kathy writes...

The Gathering 2003 - New York "Home at Last"

Thursday
Okay, I've printed off all my receipts, figured out bus and subway stops, fitted three bags of peanut M&Ms and my clothes into my daypack and a variety of odd bits into my carry bag. Dang, no room for the book I'm reading: Saturn's Child. We'll, there is, but I'll probably finish the thing before I leave Knoxville and I don't want to carry deadweight.

Two hours in the airport with CNN travel news that won't stop. I wish I'd brought the book.

Knoxville to LaGuardia Airport. On the plane I saw the smoothest pick up ever and it was between two women (as opposed to the worst ever which was a desperate guy hitting on a girl in the Village, which was just pathetic.) Casual conversation led to career talk that segued to a job offer. The pair got off the plane in New York to have lunch and seal the deal. I was in awe. Anyway, the M60 bus to Astoria subway station. (Hint to NY transit folks: people coming from the airport stand a fair chance of being tourists, consequently, announcing bus and train stops would be considered helpful.) Got off at 34th and Herald Square and promptly got turned around. Took a pass around Macy's, figured out where I was and "Hello, Hotel Pennsylvania!"

Started to check in. Got in line anyway and decided to call Greg Bishansky to let him know I was there. They were getting pizza. Pizza suddenly sounded like a really good idea. Hooked up with the majority of the ConStaff and had lunch.

Back to the Registration Desk. Easy. Thank you, Hotels.com. Next stop luggage room to pick up the box of convention tee shirts. Nice guy at the luggage room said he'd have them delivered to my room. Cool. Wish I'd waited a little while longer and had them delivered to the ConSuite instead. Oh well, a little exercise never hurt anybody.

ConSuite: Busy. Very Busy. I folded teeshirts and later helped stuff registration packets. Mandolin, my roomie two year's running, finally arrived after a tedious train trip. We caught up a little bit and then it was back to the ConSuite for a meeting and Pep Rally Sushi Dinner. Good sushi. Monster Sushi. Great company. Too bad they split us up because the tables were smallish.

Back to the hotel and the last normal night's sleep of the weekend.

Friday
Meh, woke up to the sound of the alarm on my cell phone. Found out the shower is jet propelled. Out and dressed to see what needed doing. Walked to Kinko's with Winterwolf and made some copies. Walked back alone because he was doing last minute computer stuff. Staff meeting. Pulled the assignment of minding the Skytop Ballroom where most of the big events were. Fabu. Alan came back with the convention programs and we stuffed them into the packets. Greg Weisman, Carol and I went to breakfast since the rest of the ConStaff was happy with soda and Pop Tarts. We ended up at Lindy's, which was a mistake. Greg's tomato juice was fermented. We did see Lou Ferrigno. He was appearing at the convention across the street. I felt bad about breakfast since mine was the swing vote to stay so I picked up the tab.

At some point thereafter it was back to the Consuite. The Dreamer Clan had arrived to set up the hospitality portion of the convention. It was great to see Batya and Alex, Constance, A Fan, Kellie and others whose names regretfully escape. Unfortunately, the weekend is blurry in places (I blame the hotel ventilation system) and events that occurred in the same room have kind of bled into each other. However, I do remember that Hudson and several members of his security crew were there as well and they were instrumental in helping my pull off the "Peanut M & M" prank on Greg Weisman.

The what? Okay, so it was a dumb joke, but I make my own fun. One day on the Staff mailing list Greg remarked in response to an email that he was a "Peanut M&M kind of guy". Now who could leave a comment like that alone? Goaded by Patrick aka "Puck" Toman, who is responsible for creating all kinds of mischief and seldom gets his own hands dirty in the process, I decided to make sure that Greg would get as many packets of M&Ms over the course of the weekend as possible. Hence the 48 or so mini bags of candy in my carry on.

The short of it was: every time I was in the middle of a group of people I recruited more helpers. And over the course of the weekend Greg ended up with more little bags of M&M's.

Like I said, I make my own fun.

Gah, headache. I went to check on the ballroom because our first event of the day "Clan Wars" was supposed to take place there. The room was made up for a banquet! Water pitchers on every table, cups stacked neatly. I caught a quick flash of what the room would look like after the Nerf Battles had gotten done with it and had a fast consult with the head waiter. Fortunately, he was cool about it and the room was soon safe for the warriors to take the field.

Greg's Mug a Guest - Easy. And the first bag of M&Ms dropped.
Noel's panel - Couldn't swing an easel, but things worked out anyway. Good. I needed a lunch break and time to clear my head.

Good deeds seldom go unpunished. I bugged out of the hotel long enough to pick up lunch for Greg and Thom who were locked in back to back Voice Acting seminar and then Radio Play auditions. Thom mentioned how much he was jonesing for Nathan's hot dogs and there was a Nathan's on the corner. Pick up dogs and sodas, swing by London Suite should have been easy. Unfortunately, Thom makes his own fun too. He got me. Good. Too bad I was already sleep deprived and not on form. Why is it the best comebacks occur way too late to do any good?

Oh well. I had to panel to co-present with Lynati, Greg Bishansky, and Batya: History, Myths, and Legends. In hindsight this was probably a stellar example of why Convention Staffers shouldn't try to present content too. We actually had a program of discussion outlined, but with all the last minute rushing around, the prep kind of went out the window. Still, we had a good roundtable discussion and it seemed like people enjoyed themselves.

Panel over. Time to set up for Opening Ceremonies. Tables and chairs reset - check. Uh, where's the AV stuff? Second headache. Fortunately, easily resolved. Chris Rogers to the rescue!

For me, the Gatherings have become more and more like family reunions. Opening Ceremonies has become the part where people drag out the old movies and tell the old stories, but you don't groan because you've heard them for the 72nd time, instead they make you feel all warm and mushy, because you're back with people you care about. Kinda dumb, I know. But it's nice. Anyway, G2003 did their thing, thanking everyone for attending, G2004 plugged Montreal, and Greg played the pitch tapes and leica reel.

Out to dinner to a place called the American. Upscale diner food. Greg, his friend Doug, Vic Cook, Carol, Patrick and Mandi. We did appetizer and dessert roulette. Yummy.

Oh dang, Greg has to be back for a late night Mug a Guest. Time to take a late jog through Manhattan. Who'd a thunk Greg would be so fast when he put his mind to it?

The Mug was a stitch, though sitting all classroomy like with Greg and Thom behind a table was kind of odd. Late night Mugs thrive on familiarity and informality and it took a bit to get things rolling. But roll they did. Right into the gutter and out again. It lasted until after 2AM and would have gone later had the hotel staff not pulled the plug.

Saturday

kip the shower, go for the bath. Oh look. The bath water is as dark as coffee, maybe a good Kenya roast. Run it for a bit, it gets down to a nice ice tea color. Oh well, you do what you have to do.

Staff Meeting - Hey wait a minute what do you mean you want me to chair the meeting? I haven't had coffee yet! Okay, ran down the action items and went to go check on the Ballroom. Why is it made up with tables all over again? Oh, Clan Wars Round II. Reset the room again. It went pretty quick but I still don't know how to set the AV stuff up. You'd think I'd learn to stare at the back of the speakers and video equipment, but no. Fortunately, Aaron was there to sort it out and I went to do my first solo workshop: Three Scenarios in Search of a Story.

It seemed like a good idea at the time I proposed it: let's make the Writing Track as much about writing as talking about writing. So of course, having put my foot in, I had to go up to my neck. I devised a writing exercise that sounded fun, at least on paper: here are three scenarios - write the opening sentence, an outline of the story that would go with and the final paragraph. My six attendees wrote up a storm. Now the kicker: all three events happened within the same story. Write the point where they intersect. There were groans from a few participants and then frantic scratching as pens and pencils raced along binder paper and note cards. At "Pencils down" we had time to hear several of the results. It was everything I could have hoped for. Everyone had a different take on events and there were some genuinely good stories in the process of being created. Best yet, the audience had fun doing the exercise.

Hey, I finally had time to sit down and watch a panel! At least most of one: Series Development. Animation and the industry that surrounds it has changed so much in such a short time. Actually, entertainment in general has. It boggles the mind that anything new makes it to the screen. I yanked Patrick out of the end of the panel because we still hadn't had time to do a final run through for the seminar we were co presenting: Am I Blue?

It should have been called "How Long Can Kathy Go Before She's Distracted by a Shiny Object?" I've never been a happy public speaker. It took me an extra quarter to graduate from college because while the Dean of the College of Agriculture at Cal Poly could get me out of Cereal Crops, he couldn't wave the university requirement for a speech class. Over the years, I've learned to put my nerves into my presentations. I move around, I clutch at a marker or chalk or other props like a lifeline, I grab audience comments and run with them, anything to keep things lively. Unfortunately, while that approach works to an extent as a solo presenter, it tends to leave co presenters scrambling. Sorry, Patrick. We're a great writing team, but we've got to work on stage presence. On the upside, the writing exercise we did at the end was a success. Yay us! And I got to talk for a bit with Ellen, Dylan and Mooncat among others for a bit.

Another bought of post presentation nerves. Good thing Thom wasn't around to see. I'd have never lived it down if he'd seen me bolting for the Ladies hand over my mouth.

Radio Play - The Reckoning. The performance was dedicated to Gary Sperling. A card for his two children was presented to the assembled fandom for sympathy and well wishes. Greg planned to present it after the Gathering to the Sperling family.

The Banquet - How hard can it be to seat tables with one special guest, a member of Constaff and fill the rest with fans? We'd come up with a scheme that made a certain degree of sense - except it didn't. So the tickets the fans were handed were void and a simple count off applied instead. Those immortal words: Keep it simple, stupid, were suddenly apropos.

Anyway, our very first Star Trek/Gargoyles guest Nichelle Nichols arrived. We "borrowed her" when we found out she was appearing at the convention at Madison Square Gardens. Actually, we found out she was appearing across the street, and Carol talked her management into letting her come over for dinner and a book signing. This was no small feat as Trek actors' management watch over their people and their interests like nervous hens. But a deal was struck and there she was sharing buffet salmon, chicken and roast beef plus that dessert bar with us!

(As a minor aside, if you see Carol at the next Gathering, go up to her say hello and thank you. This woman has done an incredible job year after year making sure our guests have a great time at the Gathering and she is a huge asset to our Convention Staffs and Fandom. This isn't meant to denigrate any other staffers past or future, it's a tremendous undertaking to host a convention and the individuals brave or foolhardy enough to do so deserve all of our thanks.)

After the meal the Q&A was open for business. No one wanted to be first so, I stuck my hand up to get things rolling. Fortunately, I'd read enough of Saturn's Child to get a feel for it and so I commented about the awesome amount of world building involved and that broke the ice. Eventually, the Q & A turned to Gargoyles and what it was like to voice and design art for "Mark of the Panther". It's still one of my favorite "world tour" episodes for the stunning artwork that accompanied the tale of Anansi.

I bought a copy of Saturna's Quest and had Ms. Nichols sign it. She's a lovely woman who's had an amazing life. When she gets her one-woman show mounted I hope she stops in Knoxville. Or Atlanta even. It'd be worth a couple of hundred miles drive to see her sing the blues.

The Masquerade - I watched. I talked to people. Lanny worked on the knots in my shoulder that had been plaguing me all weekend. I owe him and Goliath 116 a huge debt of gratitude for keeping me mostly pain free. When the judges left to make their determinations I dumped the last of a bag of M&Ms on the judges' table which led to Greg to ask the room at large "What is it with the M&Ms?"

(I eventually fessed up. And even if I hadn't I was caught on videotape.)

I bailed on the dance for a tour of the Village with Lanny, Patrick, Thom, Carol and Greg . Stupidly, I left my bag behind because we were going walking and I was tired of lugging it around. Unfortunately, my wallet was in my bag and I didn't know that walking included a subway ride and a late supper at Caliente Cab Company who almost didn't let me in because I had no I.D. I'm over 21, already! While I suppose I should take it as a compliment that people might think otherwise, it's still a pain in the arse. Lucky for me, Greg bailed me out and picked up the tab for the subway and supper. Thanks, Greg. :)

It was a fun night and the conversation both on the street and around the table was lively and it continued once we got back to the hotel into the wee hours.

Sunday
Oh god. I totally overslept and I wanted to go watch the Munster Hurling Semi Finals. Sleeping until 12:30 meant I missed that and the morning staff meeting. Sorry guys.

Back to Nathan's for breakfast. Or would that be lunch? Either way, it was a hot dog.

Caught the tail end of the Team Atlantis Q & A. It's obvious listening to both Vic and Greg talk that it's a frustrating business trying to make entertainment these days and yet they keep plugging away at the system.
The snippet of Milo's Return they showed looked pretty good, engaging but with an edge. It's now on my list (getting longer all the time) of DVDs to buy.

The auction was in progress when I got to the ballroom. It suddenly occurred to me how to make it less of a tag on event and more of a feature attraction so I duly handed the idea off to the G2004 staff. They're a great bunch and next year already sounds like it's going to be a corker.

Closing Ceremonies. So long. Farewell. Auf Weidersehen. Goodbye. Thanks for coming and see you next year. I ponied up my $20.00 for early pre-reg.

Soon we were off to Coney Island with a detour to the 9-11 site. I have to say, I was extremely uncomfortable there. I have no connections to New York. I didn't know anybody who died that day. That wasn't it. The dead weren't at rest or maybe it was the living still at odds with the tragedy. Very unsettling. It's the only way I can describe it. I live across the street from a cemetery. As my husband likes to quip, "we live in a great location, the neighbors are quiet." And they are. When you walk the grounds it's peaceful. I didn't have that feeling in at the crash site. I was glad to get back on the subway.

Greg counted us off. Twenty-seven people - a group that big is bound to get separated. Everybody gets a map and a buddy.

Coney Island. Hey the beach! I miss the beach. Look Nathan's, the original. Can we have food? Nope. First it's to the gates of Astroland so we can figure out where and when we're going to meet back up. Ten? Cool. To be honest, I'm tired of this place already and it was my idea to come here. I've got to say that Patrick did a great job on organizing the trip. Thanks, Patrick! It's loud. It's bright. And it's totally polar opposite to what I'm in the mood for. Can't we ditch this scene and go find some jazz? Oh well, live in the moment. The group breaks up and Greg, Patrick and I head to Nathan's where we're met by Wingless and Seth. Chili dogs this time. I thrive on variety. We eat dinner and then go ride the Cyclone.

Well that was quick and somewhat painful. It was also the only ride I was up for. Except for the "bathroom ride". .25 and you too can be grossed out in a funhouse disguised as a public facility. The guys decide they need to try it too. They knew Greg must be a celebrity, because they charged him .30.

Yay! The boardwalk. This is better. Good conversation. Good friends. The glare of Astroland fades as we walk and enjoy the sound of the surf. Too soon it's ten and time to head back to the hotel.

People must have thought we were odd on the trip back. Greg kept counting us off like we were remedial first graders. But there was a huge round of applause as we disembarked the subway and all twenty seven were present and accounted for.

Wait. I thought this was New York. You know "the city that never sleeps?" So why can't we find a place to get breakfast at midnight? We end up getting ice cream at Penn Station and even that was settling after the quest for donuts was met with failure. Sure the place was open, but it was also sold out. Not fair. I want protein. There's a KFC one kiosk over and the ice cream line is a mile long. I figure I can get some chicken and be back before the last cone is dipped. Oops, wrong. Sorry, Dad. ;)

Consuite this time. Most of the staff is there. Many people are there. Cowboy Bebop: the Movie is playing. I'm interested, because I liked the series and missed the film when it zipped through the local theater, but I'm burning out fast. I eat some chicken fingers and drink my grapefruit juice and go to bed.

Monday
Another tea colored bath. Meh. At least the water is hot and the tub is comfy. I've talked Mandi into going to Chinatown with me but she's still sleeping so I went to go get some coffee and take care of check out. For some reason I'm in a really evil mood. Down doesn't quite cover it. I guess I'm feeling one of the darker shades of the blues, but I can't put my finger on why as I'm suddenly fighting not to sob into my latte.

Hello bootstraps. Pull!

Better. Must have been a stress reaction. Or maybe it's realizing that most of my closest friends I only get to see once a year and now that time has past. What did Batya say when we were talking about something similar yesterday? First come the happy tireds and then the monster ones? Not quite it, but close.

I get myself together just as A Fan, who's come to lead a walking tour enters the lobby and people I know start assembling in the lobby. We brace Fan for subway directions to Chinatown, and we're on our way.
Almost. We ran into Vic Cook and his daughter Hannah on their way out. When we tell him where we're headed he tells us to watch out for the great deals on DVDs.

A couple of wrong turns getting to the right subway station and then we're there. Almost. First we have to figure out where exactly we are in relationship to where we want to go. Okay, so I didn't think this trip all the way through. The morning passes quickly and I even find a useful addition for my reference library in a bookshop. No DVDs, but the bra ladies were out in force.

Lunchtime. We nearly ate Chinese, even waited in a really busy restaurant for a while, but it was getting late and eventually, I had to get back on the subway to head to the airport. We took a short detour into Little Italy and had wonderful tomato, basil and fresh mozzarella salad and pasta instead. Still, I had this goofy feeling that I was missing something important in Chinatown.

I have a screwy sense of precognition that kicks up (or in) every once in a while. Unfortunately, aside from getting a sense of BAD! Or Watch Out! Or Peanut Butter Pie! (That last one happened as I was writing this and it was just strange. Also a completely different story.) It seldom supplies specifics. But over the years I've learned to pay attention to it because more often than not, it's accurate. I asked Mandi if she wouldn't mind poking around a couple of more shops and we headed back in.

Trinkets, pretty clothes, nope, not what I'm looking for. It would help if I had a better idea but the notion is adamant with out providing any clues. Couldn't we just get one of those bubble teas? At least they're interesting looking. One last shop. Mandi finds a carved elephant that would make a perfect gift and she decides to buy it. The feeling starts to fade. Heh, maybe the psychic nudge wasn't meant for me after all.

Dang, look at the time. We break for the subway. Mandi gets off at the stop near the hotel and I keep going. It's back to Knoxville via La Guardia and Ronald Reagan (D.C) airports and for this year anyway, the Gathering is over.

Denis De Plaen writes...

Hello, Greg!

Sorry I couldn't attend the Gathering, this year. you have asked in the Comment Room to post here the journals of the gathering. Of course, not having been there, I couldn't post any, but I though I could still help a bit by posting what follows.

Best regards,
Denis

to Disney Executives, hello.

While fellow Gargoyles fans will post their convention's logs and journal, I will say this:
I'm a Gargoyles fan from Brussels, Belgium. Due to personnal, real life issues, I wasn't able to attend the Gathering this year, to my chagrin.
I have, in the past, attended Gathering, in 1998 in NYC, in 2000 in Orlando, 2001 Los Angeles and 2002 in Williamsburg. Both because it allowed me to meet up with online friends, but also to support Gargoyles, which is for me one of the greatest animated show ever made and that is very special to me. It revealed to me my vocation of writing fiction, it broadened my mind, views and tastes, and it gave me the opportunity to meet with dozen, hundreds people, and many of them have become my friends.
Gargoyles was, IS, an extraordinary show, an amazing story of which many chapters are left to be told.

I don't know what else to add except thank you to you all for giving us fans such a great story, and I hope that, eventually, we will be able to discover new stories featuring the gargoyles.

Denis De Plaen,
Brussels, 12th July 2003

Revel writes...

I made it back well enough, no problems other than I had to find which passenger pick up my mother was at.

**The gathering for me goes as followed. Some has been deleted for the eyes of the children (no, not for Josh or Greg's benefit)

THURSDAY
I made my flight with no problem, the security in Houston was pathetic and my belt buckle has still yet to set off a metal detector. So I get to La Guardia after having to listen to a chatty co-pilot who wants to talk about Houston, New York and whatever else comes to mind while in flight. The pilot must have thought he was on an air craft carrier becuase after a very hard and fast landing the co=pilot goes "Weclome to La Guardia, home of the short runway."
I got my bag and found where Spacie was to arrive and waited. She made it very easy for me to find her wearing a satin like shirt and short school girl plad skirt with hair in pigtails. No, it was not my idea, but I'm not complaining.
We made it to the hotel with a small transfer at Grand Central as I was expecting and checked our bags. The room was okay, but was very small and did not even have a tub in the bathroom. Good thing we only slept there. After some time together we found in the Lobby Hudson, Goliath 116, and Ziaus who were on their way to find Chris Rogers. we hung out and watch Hudson play a game or two of Quake 3. After getting some food we were on our way to find where the con staff were. Spacebabie, was being herself and I said to not scare the Norms. The Norm, turned out to be Greg W, who had grown a beard again. We found the Con Suit and staff. Dinner was at the Monster Sushi. We watched most of Rocky that night before going to bed.

FRIDAY
Had breakfast at the Lindey's down stairs, over priced. I registered and helped set up the art room, with my stuff and getting all the tags ready on other people's work and we constructed the panels for Othercon, which also had lots of nice work. It was unfortunate that they were on separate floors because many Other Con pieces were deprived of votes I'm sure.
Opening Ceremonies was fun, getting to see the videos and speaches, always get a show of hands of the "Con Virgins" quite a few as always. It's getting repeaters that is always the trick. I was a volunteer, and watched the art room and Auditioned for the Radio play and also attended "Hudson's Rant." This, in my opinion, is one of my favorite parts. The man needs his own stand up act.
I participated in the late night dart gun game and got a crowd pleaser cheer for jumping over one of the large round tables, though I did break one of the guns. My hat off to Goliath 116 , a worthy shooter.
The last thing I came in on was Thom and Greg W in an Adult "ask what you dare" sorta thing. Lots of fun question and a fun exchange between Thom and Greg W when Thom stated that Lex had a 10 inch tongue. Greg promptly glanced at him and stated, "What the hell are you talking about?!" while laughing. We got kicked out at 2am

SATURDAY

More art room watchdog duty and and some left over pizza from dinner, good pizza though. Found out I was in the Radio play later (kick ass!) and sat around and did a TGS panel which was more like a lunch room chat.
I attended a Costume panel that I ended up in the front of the room with Dreamie telling stories while Lynati got stuff stuff for the panel. My mother would have been better since she makes costumes, but I tried to entertain by doing what I could.
I played Talon in the Radio Play of the Reckoning. good thing we audition, because we all needed work at the start but fell into our roles. Thom fell WAAAAY in.
Masquerade was unfortunately short. so few in costumes but nice costumes. I, for soem reason got a HUGE standing ovation for my Vinnie costume. We won the Cutest Couple award of a pack of M&M's. and I got an award for a picture which will be on site when I update all this.
More Rocky which we did not stay for, you can guess why.

SUNDAY
The auction took most of the time, but unfortunately did not go over that well, a lot of items did not go for as much as they should have. Where were all the big spenders? Closing ceremonies was short and too the point and they tried auction again but it was dead except for Spacie getting Demona and Macbeth figures.
We Visited Ground Zero before Coney Island. Emotions are hard to put in to words as I saw that hole in the earth and in the heart of the city itself, enough on that. Coney Island was fun, rode the cyclone and had a romantic walk on the legendary boardwalk.

MONDAY
Heh, well besided post con activities, we went to Mid town comics, The Empire state Building, souviner shopping and Chinatown. While shopping for things for family Spacie and I shopped for something that I had been planing to get for her for a little while now. An Engagement Ring. It was not a surprise to her, but I made it official, or at least the promise of it official since we are both in school still and need to find jobs and careers first. But yeah, I asked Spacebabie to marry that night and she said yes.

Tuesday
Well, my now Fiance and I basically just stayed together all morning until we got some food and check out time before heading to the airport and the parting to our planes. Thus ending one of the greatest weekends so far in my life.

Spacebabie writes...

Sunday
Revel and I found some good spots too watch the auction and eat donuts. We received our numbers. At the beginning Cat immediately pulled a Winterwolf. It could have gone better. Cat had to result to stripping to get higher bids. We tried to continue the auction when Greg W, Thom, and Vic broke away for the Atlantis Q and A but with no one in the room it became a bust. We decided to wait until closing ceremonies.
Closing ceremonies is always bittersweet. I hate having to say goodbye to those what checked out that day. We keep in touch over the web but meeting people and seeing online friends in person is even better.
After Revel and I paid for our goodies we dropped them off in our room and returned to the lobby for the trip to Coney island. That was my first time on a subway. Greg W took head counts of us at different intervals although I think he could have counted Revel and me as one person.
We paused to view Ground Zero. My heart fell to the bottom of my body. The feeling was indescribable. I wanted to hug everyone, especially Ethan who lives in Manhattan.
The first thing in Coney island that greeted us was the sweet smell of various goodies. Once we were at the boardwalk we separated and promised to meet back at ten.
Revel and I didn't too much. We did ride The Cyclone first ( Better than Space Mountain). We were famished so we had a couple of Coney Island Hotdogs, and rode the scrambler. The ride lasted longer then the one at the Central Florida Fair. I was glad I brought my coat because it got chilly. I loaned it to Revel until he warmed up. We spent some time at the beach until it was time to go back.
We were walking back to our hotel when Greg developed a craving for pancakes. I love pancakes, but revel and I were tired and still full. We returned to our room.

Monday
We woke up late and checked on our friends in Mara's room. Lynati was dead tired. She was burning up and her skin was like paper. Revel bought her some fruit drink to hydrate her body and restore her electrolytes.
Revel and I took a small stroll through the city. I wanted to have some Chinese food. We had lunch at the Hunan restaurant. (the one that was in Seinfeld). Verra good food and the meal came with a complimentary pot of tea.
After lunch we walked over to the Empire state building. I can safely say I have been inside it. We didn't go to the top because of the price. We did manage to buy miniature Pewter Empires in the gift shop before we went into the adjoining Walgreen's to buy more NY related goodies for our families.
After dropping off our gifts we joined some of the Gathering folk to going to Mid Town comics. Revel checked out the marvel issues with Wolverine, and I loaded up on Shojo manga before we went to China town. After searching through a lot of shops I found a lovely jade house decoration for my brother. I also purchased some candy for my family and wasabi peas for Mara.
We went to Aaron and Mara's and gave Mara her peas before we just hung out and talked for hours and had dinner of burritos. Revel and I returned to our room around midnight to pack. Before we went to sleep he pulled the claddaugh out of its bag and proposed to me. I naturally said yes.

Tuesday
After a quick breakfast we finished packing and checked out. We were slightly confused about the bus but figured it out. Revel and I said goodbye at the airport before we went to our separate gates.
After another dull flight. I grabbed my luggage and called my house. The second I stepped outside my hair poofed up. I stared at the cloudy sky and felt it was good to be home.
Now I have to wait for 2004
I love this fandom. I made many friends and fell in love and became engaged. The fandom has also helped with my social anxiety disorder. I feel more talkative and outgoing thanks to Greg, Thom, Vic, Greg G from last year and my fellow fans. I cannot give everyone enough thanks.

Spacebabie writes...

Friday
Woke up at 6:Am. The phone that woke us sounded like an alarm. Revel answered the phone while I went back to sleep. We snoozed for a couple more hours/
We had breakfast the Lindy's in the lobby. Talk about over priced. Even the juice was expensive. After breakfast we went back to our room to grab our gathering gear. Revel went up to set up his art and I went to the lobby for registration.
After mingling with a few off the con goers for a few minutes reg was set up. I got my packet and placed on my badge. Like last year they were on lanyards. This year they were braided. On the back there was the banquet and on the front the other con smiley.
The first thing I participated in was the Care Bears call of Cthul RPG. After the game I went out for my pursuit of a NY pretzel and a soda. After scarfing it down I checked out the con suite, cuddled my man and went to the audition for the radio play. I got a kick out of the fact that Thom liked the way I spelled my first name.
After the audition I caught the tail end of the myths and legend panel. The discussion was on the topic of werewolves. Once it ended I introduced myself to Dylan Blaquire. I didn't expect him to be so adorable.
At opening ceremonies I took plenty of pics of Greg W and the gathering staff of 2003 and 2004 and took a random shot of the crowd. Answered Greg when asked for the third timers and still amazed at those who had made it too every single gathering. Sat back and watched the visual goodies that Greg brings every year.
Opening over I went to the Paris room to co run the Othercon Round Robin with Mooncat. My Revy came through with pizza and a soda. The RR was a hoot despite the fact we were creating our parts on the fly and were doing them orally.
The RR ended with enough time to take a quick break and meet in London for the Blue Mug-a-guest. I had an interesting question and my heart was pounding. Finally I asked it. Some people laughed. Greg W blinked and Thom dropped his jaw. The best part was the revelation that Lexington is gay and when Greg W topped his famous quote from G99. We stayed until 2 am and were kicked out. Revel and I stumbled back to our rooms to crash.
Saturday
Decided to go cheap with breakfast and had McDonalds. I tried my first Mcgriddle. Wolfed down our food in time to attend the panels. I went to the fanfic panel run by Ellen, Patrick, Dylan and Allaine. It went well and I managed to snap another picture.
Spent some time in the con suite sketching until it was Greg W's and Vic Cook's writing for animation panel. Greg told how he pitched Gargoyles and his spin offs before showing what he had been working on.
Goofed off some more in the art room, bought a calendar and registered for next year. I will make it. I MUST make it. Looked at Dreamie's fun sketches until it was time for the radio play.
I took a lot of pics, mostly of Revel. I might draw him as a winged catman later. The play was awesome, great reading by everyone. Loved Gabe's Lex and I will never get Thom's maniacal laugh out of my head and who could forget Claw?
When the play was over we filed out so we could prep for the banquet. I changed places with Leo so I could sit at the same table with Revel. I think my Tiger-eye necklace likes Greg W since Revel and I ended up at his table and I was wearing it when I won a spot to be at Greg W's table at the 2000 banquet. Food was good even if the rolls were a little chewy and the desserts were deeeeeelish.
I love dressing up for the masquerade and my Revy makes a cute Vinnie. It was hard to walk with the kneepads and the goggles kept fogging up (but it did look more like the white eye guards) Loved everyone's costumes. We usually have an Owen and a Fox. This year we had two Owens, one came with an interesting sign. Kanthara was a lovely Fox with Patrick (Who did it again) as Anastasia. We also had a lovely Gruoch, a recent college graduate, The Matrix with Agent Smith and a couple of gargoyles, one was on a leash.
M&Ms were given out a an award and Revel and I won the cutest couple prize. Gore gave Patrick the Gorelisa award and Siryn was given the guest of honor prize. Greg W gave the art ribbons out and I loved his expression when he gave ribbons to the BiZZ
After receiving my free shirt, a glow in the dark 2000, I returned to my room to get comfy and then returned to the ballroom to dance and mingle. By the time they set up for Rocky I was about to pass out…and that ended Saturday.

Spacebabie writes...

I guess Ask Greg is open again for our Gathering Journals. If that is the case then here is the first part of mine.

Thursday

Woke up at seven, ate showered and dressed in my naughty school girl outfit. I went online briefly to print out two more copies of my itinerary, one to keep, and another to leave with my family. Made sure the animals were secure with enough provisions.

My mother returned home from a REAL EARLY morning shift. She helped me with my luggage. (I packed the night before) and off we went to the airport. She dropped me off and helped me unload my bags before she gave me money to get my brother something nice.

Nothing really interesting happened at the airport nor during the flight. (I'm getting used to using E-tickets) Landed and followed the signs to luggage pick up. I was a bit surprised that La Gaurdia didn't have a tram, but it made it easier to find the luggage area.
Standing near the conveyer belts was my Revy aka William "Revel" Anson. Being the sweetie that he is he offered to carry my heavy carry on. We went to wait for the bus to grand Central Station where it dawned on me I was in New York, not just NY but in Queens where my father was born and raised.
At Grand Central I did the average tourist thing and took a picture the large clock. We switched to another bus that took us to the corner next to the hotel. We checked in, found our room and dropped off our luggage.
Our room was tiny. It had a long hallway with a small room. It had a bathroom with a phone booth sized shower. So small that if you bent down to pick up your shampoo you would bump your head. There was a tiny closet, a big bed, a dresser with a TV, two lamps, a night stand and small fridge where I stowed my snack pack that I took on the plane with me.
After I changed shirts decided to search around for other attendees. After stepping into the lobby I noticed three guys in trench coats and knew that they had to be with us. Turns out they where Hudson, Goliath 116 and Zaius. They did not know where everything was.
After scoping out Chris Roger's LARGE room Revel and I went to get sandwiches. We ate them along with a couple of sodas while watching TV. (Can't get away from Disney World Commercials).
After we ate we went to check out the lobby to find out if others had checked in to the hotel. I got little cuddly with Revel when we entered the elevators. There was man standing there wearing a tie dyed T-shirt.
"Not in front of the Norms," Revel said, but the norm turned out to be The Man himself Greg Weisman. He knew where the Con suite was. We rode with him down one floor and found the gang…aka the con staff. They were busting their butts over the last minute details but Lynati took a brief brake to show Greg W her beautiful bronze craft of the Phoenix Gate.
We decided on dinner of sushi. I just had a sandwich but that did nothing to quell my burning hunger, and who could resist sushi?
We were joined with Thom before we made our walk to the restaurant. The place is called Monster Sushi and they ha tables for us…we just had to separate. I sat in front of my Revy and stared into his beautiful blue eyes before we ordered. While waiting for the food we talked about our plane trips. Our food came and I received my Tigers eyes (Cooked salmon wrapped in seaweed and squid, served with radish noodles and sprouts) a rare treat for me and I eat a lot of sushi.
After dinner we returned to the suite and munched on cookies while watching Rocky Horror until we were about to drop. We crawled back to our room and crashed.

Aaron writes...

And, my much belated Gathering Diary...

Okay, this was BlurCon for me, so apologies in advance if I leave anything out. Or put anything in that didn't happen. I was so sleepy it was hard to tell sometimes.

WEDNESDAY

Actually, this starts on Tuesday, since I wasn't packed until the last minute, and our flight was so early we decided to just stay up all night and then sleep on the plane.

So, I ran around and packing like a madman while Mara watched the first half of The Ten Commandments. (Dang, Vincent Price was actually young once?!?)

So, we leave, my mom drops us off at the airport, and we get to stand in line. For a looooong time. Next time, e-tickets.

We go through security, and I get stopped for a "random" check. This old lady empties everything out of my backpack, looks at it, (Including my disposable razor, which I know you're not supposed to carry on) and then puts it all back in, all of it the wrong way 'round, and then wonders why it won't close.

So we fly to Dallas. I lose my sunglasses somewhere on the plane, which irks me to no end. After I notice that, I also notice we forgot something a little more important: Lynati's feet.

"Did we tell my mom to mail that package?" "Um..."

So, a frantic phonecall home later, that's taken care of, and I buy a replacement pair of sunglasses. Which lasted about two weeks. They're broken now. Rassem frassem shoddy merchandise...

So, off to Laguardia. I slept the whole way, and didn't wake up until about ten seconds before we touched down.

"Hey, it's raining-" (Loud, bouncy landing) "Oh, we're here."

So, we drop our stuff at Mara's mom's place, and bum around New York a bit. I insist on a stop at MidTown Comics, because it's Wednesday, and even on vacation, I have to pick up my comics.

Dinner, and then bed until bright and early on...

BigQuartet writes...

What exactly did Titania whisper to Fox in that episode where Oberon was going King Kong on Xanatos's building?

kEVO writes...

alright,i'd like to begin by saying how much i truly, deeply love Gargoyles. it is the most incredible show i have ever seen. but i'll save higher efforts of ego inflation for later.

my question is about the Gatherings. i've noticed that when people have asked you about Team Atlantis or, in one case, who created the Praying Gargoyle statue, you told them the answer would be revealed at G2002. i was unable to attend this Gathering, cuz of the whole "no money" thing so will these answers be brought up in 2003 or here on Station 8 or will i just never be able to find them out? i'm gonna try to go to G2003, because it's very close to where i live.

which brings me to my next question. am i allowed to attend The Gathering even if i'm not staying at the hotel there? i know i should probably try to find these answers online before asking you but i figured since i was already here.

thanks for your time, sir!

-kR

Another Angel writes...

If the gargoyles were not to know who their parents were... how did they prevent inbreeding?
Oh, and the Gathering was so much fun this year- can't wait for 2003!