(Originally posted on LiveJournal)
Mind you, I never watched The A-Team. It never quite hit the right note for me back in the day. But, the line is a useful one.
Anyway, I am pausing in my Mythcon preparations to take a little break. There are still chores to be done — preparing the registration packets, mostly. And a handful of personal chores, like laundry. But I’m beginning to believe that I will actually have things all in order by Wednesday evening. I dream of getting up Thursday morning, leisurely getting myself pulled together and then, after a morning swim, setting out for the site. And watching the fun unroll.
Of course, there is one thing I haven’t prepared yet, and that’s my comments for the Opening Ceremonies. Oh, I don’t plan on droning on long, but I do want to speak about how it all came together.
Diana Pavlac Glyer and James A. Owen
This has been nearly two years in planning. The early days of the planning were mostly just thinking of the conjunction of Guests of Honor. Then there was the seeking out of committee members, people I knew I could work with and who were “just right” for the tasks at hand. I feel fortunate in the choices I made. Then came the seeking out of a good location. There were various places in Southern California that have hosted Mythcons in the past. But none of them were what I considered ideal — that required a location that people knew well enough to consider driving to, especially if they only meant to come for one day of the four day conference. UCLA always was on the top of my list for that. When I investigated, the facilities UCLA offered for conferences seemed ideal for Mythcon. So, that’s where we settled.
UCLA DeNeve Plaza
Of course, with the economy being what it is, there was every expectation that attendance would be lower. But as our deadlines drew near last month, people started popping up. But beyond that agreeable development, there is the pleasure and excited expectation that various people have been displaying. The right guests, a fascinating collection of presentations, upbeat energy… it is all what I hoped for, but almost didn’t dare to expect.
This has been a labor of love, that’s for sure. I feel as if I am getting the opportunity to do a mass of entertaining that I have not been able to do for years (parking in my neighborhood is such that it would be a punishment to ask a group of friends over at once). I am being energized by the expectation of being able to watch people connect, have fun, be absorbed in interesting conversations. And I am utterly grateful for the folks who have followed in my train, jumped at my call, and delivered on their tasks.
Lisa Harrigan, Sherwood Smith, Gavin Claypool, Lisa (and her husband Robert) Cowan, Nancy Martsch, Bonnie and Tim Callahan — my faithful committee; Lynn Maudlin, Mythopoeic Society Secretary for Conferences and superb nudge and nag (and good friend!); Randy Hoyt, Society Webmaster, who has been very accommodating about posting everything — it has been a BIG assist!; UCLA’s Monica Hite, the university’s conference coordinator — yes, it’s her job, but she has handled my information requests and occasional glitches well; UCLA’s Charli Wong, our catering coordinator; Rusty Poehner, who found us a way to handle the insurance — a good thing she deals with non-profit 501.c3s frequently. Without each and every one of these folks, I would not be as mentally at ease about the conference as I am.
Of course, “at ease” is definitely relative. I am a control freak, after all. 😀
