I have been thinking of taking responsibilities at conventions to gain experience to use towards Project Management. For years I have been avoiding being put in a position that required much responsibility the few times I was willing to work a con. The following are the insane ideas I had for working upcoming cons that I worked hard to put on a back burner until after Worldcon. I might do a few, hopefully only a few. I have already shown that it is easy for to overextend myself, and if I am not enjoying them, then I shouldn’t be doing them. The sane route would be to do none of them and just attend the ones I think I might enjoy.
Silicon-Oct
I was going to ask the Co-Chairs if they could use an onsite troubleshooter for the con. I like swooping in and fixing things.
LosCon-Thanksgiving weekend Nov
I am going down to work Con Ops as usual because I promised and I already bought my plane tickets. This year I am going down Thursday to help with load in and leaving Monday night after the garment district tour. It will be the longest I have ever been at LosCon and more work than I have done for this convention before. Still less then Baycon or either Worldcon I have worked. I will be a minion and not in charge of things (other than working hard on our evil ideas that are completely unofficial). Those of us in LosCon Ops that were at the Worldcon keep saying that we can do LosCon in our sleep and probably will. I think we should have ribbons that say “Zzzzzzzz”
Furcon/Further Confusion-Jan
I have been asked if I would be interested in working tech. This would be a con that I don’t have an interested in attending so it would just be experience which is what I was looking for.
Wondercon-Feb
Two years ago I impressed the president of the Comic Con/Wondercon/APE organization by my ability at line control. There was a need and I can’t help myself, I must fix the line and I do it in a pleasant humorous way. He asked if I would be interested in volunteering. I was thinking about it because this is a very professional convention and another one that I don’t care for attending that much and would appreciate the experience.
Baycon-May
There was talk about making me head of Tech for 07. It would allow me to actually wander the con, talk to the people I want to talk to, be attached to a radio if people need me and solve problems as they arose. I had almost talked myself into it. But there have been problems with a someone that needs working out, I don’t know if there is a head of tech, I am desired to be “night tech” again which will put me in a room with the same hassles I had at the last Baycon that I didn’t like, and I when I found out Elisa (I want to grow up to be able to do what she does without the over commitment side) looks like she is programming second, I had an idea to turn myself over to her as sort of an apprentice. I still think I need to stay away from Baycon but these ideas are chasing themselves around in my head. I don’t know where they will end up.
Westercon-June
The original thought was those that were working Baycon would also work Westercon but maybe shift jobs around to provide some balance. I gave up on this idea when I started having trouble with communication with Baycon. This one is not tempting at all. Other than wanting to have the idea of doing everything and not skipping one which is on the road to insanity so it is easy to skip.
Comic Con-July
I went to Comic Con a year ago and didn’t like it. It was too large and too industry oriented (not fan based) for me. I didn’t like the travel to San Deigo. I didn’t like San Deigo. They have loads of cool stuff that I seem to find out about after the ability to get it is over. I had no plans to ever go to it again. But someone asked me if I wanted to work it. I laughed at her until she said that she was doing line and room control. Oh no, my weak spot. Ever since then, it has been running around in the back on my head. It would be another con I don’t want to attend but feel I could be really good at working. And she supposedly has the inside line on the really cool stuff. Oh the suffering I have in the back of my head.
That brings up back to August. Thank whatever that next year’s Worldcon is in Japan and it can’t even tempt me. This amounts to 7 conventions in a year, 8 if I start the counter to just before this Worldcon. I used to think it was insanity to attend 4 conventions in a year. For kicks and giggles, I have also been asked to work Pantheacon and Fanime, have thought about it but made no plans due to the conflict with other plans. I have a tendency to get excited about something and go overboard. It doesn’t feel like I am going overboard but looking at it objectively I can see where I am doing so. The sad bit is I know others that do this much and more and I find myself comparing again (at least until I catch myself at it).
Another funny thing is about a month out of Baycon, I was thinking of what cons I could work to gain the experience I desire and was thinking the next would be Further Confusion. I was a minion for Worldcon and LosCon (until I grabbed a piece of the pie at Worldcon) so they weren’t on my objectives list. Silly silly Gina.
I have been thinking I wanted to get into Project Management and use the cons to gain experience. I think I have clearly show myself that I can’t do it as is. I might be able to work myself up to it but straight out of the gate, it is not something I can take on to the level I thought I could. I just don’t have that ability in me and I hurt myself trying to do it. I think it might be possible to learn how to more accurately gage my abilities and not hurt myself by taking on more than I can comfortably carry. I think I might be able to learn to better handle things so I am more effective. I think I can learn how to manage things and be a good project manager. But I am very aware now that I don’t have these things yet. And I wonder if my enthusiasm for the endeavor was just one of my short lived excitements or if it is something that I really want to do in the long run. I would like to find a way to do more project management where I have different groups working towards a common goal in combination with the production graphics that I do so well and am really comfortable in. I have no idea how to go about finding this but I am putting it out to the universe and keeping my eyes open.
Right now the path I need to take is waiting and watching what comes up. I need to just do what is in front of me now and be happy with that as well as be prepared to move when the time is right if that should ever come up.
What makes a con fun for you? Better yet, what makes any sort of mass gathering of people fun for you?
What I’m hearing you type is that you’ve had overlapping priorities combined with a lack of “center” (for lack of a better word). I can see you needing to fully seperate “working” at a con and “playing” at a con…much like in a “regular” job.
Cons are work. I know you know this, but I’m getting the impression that you haven’t been treating what you’ve been doing with the same mental respect as a paid job with benefits and such. To be fair, many other people also aren’t doing so, but it’s that fact that causes things to spiral out of control, and forces people into emergency mode. That change can start with you.
Just some “top of head” thinking.
And regarding project management, someone on my friends list doing stuff similar to what you’re wanting to do (and are good at) is. You might want to drop her a line – after burning man.
You have a good point. Part of the problem is that I hate missing opportunities and at a con there are so many opportunities that I lose when working and being stuck in a room. I have a con where I am a minion. I work and I have fun. Doing this responsibility thing is different and I am still working the kinks out.
Another problem is that I am one of those competent people that can be trusted to get stuff done. So I end up with a lot of stuff coming my way. This happens in many volunteer organizations. They swamp the ones that stick around until they burn out. The LA con crowd is a little better than that but it is up to each individual to understand their own limits and say no. I am still learning limits.
And yet another issue is I pay a lot of money between the room, food and con membership to do this “work” and I would like to enjoy it. I have had great fun being on the inside track helping out but being in charge of something is different. I did tend to lose sight of my idea of using Worldcon as a professional experience con instead of a fun con.
Don’t shortchange Further Confusion. I know many people who did not believe they would be interested in or even enjoy it, and found themselves having a blast…