Quick Post from NY

[sharan]

As you may have figured out by now, I'm in NY for Spring Break right now. While being awake and not tired at hours when I really should be asleep (except that I'm still on L.A. time) I just managed to catch up on my friends list here so I thought I'd make a quick post (besides, I wanted to see if the LJ way of posting to Facebook works so I can use my Notes section for Rockers Online instead).

Last Sunday I went to the 40th Anniversary of the Science Fiction Forum at Stonybrook and had a great time! I saw a lot of people I hadn't seen in a long time, although some I would have really liked to have seen were strangely absent (even a couple that lived locally). I even took a few pictures, which I posted here on Facebook. BTW, for the LASFS members out there the Science Fiction Forum is a lot like LASFS, just with students:).

Over the next few days I'm trying to meet up with a few friends I haven't seen in a long time, and then Friday I head up to Lunacon to see even more people. It should be a fun time! I was sorry to miss last year when they returned to the Escher Hilton, so I'm glad I could make it this year (and it's still there).

Well, I'm finally starting to get a little tired so I think I better get to sleep:).

Comments

40th

[mscongeniality.livejournal.com]

Personally, I'm still bitter at the planning and the fact that the event was timed so that if you're from out of town and had to be at work Monday morning, attendance was difficult. Glad you had a good time, though.

Re: 40th

[sharan.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I was pretty annoyed at the lack of planning too! If it wasn't for Virgin America being nice enough to change my flight without charging me I wouldn't have made it either! It sounds like the Forum administration just changed and the old administration weren't doing a thing about this, so the new one had to rush to pull things together. They did pretty well considering, but there were still a lot of empty tables. At least some people were talking about a 42nd anniversary, so maybe that'll go better!

I'm sorry you couldn't make it!

Re: 40th

[mscongeniality.livejournal.com]

Yeah, a 42nd would be awesome. Especially if it were more alumni-friendly.

I was really surprised that you were able to make it. I've been thinking of trying Virgin America next time I need to head west. If they're that amenable to flight changes, it might just be worth it.

Hope you have a good time at Lunacon!

Re: 40th

[jcholewa.livejournal.com]

If you haven't seen it, there's a discussion going on in the SFForum Yahoo Group ("http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SFForum") regarding the 42nd. They're discussing options, including such ideas as picnics and hotel relaxacons.

Your assessment of the planning seems about right. Matt was not a bad President at all, but it seems that he largely let the 40th slip past the eboard's attention (probably partly due to sourcing for a new room taking their attention). Ian's crew were in a situation where they probably could have chosen between getting a better day or getting Jim Frenkel, but there was no way they could get both, as they no longer had enough advance time for flexibility in reserving rooms. So, yeah, I'm pretty happy that people already started planning for the next one. :)

Re: 40th

[sharan.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it would be!

I got lucky since this week happened to be Spring break so I was flying out here anyway. Otherwise I probably wouldn't have made it on that short notice! Yeah, I've been really happy with Virgin America. Technically they were only supposed to allow changes within 24 hours and it had been 3 days, but when I explained the situation they figured out a way, which was really nice of them! I already wouldn't fly another airline if I had a choice, and this confirmed it. They have games and free TV on the touch screen in front of the seats, power outlets on all the seats, etc. I even hear they have WiFi on some flights now!

Thanks!

Re: 40th

[sharan.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'm on the list! I'm way behind on e-mail but I have been trying to keep up on that thread at least.

Yeah, I'm sure moving the forum seriously disrupted any plans for this:(. It's too bad that had to happen now (or at all from what I'm hearing about the whole thing). I can definitely understand wanting to get Jim Frenkel! It is too bad there wasn't enough time to plan it better, though. I think even people who LIVE on Long Island may not have heard about it and weren't there (i.e.,where was Gary Halada?). JAM said he only heard about it a week before it happened, and he WORKS there.

Let's just hope the 42nd works out!