arisia (all your friends are doing it)

[kirkcudbright]

Twenty? We've been doing this for 20 years? Oy.

I ran at-con reg for the first Arisia - a job I'd never done before, and really was supremely unqualified for. Dave Cantor from Boskone sat himself down next to me, showed me how to do it, and left like the Lone Ranger. For all the supposed bad blood between Arisia and Boskone, we got a lot of support in terms of equipment, manpower, and clues from them. There are individuals who will never set foot in Arisia, but they're throwing the sort of con they want to attend, and we're throwing the sort of con we want to attend.

I ran Reg for about 5 years total, alternating with being Ops staff, and discovered my useless superpower - the ability to remember names and faces. I could hand you your badge before you could identify yourself. If I could add some social skills and glib small talk to it, I might have a future as a politician or a bartender or something. Oh well.

I've been conchair once, assistant conchair 3 times, division head 3 times(?), board member 4 times(?), etc. Two epiphanies related to this: 1) Conchair is just another job. It's the highest profile, and shit flows uphill, but it's not even the most work - programming is the most work. 1.5) More than half of the former conchairs were present and working this weekend. 2) Management is not my strong suit. I'll do it if I have to, but I'm really more comfortable as an individual contributor. I'm more than willing to tell someone else what their timeline and task list should be, if it's something I've done before, but as an advisor rather than a manager. Maybe if there was a role for Leader-From-Behind.

I've spent the last several years in Publications, originally because it was completely different from what I'd been doing for Arisia and for work; now because it's what I do. My most immediate goal when I took over Souvenir Book was to Suck Less than my predecessor, and it's not bragging to say I succeeded. (I didn't do it this year - that was a reprise by the aforementioned predecessor, who made some choices I wouldn't have, but nonetheless mostly failed to suck.)

Likewise the pocket program, which was a total train wreck two years ago. I cobbled together some templates and data import scripts, and had a working prototype before the actual editor got his version (a combination of WordPerfect, Word, PowerPoint, and Excel) to press 3 days before the con. That skunkworks project became the foundation for last year's and this year's (and next year's) books. It's massively scripted, but it still managed to consume about 60 hours in the week before it went to press. I've got to manage that better next year, mostly by spending more time with the data further out from the con. More orderly proof-reading and tightening of the program descriptions would go a long way.

I like working at con, but I'm really enjoying having all my work done before the con, so I can relax and enjoy the con. I went to very little programming (notably made it to the con-running panel, which was ironically scheduled opposite the Arisia corporate meeting), but spent a lot of time hanging out with 2000 of my closest friends.

Late last night, zyxwvut observed that most 4-day cons have two Saturdays, while Arisia had two Sundays. To be fair, there was a lot going on Sunday, but the mood did slow down in the evening, and Monday was really all about packing up and saying goodbyes. It wasn't a design goal, but it's a (probably unavoidable) consequence of being on a minor holiday weekend - some people can't stay the whole weekend.

I don't put anything close to this level of effort into other people's conventions. I mostly don't go to other people's conventions, but when I do (mostly the odd worldcon these days), I feel like I ought to attend some of the programming, some of the movies, etc. I love the fact that Arisia is a 24-hour 3-ring circus, with literally 20 things going on at once, but I've earned the right to kick back and let it swirl around me.

I was intending to do individual shout-outs, but I'm exhausted, so let me just say:
You all rock my little world. Seriously.

Comments

[kirkcudbright.livejournal.com]

Part of it was perception - Matt and Cris apparently weren't well received when they first pitched Arisia to NESFA in late 1988 or early 1989, and things were a bit prickly between individuals on both sides for a while.

Part of it was scheduling - the first Arisia was only two weeks separated from Boskone, which may have seemed like a swipe at them, but was really just a matter of hotel availability.

But there were plenty of folks who wanted to see the large-con model continue and succeed, even while they were working on their own smaller, more focused con.

Our conchair this year is the first to have chaired both Boskone and Arisia.