So, it’s been one day since the convention “officially” started. Picking up on Saturday morning…

SATURDAY, JUNE 28, 2008
My intention was to sleep until 7 AM to be up and awake for Artists Alley Signups at 8:30 AM. Unfortunately, I was startled out of sleep a little after 6 AM by a nasty nightmare and there was no getting back to sleep. Ah well. I showered and said hi in Operations, then decided to use the extra time that I had to grab some breakfast.

The chocolate chip hotcakes at the Steel City Diner are something just this side of heaven, I’ve decided. One of my great memories of Anthrocon 2008 is that breakfast: the bustle of the diner around me, some great coffee, and those wonderful hotcakes. I was amused that just before I left Tango showed up with a couple of Dorsai (Saturday was the only day that I came down to Operations in the morning and Tango wasn’t there. The boy is a freak, I tell you).

From the diner I walked over to the DLCC and got into Hall C. Rooth met me there and after we made sure everything was prepped we walked up to signups. This morning was as busy as Friday’s: we had 133 artists sign up. Woodychitwn stumbled in partway through signups and one of the artists (I wish I had gotten his name!) was kind enough to offer him some hot chocolate. You would have thought he had offered five pounds of gold! It was very thoughtful and very much appreciated, though.

Seat assignment went well and we got down to the Alley with a few minutes to spare before opening. Things started humming along, and roho made my morning by bringing me a bacon, egg, and cheese bagel. Now that everyone knew the drill and we weren’t as completely slammed as we had been the day before, I was able to take some time away from the Alley, about fifteen minutes at a time. I took this opportunity to see a little of the Dealers Room and to invite Midwest FurFest’s guests of honor, Matt and Darcy Sowers, to our Fine Potables Party that night. I also found Ursula Vernon (ursulav) and her boyfriend Kevin (alchemist), a very personable fellow, and made sure to get an invitation to them as well.

The afternoon went reasonably smoothly and payout went even better than Friday: fewer discrepancies, and we got everyone paid and out of the Alley in 40 minutes. Total Saturday payout: $15,000. We once again reset the Alley for the next day and I sent my staff on their way as I waited for Hartree and Takaza to wrap up in the Finance Office. As we were waiting a nasty storm rolled in, and word went out on the radio to seek shelter when rotation was observed in the clouds. I helped the Dorsai make sure that Hall C was cleared (the ceiling is all glass, or something that looks like glass) and then we hung out in the Finance Office until the all-clear came. I must say, the rain falling hard over the Monongahela River was a sight to behold.

The most notable quote over the radio came from Kage: “That fellow who mentioned an inclement weather plan at the staff meeting? I need to buy that man a drink!”

We headed back over to Operations, then we ordered pizza from Ephesus Pizza again. I ordered the popcorn chicken salad and found that the damn Pittsburghers put French fries on everything, including their salads! After we ate we packed up all of our party supplies and trekked up to Woody’s suite for the Fine Potables Party.

Before I go any further, I want to thank Woody and all of his suitemates for being kind enough to lend us the use of their suite. There’s no way that we could have fit everyone into our corner suite, and the parlor was perfect for our party. Everyone who came seemed to have a good time. The party received Kevin’s approval because we had some good-quality Scotch. Nyuni brought some excellent microbrewed beers from Baltimore. I can’t begin to list everyone who attended, but it was a good party overall.

That having been said, it wasn’t a great party for me. The problem with holding the party in someone else’s room, particularly where you don’t know the roommates, is that if you see someone you don’t know you can’t automatically ask them to leave. That person may belong there, or they may be a friend of one of the suite occupants. So we wound up with several people there who I didn’t know who were, quite frankly, rather grating. Add to that the fact that the noise level was getting a bit much, and I was running around trying to play host, you can see why it would have been stressful. I want to stress again that this is no fault of Woody or his suitemates, it was just unfortunate circumstances.

I think that in the future the Fine Potables Parties are going to be limited to Midwest FurFest and Furry Connection North. Both Dan and I are far too busy at Anthrocon, and after working a 12-hour day, hosting a party until midnight is just too draining for both of us. As it was, Dan had to cut short his convention duties in order to be at the party. On top of that, dammit, I want to actually attend a party at Anthrocon for once!

We ushered everyone out of the room at midnight and went off to bed not long after that.