Land of Nod

One of the things I picked up at the convention was an advertisement to this music festival called The Land of Nod.  It looks really cool. 

There are a bunch of bands playing there that I really want to see: of Montreal, Rasputina, the Eagles of Death Metal, and Murder by Death.  Obviously, everyone's heard of Montreal and the Eagles of Death Metal.  I know I've read about Rasptuina somewhere and Rory once mentioned that he loved Murder by Death.  
There are even a few bands listed here that I've seen before but wouldn't mind seeing again, including My Dear Disco.  I saw them about a year and a half ago and had a really good time.  They were more funky than disco-y, actually, but that's not such a bad thing either.   

Con Virgin, part 2

Like I was saying in my last post, Matt and I spent a lot of time in the game room, since Matt was interested in learning more about games.  And, as I also mentioned in that post, I was looking to do a little amateur anthropology work.
The game room ended up being the best place to talk to people.  Whenever I'm in these situations, I feel very much like Elizabeth Bennet, since I find myself being witty and doing my best to endear myself to people.
I made jokes making fun of Republicans, and those went over surprisingly well.  Because of all the time I've spent with Dean over the past few years, I guess I've gotten it in my head that all nerds are libertarians, but my sense was they were liberals, which made me happy.
One of the people I ended up meeting was Matt Arnold.  When I first noticed he was wearing a tag with that name, I was tempted to ask him if that was really his name.  (The last time I saw that name, I was at Westminister Abbey.  Go on, look up who the historical figure is.)  I was impressed with certain things about him, and he seemed game enough for my wit.  (Along with his friend Nathan, who played along.  Score!)  Briefly looking around on his website, he appears to be way nerdier than I ever have been, but that's okay.  And the best news?  He appears to be pro-poly.      
I hate to admit it, but there were some cute boys there.  And there were some not-so-cute boys there who also had personality.  And, let's face it, I'm a personality fan.  If you want my immediate attention, sure, looking cute helps, but if you want to keep that attention long term, you better be something more.  It's too bad that I will certainly never see some of those boys again.  Some of them might be worth it.
The strangest thing that happened was that a young boy named Milo followed Matt and I out of the game room.  He introduced himself to us as Milo.  He was so young, and maybe a little too young to be wandering around the convention alone.  Matt totally blamed me for getting him to follow us around, but honest to God, I didn't do it on purpose.  I didn't even talk to the boy.  But, really, he seemed harmless enough, so no biggie.  
Matt and I also sat through this discussion of a steampunk movie maker.  The movies were well-made, and the one director seemed a little boring, but his best friend with him was hilarious and maybe manic.  I'd totally love to see the latter do nerdy stand-up. 
So maybe I didn't end up doing much in the way of anthropology, but that's not the end of the universe.  I definitely feel like, for the most part, people were very friendly.  There were a few people who were exactly like the most negative stereotype of nerds, but I was mostly pleased with the experience.  
Getting home?  Not so much.
Matt is wonderful and all, but he managed to get lost three times on the way back home.  I know what happened the last two times, but I'm still trying to figure out how the first time happened.  I wasn't paying attention because Matt and I were having an intense, heart-to-heart conversation and I was dealing with frantic text messages from my Mom, so I wasn't watching where Matt was going.  I think the first time he turned somewhere funny, because all he had to do was go straight before we hit a particular freeway.  At one point, it became clear we were going east when we were suppose to be going north.  And then for some reason, Matt turned around and went south. 

Con Virgin

Yesterday, I headed over to a steampunk convention. As some of you know, I'm really interested in subcutltures, and steampunk is one of the newest around. I wanted to do a little amateur anthropology work.
But one of the things that happened was that I ran into my old friend Jack, who I went to high school with. It was through him that I heard about the convention.
Jack's a transman, which means that he's going through a transition right now. He's really cool. He mentioned to me that he wants to go back and see a particular teacher, but since he's begun taking hormones (his voice is very different now), he's a little worried about going back to see that teacher. Not so much because that teacher would hate him, but because it might be a little bit of a shock.
I know if I was in Jack's position, I would feel really awkward about it too. I told him that if he went with a group of friends (we all sat together in the back) or someone gave the teacher warning, it might be fine. I didn't think about it at the time, but I probably should have offered to go with him. Hell, I'd even be polite to my ex-boyfriend to get this to work for Jack.
Anyway, I digressed before I even got started on what I wanted to say. The steampunk convention was really cool. There was a merchants room, and I saw all sorts of cool costumes and props and other nerdy things for sale. Even though I had a fair amount of moolah on me, I always feel like I should be very careful what I buy. (NO impulse purchases.) So I mostly looked. There were some beautiful hats and costumes for sale, and they were very expensive looking. I actually managed to make myself a pretty decent costume just out of the stuff I have in my closet. The only thing I really need to do is to improve this look is maybe add an accessory or two to make it more steampunk-y. I collected tons of fliers and business cards, so I'm hoping that there will be people for me to go to for more stuff, should I decide to buy it. I'm a big believer that it's never too early to start making wishlists for Christmas or your birthday.
The only thing I ended up buying were some clip on magnifying glasses. Basically, one of the most important parts of a steampunk costume is the goggles. But of course these goggles have a very particular design, one that suctions down on each eye, making them less than ideal for those of us who wear glasses full time. So, even though this is one nerdy subculture, you can't help but feel, as someone who wears glasses, that you're being discriminated against once again. But they also make these handy magnifiers you can clip to your glasses to give you a steampunk look and still use your prescription lenses.

I'm also thinking that maybe I should use one of my belts and just buy a few simple add-ons, like a flask or jar or gun holster (with gun, obviously) and that will look way more steampunk than some of the other people I saw there. Steampunk is all in the accessories.
Matt and I headed over to the game room for part of the convention. We played the game Arkham Horror, which is based on the Lovecraft stories. It was this big, impressively complicated game involving investigators trying to stop monsters from destroying the town. The representative showing this game looking like he belonged in a mobster movie and smelled like Burger King fries.
100 posts! Which would probably be more impressive if I hadn't skipped two days of posting, just because there hasn't been much going on or too much going on for me to get to room in the day to post something.

Law and Order: Lansing

I realized last night that I probably watch and read way too many crime procedurals and mysteries when I started imagining what it would be like if some of my friends and myself were in one.
Paul and I would be partners, natch.  Paul would be the logical one, solving crimes like Holmes himself.  I'd be all intuition and channel Mulder.  Juicebox would be like Munch, the cool customer.  (Actually, imagining Juicebox as Munch is really funny, since he's nothing like Munch except in the calm presence way.  But I feel like everyone would want to watch a show where one of the characters is called Juicebox.)  And then I could totally see Nate and Josh as partners a la Ryan and Esposito.  (Ryan is cute and silly like Nate, Esposito is more serious but still gets into trouble like Josh.)  Da-DUM! 
Oh yeah, I've been watching too many mysteries lately.  Though, I mean, really, is this any stranger than imagining some of my friends as old people?  And, at least I didn't imagine anyone as David Caruso from CSI: Miami.  (Jeff?  Totally.)      

Doctor's Visit

I was getting ready this afternoon to go see my Grandma. I was going to be helping my Mom take her to the doctor's. I was having something to eat in the kitchen, when my sister yelled across the house that Tracey was coming.
"Tracey?" What the hell?
Let me explain: Tracey is one of my Mom's friends. I have mixed feelings on her, but it's unusual she would just come to our house without my Mom being home.
Turns out she was there to get me. And, of course, I wasn't ready. Damn. Tracey was coming to get me because the three cars my family owns were either out, or in one case, on reserve for my sister who was going to use one to get herself to class. (She's taking summer classes.)
I was planning on doing a lot more to get ready (like, you know, brushing my hair), but I didn't want to keep Tracey waiting. Seems rude, since she was doing me a favor.
One of the things I hate about riding in cars with people like that is that I always struggle to make conversation. With one of my friends, it's easy, because we can't get enough of each other. Someone like Tracey, a real adult, who is way older than me and has daughters slightly younger than I, is a totally different game. It's not like talking to Kelly, where we can giggle about how stupid certain other students are, or Paul or Tony, where I can talk to those two about anything.
I went with talking about MSU, since her younger daughter is starting there in the fall. I told her about how much I liked the floor right above where she would be living.
Tracey talked to me about something I had heard of but haven't really looked into much. Her eldest daughter is at U of M, and she was complaining that there were all sort of hard drugs there. Mandy had discussed it to me, but I was never sure how widespread it was. I have friends at or who were once at U of M, and none of them ever talked about it. Of course, they're very hard working, straight-laced people. It's hard to imagine them doing blow off a frat boy's stomach.
The good news is, Tracey thinks that MSU is actually not much of a party school. Truth.
So we took my Grandma to the doctor's. It was mostly fine, but my Grandma was being more annoying than normal. My Grandma kept asking where we were going and why. She really hates going to the doctor. I don't know why. Worst thing that happens is that she gets her arm squeezed when they measure her blood pressure.
I judge waiting rooms by the magazines they have. I'm looking for something good, like Time, Newsweek, National Geographic, Wired. There are lots of other magazines I like to read, but I'm lucky if a waiting room has the first two, let alone something like Mother Jones or The Economist. Best I could find at this waiting room was Elle. Ugh. I'll take it.

Ray Bradbury

Today, I've been reading through this interview with Ray Bradbury. I really loved Fahrenheit 451 and Dandelion Wine when I was a teenager, so of course I was curious about this.
There's something odd in the way this man talks. He sounds like the old men in his books: slightly unhinged and paranoid.

Correspondences

So, I suspect that my posts to this blog might become a little less in the coming weeks, just because I have all sorts of people emailing me and whatnot and will be communicating to my friends elsewhere.  Don't worry, I'm probably fine. 
I really like keeping personal correspondences with my friends.  I know this seems super old school, and, well, it is, but there's something nice about it.  I actually have people that I write snail mail letters to.  My freshman year, my friend Owen wrote me a snail note and it felt so good to open it and see his handwriting.  (We used to exchange notes in high school and middle school.)  It was so familiar and good and Owen-y.  (He would giggle if he heard me saying that, "Owen-y.")  So, if you'd like to snail mail with me (which I doubt since most of you cooler kids like tech), please drop me a note.  Send it by carrier pigeon if you have to.  (I'll send you back a dead bird just for the giggles.) 
Elsewise, I'm available via email, text messaging, and good-old fashion calling.  If you want to chat or catch up or are wondering if I'm being super nice on this blog (Hint: Got to behave for my freshmen.  Some of them actually look up to me.), then you know where to find me.  If you for some reason don't have my contact infos, drop a comment or email elizamelvilleATyahooDOTcoDOTuk.  (And tell me who the hell you are people.  Can't read your mind over here.  Not that much of a superwoman.)  If I kept you around, it means I probably like you, which means I would LOVE to hear from you.  So don't be a stranger none. 
I am planning on coming to find you if you don't find me first.  You might not like what it looks like when I have to go looking for you.