Con Rituals

(Drafted last week, FYI!)

I started doing conventions over a decade (!!!!!) ago. In that time, I've constantly tweaked and refined my routine; made and corrected mistakes; and am dead-set on certain pre-con rituals. An exhaustive list of my habits would be nigh impossible, but these are the "greatest hits" that leap first to mind.

• Washing and vacuuming my vehicle

Be the con five minutes or five hours away from home, this rite never changes. My cars, in order: Darwin the Magnificent $700 minivan (6 years), Karl the red Ford Escort wagon (4 years), and now my beloved Wilhelm Friedrich von Buick (8 years and counting). I buy my cars very used, maintain them well, drive them hard, and don't let go until the true end; giving them a "thank you" spruce up before an event is the least I can do. Truth be told, I try to give my Wilhelm a deep clean at least once a month, because he deserves it.

• Choose my con clothes minimum one week out

What I wear to an event depends on several factors, namely how many cons I have in a year and how likely they are to have the same attendees. I prefer to wear different dresses to each event, but sometimes a dress just feels lucky and/or comfortable enough to make a repeat appearance. Choosing my attire ahead of time lets me tend to any cleaning or ironing since my con dresses live in storage totes under the bed during my off season. My choices also depend on whether I'm driving home every night, staying with friends, or staying by myself--that is, is there a trusted someone to zip and unzip the back if required? If not, I choose outfits that don't require a spot, so to speak. I'm just not limber enough to zip and unzip a dress on my own. Trust me, I've tried! :P.

• Polish my boots

To save on just how much I forget, I always wear my footwear for the con to the con. This nearly always consists of a pair of ankle high black leather boots, which are blackened and polished before every event. Ankle boots go with everything! My A-line vintage dress collection or my Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles dress--you name it, they match. The rare exceptions include my knee high leather boots and my black Mary Janes, both of which are packed vs. worn. This is both for practicality and comfort--neither my knee-high boots or my Mary Janes make for safe driving (slick soles) or comfortably unloading the car.

• Pre-con coffee

Be it the last day of a convention weekend or on the way in to set up, I will stop at my favorite coffee shop for a fancy caffeine hit to begin the day. I figure 14 hour days are worth the splurge! There's a reason I've multiple fictional coffee companies to my name, and that's to recoup the cost of my bad habit. :P

UPDATE: Great Plains Gaming Festival was AMAZING and kicked my bum in the best conceivable way. Yesterday was nothing but sleep and a shower; today is laundry and other necessary but largely passive chores; and Wednesday I should be mostly all right again. :P. Here's to ending the week in the studio! GPGF is my last (planned) in-person con until November, as I intend this spring and summer to be a bacchanal of painting time!