WHC Report Part I: Wednesday & Thursday
Wednesday...
The alarm goes off at 4:00 AM, causing us to seriously question the wisdom of our choice of departure times. Our flight to Buffalo is uneventful, and Greg Lamberson picks us up at the airport. After dumping off our stuff and making kissy faces at Greg's baby daughter Kaelin, we head off to Niagara Falls, where we meet John Paul Allen. He buys us lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe, and then we all nearly freeze to death as we look at the falls. Lots of water there. For dinner, we go to the place where buffalo wings were invented, although the history on their menu doesn't really make a very convincing case that they invented buffalo wings as we know them. Still, the wings themselves are fantastic. Their gift shop has hats shaped like giant buffalo wings, but we refrain from making the purchase. We return to Greg's place, watch a terrible episode of LOST, and go to bed.
Thursday...
Greg picks Nick Kaufmann up from the airport. Nick and I get stuffed into the backseat of the Slimemobile, and we're off to Toronto! We have no issues crossing the border, even though Nick's passport photo screams "Angry terrorist!" We stop at a genuine Canadian Wendy's for lunch, which is just like a Wendy's in the United States except that they accept Canadian currency. We reach the hotel, check in, go "ooooooh" over the room, then head down to the WHC registration desk. Because I'm a Bram Stoker Award nominee, I get a little sticker for my badge. It serves the purpose of making other con attendees go "Wow! I'm talking to a Stoker finalist!" and it also makes several other Stoker finalists go "Hey, how come I didn't get a sticker?"
It's SURVIVOR night, but since Greg wants to watch it as well, we're able to justify it as a networking opportunity and not just us being pathetic. We go to a genuine Canadian Red Lobster for dinner. Joining us are Aaron and Erika Bennett. The irony of being in Toronto and having dinner with Tampa people we see on a regular basis is not lost on us. However, Gary Braunbeck and Lucy Snyder are there as well. Gary and I discuss the fact that we're both pretty much screwed as far as our chances of winning the Stoker for Best Novel. Sadly, this conversation does not turn out to be ironic.
Dinner runs late and we miss SURVIVOR. Fortunately, I will avoid spoilers the entire weekend. Of course, when I try to watch the episode online upon my return home, there's a little "Related Videos" link on the bottom of the screen that shows who got voted out. Stupid bastards.
There are a couple of room parties going on, one in the HWA suite and one in the hospitality suite. The temperature in both rooms is approximately 275 degrees Fahrenheit, though of course since we're in Canada it's actually in Celsius. The overall smell is not good. We stick it out for a couple of hours then return to the room and pass out.
The alarm goes off at 4:00 AM, causing us to seriously question the wisdom of our choice of departure times. Our flight to Buffalo is uneventful, and Greg Lamberson picks us up at the airport. After dumping off our stuff and making kissy faces at Greg's baby daughter Kaelin, we head off to Niagara Falls, where we meet John Paul Allen. He buys us lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe, and then we all nearly freeze to death as we look at the falls. Lots of water there. For dinner, we go to the place where buffalo wings were invented, although the history on their menu doesn't really make a very convincing case that they invented buffalo wings as we know them. Still, the wings themselves are fantastic. Their gift shop has hats shaped like giant buffalo wings, but we refrain from making the purchase. We return to Greg's place, watch a terrible episode of LOST, and go to bed.
Thursday...
Greg picks Nick Kaufmann up from the airport. Nick and I get stuffed into the backseat of the Slimemobile, and we're off to Toronto! We have no issues crossing the border, even though Nick's passport photo screams "Angry terrorist!" We stop at a genuine Canadian Wendy's for lunch, which is just like a Wendy's in the United States except that they accept Canadian currency. We reach the hotel, check in, go "ooooooh" over the room, then head down to the WHC registration desk. Because I'm a Bram Stoker Award nominee, I get a little sticker for my badge. It serves the purpose of making other con attendees go "Wow! I'm talking to a Stoker finalist!" and it also makes several other Stoker finalists go "Hey, how come I didn't get a sticker?"
It's SURVIVOR night, but since Greg wants to watch it as well, we're able to justify it as a networking opportunity and not just us being pathetic. We go to a genuine Canadian Red Lobster for dinner. Joining us are Aaron and Erika Bennett. The irony of being in Toronto and having dinner with Tampa people we see on a regular basis is not lost on us. However, Gary Braunbeck and Lucy Snyder are there as well. Gary and I discuss the fact that we're both pretty much screwed as far as our chances of winning the Stoker for Best Novel. Sadly, this conversation does not turn out to be ironic.
Dinner runs late and we miss SURVIVOR. Fortunately, I will avoid spoilers the entire weekend. Of course, when I try to watch the episode online upon my return home, there's a little "Related Videos" link on the bottom of the screen that shows who got voted out. Stupid bastards.
There are a couple of room parties going on, one in the HWA suite and one in the hospitality suite. The temperature in both rooms is approximately 275 degrees Fahrenheit, though of course since we're in Canada it's actually in Celsius. The overall smell is not good. We stick it out for a couple of hours then return to the room and pass out.
posted by Jeff Strand at 11:35 AM
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