rwehavingfunyet?

What Matters? What Works? What's Next?
This blog belongs to:

Dj Connell
* Discworld Area Head, Sasquan / WorldCon 2015
More info at www.sasquan.org
* Current Project: The Great Discworld Fan Gathering at Sasquan
* Founder, Discworld Seamstress Guild of North America, Established 2003
* Co-Founder, North American Discworld Dark Clerks.
Established 2011
* Board Chair: North American Discworld Connection

Trouble Made: By Appointment

rwehavingfunyet?

@ItBodes on Twitter

These are my opinions and mine alone.

This image of Death is by artist Paul Kidby. Mr Kidby's images are used with his permission. Copyright: Paul Kidby.

Sunday, May 13, 2012

Updates on NADWCon hotel and memberships


Happy Mother's Day to all our Discworld Moms!

Greetings everyone. 

It's Official: The Convention Hotel is ....

I don't know about you, but I've been doing The Happy Dance over the news that our convention hotel is the marvelous Baltimore Marriott Waterfront.  (1) Those of us who've been there know that the ConCom has made an excellent choice.  Check out the link and the photos at the hotel's website and you'll see what I mean.

Folks, you are going to love the Baltimore Harbor area, trust me.  There is lots to see and do (and eat and buy) within easy walking distance of the hotel and this area is very safe and very family-friendly.

Today's FAQs: 

WHEN CAN I BUY MY MEMBERSHIP? 

Fans have been asking on Facebook when they can buy memberships.  Baltimore's Con Chair, Richard Atha-Nichols writes: 
Not yet. We're working on the technical back end to ensure it's nice a smooth. Bear with us, it should be up in a couple of weeks. - RAN
CAN YOU HELP ME BOOK MY HOTEL ROOM?: 

Another Facebook fan who is new to cons wondered if they could book their hotel and buy memberships from the website at the same time.  The answer from Richard is both Yes & Soon and he makes an important note about hotel rates:
When registration becomes available we'll provide a link to book the hotel at the discounted rates. Until then rooms cannot be booked at the Marriott at the discounted rates.  - RAN
It seems NADWCon already has hundreds of fans with their credit cards at the ready, all waiting to secure their spot at NADWCon 2013.  Stay tuned to the usual sources:

NADWCon website, and/or the

NADWCon 2013 Facebook page and

* The @nadwcon Twitter page

* The NADWCon Live Journal page 

for further news.

I, too, will send out an alert as soon as the website is ready to take your orders.  (2)

See you there,

dj

(1) I didn't mention it before now because the hotel won't take our reservations for the con this far out. See Today's FAQ section re Booking Hotel Rooms.

(2) The con's web team is testing the website's order and credit card functions and being verrra careful to make sure that security is tight, privacy is protected and that there are no glitches when the time comes to open the Order Page up to the fans.  I am glad we have such a careful and professional web team on board - please give them your patience and support - djc 




Friday, May 11, 2012

North American Discworld Con's new website is LIVE



Ladies & Gentlemen,

The Baltimore ConCom has unveiled their new North American Discworld Convention website.

They'll be adding lots more pages and info over time.

We would appreciate having your honest, civil and useful feedback regarding what is there right now, how easy the site is to read and to use and what you would like to see there, in future.

Speaking for myself, I love whoever wrote "in an age of wander" in the heading, and I think their theme is delightful.  Go look, I think you'll be pleased. 

Thank you, all

Dj 

Thursday, May 3, 2012

I'll Be Seeing You -

As some of you know, The Amazing Mom passed away on March 27th while in hospice care in her home.  I was with her. She died peacefully, surrounded by love. I am happy to say that she kept her dignity and her marvelous sense of humor to the very end.

Mom was 85 when she passed. She lived a rich and meaningful life; a life full of good works, adventure, beauty and joy. I am glad that she is free of her long illness which she bore with great grace and courage.

She traveled all over the world during her lifetime.  It is a passion she passed on to me. This is a photo I took of her at the Parthenon in 2006.  As long as she lived she loved animals, art, gardens, reading, learning and meeting new people. I am so very proud to be her daughter.

I imagine her, now, greeting old friends and loved ones and dancing the night away in my father's arms.

She loved to dance. So today I'm posting Dance Me To The End of Love in her honor. I made sure to include an acoustic version of this song in the video we made for her memorial last month.  It was deeply rewarding going through all those great photos with her, and then, later on, with my husband and my cousins. It reminded me what a great life looks like.  These photos were healing for her friends that day, as well, and we all left the memorial rather tearful, yes, but also laughing (a lot) and telling our favorite stories about her and Dad. Again, thanks Mom. 

I've spent the last 25 years working in wildlife and companion animal rescue and I've watched over three family members now who've died from cancer (1) so I can tell you from experience that there is such a thing as a good death because I've seen it.  I've also seen the other kind.  Because she was brave and we were lucky my mother had a great life and a very good death.

I'm grateful to her caregivers and the hospice nurses and to her friends and ours who walked this long and challenging way with us.  My thoughts today are with all those who are on the same road.  May you have the same capable and compassionate support that we have found.  As I remarked recently to Himself: The WWII generation is living much longer (far longer than their own parents did) and I'm find that my generation, like the Victorians before us, is learning a great deal about care giving, death and dying. I'm both pleased and sorry to say that I'm getting rather good at it. It won't surprise those of you who read this blog that the man who created Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg understood exactly what I meant.

My thanks to all those among our acquaintances who walked this way before I did, and who shared what it was like so we didn't have to travel the whole way in the dark.  (2)

We will miss her, always.  That's as it should be.  Thanks, Mom.  We love you. 

Regards to all here,

Dj

(1) As the saying goes, "Once is chance, twice is coincidence, three times is enemy action."

(2) I hope that I can now pay some of that kindness and experience forward when the time is right.