Bay Area Altfanthingie Con 1999

(The Excuse To Party With Fellow ba-FOGs)

August 20-22, 1999


Thank you to Eric for supplying the additional pictures from the night at Entros.

Attendees: 
James (Sir Bastard), Jenny Jo (Yot Yot), Tom (tyg), Eric (the Gemius), Chris(mas Ape, a.k.a. "Elephant Spunk"), Sian (Chris's girlfriend), Margret (Dreaming), Kali (Super Karate Death Monkey), Badger (her boyfriend, who we are slowly converting to the Church of Gaiman)... oh, and me, Michelle (ba-FOG#1)...

      
(from left) Michelle, Margret, Kali... and Sian, Chris, Tom, and Jenny Jo

Friday
The weekend started with everyone spending an evening at Entros for food and games. After much deliberation and Tom's organization, a dinner was chosen and the discussions began.  Margret met all the ba-FOGs and didn't run in terror from the first impression so we were off to a good start. Jenny Jo, James and Tom gave us the low-down on the San Diego ComiCon. Margret and Kali passed around pictures of thier little-uns and everyone talked about the different Thingies we had all met, and who we might see at Con Cat.

   
Kali, Badger, and Sian... Kali and Badger (look, we're number one!)

Course by course the meal was served and eaten. Halfway through it, james started asking about the wok-seared scallops we ordered... only he said 'scallions' instead of 'scallops'. Then Jenny Jo heard 'rock scarred' and wehen she said 'rock scarred scallions' out loud, I managed to hear 'rock star scallions'... or was it stallions? Guess you had to be there.

   
Margret, Kali, and Badger... Sian and Chris

After dinner, we got out game passes and hit the game show: "The Mating Game".  JJ, James, Kali, Badger and I took one console, and in the spirit of the evening, we named out group "The Rock Star Stallions". Chris, Sian, Tom, Margret and Eric were joined by a few other people on their console and thus became "The Anal Beads". Winners of the game show that evening: The Anal Beads...

       
Michelle, Tom, and James - playing Hot Lunch and making a mess of it...

At this point the group shrunk. Kali, Badger, Chris and Sian had to leave, as it was getting late.  The rest of the gang remained to discover that we're not cut out to make assembly line burgers, and that we SUCK at sacrificing virgins to volcanos (really, this is an understatement... it was nearly pathetic - but still fun!). We are, however, very good at bouncing a ball around the world. :) Following the games, we went into the souvenir-making room and all became members of the Ministry of Elephant Spunk.


The true genius of Eric

Only Jenny Jo, James and I continued on to Shrine of Lilith after Entros. We actually arrived so late that we missed both bands (ugh! what kind of SFMM slut am I to miss my boys on stage!), but we still had a lot of fun.

Saturday
James and Margret were first to arrive at my place, and just after they settled in, my parents showed up with a truckload of my things (many may recall, I had just moved into this place. They were bringing everything that wouldn't fit into the trunk of my car... and stuff to make sushi with). I swear I told my guests that they didnt' have to help, but james and Margret came down and helped haul my stuff up to the apartment. By the time it was all upstairs, Jenny Jo, Kali, and Badger had joined in the excitement (THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH!!!), and I had a complete living room and bedroom.

We logged into the chatroom and relaxed a bit by doodling on the wall, and I started getting the sushi together.  Tom showed up just in time for Jenny Jo's California Rolls, then told us the fun he's experiencing in getting on a real game show.

   
James (Sir Bastard) doodles on the wall while Jenny Jo masters the art of the California Roll

If you've never played the game "Apples to Apples", it's a fun thing to do in a group, though I doubt anyone who was there will ever look at funerals the same way again. (We certainly won't smell them the same again.)


Jenny Jo and Margret find new meanings to old ideas in Apples to Apples

Periodically we'd check the chatroom and hog the computer for a bit, sharing chat discussion with the IRL group, and marvelling at the worldliness of the chat.  I was secretly thankful that Miss Tree didn't have to sacrifice a live chicken to log in.   Jenny Jo found excitement in a linguistics discussion. Morgana popped up online to ask Margret if I was really the stalker they all thought I was... (NOT a stalker!)

Sunday
Just a small group convened on Sunday. Jenny Jo, Sebastien and I took Margret down to Haight Street via the scenic route from James' place.  We walked through a park to look at pretty houses on the hill and take pictures. Then we spent time and money at Comix Experience (where James gave us proof that he is actually foliage). On the Haight, we wandered into a few shows and stopped for a bite to eat at Escape From New York Pizza (Margret being from New York, the rest of us found this appropriate).  Slowly, we meandered down to Golden Gate Park. Once in the park, we discoverred that all the buildings were closed, so we headed for the Japanese Gardens and tried to avoid the rest of the mob scene of tourists who were there.  In one part of the park someone had set up a boom box while others were skating around on roller skates.  It was all very 80's and a little surreal.

The day ended at James' place, where we all read comics for a bit and were amused by Love and Evil (his cats)... oh, and James, Johnen did frequent Rod's...  Calling it a day (and, really, a weekend), I took Margret back to her Inn and went home to see if anyone was still in the chatroom. With everyone gone, I logged off and thus concluded the ba-FOG Thingie Con.

Anything you'd like to add? Photos to donate? Comments about the site?
Please email me at favourite_stalker@snafu.org.

Back to the Main Altfanthingie Con Page, with info on the online parties globally, and info on future Thingie Cons.