Here you are, the Main Event

Steam-Con was the only place this week-end where one could shout, 'Hey you, with the top hat and brass goggles!'--two typically distinguishing features--and twenty heads would turn. That is, presuming the Fancy Welder's Society didn't have a get-together as well.

It was really a marvelous weekend, and I can describe it simply in two ways. One: awesome. Two: Next Year.
The people of the con were awesome. Polite, clever, funny, smart, well-costumed and well-versed in what steampunk really was. I was hugely intimidated by the lot, which leads me to my second description.
Next year was mantra between me and my traveling companion, Miss 'Lola Miles'. There was somebody with an absolutely wicked-brilliant costume; next year, we told each other. There was a panel we missed because I forgot my schedule book; next year. We missed a great deal of dancing (albeit badly) to a DJ's music; NEXT YEAR.
This isn't to say that despite all our next-yearing, we didn't have a smashing time. Among our many busy accomplishments, we saw Abney Park live, twice (once for the proper concert and once for a Victorian Sing-a-long), participated to some degree in the Girl Genius Radio Theatre, LARP'ed and found out how to steam-punk our table-top RPG--that is, assuming we ever start one.
Some things at the con were--to me, anyway, rather surprising. Most notably, the average age of the people there. While there was a smattering of minors and a fair few twenty-somethings, the majority of the con-goers appeared to be at least thirty. Perhaps it is strange of me to be surprised like that; who else has the money for SP?
Less notably, but more surprising for me is that the members of Abney Park has their children with them. Only Daniel, the bassist and Captain Robert, lead singer/drummer have them, but the three little girls were both adorable and disarming in their own way. This struck me as Miss Lola and I passed Capt. Robert and his two daughters (Isabella and Chloe, I believe) on their and our way to panels. Truly bizarre.
The aftermath of Steam-Con is not going to leave me soon, I can tell that. I have no desire to tone-down my steam-powered vocabulary anymore, nor to tuck my goggles away safe and sound back onto my lamp. I worked madly toward the end of my con preparations, and I believe though I will keep a slower pace, I will not stop working toward increasing my seamstress skills.
Now the hour is late, and I'm almost done copying all the work-book pages from Hai, Ima! that Ned lent me. It's chock-full of kanji, so it may help me and Joel in the Japanese IV class we're sitting in on.

Yours sincerely,
Murphs