anxiousJust wow.
I'm going to be a very busy person this weekend. Not just because of Archon (more on that in a moment), but also with all the work I'm doing in class right now. I'll be honest, I didn't realize I was taking the two most writing intensive courses offered by the English Department in the same semester. And, it's not like I can't do the work (I'm carrying A's in both classes right now), but it's becoming a bit of a struggle to coordinate the classwork, family time, writing time and, OH YEAH, that little thing called a job, which sucks up between 8.5 and 9.5 hours of my life Monday through Friday.
(I know, I know, I set myself up for this. No one to blame but myself. Quiet back there, I'm on a roll. Damn Peanut Gallery.)
So, anyway, with the obligatory whining out of the way, for those attending Archon in Collinsville, IL this weekend, (just east of St. Louis, MO, for the geographically challenged), here is my current schedule. As always, anything posted is subject to change at the last moment:
| Date | Time | Panel/Event | Location | Fellow Panelists |
| Thursday | 5:00pm | GC-Illini | Developing Memorable Characters | Robin Wayne Bailey, M.R. Sellars, Joy Ward, Mark Tiedemann |
| Thursday | 6:30pm | GC-LaSalle Lobby | Autograph Session (1/2 hour) | John Sies, Elizabeth Donald, Thomas M.K. Stratman, Elonka Dunin |
| Thursday | 11:00pm | GC-Ballroom D-6 | Vampires and Werewolves and Things that go Bump in the Night |
Lee Martindale, Judi Cook, Elizabeth Donald, Cheryl Medley |
| Friday | 9:00pm | GC-Marquette A | The State of Comics Today | Dev Hanke, Mike Oliveri, Van Plexico, Mitch Foust |
| Friday | 10:00pm | GC-Ballroom D-6 | Arming Your Characters Writing Realistic Weaponry |
Shane Moore, Mike Oliveri, Lee Martindale, Dev Hanke |
| Saturday | 10:00am | GC-Marquette A | Star Trek at 40?!! (1.5 hours) | Tom Meserole, Margene Bahm, John Novak, Doug Ferguson, Judi Cook |
| Saturday | 12:00pm | GC-LaSalle Lobby | Autograph Session (1/2 hour) | Allison Stein, Luke Ski, Alan Gutierrez, Brent Chumley |
| Saturday | 5:00pm | GC-Mississippian | Collecting Anime Cels | |
| Sunday | 2:00pm | GC-Ballroom D-6 | Japanese Cultural References in Anime | Alan Gutierrez, Brian Lan, Jen Schumacker |
Yes, it appears the Dragon*Con programming committee and the Archon programming committee swapped notes. (Please notice the back to back panels on Friday Night.) Also, I'm going to be moderating the Vampire and Werewolf, The State of Comics and the Collecting Anime Cels panel. Well the last is a bit of a misnomer since I am the Collecting Anime Cels panel.
Woof.
Now, with that in mind, please also note, I have to finish my Animal Farm Critical Essay, read two chapters for my Ethics in Literature class, as well as reading Welty's Why I live at the P.O., Lawrence's The Rocking Horse Winner, and Faulkner's A Rose for Emily, (which thank God I read last semester for another class), write response papers for them as well as another letter for my Short Story class.
Now, individually, none of this is that traumatic. If I put my mind to it, I can probably knock out a lot of this in the airport going to and coming from the show as well as on Friday (since all of my panels are at night). I was just hoping to use the convention to unwind a bit after the last couple of weeks around here. I don't think it's going to quite work out that way.
At least last weekend was pretty nice. I'll talk more about that tomorrow night. Now, I think it's time for bed.
