Wednesday, August 15, 2012

By No Means the Final Word on Vegas KHAAAN 2012

I awoke to see the cityscape of Downtown LA, buildings that are so well-known to me from years and years of staring at them, envisioning what tragedy or ho-ho! good-times went on within those offices and suites. My trusty a/c unit was buzzing away, and it has been all night, and will be doing so all day; spinning my head around I could see my mismatched furniture, and various what-nots, and there's a story behind each and every one of them. Everything is familiar: STLV did happen, didn't it? No panels to attend. No friends to meet up later with. None of it.

I know the preceding was trite stuff, and probably not worthy of the first blog I've posted in over a year, but that is what the fingers wanted to type. And my guts and soul know that this won't be my last word on the subject. How can it be? The Vegas KHAAAN is a grand affair; it's insanity, and exhausting. It's a fucking frolic, nirvana, lifting a fan of Star Trek to sublime heights ("Celebrities! Goodies! People who 'get it!' Costumes!"), and then harshly plopping them back to Real Life, yanked away, à la Dr Soren from ye olde Nexus; and like that villain from the tepidly received Next Generation film, some of us desperately want to get back. Especially when some of us make connections with people who are still in the "Nexus." Pass me a beer, Mr Surly Bartender from the Masquerade Bar.. oh, wait, that's right: I'm no longer there. I'm here We've got to back to the Island, Kate.

But, you know: Real Life. The bills, the responsibility, the Mundane friends who don't get it but are still 'friends' so we adapt, and temper our geek references, and get puzzled when they go on and on about college/professional sport teams, and the jerseys of their favorite teams, and the ungodly amounts of money spent on sports packages with their cable providers or the season tickets. And don't get me started with their face painting or those bizarre head-things they wear. Or I can live and let live, right? Just don't tread on me, Mr and Mrs Sports Figure Bobble Head People, ya dig?

Trifle Deluxe, this be. I'll post something soon with photos, and impressions on individual days (actually, I probably won't do the latter, as I made the mistake of bringing a bottle of Jameson Irish Whiskey, which meant that there were a few odysseys in Booze-ania... note to self: DON'T bring the hard stuff next year!), and all of that other bloggy stuff.


6 comments:

  1. it was a weird con for me...missed a lot because of my first costume contest, having my kid there, and drinking a pint of tequila with you! ha! But i did have some time to party, and got into trouble, even without my usual partner in crime. Overall, I think it was a success, and just as I did last year, I am vowing to see more of the actual con next year.

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    1. That afternoon when we were drinking that pint of tequila was actually a highlight of the convention, because it made me realize just how like a sister to me you really are. Granted, after you left, I was making dents on that bottle of Jameson, and, well, shucks: I'll let history damn me if it must, ha ha! ::coughs nervously:: Anyway, your costume was keen, and the kid was cool, but it sounds like a logical plan to see more of the actual con next year. It's the 20th anniversary of DS9! We'll break out the kanar!

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  2. Saw this article just browsing #stlv on twitter. This was my first trek convention, and it was completely awesome to be around so many people with a common interest. I'm already talking with my friend that I went with about going back this year, and doing some sort of costume (but it would have to be creative, unique, but not time consuming or too elaborate for the artistically impaired). I definitely get your point about "tempering the geek references" - although I'm a pretty big soccer fan and will chant random songs for 90 minutes in the crowd as well :) For the first time probably since high school, I felt truly comfortable for 4 days talking about something that I truly loved knowing I wouldn't be judged, and I was grinning ear to ear the whole time. Anyway, great post, great convention.

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    1. Thanks for the comment, Steve. Glad you enjoyed the convention - wasn't it a gas? - and that you're planning on attending again next year. RE: my "tempering the geek references".. I visited my brother today, just to say hello and share some of my adventures this past weekend, and he saw that I had an LA Kings key-chain (a friend who worked during the Stanley Cups gave it to me): it was a fancy affair, resembling a tiny, black puck, emblazoned with a silvery "LA Kings," and my brother asked me if he could have it. Now, this is the same sports-loving sibling who some years back teased me mercilessly when he saw I had a Star Trek key-chain (a pewter Enterprise-D), saying I was a little long-in-the-tooth for such silly baubles. And YET he wanted a tiny puck! Brothers being brothers, I gave it to him, because sports are his passion, just as soccer is your (other) passion, and I really do live and let live. In any case, thanks again for taking the time to read my little missive, and see ya next year!

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  3. Got to see so little of you this year, but then again, the whirlwind aspect of the trip was a strategy this go-round, designed to mix it up. Do it differently. Keep the "shine."

    Some aspects were successful, others not as much...but times were had. And how can they not be? The halls were teeming with "my people."

    I'm glad you are "my people" Ernesto, and I'm glad that's true Within the Nexus and Without.

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    1. I have been, and always shall be, your "people." At least we (and the Ensign) had the chance to snap a photo together! I am figuring out a way to schedule visits to you (and the rest of your 'crew'), as spending that little time together reminded me how much I miss y'all. Plus, I want to meet "Coop" Cooper! Till then, Pink Skin!

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