A Con, a Child, and a Pivot

This last week and beyond

This last weekend was FenCon XX in Dallas, TX. I was there with a bunch of friends and other fans of all sorts. FenCon is a literary con, and while a couple of good friends were in a writing workshop, others like me were appearing on panels talking about writing, art, science, and much more. Conventions are a whirlwind of activity, learning, and conversations for me. I enjoy attending, but this one was a little different.

The Little Man (his longtime blogname may need changing…) getting safety straps on a lighting rig.

About a week before the convention, my son flew in, having taken a long leave to spend time at home, and then to help on the tech side of the con. It was so nice to have him home! He’d asked for ‘projects’ to keep him busy, and I had a few lined up, but mostly we spent time together, with family, he hung out with friends, and before we knew it was Thursday and he was heading out to the convention. We also, in that week, had more family come in for a visit in the shape of my brother and sister in law, and it was lovely and very, very busy for a while.

By the time Thursday afternoon rolled around, I was grateful a friend was riding down with me, to keep me alert on the road. I was exhausted. I planned to take the con as a low-key experience, to show up, do my panels, and hang with friends. Which is just what I did, and it was great. I came home feeling human instead of a worn husk of a woman who needed to sleep for three days straight. I highly recommend this approach: sleep at your usual bedtime, make sure you eat at least two solid meals a day, and practice hydration religiously.

Sketching, inking, and swatching. The portable easel was a gift from my kids and I should use it more often.

I also made time in the early morning, since I’m the rare early bird at a convention, to find a quiet place and paint a little. I didn’t finish anything, but the moments of peace were a wonderful way to start my days, and the hotel was a good place for it, having great lighting through a stories-high glass roof, and many seating nooks I could curl up in.

Sunday, I’d planned to have one last lunch with my son, and then scoot for home, but one of the tech guys and his friend came and found me. “You need to stay for closing ceremonies,” he said, “we’re going to surprise your son.”

In a fun and touching ceremony, they elevated my young man to Minion, First Class! and recognized his help over the years when he’d decided to step in and help out for no other reason at first than they would let him. He’d tagged along to his first FenCon because I was going, and he expected to be bored out of his mind. He’d manned my sales table that first year, and somehow he’d connected with his fellow geeks being the tech guys who make a convention hum along on the surface, while they are the myriad paddling duck legs below the surface making it all look good to the congoers.

Alyssa taking photos of the panelists who’d come in early, so I took a photo of her and the early audience arrivals.

LawDog giving his copyeditors their bonus: a packet of Mayonnaise! The joke is that at this point in the start-up of Raconteur Press we can only afford to pay them in cheese sandwiches. But at least they are no longer dry!

The layout of the hotel’s many levels gave us some opportunity for playful moments, like this ‘forward!’ on a projection which looked like the prow of a boat.

Shiny swatching...

All good things come to an end, and Sunday evening I hugged my son, both of us knowing it was likely to be at least a year before he’s home on leave again, with his training schedule. After that, when he’s fully in his role with the Navy, we just don’t know. The next few years are likely to be fleeting visits, with me flying out to see him on a long weekend more probable than him managing a weeklong vacation to come home again. He’s a grown man, and it shows, as he’s steady and firm in his resolve. I was so proud of him, and then during the convention people kept seeking me out to talk about him, and I can’t think of much better, as a mother, than to hear her child is becoming a valued adult.

Coming home meant catching up on the whirl of life, graphic design clients, getting Sultry Murder Jazz: Pinup Noir ready to publish, and preparing for a massive life pivot.

I got home to the coldest temperatures of the year, and a little bit of snow, seen here on the leaves of an olive bush.

My day job is a W2 contract position. I’ve known since the beginning the contract would wind up at the end of March, 2025. With a contract position, since I’m asked this frequently, there is sometimes possibility of extension, but this one isn’t going to happen that way for external reasons to both myself and my manager. I had planned to take some time off, as this has been three years with no PTO, working any holiday that didn’t fall on a weekend, and I’m tired. I still plan to do that. The job market is… not great. I’m aware of this, and planning for it to take considerable time to find the next position, particularly given I need a remote position and one in my narrow little niche of expertise. It should be, shall we say, interesting as a pivot point in my life.

I may wind up blogging about that, as if I approach it as an adventure, rather than a soul-sucking life-destroying process I’ll enjoy it much more. Taking a step back to collect data and treat it like a science experiment may be helpful. *sighs* This is a process I really do not enjoy. I’d so love to wind up out of the contract treadmill my industry puts it’s people on, and in employed status with vacation time and benefits where I could be stable and productive the rest of my career. But then again, corporate doesn’t care about the mental health of it’s people that form the body corporate, which is boggling when you think about it.

So. This is me checking in and updating after such a long absence. It’s been almost two weeks of disruption, time to get back into routine, and add a new plate to my act, that of resume updating and job applications! Whee… I can do this. Hopefully without having to drop and break any of the other plates that are the whirling gears of my life and jobs.