Thylacon report -- arriving
Jun. 17th, 2005 07:22 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
xenithI've probably forgotten everything by now but I want to write this to follow up on some ideas.
Left home Friday morning, with my two bags. Because I was intending to use buses to get back and forth & I was going to stay one night at the backpackers where you have to walk up a gazillion flights of stairs, I packed everything into two bags rather than a suitcase -- an overnight bag & a school bag type backpack. I'd made a point of packing for cold weather too, trying to get things that could be be worn as layers (i.e. t-shirt under a shirt) and put my rain coat on.
Bus trip down too forever, a good half hour longer than usual. I read for too long, ate too much sugar and generally came out of it feeling cranky.
On arriving in Hobart, it was a sunny day. Much to warm to be wearng my thick coat, so I took that off and carried it. I mention this, because carrying a heavy, overnight bag, an overfull backpack AND a thick coat isn't as easy as you might think. And of course, the only way from the transit centre to the city buses is to walk. Bah.
On the plus side, the bus that goes past the casino pulled up as I was looking at the timetable trying to work out which bus I wanted. Getting a heavy, overnight bag, an overfull backpack and a thick coat onto a bus isn't as easy as you might think either. Actually, the bus doesn't go past the casino, it turns off near the main entrance, goes up and around a few blocks and comes down just before the bus stop I wanted. By the time I realised, I was too stops further down the road, which isn't really a problem unless you happen to be carrying a heavy, overnight bag etc.
Now came the fun bit, finding where in the casino complex to go. I think the original hotel part dates from the 1930s or 40s. The tower was added in, well you can probably guess.
The casino, opened in 1973, was the first in Australia. Then there's the newer convention area opened in the 1980s. Thylacon was in the older section,
with the accommodation in the adjoining motor inn, although it's all one interconnected maze. I started following the signs towards "reception", which would have been easier if there were markers at each corner, when around the corner from the door above, there was an open door into a large room and as I walked past, I thought I saw Tansy, (the conchair).
Then she called out my name, which sort of confirmed it, so I went back. Only glanced at the other woman in the room, thinking she wasn't anyone I knew. It was only![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
kaelajael (Terri) who I was sharing a room with :| She was taller than I remembered (she was, she had high heeled boots on) and her hair was done all different and she wasn't wearing an electric blue mini-skirt ;)
Anyway, as she'd booked in earlier, she knew where the room was. It was back down the hall, around the corner, around another corner, down another hall, around a corner, along a hall, through some doors, then some more doors, then there's a lift painted the same colour as the walls with no sign to mark it, and then you hit the button to go down, then down the hall, and around a corner and along the hall a bit more. Might have missed a corner out of that.
Now I can't remember what we did. The awkward small talk when you first run into someone you haven't seen for a while. Lounging around in the room, which was nice enough, even if the sprinkler was above my bed. Not a bad view though.
At 2 pm we went down to register, but they weren't ready until 2.30 so we hung around and talked to people for a bit. Now a cool bit, which might seem a bit silly :)
When I've gone to cons in the past, I've always wanted one of the "other" badges, you know the ones that are different colours or have different marks on them to indicate volunteers or guests or panelists but I've only ever had a "ordinary person" badge :( Today though, I got an orange panelist badge!
It doesn't take much to make me happy, really.
Now, after this, Terri & I walked down to the shopping centre in Sandy Bay to grab a few things at the supermarket and I kept going into the city. It's a nice walk, about 30-45 mins, reasonably level for Hobart and lots of old buildings esp. through Battery Point. I stopped at the church too and took some photos, down past the waterfront where, but we're getting off track here. The purpose of the trip was to cancel my second night's booking at the youth hostel, because I was getting a ride home Monday night! No bus! Yah!
Now, I got a msg on the phone to say there was going to be an ASIM dinner at 5.30, so I think I killed some time in the city, intending to meet them at 5.30 but I can't remember what I did. I know I went back to the con a bit earlier, which turned out to be a because I was able to meet up with the other members of the co-op who where there (Terri, Sally, Zara, Nicole, Dirk, Ian, I think I've forgotten someone?) and at 5.30 we walked down to Sandy Bay (haven't I done this already today?) and we ate at a little Vietnamese takeaway/restaurant.
The Opening Ceremony was at 7.30. The observant reader will have noted I didn't have my camera with me for much of this, which is possibly why it is hard to remember. I know we sat in the back row and there was a little display shown on the screen, which included a view of the casino with the tower disappearing (one can hope). That went straight into the first panel "The Green House 2050", which was a take off off ABC's the Glass House (for the maybe one person reading who wasn't at the panel but knows the show), with Zara and the Lord Mayor of Hobart as the guests (he seemed to enjoy himself too).
Now there were some room parties in here somewhere. I keep thinking we went stright from the restaurant to the ASIM party, but that doesn't make sense. We did have it in our room though, putting a bit of dent in Terri's stash of homemade alcohols though. Once everyone (?) had left, we found another part down the hall, in Bill Wright's room. He kept trying to push more drinks on me, not believing me that I'd had enough before I got there and I'd had some more since. Then I think we went to the one on the other side of our room, in Cat's room. Here we had something you don't usually see at a con, about 1/4 of the members of the con in one hotel room.
Then, I assume, we went to bed.
Left home Friday morning, with my two bags. Because I was intending to use buses to get back and forth & I was going to stay one night at the backpackers where you have to walk up a gazillion flights of stairs, I packed everything into two bags rather than a suitcase -- an overnight bag & a school bag type backpack. I'd made a point of packing for cold weather too, trying to get things that could be be worn as layers (i.e. t-shirt under a shirt) and put my rain coat on.
Bus trip down too forever, a good half hour longer than usual. I read for too long, ate too much sugar and generally came out of it feeling cranky.
On arriving in Hobart, it was a sunny day. Much to warm to be wearng my thick coat, so I took that off and carried it. I mention this, because carrying a heavy, overnight bag, an overfull backpack AND a thick coat isn't as easy as you might think. And of course, the only way from the transit centre to the city buses is to walk. Bah.
On the plus side, the bus that goes past the casino pulled up as I was looking at the timetable trying to work out which bus I wanted. Getting a heavy, overnight bag, an overfull backpack and a thick coat onto a bus isn't as easy as you might think either. Actually, the bus doesn't go past the casino, it turns off near the main entrance, goes up and around a few blocks and comes down just before the bus stop I wanted. By the time I realised, I was too stops further down the road, which isn't really a problem unless you happen to be carrying a heavy, overnight bag etc.
Now came the fun bit, finding where in the casino complex to go. I think the original hotel part dates from the 1930s or 40s. The tower was added in, well you can probably guess.
The casino, opened in 1973, was the first in Australia. Then there's the newer convention area opened in the 1980s. Thylacon was in the older section,
with the accommodation in the adjoining motor inn, although it's all one interconnected maze. I started following the signs towards "reception", which would have been easier if there were markers at each corner, when around the corner from the door above, there was an open door into a large room and as I walked past, I thought I saw Tansy, (the conchair).
Then she called out my name, which sort of confirmed it, so I went back. Only glanced at the other woman in the room, thinking she wasn't anyone I knew. It was only
kaelajael (Terri) who I was sharing a room with :| She was taller than I remembered (she was, she had high heeled boots on) and her hair was done all different and she wasn't wearing an electric blue mini-skirt ;)Anyway, as she'd booked in earlier, she knew where the room was. It was back down the hall, around the corner, around another corner, down another hall, around a corner, along a hall, through some doors, then some more doors, then there's a lift painted the same colour as the walls with no sign to mark it, and then you hit the button to go down, then down the hall, and around a corner and along the hall a bit more. Might have missed a corner out of that.
Now I can't remember what we did. The awkward small talk when you first run into someone you haven't seen for a while. Lounging around in the room, which was nice enough, even if the sprinkler was above my bed. Not a bad view though.
At 2 pm we went down to register, but they weren't ready until 2.30 so we hung around and talked to people for a bit. Now a cool bit, which might seem a bit silly :)
When I've gone to cons in the past, I've always wanted one of the "other" badges, you know the ones that are different colours or have different marks on them to indicate volunteers or guests or panelists but I've only ever had a "ordinary person" badge :( Today though, I got an orange panelist badge!
It doesn't take much to make me happy, really.
Now, after this, Terri & I walked down to the shopping centre in Sandy Bay to grab a few things at the supermarket and I kept going into the city. It's a nice walk, about 30-45 mins, reasonably level for Hobart and lots of old buildings esp. through Battery Point. I stopped at the church too and took some photos, down past the waterfront where, but we're getting off track here. The purpose of the trip was to cancel my second night's booking at the youth hostel, because I was getting a ride home Monday night! No bus! Yah!
Now, I got a msg on the phone to say there was going to be an ASIM dinner at 5.30, so I think I killed some time in the city, intending to meet them at 5.30 but I can't remember what I did. I know I went back to the con a bit earlier, which turned out to be a because I was able to meet up with the other members of the co-op who where there (Terri, Sally, Zara, Nicole, Dirk, Ian, I think I've forgotten someone?) and at 5.30 we walked down to Sandy Bay (haven't I done this already today?) and we ate at a little Vietnamese takeaway/restaurant.
The Opening Ceremony was at 7.30. The observant reader will have noted I didn't have my camera with me for much of this, which is possibly why it is hard to remember. I know we sat in the back row and there was a little display shown on the screen, which included a view of the casino with the tower disappearing (one can hope). That went straight into the first panel "The Green House 2050", which was a take off off ABC's the Glass House (for the maybe one person reading who wasn't at the panel but knows the show), with Zara and the Lord Mayor of Hobart as the guests (he seemed to enjoy himself too).
Now there were some room parties in here somewhere. I keep thinking we went stright from the restaurant to the ASIM party, but that doesn't make sense. We did have it in our room though, putting a bit of dent in Terri's stash of homemade alcohols though. Once everyone (?) had left, we found another part down the hall, in Bill Wright's room. He kept trying to push more drinks on me, not believing me that I'd had enough before I got there and I'd had some more since. Then I think we went to the one on the other side of our room, in Cat's room. Here we had something you don't usually see at a con, about 1/4 of the members of the con in one hotel room.
Then, I assume, we went to bed.
no subject
Date: 2005-06-17 09:47 pm (UTC)Now I've deleted all the others and fixed this one again, 'cos it has comments on it