SLCC - The Good, The Bad, The Ugly, and The Optimism
This is an optimistic story. It has a happy ending, but it really had to work to get there... read on. The pictures are in this Flickr Set
The Good
I recently had the good fortune to take a trip to Chicago for the Second Life Community Convention. I've been a member of Second Life for a little over a year now, and have many friends whom I've wanted so badly to meet in person. Several of them, I can now say, I have met. The convention ran from Friday, August 24 through Sunday, August 26. For those unfamiliar, Second Life and "SL" are interchangeable terms.
I chose to arrive the evening of the 23rd so I wouldn't be in transit when the event began. This was highly unnecessary, I later found out, as registration began at 4pm on Friday. It was really great, though, as most of the people I'd sought to meet arrived at the same time and also had no event-related obligations. We just hung out at the hotel bar. It was precisely the kind of time I'd hoped to be spending. Beer, food, and great conversation. And a whole lot of "Oh my God!!! You're [insert avatar name here]in SL????" But I'm jumping ahead of myself.
I left Los Angeles at 6:15am on Thursday. By coincidence, my plane flew through Denver airport and my connecting flight was the same as my friends Jaycatt and Frogg. These guys are musical geniuses, and Jaycatt is one of my best friends online and in real life. Having met Frogg, I think he could easily be as well, time permitting. In any case, our strongest common ground is a slight(?) obsession with "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy". Given that, what were the chances we'd all end up on flight 42 into Chicago?
In Chicago, we met up with Sumar at the airport. The four of us shared a shuttle to the hotel. We had a great time chatting away as the weather outside slowly went downhill. By the time we were downtown, parts of the city were blacked out. This is where the trouble begins.
The Bad
The bad started before the trip even began. Sporked was supposed to be my roommate. He's another dear friend I'd so wanted to cross over from online to real life. Much of our crowd was very disappointed when, after four months, his passport failed to arrive, and he could not cross into the U.S. from Canada.
Next in line was the weather. Four of us made it in, but Onionpencil's connecting flight was cancelled, as the Chicago control tower had to be evacuated and the airport shut down. The resulting delay trapped the poor woman midway between home and the event for a whopping 31 hours!
Finally, the first night there, someone stole Sumar's purse, charging up inordinate amounts of money on her credit cards.
The Ugly
The real challenge is a hard one to describe. I will leave it at this. I wound up spending a lot of time with a friend of a friend for whom circumstances took a negative turn. I didn't feel I could leave this person alone as in her state, and I gave up much of the little time I had left to making sure she was alright.
The Optimism
For all the challenges, I still got to spend quality time with some really great friends. I'm so afraid of leaving someone important out, I'm reluctant to list them, but I will anyway (in the order we met)... first were Jaycatt and Frogg, then Sumar on the way to Chicago. In the bar, I met Cylindrian (another musician whom I now consider a friend), Peter, and Adri. Rosa and Patrick appeared soon after. The following night I met Travis and, finally, Onionpencil. I made new friends with Yummie, FlipperPA, Ecocandle and Lofty (he's got a really long name I don't dare try to spell). I got to hear all the musicians play multiple times, and Jaycatt treated me to a semi-private (close friends only) performance of "Journey of the Sorcerer" (HHGG themesong).
We hung out in the lobby of the hotel, the musicians in our crowd using its grand piano in addition to their own instruments to practice. Travis, Sumar, Oni, and I chatted over pizza and beer until 3am on the night of Travis and Oni's arrival.
I had dinner with Sumar and Onionpencil on Saturday night. There was a masquerade ball, and while we didn't dress in costume, Sumar, Oni, and I went and threw "peas" at each other (throwing peas is a sign of affection started by Oni in Second Life). Oni threw one at a stranger at our table, and Sumar brought a second table into the mix.
We had a lot of issues on this trip. For all I know, I'm probably leaving some out (a lost memory card for one person's camera, and a failing flash in mine for example). Still, if I could choose to start the trip over or skip it knowing what I know now, I would stick solidly to my plans as is. I wouldn't give up these memories for anything.
The Good
I recently had the good fortune to take a trip to Chicago for the Second Life Community Convention. I've been a member of Second Life for a little over a year now, and have many friends whom I've wanted so badly to meet in person. Several of them, I can now say, I have met. The convention ran from Friday, August 24 through Sunday, August 26. For those unfamiliar, Second Life and "SL" are interchangeable terms.
I chose to arrive the evening of the 23rd so I wouldn't be in transit when the event began. This was highly unnecessary, I later found out, as registration began at 4pm on Friday. It was really great, though, as most of the people I'd sought to meet arrived at the same time and also had no event-related obligations. We just hung out at the hotel bar. It was precisely the kind of time I'd hoped to be spending. Beer, food, and great conversation. And a whole lot of "Oh my God!!! You're [insert avatar name here]
I left Los Angeles at 6:15am on Thursday. By coincidence, my plane flew through Denver airport and my connecting flight was the same as my friends Jaycatt and Frogg. These guys are musical geniuses, and Jaycatt is one of my best friends online and in real life. Having met Frogg, I think he could easily be as well, time permitting. In any case, our strongest common ground is a slight(?) obsession with "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy". Given that, what were the chances we'd all end up on flight 42 into Chicago?
In Chicago, we met up with Sumar at the airport. The four of us shared a shuttle to the hotel. We had a great time chatting away as the weather outside slowly went downhill. By the time we were downtown, parts of the city were blacked out. This is where the trouble begins.
The Bad
The bad started before the trip even began. Sporked was supposed to be my roommate. He's another dear friend I'd so wanted to cross over from online to real life. Much of our crowd was very disappointed when, after four months, his passport failed to arrive, and he could not cross into the U.S. from Canada.
Next in line was the weather. Four of us made it in, but Onionpencil's connecting flight was cancelled, as the Chicago control tower had to be evacuated and the airport shut down. The resulting delay trapped the poor woman midway between home and the event for a whopping 31 hours!
Finally, the first night there, someone stole Sumar's purse, charging up inordinate amounts of money on her credit cards.
The Ugly
The real challenge is a hard one to describe. I will leave it at this. I wound up spending a lot of time with a friend of a friend for whom circumstances took a negative turn. I didn't feel I could leave this person alone as in her state, and I gave up much of the little time I had left to making sure she was alright.
The Optimism
For all the challenges, I still got to spend quality time with some really great friends. I'm so afraid of leaving someone important out, I'm reluctant to list them, but I will anyway (in the order we met)... first were Jaycatt and Frogg, then Sumar on the way to Chicago. In the bar, I met Cylindrian (another musician whom I now consider a friend), Peter, and Adri. Rosa and Patrick appeared soon after. The following night I met Travis and, finally, Onionpencil. I made new friends with Yummie, FlipperPA, Ecocandle and Lofty (he's got a really long name I don't dare try to spell). I got to hear all the musicians play multiple times, and Jaycatt treated me to a semi-private (close friends only) performance of "Journey of the Sorcerer" (HHGG themesong).
We hung out in the lobby of the hotel, the musicians in our crowd using its grand piano in addition to their own instruments to practice. Travis, Sumar, Oni, and I chatted over pizza and beer until 3am on the night of Travis and Oni's arrival.
I had dinner with Sumar and Onionpencil on Saturday night. There was a masquerade ball, and while we didn't dress in costume, Sumar, Oni, and I went and threw "peas" at each other (throwing peas is a sign of affection started by Oni in Second Life). Oni threw one at a stranger at our table, and Sumar brought a second table into the mix.
We had a lot of issues on this trip. For all I know, I'm probably leaving some out (a lost memory card for one person's camera, and a failing flash in mine for example). Still, if I could choose to start the trip over or skip it knowing what I know now, I would stick solidly to my plans as is. I wouldn't give up these memories for anything.
posted by Eric at 22:30
2 Comments:
Great Entry Eric! It was very nice to have met you in person and although our schedules intersected infrequently during the convention it was still great to have finally met you!! The good, the bad, and the ugly ...all true indeed but sounds like youve enjoyed, learned, and conquered and made the best of it! WTG!
Welcome to California Eric. This is Tom, The Malathionman. I came by your site via Mocha Momma. That earthquake was NOTHING! I have lived in CA all my life, and have experienced some big quakes, fun stuff. The Griffith Observatory was cool about ten years ago when I went. I hear its a had a "make over" since then and is really nice this now. Hopefully, you don't have much of a commute to your new job.
Take it easy,
Malathionman
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