wash, and down to open the consuite. Traffic was very slow, so I hung out with Michael and Lee Billings in front of the hucksters room until it opened. Bought the Uffington Horse CD from Micheal, and after a bit of thought, I bought three of her own tapes from Juanita. Lee had some wonderful earrings and tshirts, but my budget was blown. I did get business cards though, so I can order later. :) I went to the Ecumenifilk, but ended up missing most of it since DH and the kids came to visit. DH wanted to know if I would need a second car to haul home consuite stuff. I didn't, but it was sweet of him to come and find out.

Then came the closing ceremonies and singing of Strangers No More. I was pretty exhausted by this time, so I immediately started packing up the consuite so I could go home. What consumables were left, I moved into the room where the dead dog was being held. I packed up the equipment to go with me. Said my goodbyes, loaded my car, and headed out about 5. A quick stop a the grocery store for frozen pizza and soy milk, and I was home shortly after 6. DH and the kids were glad to see me. I crashed early.

Monday, up at 6:20 to get DS ready for school. DH kindly walked him to the bus stop for me. I set DD up in the living room with juice, cereal, and cartoons. DH was working from home and could keep an eye on her, so I crawled back into bed and didn't resurface until about 11:45. DH ran me to the LNS so I could buy needles, since I was out of 26's. I also picked up a piece of forget me not blue jobelan for Trotter, and a few dmc.

And after a good night's sleep Monday and Tuesday nights, I am finally feeling almost normal. Yay! It took me a week to recover from GaFilk last year. Two days is much better. :)