This week is either going to feel super slow because of the four (about to be three!) days of work standing between me and my vacation or super fast because of the tidying up I still need to get done. Or maybe I'll get lucky and they'll balance each other out, lol.
I still need to make my spreadsheets and shopping list of the con but at least that won't take long. Tbh, part of the problem is trying to narrow down which Beast Wars toys I most want to look for. Might be best to not try to sort out priorities and just focus on what's available in the best condition at the best price. I'm worried I'll go in for some good deals and then find something I'd have liked more when it's no longer within the budget, lol. Ah, well, still a few days to decide. One thing that's quite helpful is that a lot of the folks in artist alley have put together a directory and some have even posted catalogues of their offerings. With the toys available on the floor being so variable, I spend a lot of my con budget in the artist alley and I do on occasion regret that. Having a better idea ahead of time how much to put aside for the alley vs the vendor hall is a big help.
Of course, it's not all about spending money. The (tentative) panel schedule is up and I'm a little unsure how to split my time. I haven't decided whether I'll do Friday. The venue is about ten minutes from my hotel by foot, per Maps, which is a fine walk but Idk about taking it at night in a strange city. I'd really like to go to the Cullen memorial panel, though, and that's not until eight in the PM. Might see if any other attendees are staying at the same hotel I am and would be willing to walk together. My Saturday ticket gets me into the toys and merch area starting at two o'clock, which would be much more helpful if I was interested in the earlier panels. As it is, there are only two panels I'm kind of interested in attending before the Beast Wars panel at-- wait for it-- two o'clock. Might not even bother to head that way until it's almost time, though I'm sort of interested in the TCG open play. The guys who run that will be offering free starter packs and promo cards and teaching new players (of which I would be one), plus there'll be donuts while supplies last. Could be fun. Not sure I care enough to go early for it, though, and I'd be disappointed if I went and found out I missed the donuts, lol. The only other "must attend" panel for me is the script reading at six, which I just hope doesn't run too late since, again, not super keen to take that walk. Granted, it was a longer walk in Baltimore and I came out of that unscathed... Didn't love it then either, though, even still.
Anyway, Sunday is the real conundrum. That's usually the day I find the best deals but the panel lineup is s t a c k e d. The first one is about creating stop-motion animation and the second is about making cosplay. I'm not especially interested in actually doing what either panel is teaching but I love hearing other fans talk about their creative processes and I'd like to support the more unusual panels that have been popping up in the con's recent years. I know I don't want to miss the Q&A with Stan Bush and Vince DiCola, nor the panel for fan designs presented through customs and digibashes. After that is the one panel I have no interest in, a TFP Q&A. That gives me at least an hour I can be back perusing vendors without feeling like I'm missing anything. The last panel (minus the feedback panel for the organizers) is about TFA deleted scenes and might be a repeat but there's also a chance that it'll include new information, maybe about the upcoming comic. Still easily the second-most skippable to me (minus, again, the feedback panel that I usually skip and so rarely count anyway), so I might not even bother to stay to see the hall close. Long drive back home, after all, and I'm not sure my mom bothered to take next Monday off like I did.
So, yeah, very much looking forward to my vacation but there is much to be done and much to think about.
I still need to make my spreadsheets and shopping list of the con but at least that won't take long. Tbh, part of the problem is trying to narrow down which Beast Wars toys I most want to look for. Might be best to not try to sort out priorities and just focus on what's available in the best condition at the best price. I'm worried I'll go in for some good deals and then find something I'd have liked more when it's no longer within the budget, lol. Ah, well, still a few days to decide. One thing that's quite helpful is that a lot of the folks in artist alley have put together a directory and some have even posted catalogues of their offerings. With the toys available on the floor being so variable, I spend a lot of my con budget in the artist alley and I do on occasion regret that. Having a better idea ahead of time how much to put aside for the alley vs the vendor hall is a big help.
Of course, it's not all about spending money. The (tentative) panel schedule is up and I'm a little unsure how to split my time. I haven't decided whether I'll do Friday. The venue is about ten minutes from my hotel by foot, per Maps, which is a fine walk but Idk about taking it at night in a strange city. I'd really like to go to the Cullen memorial panel, though, and that's not until eight in the PM. Might see if any other attendees are staying at the same hotel I am and would be willing to walk together. My Saturday ticket gets me into the toys and merch area starting at two o'clock, which would be much more helpful if I was interested in the earlier panels. As it is, there are only two panels I'm kind of interested in attending before the Beast Wars panel at-- wait for it-- two o'clock. Might not even bother to head that way until it's almost time, though I'm sort of interested in the TCG open play. The guys who run that will be offering free starter packs and promo cards and teaching new players (of which I would be one), plus there'll be donuts while supplies last. Could be fun. Not sure I care enough to go early for it, though, and I'd be disappointed if I went and found out I missed the donuts, lol. The only other "must attend" panel for me is the script reading at six, which I just hope doesn't run too late since, again, not super keen to take that walk. Granted, it was a longer walk in Baltimore and I came out of that unscathed... Didn't love it then either, though, even still.
Anyway, Sunday is the real conundrum. That's usually the day I find the best deals but the panel lineup is s t a c k e d. The first one is about creating stop-motion animation and the second is about making cosplay. I'm not especially interested in actually doing what either panel is teaching but I love hearing other fans talk about their creative processes and I'd like to support the more unusual panels that have been popping up in the con's recent years. I know I don't want to miss the Q&A with Stan Bush and Vince DiCola, nor the panel for fan designs presented through customs and digibashes. After that is the one panel I have no interest in, a TFP Q&A. That gives me at least an hour I can be back perusing vendors without feeling like I'm missing anything. The last panel (minus the feedback panel for the organizers) is about TFA deleted scenes and might be a repeat but there's also a chance that it'll include new information, maybe about the upcoming comic. Still easily the second-most skippable to me (minus, again, the feedback panel that I usually skip and so rarely count anyway), so I might not even bother to stay to see the hall close. Long drive back home, after all, and I'm not sure my mom bothered to take next Monday off like I did.
So, yeah, very much looking forward to my vacation but there is much to be done and much to think about.
