“I’m not the kind of man who tends to socialize
I seem to lean on old familiar ways…” – Paul Simon
I’ve been toying with the idea of attending next year’s World Fantasy Convention in Calgary (just as I toyed with the idea of attending last year’s in Austin and this year’s in Saratoga). A lot of what I’ve read online makes it sound like great fun. Of course, it also makes it sound a lot more like a reunion, something better suited to past attendees and World Fantasy Award nominees. It’s not as if there’s a sign on the door that reads, “Newbies not welcome,” but still, I’ve been thinking it might be better to start with something different, and smaller — like maybe Readercon in July, for instance.
(I’m also slowly trying to put together a trip to Los Angeles with friends for next fall, so that could eat into my already limited vacation time and disposable income.)
And then I read something like this, and I think: he’s never attended before, and he had fun… So I don’t know.
How many months does it take to get a passport?
I’m not real sure how many months it takes, but the short answer is “too many.” You better plan ahead.
True to form, when the Bush administration decided to require passports to go through the Canadian border, they didn’t ramp up processing nearly enough. Last I heard they were asking diplomatic staff who were returning stateside for vacations to “volunteer a few hours” helping to process the paperwork.
I was sort of being jokingly rhetorical with that last question. My parents recently went for a week-long trip to Seattle and Canada, and I know their passports took the better part of half a year.
There are lots and lots of reasons why, if I attend the WFC, I need to plan ahead and soon.
It’s more a question of, should I attend? As someone who won’t be nominated and doesn’t know anybody else who’s attending, will I get anything out of this particular conference, for myself or for Kaleidotrope?
I’ve pretty much sold myself on 2008’s Readercon, on the other hand.
When I did WFC a few years back, I had a total blast, and I was just there because I like books.
It’s definite worth it, at least if the right people attend, without any other agendas.