alisanne: (Default)
[personal profile] alisanne
*waves sheepishly*

Hello, my name is Alisanne and I used to post here a lot...

I'm joking (sort of) but I'm sorry I've been MIA this week. I blame it all on Trump this new game I'm addicted to (and Trump).

Anyway, I know I promised updates on all sorts of things, so Imma start with con updates. :)



So I had a couple of RL friends' destination wedding to attend in San Francisco, and I had to fly directly from there to Leaky on my birthday. *g*
When I arrived at the con hotel, [personal profile] lilyseyes and [personal profile] dementordelta were waiting in the lobby, and we had a bouncy reunion! :))

Since it was my birthday, they had pressies for me! Eeee! I got all sorts of fun Harry Potter gear (Y'all, I have SO MUCH Harry Potter stuff and I LOVE it!).

We went out to dinner at a local Asian place (I love Asian food, mmmmm) and then returned to the con hotel.

I should say, the con hotel was nice, but I was not happy with how far it was from the convention center, where all the actual activities were happening. That was disappointing, especially since there's a perfectly good hotel attached to the convention center! If we'd known that we'd have stayed there! *shakes head*

The next day we went out to breakfast, and we took the hotel shuttle, driven by Rory Williams! Neither Delta not Lily got that reference, but I was super stoked. *g* We had yummy omelettes, Lily and I split some strawberry lemon pancakes (OMG, so good!) and we went to the con (yes, Rory came back and drove us there). Heh.

We then got sucked into the amazing dealer's room. Well, Delta got sucked in, not that Lily and I hated it, but Delta was in heaven. Admittedly, there was some pretty fabulous stuff there, and I did my fair share of shopping, and even Lily (who never usually buys anything) bought stuff.
It always amazes me how creative crafters are. They are always coming up with ways to separate me from my money, LOL. There were HP themed soaps that were divine (I bought several and had them shipped home, I'm currently washing with Pygmy Puff soap *g*), there were wands (of course), all sorts of jewelry (and you know how I love the bling), tea, purses/bags, clothing, pins, magnets....I can't even explain all the stuff.

We did venture out of the dealer's room for a couple of panels. One was about bodies in the WW, which was a discussion about how trans wizards would manage. It morphed into a discussion about medical procedures, which was especially interesting to me. We also made sure to see [personal profile] drinkingcocoa's talk about Snape, and the cosplay parade, where there were a ton of Luna Lovegoods and the most adorable baby McGonagall! Eeee.

When we were done for the day, Rory came and collected us, and we returned to crow over our loot. :) We decided to have dinner in the hotel and ran into Lita Skeeter there. It turns out the hotel had a HP themed menu, so Lily and Delta and I indulged in several alcoholic butterbeers over our pasta, and they were tasty.

Since it was [community profile] firewhiskeyfic night, we then returned to the our room and I managed to persuade Lily to write. I did my best to talk Delta into writing me something, but alas, she went to bed instead. :P

Sunday we were all leaving mid-afternoon, so we went back to the dealer's room for one last sweep, bought more stuff, of course, and then headed for the airport. And because Delta and Lily were at a closer airport, Rory took them. *pouts* I had to take a regular taxi.
Still, it was fine. My plane was essentially on time, we didn't crash, it's all good. :)

Alas, I had to work for a few days between cons, but then came Potterversecon!

Now, just as an explanation, last year this con was held at a hotel in Baltimore's inner harbor, so when we signed up, I assumed, even though they changed hotels, we were still in Baltimore, so I flew into that airport. That was a mistake. I took a cab to the con hotel and it cost $100 because it was practically in another state!

When I arrived, I checked in, went to registration (which this year ran like a well oiled machine), ended up registering [personal profile] cruisedirector as my BOGO, and then wandered the dealer room, where I got into an involved discussion with a wandmaker. *g* And yes, I ended up with another wand (I suspect no one is surprised).
Again, they had a lovely dealer's room, although smaller than the one at Leaky.
I got a text from [personal profile] titti and she and her friend J came to my room where we chatted for a while. Since Delta was delayed, we went to dinner in the hotel. Oh, and that was on the hotel, too, since I'd reserved a room with two beds and they ended up giving us one with a king instead. :P Anyway, I got a dinner voucher out of it, so it worked out. :)
I had some yummy salmon which Titti and J had dessert, and then we met up with Delta back in the room.
Turns out Titti is a morning person, which Delta and I are not. Still, her prodding got us out of bed earlier than usual so we dod more than we usually do at cons. *g*
The following morning we planned a big fandom breakfast with me, Delta, Titti, J, [personal profile] cruisedirector, [livejournal.com profile] apaulled, [personal profile] treewishes, her Ravenclaw sister, and [personal profile] torino10154. Tree and her sister ended up skipping breakfast because they had already eaten, so we went to the Original Pancake House, where Torino joined us, and where there was much hugging and squeeing.
We all had yummy things, but I have to say, my BF was especially delicious because I substituted butterscotch pancakes for the regular side. OMG, they were tasty. YUM!

After hugging Torino bye, we returned to the con, where we got dragged to several talks (Titti is tiny but tough, y'all!) in between shopping. *g* No, but seriously, there were some fascinating talks. I especially enjoyed Snape - our problematic fave, Dumbledore, What's next in HP, and the HP Jeopardy. :) And, as they did last year, they had a wrap up session where they solicited feedback about the con - but I'll talk about that in more detail later.

We decided to have Chinese food for dinner (YAY!) so we went to a local place Cruise was familiar with, and shared a ton of food family style. Since Cruise and Delta are vegetarian and the rest of us were not, we ordered separately, but in the end we all tried almost everything and it was all super tasty. The kung po tofu was fabulous. :)

Returning to the con, we went to another talk, then stopped for dessert at the restaurant (I had my heart set on the sticky toffee cake since Titti'd had it the previous night and it looked so good) and we had their version of alcoholic butterbeer (also yummy).

There was a ball, but it started at 11, and I'm old, so we went back to our room instead, and Titti and J joined us (in PJs, where we planned to drabble but instead ended up reading badfic to each other aloud *g*)

The next morning we went to a talk, wandered through the dealer room one more time, and then went for breakfast at a local bagel place, where Cruse and Apauled met us. And props to Delta for driving us all around all weekend. :)

When we returned, we went to the feedback talk, where we told them our comments about the con. My biggest issues were the timing and the location, although I did like the hotel. if they have it there again, I'm definitely going to another airport. As they were last year, they were receptive to the comments, and I'm hoping that despite the lower attendance, they still have it next year (just not the weekend right after Leaky). We'll see.

After that, Delta packed up and Titti and J headed out. I texted Tree and Cruise to see if they were interested in dinner (I had booked the room until Monday morning) and we went to a local pizza place. Which is where Tree introduced me to Lyft and I booked a car for my return to the airport for almost half the price of the taxi. Oi. I admit, I love how you can track where the car is, and how you can pay ahead of time. :)

I got home safe and sound, and have been here several days, I've just been buried in my game. Thanks to [personal profile] brumeier for poking me and spurring me on to come online again. ♥

I totally owe you all replies and I will prolly be slow doing it. Be patient with me, please. :)


Clockwise from the top:
McGonagall's wand, random wand, Slytherin scented bath salts, Harry and Severus magnets, Harry cup cozy, Morning Stroll scented lotion (my new fave), Slytherin owl pendant, cup rest, Slytherin makeup bag, and in the center are Harry and Severus lego pendants, assorted pins, necklace and earrings.

And finally, if any of you are interested in con fun, next year is Misticon, which I plan on attending. I hope to see you there! <3

Date: 2018-08-25 09:44 pm (UTC)
nuclearpolymer: (Default)
From: [personal profile] nuclearpolymer
Glad you had a great time!

Date: 2018-08-26 01:20 pm (UTC)
nuclearpolymer: (Default)
From: [personal profile] nuclearpolymer
I plan to be there! :)

Date: 2018-08-26 12:55 am (UTC)
kelly_chambliss: (Default)
From: [personal profile] kelly_chambliss
Sounds as if you had a wonderful time! You've made me hungry -- both for food and for HP merch. Love those magnets. My own wand (only one so far) is a McGonagall wand. Very powerful, of course.

As far as I'm concerned, you're totally right to blame it all on Trump. The only thing worse than President Trump would be President Pence, though, so I'm kinda hoping this impeachment talk goes nowhere. It's more important to get out the vote. I read recently that only 28% of young adults are "certain" they will vote in the midterms -- https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/7/18/17585898/young-voter-turnout-polls-midterms-2018 That will be a disaster.

I'm not even going to ask you what your new game is, lest I join you in addiction. I already spend far too much time on Clash of Clans and various word thingies.

Date: 2018-08-27 01:59 am (UTC)
magnetic_pole: (Default)
From: [personal profile] magnetic_pole
Yay! for fun-filled summers! M.

Date: 2018-08-27 09:58 pm (UTC)
magnetic_pole: (Default)
From: [personal profile] magnetic_pole
I'm sorry, too! I was really looking forward to it. Next time! M.

Date: 2018-08-27 05:36 am (UTC)
lilyseyes: (Default)
From: [personal profile] lilyseyes
Ohhh - you found more bags! :D

Date: 2018-08-28 03:19 am (UTC)
titti: (Default)
From: [personal profile] titti
So Jess and I decided to do Misticon AND to skip NY Comic Con for the Leaky only because spending time with all of you is a lot more fun than seeing artist/actors.

Date: 2018-08-28 07:24 pm (UTC)
titti: (Default)
From: [personal profile] titti
So now the question is how early do I need to wake up on September 4th to get tickets for Leaky Con? Since it's next Tuesday that the tickets go on sale.

Date: 2018-08-28 08:43 pm (UTC)
titti: (Default)
From: [personal profile] titti
I just checked and they will go on sale on Tuesday at 2pm EDT. They are $159. I can be online at that time. Let me know how many tickets I need to get.

Date: 2018-08-28 10:42 pm (UTC)
titti: (Default)
From: [personal profile] titti
If it's like misticon, they want names, name for the badge and address for everyone. Of maybe ask Lily what they asked for last year.

Date: 2018-08-29 09:32 pm (UTC)
titti: (Default)
From: [personal profile] titti
I didn't have a problem with the site and I use Firefox. It's a little weird in that you need to put it in the cart and then you do a checkout. Also they got the rooms available today and I booked that too. I'm being so proactive.

Date: 2018-08-29 11:20 pm (UTC)
titti: (Default)
From: [personal profile] titti
I actually called the hotel about suites and while they have them, they are already sold out for those days.

Date: 2018-08-29 11:23 pm (UTC)
titti: (Default)
From: [personal profile] titti
I think the people running the con took the rooms because the rooms went on sale yesterday. No way random people booked all the suites.

Date: 2018-08-29 11:52 pm (UTC)
titti: (Default)
From: [personal profile] titti
Yay for cons. Now we can worry about Leaky on Tuesday.

Those hotels are mad expensive. Just parking is $40 a night. I'm thinking about taking the bus up so I don't have to drive/worry about the car.

Date: 2018-08-30 01:11 am (UTC)
titti: (Default)
From: [personal profile] titti
Seaport Hotel & World Trade Center, if you try to book now it's around $340, but they said they have a 'limited' number of rooms for $270 and it's across the street from the convention.

Date: 2018-08-30 01:41 am (UTC)
titti: (Default)
From: [personal profile] titti
I shall, although I was looking at suites and we're looking at almost $600 per night, and I guess we don't need one that badly!

Date: 2018-08-30 01:54 am (UTC)
titti: (Default)
From: [personal profile] titti
Oh no, the suites are special and cozy and only have one bed. I think I'm fine with a regular room!

Date: 2018-08-30 02:13 am (UTC)
titti: (Default)
From: [personal profile] titti
You know what we can do, call the hotels with both reservation and ask for connecting rooms. I mean it's still not a suite, but better than nothing.

Date: 2018-08-30 04:14 pm (UTC)
titti: (Default)
From: [personal profile] titti
I got the cheapest option so i'm assuming no balcony. *g*

Date: 2018-08-31 06:41 pm (UTC)
titti: (Default)
From: [personal profile] titti
The reservation is under my name, I can PM the reservation number if that helps. Also I still need your info and Delta for the registration for Tuesday.

Date: 2018-08-31 07:28 pm (UTC)
titti: (Default)
From: [personal profile] titti
It's my office and since I can never take long vacations because it's bad for the business, a day here or there doesn't really affect me. My husband might complain. *g*

I'll see what there is.

Date: 2018-09-01 08:35 pm (UTC)
titti: (Default)
From: [personal profile] titti
For me it's more than that. With cases, I can't just close for two or three weeks. The cons actually make it easier because I can take a few days here and there and move things around.

Date: 2018-08-28 02:59 pm (UTC)
vix_spes: (Default)
From: [personal profile] vix_spes
Yay! I'm glad that you had such a fantastic time at both cons <3

Date: 2018-08-30 08:22 pm (UTC)
vix_spes: (Default)
From: [personal profile] vix_spes
Haha! I would love to but I think I'm already due to go on a writers retreat to Florence next year :(

Date: 2018-09-03 07:36 am (UTC)
vix_spes: (Default)
From: [personal profile] vix_spes
Yes, it's potentially for a Hannibal-centric writers retreat as so much of season 3 is set in Florence

Profile

alisanne: (Default)
alisanne

May 2021

S M T W T F S
      1
2345678
9101112131415
16171819202122
232425262728 29
3031     

Most Popular Tags

Style Credit

Expand Cut Tags

No cut tags
Page generated Jun. 6th, 2025 08:21 pm
Powered by Dreamwidth Studios