That Was the DragonCon That Was.

So, DragonCon.  A great deal of fun, even if there were a higher number of “wherewhereyou?” missed connections and two bouts with a migraine.  Next time, I swear, I will be more organized and set up actual “this is where and when we will be” meetings! Despite that, I had a blast -  fabulous people, both the working pros and the attending fans, and those of us who gleefully straddle both categories. I hope that I was entertaining/informative on my panels [and that everyone who picked up a copy of one of my books on the basis of my entertainment value feels it was $$ well-spent!]

(thanks again to everyone who came out to my reading, and no, guys, you are not allowed to steal my laptop to see what else is on there.  patience is a virtue [or so I’m told])

However, I did have a rather unpleasant experience at the Westin Peachtree where I was staying, when I came back – after an entire day of panels and whatnot – to find my door left ajar.  The workmen who had come in to fix the sink (the faucet handle was broken) had LEFT THE DOOR OPEN when they finished.  Nothing was stolen, but I am very aware that not only was that the luck of the day (my laptop, my passport, and other things of value where in the room) but it would have been damned easy for someone to slip in, close the door behind them, and be waiting when I – all unwitting – unlocked the door late at night.

This was bad enough, but worse is that – after reporting this to security and having then confirm that yes, one of their people had left the door open (via the security card reader)… I heard nothing back from the hotel.  Not a ‘terribly sorry about this,’ not even an acknowledgment that the event occurred.  When I checked out, I spoke to the manager – who immediately went on the defensive, as “how was I to know, I don’t get the security reports, why did you expect anyone to get in touch with you?”

Fail, Westin.  Massive fail.  You had a scenario where a woman might have been assaulted due to the carelessness of one of your employees.  That warrants a write-up for the manager on-duty to follow-up on.  To be defensive about it?  Equates to this customer as “stop making a fuss and leave us alone.”  Is that really the impression you wanted to give?

Anyway, I then headed off to the airport, where we ended up with a 3+ hour hold (including an hour on the plane) because Air Force One had shut down Newark Airport (our destination).  I will give kudos to Continental/Unite – they were scrambling to get us home, and never once made light of the situation or treated us like idiots… and made fabulous time once we were in the air.

And thus ended my DragonCon Weekend.  Next year, WorldCon and DragonCon are on the same weekend, and I’m going to have a hard decision to make….