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Back from the Con (and other things)
Feb. 18th, 2014 05:03 amAnd so Boskone is behind us, as is a stop in Sharon, MA for a bar mitzvah and a little time with family. Just a few things of note:
- Amtrak is the way to go. Got us to Boston in a timely fashion, got us back from a suburban station in a timely fashion, unaffected by weather. When we made our plans for this trip, we ruled out other methods because there was a chance snow would mess with things. I suspect that even with the storm behind us, flights and buses were a mess on Friday. And that there is a station 20 mins. from Sharon and that we didn't have to take a commuter rail to Providence or Boston is a plus.
- The MBMTA commuter rail to Sharon, BTW, was terrible. No overhead room for luggage at all, no PA system to tell us where we were, barely any readable signage in the train stations. I think the NYC commuter lines look a lot better now.
- The con was really good. Not without its flaws, such as a rather uninviting con suite with surprisingly little nosh (though a lot of teas and kosher breads) and no green room, and a really weird schedule for the "filk fest" clearly assembled by a non-filker. But the schedule of panels was generally good, the space for the programming was also good, and the filk was amazing. Frankly, if Lunacon could reach this level of competent, I would be thrilled. But what can be done at this point to start attracting both famous writers and big name filkers? I wish I knew.
- The hotel left a good deal to be desired. The big problem was the lack of access to the room floors from a staircase. We could go down a staircase to function space, but not up. And our request to get the 4th floor door unlocked was met with a "we'll see what we can do about it" followed by nothing being down about it. Which was annoying given that the clerk told us they knew all about Orthodox Jews' needs on the sabbath and that they could help. Somehow I doubt that. I get that hotels are security-conscious, but this is the first time I have ever encountered a hotel with stairs that offered no room floor access. Seems silly to always have to use the elevator to go up one flight.
There are other things I don't care much for, such as the lack of free wifi in function space and the rather poor quality of the wifi overall. But I suspect that comes with the modern business hotel.
- The best thing about the con? 48 hours of not walking in the snow and cold. This winter has taken its toll on everyone, and it was so nice that there was more snow and I didn't have to deal with it.
- So utterly strange to go from Con Mode to Dealing with Family Mode in the space of two hours. It's not a bad thing, but when were not able to get a ride back from Sharon with family, I can't say I was bummed to have some time on the train to decompress from family, from the con, and from the shift. And to also get ready for the next shift, into Work Mode.
- Amtrak is the way to go. Got us to Boston in a timely fashion, got us back from a suburban station in a timely fashion, unaffected by weather. When we made our plans for this trip, we ruled out other methods because there was a chance snow would mess with things. I suspect that even with the storm behind us, flights and buses were a mess on Friday. And that there is a station 20 mins. from Sharon and that we didn't have to take a commuter rail to Providence or Boston is a plus.
- The MBMTA commuter rail to Sharon, BTW, was terrible. No overhead room for luggage at all, no PA system to tell us where we were, barely any readable signage in the train stations. I think the NYC commuter lines look a lot better now.
- The con was really good. Not without its flaws, such as a rather uninviting con suite with surprisingly little nosh (though a lot of teas and kosher breads) and no green room, and a really weird schedule for the "filk fest" clearly assembled by a non-filker. But the schedule of panels was generally good, the space for the programming was also good, and the filk was amazing. Frankly, if Lunacon could reach this level of competent, I would be thrilled. But what can be done at this point to start attracting both famous writers and big name filkers? I wish I knew.
- The hotel left a good deal to be desired. The big problem was the lack of access to the room floors from a staircase. We could go down a staircase to function space, but not up. And our request to get the 4th floor door unlocked was met with a "we'll see what we can do about it" followed by nothing being down about it. Which was annoying given that the clerk told us they knew all about Orthodox Jews' needs on the sabbath and that they could help. Somehow I doubt that. I get that hotels are security-conscious, but this is the first time I have ever encountered a hotel with stairs that offered no room floor access. Seems silly to always have to use the elevator to go up one flight.
There are other things I don't care much for, such as the lack of free wifi in function space and the rather poor quality of the wifi overall. But I suspect that comes with the modern business hotel.
- The best thing about the con? 48 hours of not walking in the snow and cold. This winter has taken its toll on everyone, and it was so nice that there was more snow and I didn't have to deal with it.
- So utterly strange to go from Con Mode to Dealing with Family Mode in the space of two hours. It's not a bad thing, but when were not able to get a ride back from Sharon with family, I can't say I was bummed to have some time on the train to decompress from family, from the con, and from the shift. And to also get ready for the next shift, into Work Mode.
