No Arisia, No Boskone

[mabfan]

Enough people have asked Nomi and me about our Arisia and Boskone plans that it makes sense for me to post a simple announcement here.

Basically, Nomi and I will not be attending either Arisia or Boskone in 2010. These will be the first Arisia and Boskone we have missed since before we got married. However, we're still planning to hold a birthday open house for Nomi at our apartment on Saturday night for those who wish to attend, whether local or in town for Arisia.

The reasons we're not attending are quite simple and obvious. Now that we have the kids, the logistics (and expense) of attending either convention are much more difficult. If Nomi and I wanted to attend the whole convention, we would need to get a hotel room as always due to shabbat, and we would have to bring everything that the kids need for the weekend as well. We briefly considered attending one or both of the conventions on Sunday only, but again that would involve shlepping two infants along. Chances are neither of us would be able to do much programming or anything else at either convention, so in the end, it just made sense to skip this year.

Readercon is also iffy, although we'd really like to get to it if possible. As for Arisia and Boskone in 2011, it's a little early to say, but I will note that the Westin hotels have never made it easy to observe shabbat at a convention. So we'll just have to see.

In the meantime, keep reading here or gnomi for information on Nomi's party.

Comments

[ianrandalstrock.livejournal.com]

I'll miss you guys, but it makes some sense.

[mabfan.livejournal.com]

If you're able to get over to our place, we'll be around...

[magid.livejournal.com]

I'm not exactly surprised, though I am disappointed.
And I'm pretty sure I won't be able to make it over to Nomi's birthday gathering, either :-(

[mabfan.livejournal.com]

Of course, being local, you could come over anytime... :-)

[kradical.livejournal.com]

Amusingly, I will not be at Arisia -- but I will be in Boston that weekend, for ALA's Midwinter conference, so I might be able to swing by Saturday night.....

[mabfan.livejournal.com]

I might try to get to ALA myself; as a local library trustee, I managed to snag a free pass a few years ago.

[stormsdotter.livejournal.com]

And here I was hoping to wear my Kelandry Tabbard at gnomi's party. This will have to wait for another time.

Please let me know if I can be of assistance next year.

[zanzjan.livejournal.com]

Makes sense, and I won't be at either one for very much the same reasons.

As the twinses get older, if you are interested in trying to figure out some sort of collaborative effort to make cons easier, I'm game.

[leah-cypess.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry to hear you won't be there! If you want to think about arranging some sort of joint-babysitting for Readercon, let me know.

[mabfan.livejournal.com]

Are you planning to go to Readercon for the weekend? We can probably discuss this closer to the convention.

[jenwrites.livejournal.com]

Dude! You are going to miss my ultra-geeky performance at the Arisia bellydance show! Ah well, I suppose you have a valid excuse.

Paying it forward

[happypete.livejournal.com]

Arisia- made it possible for us to attend with 7-month-old Quinn when we had never been to an Arisia before--this, though Quinn was below baby-sitting age, and though only a handful of people knew me. Those that did were mostly from online correspondence. It's the most welcoming convention in that regard that I've ever been to.

I know you've given this a lot of thought, so I don't expect to change your mind..that said, if there's any way that Pam and I can pay the favor forward and help with the logistics.

I'm of Jewish descent, though not practicing. I understand that as a result some traditions forbid obtaining assistance from me on shabbat. Pam, on the other hand, has no such genetic or cultural heritage.

Arisia would not be the same without you and Nomi there! Please fix!

Re: Paying it forward

[mabfan.livejournal.com]

Pete, while we do appreciate the offer a lot, part of the problem is not just taking care of the twins, but paying for the hotel room. Right now, our budget is tight; pretty much all our money goes to child care and groceries at this point. Because of shabbat, we can't just day-trip the convention, and Nomi and I came to realize that attending only on Sunday with the kids in tow would not give us the convention experience we would enjoy. With Arisia especially, Nomi and I get much of our joy out of being on so many panels, something that would be impossible with two kids in tow.

At this point, all we can really do is let people know that we'll be inviting folks to our apartment on Saturday night to celebrate Nomi's birthday, and if people want to see us at our home sometime else during the weekend, we'll be there. At the same time, though, we understand that it's unlikely people could make the trip over from the convention.

[vettecat.livejournal.com]

Yeah, we won't be there either... it's going to be an unusual year, but thankfully for good reasons.

[cathshaffer.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately, toddlers are even more inconvenient to travel and attend events with than infants. But these phases do pass--quite quickly actually!

But there was a third possibility I hadn't even counted upon...

[(Anonymous)]

"We briefly considered attending one or both of the conventions on Sunday only, but again that would involve shlepping two infants along. Chances are neither of us would be able to do much programming or anything else at either convention..."

I presume that you thought of this, but just in case, I thought I'd point out one possible solution to this, which is that one of you could attend just Sunday of one convention, and the other could attend just Sunday of the other, which the non-attender on childcare duty in each instance. Not a perfect solution, but it would enable each of you to attend one day of a convention without twins & associated gear in tow, and do all the programming &c. that you want.

Just a thought.

Stephen Frug
(man w/out a live journal account)

Re: But there was a third possibility I hadn't even counted upon...

[mabfan.livejournal.com]

Already considered; already rejected. We would rather go together or not at all.