A joyful stress — managing everything necessary, letting go of the things I wanted to do but couldn’t, and looking forward to being around people I love who I only see once a year.

This week was all about getting ready for CONpossible, an Atlanta steampunk convention that’s expanded into “all the punks.” I’m the costuming track director, and this year’s theme was “Through the Fairy Ring” — incorporating Aetherpunk, Cottagepunk, and similar aesthetics. Given everything the last few months have thrown at me, I was woefully unprepared going in. The week became an exercise in making the most of what I had on hand and leaning into the more administrative side of my role to maximize the amount of fun everyone else could have.

Saturday was my youngest sister’s birthday. Hi, Lauryl! I slept in, recovering from a long and stressful work week that culminated in a Friday call I thought went poorly. Or rather, it went pretty much exactly as I’d expected after putting considerable time into preparing for it, but not as well as I’d wanted. As happens with me and conversations like this, my rating scale was completely miscalibrated and I had nothing to be concerned about. I spent the rest of the day painting 3D-printed accessories for the con, including a beautiful aetherpunk-themed wallet box complete with magic gems and steampunk gears.

A hand-painted 3D-printed wallet box with ornate gold scrollwork, steampunk gears, and a green gem in the center, held in one hand

I also painted a little raccoon to hide somewhere at the con for a lucky attendee to find. By the end of Friday it was already gone.

A small hand-painted 3D-printed raccoon figurine with detailed gray and white fur, held between two fingers

Sunday was more con preparations — making sure I had trophies ready for the costume contest, sign-up cards printed and cut, and so on.

A costume contest trophy made of interlocking steampunk gears with a purple butterfly perched among them, mounted on a black base

The big event was four or five inches of snow, which is a huge amount for Athens. Juniper and I flung a few snowballs, though it was too fluffy and dry to make good ones. She had a great time out playing in it for a good chunk of the day. Even the deer in the backyard settled in and seemed to be enjoying themselves.

Two deer bedded down in the snow next to a chain-link fence, one looking directly at the camera, with a snow-covered table in the foreground

Monday was a snow day for Juniper’s school, so we got to sleep in. Work by day, more con preparations by night.

Tuesday I had to give an important work presentation, and this one I nailed. It’s going to lead to some projects I’m quite excited about, and I’m sure I’ll have much more to say about that later.

Wednesday was a full work day trying to get everything wrapped up so I wouldn’t have to think about it during the con, followed by final con preparations that evening.

Thursday was spent finishing work and trying to pack all my supplies. I still didn’t have costumes put together, so I ended up putting everything I might use into tote bins and figured I’d improvise in the hotel room each day. After Juniper got out of school, we drove to Atlanta, stopping first at the Vietnamese mega-mart across from the hotel for snacks and then bowls of noodles before checking in and unloading. The rest of the evening was spent on setup — for me, that largely meant making many, many tea sandwiches for the tea salon.

Friday the con started that evening, and much of the day was more setup and getting the space ready. It wasn’t as transformative as turning the Omni into a tropical paradise for Inuhele, but there was plenty to be done and I chipped in where I could. That included more runs to the Vietnamese mega-mart for tea room supplies and banh mis for lunch, plus a stop at the liquor store for a little somethin’ somethin’ for later. The panels started that evening, and as costuming track director I was responsible for several of them. One of my yearly favorites is the costuming show and tell, and I loved seeing everything people brought in to geek out over. So much wonderful creativity — one couple came as Victorian rat catchers with a bunch of whimsical accessories. Juniper improvised a cottagepunk goat look, making the horns and ears from scratch in the hotel room.

A young person in an improvised cottagepunk goat costume with handmade black horns, pointed ears, green face paint markings, and leafy accessories

We had a good hotel dinner and evening social events that lasted late into the night. Despite my trepidations all week, it was an extremely successful and enjoyable first day.

Shipped

I re-assembled an anti-fascist cottagepunk outfit I’d put together last year. All the main pieces were thrifted, and I added patches, pins, Sharpie slogans, and other accessories to create an ensemble that was cozy, raw, and angry — one that declared I was going to do my part to ensure all those fascists bound to lose, all without spilling my tea.

Cooked

Beans. I made a big ol’ pot of beans and ate on them for much of the week. For “Second Christmas” I made us a huge glazed ham, and when we were done I saved the bone. This week I finally brought it out and cooked a pot of fifteen-bean soup — just the regular bag of mixed dried beans from the store — with the bone doing the heavy lifting.

A bowl of fifteen-bean soup with shredded ham in a handmade ceramic bowl with blue and green glaze

I used to make this pretty regularly but it had been literal years since the last time, and there’s no way I’ll let it go that long again. Everyone knows cooking a big pot of beans is really inexpensive for what you get, but it’s also danged tasty.

Thinking About

My role as track director for the con, and whether it’s the best place for me. I love this con so much, but I lack the connections in the larger costuming world to bring in guests and panelists, and I always struggle to fill the schedule. Maybe someone better at that should be in my role and I should find another place to be useful.

What’s Next

Trying to allow myself to get lost in the immersion of the con, despite knowing my professional life for the next couple months will want to be all-consuming when I return.