Thoughts on post-con blues

[beige_alert]

In the wake of DucKon almeda and tigertoy have put up post-con depression posts, which got me thinking about the phenomenon. I think I feel a lot less of it than I used to.

I think one reason is simple. Instead of one con a year, I attend around three plus a bunch of Milwaukee house filks, Barb’s Basement concerts, and the Lytheria parties for Halloween and New Years. The pain of parting is less when the next meeting is not far off.

Somewhat paradoxically, I think that the other factor is that I generally have a better time these days and more social interaction with friends. Not that I never had any social contact before---I think the movie line I’m looking for is from Jade, “I do consider sex to be a social contact”---but on the whole there was a tendency to not actually talk to anyone. I would then be left with a feeling of missed opportunity, my one weekend to make friends wasted.

I’m still shy and socially awkward, but I am a filk performer now, which provides some chance to connect to people, but most of all I’ve spent enough time in small groups with the Milwaukee filk gang and some of the Chicagoans (and others!) who make it up here regularly to have formed some friendships, so I do have some people to talk to, not to mention hug. I may also be gradually getting a bit more comfortable trying to talk to people, with the practice.

Comments

[barbarakitten-t.livejournal.com]

:p

(if i was more creative i'd have a real icon.)

i like this post. and i have added almeda and tigertoy to my friends list so i can read their posts... (if they have any objection, please let me know)

i don't know whether i should be depressed or happy that almost all of my social interaction comes on the 'net and has for years and years ...(in fact, since 1991 when you got me into nn) but i'm truly glad that you and i are friends in RL(tm). and you still give great hugs....

[tigertoy.livejournal.com]

No objection; I just discovered that you were on LJ a couple of days ago myself. I read some of your recent entries, and apparently neglected to add you to my friends list then; I've corrected that.

[tigertoy.livejournal.com]

I think one reason is simple. Instead of one con a year, I attend around three plus a bunch of Milwaukee house filks, Barb’s Basement concerts, and the Lytheria parties for Halloween and New Years. The pain of parting is less when the next meeting is not far off.

Oh yeah, thanks for rubbing it in that you live in Milwaukee where there are tons of cool people you don't have to go to a con to see. *pout*.

Seriously, leaving a con does hurt less when I know I'll be seeing friends again soon than when I know I have weeks or months ahead with nothing much to do but exist. Champaign doesn't have enough filkers to support a housefilk, but it does seem like there ought to be enough fannish people to support some good interaction on a more frequent basis. Hmm. I need to make some effort in that direction.

[beige-alert.livejournal.com]

Well, it's not as if I knew there were tons of cool people here when I moved here. I thought it was just another dull, smallish city where it snows a lot. No con has survived here for more than a few years, but we do seem to have a lot of cool fannish types. We also have people who organize events---Barb and Carol (and Richard and John) in particular, and probably others I'm less aware of. Maybe that's what Champaign needs....