Archive-name: furry/con-tips
Posting-Frequency: Posted the week before furry cons.
What to Take to a Con
compiled by Matt J. McCullar
mccu...@flash.net
Updated February 2000
I found a basic version of this list at A-Kon 8 and thought I'd share it
with everyone, plus add my two cents' worth. Several others have
contributed to it. Please add to this list if you can. Learn from
others' mistakes and you'll enjoy your con visit that much more.
What should you take to a convention -- science-fiction, furry, anime,
gaming, etc.? $$$$$! Lots of it. But as for the rest of the stuff
you'll need...
* Toiletries. Don't forget your toothbrush and comb. And, let's face
it, hotel soaps and shampoo bottles never last when you've got one
bathroom being shared by you and your 4000 friends troweled into one
room. Clean clothes are nice, too -- bring a nice shirt to wear to the
dance, and you will stand out from the hordes who don't. Assign someone
to bring a hair dryer to share. Use just enough deodorant and cologne.
People will love you for it. (Keep toiletries inside zip-lock bags in
case they split open inside your luggage.)
* Sleeping bag. You lost the coin toss, so everyone else gets the beds.
You can try zonking in the bathtub, but a sleeping bag is far more
comfortable. If you bring an air mattress, then for gosh sakes bring an
air pump, too. Inflating it the old-fashioned way means your roommates
will have to either step over you all the time or drag you out into the
hallway after you've passed out from lack of oxygen.
* Tweezers. Keep them in your shaving kit. This is one of those items
that you never think about until you suddenly need it.
* Jam box (or Walkman). Never hurts to be able to listen to those CDs
and cassettes you paid way too much for in the dealer's room. Listening
to Dr. Demento songs makes for a great room party.
* Ice chest. That lunch meat you brought with you won't stand up to
room temperature for long, and warm Cokes are an insult. Also provides
a place to stash wet swim trunks on the trip home. Bring plenty of
zip-lock baggies.
* Cokes, lunch meat, bread, mustard, peanut butter, potato chips &
cookies. While we're at it, "brown-bagging" your munchies is a HECKuva
lot cheaper than trolling the fast food joints. You'll have more money
to spend. Ice is available from the hotel. Breakfast is the most
important meal of the day; which do you think will be less expensive:
your own box of cereal, or the hotel's restaurant?
* Large plastic garbage bag. Use it for keeping your dirty clothes
separate from your cleans. Keep this in your luggage so the maid won't
accidentally throw it (and your clothes!) into the trash.
* Pepto Bismol. You never know when you might need it. If you're in an
unfamiliar city, you might react violently to the drinking water. And
the hotel gift shop can price this pink stuff into the stratosphere
because they know there's nothing you can do about it. (Bring bottled
water if you have a history of health problems.) Also bring aspirin,
antacid, additional health-care stuff. Medicines in pill form travel
better than liquids. Keep your prescriptions with you.
* Lock box. If you're a dealer or just carrying extra cash, you need a
safe place to put it. Perhaps the hotel can store it for you. Unless
you can guarantee that nobody you don't know is coming into your room,
it's best to make sure some things aren't open to the public. You might
want to padlock your ice chest, too, or your food might disappear.
* Flashlight. Power does go out at cons, but even if it doesn't, not
everyone in a room is always asleep at the same time. If you have to
root through your stuff in the dark, turning on the table lamp just
might get you tossed off the balcony. And if you get a Maglite, it's
also good for defending yourself. Don't forget extra batteries.
* Extension cords and power strips. If you drag a VCR/TV/boom
box/computer along with you, these are a must. There are never enough
electrical outlets in a hotel, and they are never where you need them.
* Swimsuit. Hey, the pool might be open. Or the ocean.
* Towel. Always bring your own towel. The hotel's are never big
enough, and you can always identify which one you've used. Besides,
it's a tough universe... you've always got to know where your towel is.
I'm not fussy about pillows, although you may want to bring your own for
comfort's sake. Extra tenants in one room may mean not enough pillows.
Perhaps your own washcloth, too.
* Paper cups, paper plates, eating utensils. You'd be surprised how
hard these can be to procure when you really need them. And even if you
aren't holding any parties, do you really want to be swilling your
Mountain Dew from the same bottle everyone else has been backwashing
into? Some folks bring their own cola mugs, but I find those too easy
to lose.
* Masking tape and marking pen. Important not only for pricing stuff,
but also for identifying whose stuff is in what drawer in the hotel
room. Identifying drawers also might keep you from forgetting and
leaving your undies behind when you're rushing to get home. Also useful
for taping up flyers and notices (if it's okay with the hotel, that is).
* Extra eyeglasses. If they get broken or lost, what are you going to
do? They can get sat on, stolen, or dropped off of balconies. Can you
drive home without them? Same for contact lenses. At least bring a
fixit kit that includes a small screwdriver.
* Earplugs. Being trapped in a room with someone from the Olympic
snoring team will be agony unless you can block out the noise or listen
to your Walkman.
* Want list. Einstein said that if it's written down, you don't have to
remember it. Write down everything you're looking to buy in the
dealer's room: back issues of comics, movies, CDs, the works. Better
yet, write down before you leave all the issues of comics you already
own so you can fill the holes. This prevents buying things you don't
need.
* Cardboard mailing tube. Your nice, new movie posters will be ruined
if you pack them in your suitcase. A mailing tube will protect them,
and you can mail them home if you can't carry them. Also provides a
place for keeping dirty socks.
* Driver's license and secondary I.D. You're from out of town and not
everyone will take your check without positive I.D. Keep your passport
with you at all times. This is very important if you need help while
visiting another country.
* Camera. No joke. Can you remember what you had for dinner last
night? Then how are you going to remember everyone you met and every
place you went to over an entire weekend? You'll be glad you took some
snapshots later. They're fun to pass around at room parties. (If
you're flying, keep your camera inside your carry-on baggage, where it
won't be out of your sight. Cameras of all types are prime targets for
luggage thieves.)
* Comfortable shoes. You will be on your feet a lot, particularly when
shopping in the dealer's room. Buying a new pair of shoes right before
the con is not a good idea unless you have a high threshold of pain
because the shoes break in your feet, not the other way around.
* Sewing kit. Very important for costumers! Judges take away points
when tails fall off. Also useful for small emergencies such as buttons
popping off.
* Birth control. (At least the stuff you hope you're gonna need...)
* Empty folder. When you get to registration they're going to give you
all sorts of flyers, pamphlets, con books, schedules and maps. Unless
you have something to put them in, chances are you're going to lose one
or two of them -- especially the most important ones. After you stash
them all in a simple clip folder, jot down a list of times and places of
panels and shows you want to attend, in advance. That way you won't
forget any of them. Some cons give you tote bags, but take along your
own, just in case.
* Wristwatch. Sounds obvious, I know, but watch the havoc begin if you
forget it. You won't know when something's on without it.
* Checklist. Make several copies of your checklist of things to bring
and take home, so all you'll have to do at convention time is check off
the items one by one. This eliminates having to think when you're
packing so you are less likely to forget something important.
Other Things to Remember
Be sure to leave the hotel's phone number with your family. If an
emergency comes up, how will they be able to reach you? Try this phone
number beforehand and make sure it works. Notify the hotel desk if you
change rooms so they'll know where to relay messages.
When dealing with hotel employees, always get their names. This helps
track down and prevent communications problems, particularly when some
clerk sneers, "Well, I don't know who you talked to, but our policy has
always been..." Be very polite if you bump up against a problem, and be
persistent.
Write down on a stiff card the following information: your name, any
medical information paramedics need to know, and whom to contact in case
of an emergency. If you aren't wearing a medical bracelet, the next
place the medtechs will look is in your wallet or purse. Keep the card
there and make sure your roommates know about it.
If your residence will be empty, ask your post office to hold your mail
while you're away. This can be done for free by filling out a small
card at the counter. Also stop newspaper delivery and ask your
neighbors or landlord to watch your home (bribe 'em with stuff you bring
back from the con!). Have someone take care of the pets, the plants and
the kids.
Put your name on/in your sketchbooks. I'm amazed at how many people
don't do this and eventually lose them forever.
Put your name on your videocassettes. For that matter, put your name on
everything you can't afford to lose. Not everyone can recognize your
handwriting or your possessions, and if I find someone else's stuff in
my suitcase when I get home, I need to know where to send it. (I
personally use those return-address stickers normally used for
envelopes. They're small, self-adhesive, and fit perfectly on
videotapes.)
Check under the bed before you leave the hotel. The monsters that live
there eat socks, shoes, etc.
Take advantage of pre-con registration. Not only will you save money,
you also won't have to stand in line with the masses. Make certain that
you bring proof of pre-reg with you; con staffs have been known to lose
paperwork, and they can't argue with a canceled check. The same holds
true for the hotel staff if they don't have a record of your room
reservation.
Budget your time as well as your money. You can't possibly see
everything and everybody, so don't kill yourself trying. Your body
needs to sleep and eat, so include time for both in your schedule. You
won't enjoy the con if you make yourself sick.
Illness can spread quickly through a con, because people come from all
over, bringing regional diseases and sharing them. This is often
referred to as "con crud" or "the blorch." This is why you should bring
your own medicines. Remember the last time you were sick, away from
home?
You always return from a con with more stuff than when you left, so
bring an extra bookbag. Or make sure you leave room in your luggage for
all the stuff you'll buy. Prepare to do some heavy lifting.
If you want to risk it, bring your own TV along with the VCR. Most
hotels have security devices attached to their televisions that prevent
easy access for VCR hookups. There's probably a cable box hooked up to
it, anyway.
When handing out business cards, do it three at a time. This makes it
easier for others to pass out information about you and your work.
Therefore, bring plenty of business cards. Be certain your addresses --
e-mail, website and otherwise -- on them are current.
Carry your wallet and checkbook in your front pants pockets. This makes
life miserable for thieves. They know congoers are loaded with cash and
credit cards. It may be uncomfortable, but consider the alternative.
Leave the bathroom light on at night and the door ajar. It provides a
convenient night light.
Turn some of your money into small bills before you get to the dealer's
room. You can't count on every merchant being able to break a twenty.
If you're a dealer, be sure you've got plenty of change before the doors
open. Try to use the ATM when everyone else isn't.
Trust me -- your luggage will be impossible to identify at the airport
without marking it in some unique way. Wrap colored tape (such as
day-glow orange or yellow) around the handle, and/or use colored tape to
form some kind of a pattern on both sides that will pick at your eye for
a long distance. Put your name inside your luggage as well as on the
outside.
If you've never used traveler's checks before, they are easy to buy at
your local bank for a small fee. (I'm told that the AAA offers them for
free.) They are much safer to carry than large amounts of cash and can
be redeemed anywhere. Keep a record of the serial numbers -- you won't
be able to get your money back without them if the checks are stolen.
Keep this record separate from the checks.
You can ship stuff to the hotel in advance, such as boxes of comics.
This eliminates a lot of headaches and you don't have to carry it all
with you. Better call the hotel first and ask about their policies.
This also alerts them to expect your stuff and they can notify you if it
doesn't arrive.
It's easy to lose track of how many personal checks you have left until
you suddenly find you're down to your last one. Count them before you
leave.
If you're printing up flyers for other events to hand out at the
convention, have someone else proofread them. You may have forgotten to
include something vital -- such as the date or the location. A fresh
pair of eyes will spot this immediately. Better than printing out an
expensive pile of paper that no one can use.
Don't open Rapidograph technical drawing pens on airplanes. The air
pressure makes them explode and the waterproof ink is a bear to clean
up. Keep them in a plastic bag inside your luggage until you arrive.
Airport security may ask you to boot up your laptop computer.
Therefore, keep the batteries charged. (And for crying out loud, don't
joke around at the checkpoints! Hassling the guards never got anyone to
a con any faster.)
If you plan to drive to the convention and your car needs servicing,
don't wait until the last minute. Get it done at least two weeks in
advance. This gives everything a chance to break in and you're less
likely to end up stranded in the middle of nowhere. Give yourself and
your car plenty of rest breaks during the trip. Do you know how to
change a flat? Practice before you go. Carry lots of water -- both for
yourself and for the car.
If you're flying to the convention, keep your plane tickets in a safe
place. If you're flying with a group, appoint one person to be in
charge of the tickets. Make certain that everyone knows where they are
kept. Don't lose them! Keep airline tickets inside an envelope of an
unusual color, so you can find it in a hurry inside a crowded folder or
briefcase.
Moderation in all things: don't overfill a hotel room. Sure, 20 people
for a pizza party is fun, but it's absolute misery for all involved when
it's time for lights out. It'll overload the bathroom, and it's also
against the fire codes. (The nearest fire exit should be the first
thing you look for as soon as you get into your hotel room. Make sure
your roommates know where it is, too.)
Like it or not, as soon as you set foot into the convention, you become
an ambassador for your fandom and a newbie's first impression may come
from you, your behavior, and your personality. The same goes for the
mundane hotel guests -- ordinary folks who have no idea what your con is
all about. Try to make everyone feel welcome. Will a new fan join the
fun, or will he run screaming into the night? We're all supposed to
have fun at a convention, not frighten people away forever.
By the same token, if you're new to fandom and are a bit timid around
strangers, don't worry. You will see and meet all sorts of people.
Take heart in knowing that they are all there for the same reason you
are. That means you have something in common already. If you need help
with anything, ask the convention staff. They are ready and willing to
help first-timers as well as seasoned pros. They can introduce you to
other fans, and that's one of the main reasons why we go to conventions.
Tell yourself over and over that you WILL have a good time, because you
will -- if you let it happen. If you're convinced that you'll have a
lousy time, you'll probably find a way to make that happen, too. It's
fun! Enjoy it.
Above all, don't forget the most important thing to bring to any con: a
sense of humor. Go out of your way to thank the convention staff and
the hotel staff for their hard work and tell them how much you enjoyed
it all. Now have fun.
-- end --
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