Current Post On Trae’s Blog:
My grandmother died last night. This wasn't a shock or a surprise. Her health has been on the decline, and she's been in hospice for the last month. She lived a long life, and in her final days she was surrounded by her three adult children.
My grandma was a kind woman. She wasn't perfect, but I always felt loved in her presence. She was a retired kindergarten teacher, and was still working when I was a kid. I have so many happy memories sitting at her kitchen table, and I'm going to carry those with me for the rest of my life. She was also proof that anyone who claims that you get more conservative as you get older is full of shit, because she certainly didn't.
I think it's interesting how the body processes grief sometimes. I don't know that I'll cry, but over the past month, knowing this was coming, I've felt a tension in my gut. Now that she's passed, instead of relief that tension is replaced by a sense of emptiness. That something is missing that should still be there. Something has been taken away, and I feel it.
Of course, as I wrote that, I immediately started crying... so I guess my body processes grief in pretty ordinary ways too.
I wanted to come up with something profound linking this to Beltane, which we sit in the middle of right now, but it just seemed hackneyed. Like I was trying to dig out some greater significance when the truth is death comes whenever it wants. The only predictable thing about it is that it's the end of all of our journeys. I hope that when I pass I'm so lucky to have lived such a long life with people that I love around me in my final days.
For the record, I will be fine. I just needed to get these words out while they were still in my head. I don't have some rousing conclusion or deep insight to tack on here at the end, just that gut feeling that something is missing.
Because it is.
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This sums up every con that I have attended and staffed. And pretty my anime viewing rooms and VGR are the only things running and those are very quiet at this time too.
Let the boy go on patrol. Give his enthusiasm and energy an outlet.
he’s an ass and making him sit on it will annoy him
I disagree. Let this guy go “on patrol,” and I guarantee you, he will FIND “violators” to harass.
Wait, Bork Con is a 24 hour con? Why are there still 24 hour cons?
Caffeine and sugar.
…there are multiday cons held in hotels that AREN’T 24 hour cons?
Those sound like disappointing cons to attend.
…why wouldn’t there be? I work nights. 4am is just after break, time to start wrapping things up before morning shift shows up.
At Con, 4am means the drunks are finally gone, the crowds are gone, can finally enjoy the place.
Wait, there are NON 24-hour cons? I mean, yeah, PAX and crap, but fan-run anime cons that aren’t?!
Err, yeah. I mean it’s been a while certainly, but I don’t think I ever hit any kind of con that wasn’t 24. Some of them would shut down certain bits after it got seriously late, but that was just some of the official stuff. Not even all of that.
Yes, if the fan-run con is in a convention center.
Yeah, we have to shut down the dance at 2A and even that means we’re paying extra to keep the center open an extra hour.
Most Arizona conventions are not 24 hours. Things may still run super late depending on the event, but most official programming ends by 3am at the latest and picks up again by 10am the next morning. There might be some attendee-run room parties, but I’ve never been to one so I don’t know how common those are.
Some of this does depend on the venue. I worked a con in a small town that had to close by 11am due to security and safety reasons. The entrance to the hotel’s panel rooms used to go through the gift shop, so the con had to close up when the gift shop closed. There was a back entrance, but the con staff agreed not to push it since it wasn’t well-lit and located at the back of the hotel.
Moving to a different location wasn’t an option since the local convention center is ridiculously expensive – way over the con’s budget. Plus, the hotel staff are incredibly accommodating.
Do you perchance mean 11pm?
Yes! I did mean 11pm, my bad! XD