Bit of Ivory

I’ve switched hotels, and this one doesn’t have internet access at all. I’m not even sure how I’m going to get this entry onto my LJ, and if I do manage to get it on, it will be expensive, so I don’t think I’ll be able to check my e-mail or anything for the next week. Not that I won’t try. I’m going to keep my eye out for internet cafes. I’m actually in a timeshare condo, which is very nice in many ways but not yet as technologically advanced as the Swan was.

So. The debate. It went well. I feel like our side held our own. Angua was, as always, brilliant. I was a bit snarkier than I was planning on being. When Zorb and Pallas Athena seemed to be remembering the Katie Couric interview wrong, I offered ever-so-sweetly to play it for them off my laptop, among other things. I feel bad about that, actually. I didn’t plan on getting snarky. I really don’t know what else to say. I was so involved with trying to find quotes and thinking about what I was going to say next that I wasn’t able to see the audience reaction– which as we all know is so crucial in a debate. I’m going to have to throw it out to all my pals who *were* there to say how I did. I’m simply unable to tell you.

There was a tape recorder on the table, and I hope it got recorded and that there will be a transcript. I have my doubts about the quality of the recording, though. The room that was scheduled for our session was simply too small to fit everyone who wanted to come, so we switched rooms– but the new room didn’t have any sound equipment, so it wasn’t miked. So I really hope it turned out. I’m going to check on that when I get home.

The t-shirts went over really, really well, though. Once again I was too distracted to see what the H/H reaction to them was, but the R/H reaction was priceless. We’ve had several requests for additional shirts. I’m pretty sure we’ll be able to get them to anyone who wants them, but once again it will have to wait until I get home.

Nimbus was amazing, and I’m terribly sad that it’s over. There were so many highlights that it’s difficult to say what the best part of it was. The conference itself was highly entertaining. All of the panels I went to– from the semi-frivolous fannish ones to the serious academic types– were interesting, engaging and fun. In fact, the blend between a fan conference and an academic symposium worked really well. The informal programming that I went to was also a lot of fun.

Because of the nature of the Harry Potter fandom, this convention was different than most fan conventions. Almost everyone here was involved one way or another on the internet, and it was really fun to finally be able to put faces to these screen names. I’ll admit to being apprehensive about meeting some of the people that were there– but for the most part, they were all very nice. Ebony in particular was not only cordial, she was warm, and eager to know us. I was surprised how much in common we had after we got past the shipping issue. Eb, if you’re reading this, I’ve added you to my friends list, and I hope we can continue to interact with the same goodwill we had at Nimbus.

Speaking of meeting people, this conference wouldn’t have been half as much fun as it was without all the great friends I was able to meet. I was really looking forward to meeting all my oldest and dearest fandom friends– Morgan Tuatha, also known as Leslie, Raven Snape, also known as Lou, and especially Melissa Anelli, who i’ve probably known longer than anyone else. I wasn’t disappointed. Leslie is wonderful, Lou is a delight, and Mellie is an absolute sweetheart. Then there were the people I’ve only known for a little while, or not at all. Of course meeting Angua was a real pleasure, and she’s every bit as delightful and smart in real life as she is on the net. I only knew Sweeney Agonistes distantly, but we’ve become fast friends, and I didn’t know Beruna Ford or Antar Uriel at all, but it was sure fun to get to know both of them.

I won’t say the conference was without faults. There were things that went wrong, things that could have been planned better, things that were less than equitable, and fans that seemed intent on snarkiness. But the good far, far outweighed the bad, and I’m going to start saving now for Nimbus 2005, wherever it’s going to be held. I’d do this all again in an instant.