Be Not So Fearful: My 2018 in Review

tara lynne ageeksaga 2018

As I settle in to spend Christmas Eve with my family, eating and exchanging presents, followed by drinking wine and watching Elf with Bekah, I knew it was past time to write about what a crazy, unpredictable, yet somehow good, year 2018 was. So much of what happened this year was unexpected, and it really was a pleasant surprise after a very tough 2017.

In fact, last year a group of us from The Geekiary got together on New Year’s Eve and sent 2017 out with a big FUCK YOU. I then watched the ball drop with Brian, a person I met just over five years ago and who has since become one of my best friends. My very best, really.

To be honest, many of the people who I call my closest friends are people I’ve met within the past five years…which means they likely got to know me when I was at my worst, and then stuck with me through some of my darkest times.

This year, though…this year was different. It wasn’t always great – in fact, at times it was really, really damn hard – but more and more I’ve come to understand that after four years, I can finally, truthfully say that I’ve put myself back together. Yes, there are still pieces missing, and maybe they always will be…but I no longer let those pieces define me, or keep me from making deep connections with people.

I’m not even sure if this past year, and my ability to view it as an overall good year, is a cause or a product of my being so very nearly whole again. But now that 2018 is coming to an end, I can honestly say that I don’t think it matters.

I kicked off the year at MagFest, which was an entirely new experience to me. I got to hang out with Ice & Fire Con friends, play random old video games and pinball machines, watch late-night K-pop dance parties, and be part of a massive 5 AM McDonald’s delivery courtesy of a lawyer who works for (with?) Twitch. I’m not sure I’ll make it back to MagFest anytime soon, but I don’t usually get to truly begin the year with a convention, and I’m glad it was that one.

magfest 2018 tara lynne ageeksaga

That was followed by an extended visit from a good friend of mine, who came all the way from Australia (#sorrynotsorry Scott) to be tortured with caramel M&M’s, the Game of Thrones drinking game, and Hamilton (the musical, of course), among other things. Seriously, there are few things I love more than getting to spend time with convention friends outside of conventions πŸ™‚

tara lynne ageeksaga 2018

In February I ran my first half marathon, Disney’s Princess Half, and wow was that one of the most difficult and amazing things I’ve ever done. I’ve never had a problem running a good 6 miles; I’ve even done so in the nearly 100-degree heat of a Florida summer. But more than 13 miles? I certainly couldn’t have done that back in my 20s, and despite the struggle of that last mile especially, despite the aches and pains I felt for days afterward, I am amazed at what my body can handle at this point in my life.

At what *I* can handle.

disney princess half marathon 2018 tara lynne ageeksaga

In fact, I ran the Star Wars 10K at Disney in April and at that point made my best 10K time ever…and celebrated by getting into Epcot before the park opened for an awesome breakfast, followed by riding Star Tours and drinking a lot of beer.

That was at the beginning of April; later that month was the sixth Ice & Fire Con, and it was…well, it was the best Ice & Fire Con since the very first one, and as the four conventions in between were all awesome, that’s saying something. And while all of that certainly bares repeating, there’s not much need to wax reminiscent about the experience as a whole, since I already did that in my annual Ice & Fire Con love letter.

wizarding world of harry potter 2018 tara lynne ageeksaga

May brought a visit from my good friend from high school, Judith, and although we only had about two days together, her visit combined with The United States of Americon (formerly KiwiCon) made for a great end to my time living in Orlando. Most of the summer was rough; the move itself was not easy, for so many reasons, and then I spent a long time just…getting settled again. There’s more to it than that, of course, but at least those months of struggle had a few high points – like attending the wedding of Ashley and Keith, THE OTP and two of the absolute best people I know.

tara lynne ageeksaga 2018

Right after “Keishleycon” was SDCC, and while that convention is always hit or miss for me, this year was definitely the former. Not only did I get to spend a lot of time with some Ice & Fire Con people and see those relationships grow, but I had great roommates, got to know some acquaintances a bit better, and hit it off with some entirely new friends.

sdcc 2018 tara lynne ageeksaga

I always count Dragon Con as the end of the summer, and this year was definitely one of my best Dragon Cons yet. I wore a lot of costumes, was on a lot of panels, and (surprise surprise?) spent most of my time with Ice & Fire Con pals. It was lovely to have some of those Ice & Fire Con friendships grow at/because of Dragon Con, and I still found time to get to know some other friends better, as well.

dragon con 2018 tara lynne ageeksaga

This fall brought its own challenges, but thankfully I had the best of people by my side, whether they were just listening to me, helping to distract me, or giving me advice. Then I hosted some more visitors and an awesome Halloween party, bested my April 10K time at the Disney Food & Wine 10K, and got to spend basically the entire month of November losing myself in Red Dead Redemption 2.

The year culminated in a birthday extravaganza that’s up there with my 2016 “Florida Bounding” trip and my 30th birthday in Vegas in 2012. I hadn’t been on a straight-up vacation – one in which wasn’t speaking/working at a convention or in a wedding – in two years, and the last time I went on a vacation for more than a few days was back in the summer of 2015. Being able to take the entire week of my birthday off and spend it in California, visiting Disneyland and LA, and then stopping off in Vegas for four days of craziness, was a perfect end to my XXth year on this earth…and an even more perfect beginning to the next one πŸ˜‰

tara lynne ageeksaga disneyland 2018
tara lynne ageeksaga las vegas 2018

There was certainly more to 2018 than races and visitors and vacations, and I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the more ‘everyday’ highlights – things like finally launching my own podcast, having [perhaps too much] fun with The Bitching Dead webcast, helping launch the Greenville chapter of Geek Girl Brunch, taking my niece to a baseball game for her birthday, watching the Red Sox win the world series again…shoot, just generally falling in love with Greenville again.

tara lynne ageeksaga red sox greenville drive 2018

And in case it wasn’t clear, my friends were such a large part of what made this year amazing. To everyone who helped me make all of the aforementioned memories…to everyone who took the time to get to know me, and to let me get to know you…thank you for being you and may 2019 bring you great things <3

As for me? I’m going to barrel into 2019 with a carnival-themed New Year’s Eve party, another Disney half marathon, and a lengthy Ice & Fire Con to-do list…and the hope that I can make next year another good one.

Be not so nervous, be not so frail
Someone watches you, you will not fail
Be not so nervous, be not so frail
Be not so nervous, be not so frail

Be not so sorry for what you’ve done
You must forget them now, it’s done
And when you wake up you will find that you can run
Be not so sorry for what you’ve done
Be not so sorry for what you’ve done

Be not so fearful, be not so pale
Someone watches you, you will not leave the rails
Be not so fearful, be not so pale
Be not so fearful, be not so pale

Be not so sorry for what you’ve done
You must forget them now, it’s done
And when you wake up you will find that you can run
Be not so sorry for what you’ve done
Be not so sorry for what you’ve done

tara lynne ageeksaga 2018

Dear Ice & Fire Con Fam: A Letter From The Organizer

ice and fire con fam

Dear Ice & Fire Con Fam,

I have been struggling to write my annual love letter to this convention even more than usual, because I truly don’t know how to put the way I feel about Ice & Fire Con 2018 into words. In the past I talked about how Ice & Fire Con went from being a goal, to being a reality, to being a lifestyle (for me, anyway), and last year I wrote an ode to this family of ours. I keep thinking, what else is there to say? How can I possibly explain the immense amount of happiness that this event – and the people who attend it – bring me?

The truth is, I can’t. Not really. Anything I write is going to fall short of describing the crazy combination of stress and excitement and anxiety and love that I feel for and about Ice & Fire Con. I’m only human, and sometimes words fail even me.

This year marked our sixth con and our second location change, and with the latter always comes a huge learning curve, one that didn’t exist in 2014, 2015, or 2017, and one that we have hopefully now conquered, as we are returning to Deer Creek in 2019.

ice and fire con fam small councilAnother big change this year was that it was the first time I was the sole organizer of the convention, and I’ll be honest, that was scary as hell. From 2013 until 2016, we were three organizers with an additional four people on the Small Council, while in 2017, it was K-K and I and five Small Council members. There are a lot of pros and cons to being part of an organizing *team* versus being a single organizer with a six-member Small Council to at turns discuss big, important decisions with and go to for back up, and I swear I experienced every single one of those pros and cons leading up to Ice & Fire Con 2018.

The point of spilling my guts about how difficult location changes and organizational upheavals can be – no matter how positive the reasons for them – is to lead into one big ol’ “THANK YOU, all of you.”

Thank you for being understanding when there were little hiccups here and there.

Thank you to the person who gets my vote for Newbie of the Year, Nate, for your invaluable help when we were struggling with the new sound system.

Thank you to Sarah for the use of your iPad to record when we ran into a snag with ours.

Thank you to Australian Chris (gosh I hope I’m not using the wrong spelling there) for the pizza Saturday when I was running on fumes.

Thank you to Aibhril, RJ, Arthur, British Kevin (sorry, gotta distinguish from other Kevins!), and all the other people who bought me drinks just because. (I wish I could remember every single one of you who did but my memory isn’t great even when I’m *not* drinking πŸ˜‰ )ice and fire con fam flea bottom fete

Thank you to the people who danced with me at the Flea Bottom Fete, because I am a damn silly dancer and have no shame about that and you let me be my ridiculous self.

Thank you to the Fandom Faves for plugging us throughout the year and for running some great panels and activities at the con.

Thank you to Beth for the photos…and to Beth AND Andrew for putting up that darn backdrop.

Thank you to the volunteers, because without you, the con itself wouldn’t run.

Thank you to the Small Council members for the extra level of work you guys put in, because without you, the con wouldn’t happen.

(And thank you especially to Chloe for being the closest thing to a second organizer that I had. If anyone can imagine what I look like both with steam coming out of my ears and when I’m craughing like an idiot because I’m so darn hexcited, you can.) (Craughing = cry/laughing; hexcited.= happy/excited)ice and fire con fam westeros an american musical

Thank you to Brian for the musical. While it wouldn’t have been quite what it was without Dom’s lyrical help and a great group of people willing to record themselves and then stand on stage in front of almost the entire convention, Brian was the heart and soul of the production and he’s the one who truly made it what it was…which was, in a word, AWESOME.

As I write this, I keep thinking of new things to add, but if I keep going no one will ever read the whole thing and then what’s the point of having written it at all? Suffice it to say that if I didn’t thank you directly, it’s not because I’m not thinking of you, but rather because this was our biggest year yet and if I listed every single thing and person I was grateful for this would take me ten times longer to write than it already has.

ice and fire con fam karaokeThe bottom line is that as much as Ice & Fire Con is my baby, all of you – the Small Council, the volunteers, the fandom faves, the attendees – all of *you* are what make the planning and the work worthwhile. Several times during this year’s Flea Bottom Fete, I found myself stepping off to the side to just watch all of the people dancing together, and I know this is cheesy but to me, it was beautiful. As someone who was (difficult as it may be to believe, if you only met me in recent years) a shy, quiet, bullied little bookworm for most of my life, in my opinion the most important goal each year is to make sure everyone who comes to Ice & Fire Con feels welcome, that everyone goes home having met at least a few new friends, and – hopefully – that you all feel like part of our weird, silly, ASOIAF/GoT-obsessed family.

ice and fire con fam 2018Obviously it’s next to impossible for me to meet and/or talk to everyone while I’m running around like a chicken with my head cut off at the con, but whether or not we did meet one-on-one, whether or not we had any sort of conversation, please know that my inbox is always open. I know we have room to improve and I’m always willing to hear people out…but hey, if you just want to tell me you had a good time, that sort of shit makes my day πŸ™‚

In my humble opinion, this was the absolute best Ice & Fire Con since our very first one way back in 2013, so again, thank you, thank you, thank you, to everyone who was a part of it.

Yours,
Tara

The Geek Saga Podcast Episode 13: Ice & Fire Con 2018 Very Salty Dornish Panel

tara lynne's geek saga podcast

Episode 13 of The Geek Saga Podcast includes live audio from the “Very Salty Dornish” panel at Ice & Fire Con 2018.

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This Ice & Fire Con 2018 panel focused on the past, present, and future of Dorne and House Martell, and featured some very salty panelist opinions about how they were handled in HBO’s Game of Thrones versus the Song of Ice and Fire book series.

geek saga podcast episode 13 very salty dornish ice and fire con 2018

The Geek Saga Podcast Episode 12: Ice & Fire Con 2018 Fandom of Ice & Fire Panel

tara lynne's geek saga podcast

Episode 12 of The Geek Saga Podcast includes live audio from the “Ice & Fire Fandom: Past, Present, & Future” panel at Ice & Fire Con 2018.

SUBSCRIBE ON iTUNES

This Ice & Fire Con 2018 panel featured prominent fandom members representing the Brotherhood Without Banners, Ice & Fire Con, the ASOIAF subreddit, podcasts, and YouTube channels. They discuss how they got involved in the fandom, how they represent it in present day, and where they feel it is going in the future.

geek saga podcast episode 12 ice and fire fandom panel ice and fire con 2018