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So, I was away for about 6 days, plus today's recuperation, at Otakon 2008. If any of you posted anything I should read in the interim, please link me.
Now, a brief recounting of the trip, and then pictures (and a video!).
I went to the convention with Jeannette, (![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
achanchinou), my favorite wheelfairy, who picked me up from the Atlanta airport on Thursday afternoon. My journey began Wednesday night/Thursday morning, when I took the train down from Fargo to Minneapolis, and then got a ride with my friend Erika to the airport. I had already, at this point, been awake for 24 hours. Maybe working a full day before the trip was not such a good idea...
J and I drove through Atlanta during a rainstorm, which made traffic just so much fun. But, it was okay, we were hanging out and talking. I found, in person, that talking to J is much like talking to her on the phone or using IM. She's just right there, and doesn't have reception issues. We yakked for about six hours, before I began to realize that I was waaaay too tired to continue. J was also tired, so we stopped at a motel in Charlotte, NC to rest.
This worked better for me than for J. The hotel was not a very good one, and the mattress hurt her back. Also, apparently I snore "like a chainsaw factory", so J slept like a pogo stick that night. Nonetheless, the next morning she was well enough to drive (she preferred to drive, since the drivers' seat in her Suburban Assault Vehicle is more comfy), and we got breakfast at a restaurant called Shoneys. I did not know of this place; we don't have them in the North. They have a breakfast buffet! ALL YOU CAN EAT EGGS! Pancakes, french toast, biscuits, sausage, bacon...and for some reason, fried chicken. Hey, I won't argue. Thus fortified, we continued on.
Now, a word about driving with J. J can, when necessary, enter a zen state in which she aggressively weaves through traffic at high speed, moving other cars out of the way with the power of her telepathy (or her massive red SUV), in a manner reminiscent of the Death Star trench scene from Star Wars. At first, this "Aggressive J is Aggressive" mode was a bit scary, but I got used to it. And hey, we didn't crash!
We had to sit through godawful traffic jams in DC, of course; there were two auto wrecks, and DC traffic is like a supersaturated solution, such that any single shock or disruption will cause everything to crystallize to a motionless state. This added an hour to our transit time, and about 10 thousand pounds of pressure to J's mood. I myself was quite unhappy as well, as we had to turn off the AC in order to avoid straining the engine. I am a Northern lad, and don't do well with heat; it was in the mid 80s in DC, which was sweltering to me. J, of course, found it to be cool and bracing, but she is an Alabama hot house flower, and thrives in temperatures in which your average Flew would melt.
Once we reached Baltimore, we discovered something else unpleasant: Baltimore's roads do not bear any resemblance to the maps of said roads. I believe that Baltimore was laid out by the Maryland Department of Non-Euclidean Urban Planning, because a route we took that was supposed to land us on the south side of the city near our hotel, instead deposited us on the north side. Lacking the will to brave Baltimore's harbor tunnel again, we instead made our way to the Convention Center, where we discovered another unpleasant aspect of Baltimore: the sidewalks are absolutely the worst thing ever for someone in a wheelchair. Not a single piece of concrete is level with the next, and J sometimes found herself having to push uphill on one, only to fall several inches on the next. Somehow, she didn't fall over, something for which I was carefully watching and remaining close enough to catch her if it occurred.
Once at the Convention Center, things became rapidly less stressful, although J did scare a group of otaku hanging out on the wheelchair ramp in the front entrance when she came barrelling down at high speed, yelling "Don't stand there, you might die!" Somehow, she managed to avoid them and make the turns and twists in the ramp quite rapidly; I begin to understand why she calls her chair a "sports wheelchair". Given the nature of the sidewalks, though, she found herself wishing for TANK CHAIR.
We then wandered the halls, locating the registration desk, where J displayed her Magical Disabled Person Powers by allowing us to bypass the line and use the Special Needs desk. She and I were both issued "disabled person" stickers on our badges, which allowed us to use the elevators (I got one because I was with her, and thus considered an attendant). And then, it was off to the Artist Alley room to find Jessi.
Well, we eventually found Jessi, also known aslimpingpigeon, or J. Yes, Jessi and Jeannette both call themselves J; plus, they refer to each other as J. Under no circumstances confuse the two, unless under confusing circumstances! (Dubbug solves this problem by calling Jessi and Jeannette "the other J" and "the other J", respectively.)
Once met up with Jessi, her sister Alycia (stuntviolist), and Alycia's boyfriend Chaskiel, we determined that the best way to proceed was to follow Chaskiel back to the hotel, since he knew where it was, and we did not. For food, we decided on the Wendy's near our hotel, since it was A) close, B) had gluten-free food in the form of salads and chicken nuggets for J (I mean Jeannette), and C) would not require us to brave Baltimore's traffic again. So, we headed back to the parking garage, at which point I discovered something that still gives me much chagrin: despite being supposedly able-bodied, I cannot keep up with J in her wheelchair. Neither could Alycia, Jessi, Chaskiel, or for that matter, anybody else on foot, because she barrelled down that street like she was rocket-propelled. I might mention, at this point, that her arm mucles are prodigiously strong.
Anyway, we made our way back to the hotel, with Jessi sitting in our car with Jeannette, and during our conversation, I accidentally called Jeannette "Pigeon", which proves that I don't need the dual-J phenomenon to get confused about which is which. Once at the hotel, we checked in, got food, and then brought Jessi up to our room for eating and yakking about stuff.
The next day, we arose to make our way to the convention, and wandered the Dealer's Room and then Artists' Alley. This is best described in pictures, rather than words. So, here we go!
( Cut to spare friends pages from pics and video )
Now, a brief recounting of the trip, and then pictures (and a video!).
I went to the convention with Jeannette, (
achanchinou), my favorite wheelfairy, who picked me up from the Atlanta airport on Thursday afternoon. My journey began Wednesday night/Thursday morning, when I took the train down from Fargo to Minneapolis, and then got a ride with my friend Erika to the airport. I had already, at this point, been awake for 24 hours. Maybe working a full day before the trip was not such a good idea...J and I drove through Atlanta during a rainstorm, which made traffic just so much fun. But, it was okay, we were hanging out and talking. I found, in person, that talking to J is much like talking to her on the phone or using IM. She's just right there, and doesn't have reception issues. We yakked for about six hours, before I began to realize that I was waaaay too tired to continue. J was also tired, so we stopped at a motel in Charlotte, NC to rest.
This worked better for me than for J. The hotel was not a very good one, and the mattress hurt her back. Also, apparently I snore "like a chainsaw factory", so J slept like a pogo stick that night. Nonetheless, the next morning she was well enough to drive (she preferred to drive, since the drivers' seat in her Suburban Assault Vehicle is more comfy), and we got breakfast at a restaurant called Shoneys. I did not know of this place; we don't have them in the North. They have a breakfast buffet! ALL YOU CAN EAT EGGS! Pancakes, french toast, biscuits, sausage, bacon...and for some reason, fried chicken. Hey, I won't argue. Thus fortified, we continued on.
Now, a word about driving with J. J can, when necessary, enter a zen state in which she aggressively weaves through traffic at high speed, moving other cars out of the way with the power of her telepathy (or her massive red SUV), in a manner reminiscent of the Death Star trench scene from Star Wars. At first, this "Aggressive J is Aggressive" mode was a bit scary, but I got used to it. And hey, we didn't crash!
We had to sit through godawful traffic jams in DC, of course; there were two auto wrecks, and DC traffic is like a supersaturated solution, such that any single shock or disruption will cause everything to crystallize to a motionless state. This added an hour to our transit time, and about 10 thousand pounds of pressure to J's mood. I myself was quite unhappy as well, as we had to turn off the AC in order to avoid straining the engine. I am a Northern lad, and don't do well with heat; it was in the mid 80s in DC, which was sweltering to me. J, of course, found it to be cool and bracing, but she is an Alabama hot house flower, and thrives in temperatures in which your average Flew would melt.
Once we reached Baltimore, we discovered something else unpleasant: Baltimore's roads do not bear any resemblance to the maps of said roads. I believe that Baltimore was laid out by the Maryland Department of Non-Euclidean Urban Planning, because a route we took that was supposed to land us on the south side of the city near our hotel, instead deposited us on the north side. Lacking the will to brave Baltimore's harbor tunnel again, we instead made our way to the Convention Center, where we discovered another unpleasant aspect of Baltimore: the sidewalks are absolutely the worst thing ever for someone in a wheelchair. Not a single piece of concrete is level with the next, and J sometimes found herself having to push uphill on one, only to fall several inches on the next. Somehow, she didn't fall over, something for which I was carefully watching and remaining close enough to catch her if it occurred.
Once at the Convention Center, things became rapidly less stressful, although J did scare a group of otaku hanging out on the wheelchair ramp in the front entrance when she came barrelling down at high speed, yelling "Don't stand there, you might die!" Somehow, she managed to avoid them and make the turns and twists in the ramp quite rapidly; I begin to understand why she calls her chair a "sports wheelchair". Given the nature of the sidewalks, though, she found herself wishing for TANK CHAIR.
We then wandered the halls, locating the registration desk, where J displayed her Magical Disabled Person Powers by allowing us to bypass the line and use the Special Needs desk. She and I were both issued "disabled person" stickers on our badges, which allowed us to use the elevators (I got one because I was with her, and thus considered an attendant). And then, it was off to the Artist Alley room to find Jessi.
Well, we eventually found Jessi, also known as
limpingpigeon, or J. Yes, Jessi and Jeannette both call themselves J; plus, they refer to each other as J. Under no circumstances confuse the two, unless under confusing circumstances! (Dubbug solves this problem by calling Jessi and Jeannette "the other J" and "the other J", respectively.)Once met up with Jessi, her sister Alycia (
stuntviolist), and Alycia's boyfriend Chaskiel, we determined that the best way to proceed was to follow Chaskiel back to the hotel, since he knew where it was, and we did not. For food, we decided on the Wendy's near our hotel, since it was A) close, B) had gluten-free food in the form of salads and chicken nuggets for J (I mean Jeannette), and C) would not require us to brave Baltimore's traffic again. So, we headed back to the parking garage, at which point I discovered something that still gives me much chagrin: despite being supposedly able-bodied, I cannot keep up with J in her wheelchair. Neither could Alycia, Jessi, Chaskiel, or for that matter, anybody else on foot, because she barrelled down that street like she was rocket-propelled. I might mention, at this point, that her arm mucles are prodigiously strong.Anyway, we made our way back to the hotel, with Jessi sitting in our car with Jeannette, and during our conversation, I accidentally called Jeannette "Pigeon", which proves that I don't need the dual-J phenomenon to get confused about which is which. Once at the hotel, we checked in, got food, and then brought Jessi up to our room for eating and yakking about stuff.
The next day, we arose to make our way to the convention, and wandered the Dealer's Room and then Artists' Alley. This is best described in pictures, rather than words. So, here we go!
( Cut to spare friends pages from pics and video )
