EFNW 2019 · 3:51am May 17th, 2019
Okay. I’ve never done a blog post. I’ve never had the inclination to do a blog post. In fact, I might need a drink if anyone other than myself ever reads this entry. But, I can’t hold myself together without getting this out in some form other than clinging to my wife and squealing “I actually made it!”
Everfree Northwest 2019. Here I am.
After one trip to BronyCon back in 2013, one failed trip attempt to EFNW in the past, and a failed attempt to make it to the final BronyCon this year...I am here.
It’s...surreal. Six years since my one and only convention, and during the last season of MLP. So much has happened since then, greatest of all being a marriage. In fact, my wife and I are actually going to Hawaii for our 5th anniversary the day after EFNW concludes.
The greatest casualties of my career often come in the form of time. Sleep and sanity make close runner-ups, but I’ve missed so much of fandom life and involvement because of the particulars of my career. Only recently have I made a few adjustments and reprioritized what actually makes me happy, with writing being a large portion of that equation.
I told myself that if I made it to the final BronyCon this year, that I would not leave till I made at least one new friend. Now, that’s my goal here at EFNW. I do have a friend that is as close to me as my own brother, someone who I would not trade for anything in this world, but I’m finding out that as I age...I want the very thing that I avoided throughout most of my life.
Friends.
I want to get to know new people. I want to learn about their lives and experiences. I want to hear their stories, real and imagined.
I’ll be attending most every writing panel that is being offered this weekend in the hopes that I can improve upon that which I’ve rediscovered, the hobby that gives me the joy I’ve been missing for years. But my one true goal for this weekend, the thing that I hope for above all others, is to walk away on Sunday having made a lasting connection with at least one new person.
So, I’ll say it again and I’ll be saying all weekend. Everfree Northwest....world, here I am. And I’m here to say “Hi.”
That's my favorite part about Bronycon. I don't really care too much about panels. I don't care about the special guests. I just wanna hang out with all the friends I've made in the fandom I'd otherwise never get a chance to meet up with. Just hanging out with friends is easily the highlight of every convention I've gone to, and it's not close.
So I hope you're able to make a friend or three. I hope you have a grand ol' time doing so.
Well, Kai, it was really good to see both you and your wife at EFNW! I... hmm, am not sure if I count as a new friend or an old friend who's changed a fair bit since we last spoke! But I honestly hope you two had a lot of fun, and have a lovely time in Hawai'i!
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I appreciated all the writing panels, and hearing different perspectives on techniques and style was very helpful. A few comments that were made have even started the slow churn towards one-shot ideas in my head. I'm trying hard to figure out what might cause an entire carriage of ponies to jump out of a moving vehicle with the opening line ”And then the duck quacked.” I think it has potential.
And thank you. It was a grand ol’ weekend. The best weekend of this year so far. Certainly, it was the best time I've had in a long time.
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New or old, I'm glad to call you a friend. It was so great to finally say hello in person! And thank you very much for introducing me to your friends and folks I've known only by reputation or stories. That was a real treat. It's with no hesitation that I can say you made my goal of this convention possible.