Kielle's version:


I know Subrealicon officially starts tonight (Thursday), but Wednesday
was set for preliminaries and our first few arrivals.

Chris and I got off work late and headed straight for the designated 
Denny's on Harbor and Gisler. It wasn't too long before Trisha and JB 
showed up, Trisha looking tired in her "theme casual" plaid (Disney 
thought a "miner" theme would be cute -- I was thinking "Lumberjack?")
and JB practically vibrating with energy in her much-ballyhoo'ed Cute 
Top. The one which her father almost wouldn't let leave the house. 
Hankie with straps. There WILL be photos. ;)

Anyway, they weren't there long when the waitress came over to tell JB 
that this cute guy at the counter wanted to pay for her coffee. JB went 
over to check...Trisha followed...

...and they returned with Dex.

o.O
O.o

If you don't know what I mean, Dex hails all the way from Toronto; he's 
the fella who organizes the big annual east-coast fanfic meet. So as 
you can imagine he's the last person I'd ever expect to see out here in 
Cali for our little shindig! You've never seen such a huge shit-eating
grin as that boy was wearing, and I'll bet my jaw was somewhere around 
my knees. Holy COW was I surprised! THIS is why this entry was 
privacy-locked until the weekend because his arrival is supposed to be 
a surprise -- I'm looking forward to people being as floored as I was!

Except...no wait, I won't be there to see it...crap. Maybe there'll be 
pictures and other folks' journal entries. :)

One last surprise showed up in the form of David Amaya -- we weren't 
expecting him either, but at least he's a bit more local! -- and then 
Ashlan arrived towing Lisa McKee. You know, Paige? bum, then. I made 
sure to hug her BEFORE telling her who I was, which was rather 
upsetting to the gal, but she's tough. So tough that she practically 
pummelled Dex's shoulder off when somebody finally relented and told 
her who she'd just sat down next to... Very funny.

Painful for poor Dex, but funny. ;)

One disorganized dinner later (nobody seemed to be hungry, including 
me, which was odd) we rendezvouzed back at my place so JB could meet 
Kuzco; he was a little grumpy as we were late home and he hadn't had 
dinner yet and there were more people present than he was accustomed 
to, but they got along well once he convinced her to let the 
French-kissing commence. That bird and mouths, I swear...

Regrettably, we had to shoo the lot out fairly soon, as I had housework 
still remaining and Chris had to go camp out on Justin's doorstep in 
hopes of waylaying him to discuss the condo mess.





And straight from the horse's mouth, here's Dex's version:


So, I got bored and went down to California this weekend.

Alright, it's a bit more complex than that. About two months ago, Frito 
was going to be in Toronto for a conference on the company ticket. We 
were going to book her at the famous Chez Dex and bill her company a 
normal hotel fee. I was going to use that money to go see Jenna in 
California, and try to hit Subrealicon.

Frito's trip fell through, and there was much wailing and rending of
garments. 

So, pecking on my keys, I went searching for a way to do it without 
that cash. My plans came to naught. I looked into budgeting my pay, but 
that proved to be too little, too late as well.

And there was much wailing and rending of garments.

And then, lo and behold, out of the East came Shaiperihawk, riding her 
trusty credit card. I had a ticket. Since Shai is coming to DexCon, I 
traded off fees, and have months to pay back the rest. 

And there was much throat lozange and purchasing of unrended garments.

So, (in Muppet voice) I'm going to California!

Of course, I can't let people know I'm going. What fun would there be 
in that? So, with security that would make the NSA proud, I created 
Operation: Hidden Sock Monkey. The goal: get me to Subrealicon without 
anyone knowing. I had an excellent infiltration team, and a woman 
inside. Frito and Matt Nute ran interference for me, JB snuck me 
details, Ashlan and Shai deflected suspecions, and Abyss got me drunk. 
It was a success.

I got on the plane Wednesday morning, still suffering the effects of 
Tuesday evenings drinking with a co-worker. We flew to Atlanta, over 
some gorgeous country, I might add. Georgia may still be a frightening 
backwoods in my mind, but it has some beautiful terrain from the air. I 
had a brief stopover, and then hit the 747 to LAX. 

I've never seen desert before. I've never seen a canyon before. At 
30,000ft, they look pretty nifty. LA, on the other hand, appears to 
have a layer of asphalt over it. We flew/dug our way through the smog 
layer and landed. I was now in the Bad Place. The place were 6000 
people die every year from air bourne particles. I think they call them 
bullets. 

JB was waiting for me at the gate. The next little bit is private. 
After that, we left for the Denny's, for fine American cuisine and to 
meet the unsuspecting inner cabal of Subrealicon. I arrived seperate 
from her at the Denny's, and sent over a coffee for JB.

Waitress: "The guy at the counter wants to buy you a drink."

Trisha: "Well, is he cute?"

Waitress: *nods*

Trisha: "I should have dressed up. Maybe I should go talk to him."

JB came over to get me, and Kielle and Trisha identified me right off 
the bat. The screams could have been heard across the street. Laersyn 
was also at the table, and we sat down to wait for Ashlan and Bum to 
arrive. We talked, we ate, and when the other two arrived, I got hit a 
whole lot. (thanks Bum!) The upshot was that all agreed to keep my 
arrival secret and Jenna and I left for her house.