"Sharyn Goes to Simucon!
(Will the Game Recover?)"

by Sharyn

Simucon. That word can generate many varied feelings in every Simutronic's customer who is out there, from sadness to anticipation to pre-event hangovers to jealousy and to pure unadulterated joy. Simucon 2002 was no different. For me it was a mixture of anticipation and joy. I was going to be able to see old friends and get to meet folks I had spoken to many times in game. I could hardly wait.

After a frantic trip to the Airport with Argot, we went to our separate airlines for the trip to St. Louis. We were lucky enough to go on Wednesday afternoon. Elddric met us at the airport in St. Louis, and we all traveled to the Hilton. I was happily surprised to see the number of folks who were there a day early. The energy in the hotel was already buzzing and at a high level. Little did the hotel staff and management know what they were letting themselves in for.

After checking in and dumping the heaviest luggage in the world in the room, I headed back downstairs with my bestest pal Pat bouncing beside me. We began to meet and greet old and new friends. (Time to thank Eadric for all the Rum and cokes...) In the middle of all this partying and chatting, I ran into an old friend, and seeing her reminded me that I had to pass along a message from someone who couldn't be there. Val pointed me toward Dennis who was sitting right across from her, and I touched his arm. It was at that point that, though I didn't know it, that my life was changed. The rest of that evening passed by in a blur. . .bouncing from group to group, laughing and talking. As with every night at the Con, bedtime came very late.

Thursday dawned. . .very, very early. After a quick breakfast with friends, it was soon time to register and get the tag that somehow never manages to stay right side up so everyone asks, "Who are you?" Some folks headed to the tour of the offices while the rest of us sat around like lazy bums talking, chatting, and in some case drinking. After dinner (darned if I remember what we had), the night was a blast with games and parties everywhere. GM Tribanin runs the best D & D games anywhere. Couldn't take my eyes off of him. . .but that's another tale. The bar and the lobby outside were full of revelers until the early morning. I don't think anyone had discovered the piano yet, but I can say that already the computer room was full!

Friday began way too early again! But there was no way that anyone would miss the "State of the Game" speech. Especially with GM Solomon presenting it! <...ponders taxidermy...> I can say that a good portion of the room looked like they wanted to be there in their jammies.

After that exciting speech that was filled with tons of surprises, we were lucky enough to get to attend the Handfasting of Shainia and Nuich. Many of those witnessing the ceremony came in costume, and the whole ceremony added a festive interlude to the day. Set outside under a large tree, it was a lovely ceremony with GM Zoha presiding and GM Meakah, Rancha, and Candidus acting as attendants.

The wedding was followed with hours and hours of seminars about all sorts of game-related things. That night was filled with gaming and movies, the piano was found, and. . .well, we just plain had fun! I went back for the second night of GM Tribanin's D & D game. <...grins evilly, remembering how the sweet innocent ladies got to poke a hole in the evil GM guy's raft...> Once the game was over, a handful of us sat around chatting 'til the wee hours of the morning. I think we made it to bed about. . .4:30 AM.
(Ed. note: As her roommate, I can attest that it was closer to 5:00a.m. But who was keeping track?)

Saturday dawned <...whimpers...> and a full day of guild meetings and seminars commenced. It was a day full of fun, and tons of information was passed around. I do have to admit that there were some glazed eyes among the crowd at the Ranger meeting. During the lunch break, the mentors had a quiet picnic outside under the trees in the shade. After lunch there were zillions of more seminars about everything from Role-playing to Alchemy.

Simu was kind enough to give us a long break following the last seminar to give people time to dress for the costume contest and the wonderful dinner. The number of various types of costumes that were displayed this year was incredible. From the 'Pimp' to the medieval to the Greek, it was very fun to watch everyone parade through the lobby and hallways. I still am not sure if the hotel staff has recovered. We will glaze right past the talent show, though I will say that the "neck" guy did make another appearance. (Ed. note: Sharyn was the opening performer for the talent show, singing a lovely ballad from "Phantom of the Opera.") After the dinner the tons of strangely clad folks retired to the bar and lobby. I even glimpsed the tall handsome man of my dreams sitting on the steps out there, but much to my sadness, he was sitting with an angel.

Sunday began with me running late, a missed appointment, and as opposed to the rest of the con, was a day filled with sadness. There were way too many goodbyes and far too many sad, bleary eyes. Surprisingly, a large number of us were staying in town one last night, so we were volunteers to help break down some of Simu's things. After all that hard work, we headed to the diner to eat lunch. I think our group of food/spitball fighters is still banned from the restaurant (who knew that GMs had such bad aim?) I advise every one not to ask GM Tribanin about Shirley. After that quiet and calm lunch, we all headed back to the bar (surprise!) at the hotel to watch movies and vegetate.

It was here that I began to realize how much fate had changed my life. A simple move cross-country was about to make something that would have been impossible, possible. Later that day a group of us ventured forth to go see a movie. The trip there and the movie were uneventful, but I have to say that 8 people in a 6 person cab is. . .interesting. This was the night that everyone seemed to crash at a decent hour, because everyone was leaving early Monday morning.

Conventions are many things to many people. For some they are a simple time away from family, a vacation, a time to whoop it up. For others they are a time to meet the faces behind the screens and to see old cherished friends. For me, this year, it was a combination of those, and as corny as it sounds. . .the first day of the rest of my life.