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(Worldcon report coming at some point.)
It looks like airfare is pretty cheap at the moment, though transcontinental travel is still going to be a giant time suck. There aren't any BOS-SJC nonstops (AA killed their old "nerd bird" a few years ago, and JetBlue chopped theirs during the fuel price jump last year), so it's a hub connection somewhere (IAH, probably, since CO has the cheap fare right now) and end-to-end gate-to-gate times run in the 8-9 hour range.
Pluses/minuses:
+ Another con to fill in the gap between Worldcon and Arisia
+ BOS-SJC fare reasonably cheap right now
+ Can hook a SEA stop in there to see family; a BOS-SJC-SEA-BOS triangle trip only adds about $100-150 to the fare if I stay through Sunday
+ "Use it or lose it" vacation policy; WFC + the extra day at each end would get me closer, and doing the Seattle trip would get me under the threshold for sure even if I don't take any other time off
- Not sure how many folks I know will be there
- Two extra hotel nights pretty much required due to flight times (either in SJC or near SEA)
- Two long travel days
Thoughts?
It looks like airfare is pretty cheap at the moment, though transcontinental travel is still going to be a giant time suck. There aren't any BOS-SJC nonstops (AA killed their old "nerd bird" a few years ago, and JetBlue chopped theirs during the fuel price jump last year), so it's a hub connection somewhere (IAH, probably, since CO has the cheap fare right now) and end-to-end gate-to-gate times run in the 8-9 hour range.
Pluses/minuses:
+ Another con to fill in the gap between Worldcon and Arisia
+ BOS-SJC fare reasonably cheap right now
+ Can hook a SEA stop in there to see family; a BOS-SJC-SEA-BOS triangle trip only adds about $100-150 to the fare if I stay through Sunday
+ "Use it or lose it" vacation policy; WFC + the extra day at each end would get me closer, and doing the Seattle trip would get me under the threshold for sure even if I don't take any other time off
- Not sure how many folks I know will be there
- Two extra hotel nights pretty much required due to flight times (either in SJC or near SEA)
- Two long travel days
Thoughts?
no subject
Date: 2009-08-14 04:18 (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-08-14 04:24 (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-08-14 04:34 (UTC)K.
no subject
Date: 2009-08-14 04:45 (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-08-14 04:46 (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-08-14 13:18 (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-08-14 14:12 (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-08-14 14:25 (UTC)†Which is to say, sf/fantasy professionals and their associates. I've heard repeated rumors over the years -- admittedly without substantiation -- that the purpose of the WFC membership cap is as much to keep the number of just-fans attending as low as possible as it is to keep the convention at a manageable size, and that for A-list people the cap is not necessarily a problem.
no subject
Date: 2009-08-14 14:48 (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-08-14 17:31 (UTC)The membership rate is kept high so that only people who are seriously interested in attending do so.
There are constraints that affect pros that other conventions don't have; for instance, a limit of one program item (except for GoHs).
I wouldn't be surprised if certain people can join even after the cap is reached; however, I believe the number of such people is fairly low (and the number who actually do is even lower). I don't think any convention would turn away Stephen King.
no subject
Date: 2009-08-15 12:12 (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-08-14 11:42 (UTC)Programming is quite engaging even if you're not a writer, but once I wasn't a bookstore owner anymore I found myself struggling to connect with new people - I didn't have an identity (writer, artist, publisher, editor, agent, bookseller, even iPhone programmer) that new acquaintances could hang their memories on. Not unlike meeting folks in the working word when you are a stay at home Mom.
I have had a really wonderful time in the years where I knew enough people already, and a mildly interesting but overall unfulfilling time in the years when I didn't.
no subject
Date: 2009-08-14 12:10 (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-08-14 14:40 (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-08-14 14:48 (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-08-14 23:28 (UTC)