squishycon 2001

my humble take on a convention devoted to me.
22 January 2001

Eric and Chris had their moment in the sun. I must say the Squishites must have gotten these two in the mood, as Allison and I were in awe. These boys don't usually sing a note at Karaoke parties.

But I had my moment with my DJ.

I call him my DJ now because I gave him a Pretty Pretty Princess ring before I left for the night. When we all met up there again Saturday night, he was still wearing it. Hannah thinks that technically he's now her DJ since she then switched out rings with him, but he was mine first. And even if he doesn't bring me flowers anymore, I'm still number one in his heart.

I'm really bad about taking pictures. And I'm terrible at remembering to get new batteries for my camera. So, this was pretty much all of the picture taking I got to do. Just the first night of singing and meeting everyone.

Saturday was spent being more than just a bit tired, as I had worked like crazy to get most of my stuff done before getting to Vegas, and then being up all night singing and drinking Blue Hawaiis took their toll. We didn't get to sleep until after five the first morning, but I was happy to report I still hadn't gambled a nickel.

I don't know how the deli was the place to meet the next day. I don't know how they knew I had eaten there before, and I'm sure I didn't go, "Y'all must eat at this deli! It's the shiz-nit!" because it's just a fast food place that's really close to the best rollercoaster in the world, but luckily it was right at the bottom of our elevator. We got up, showered, went downstairs and had lunch. Then we rode Manhattan Express. Then we hit the arcade for a while. Allison introduced me to the dangers of Sephora.

We hit some touristy things after that, as Chris hadn't seen much of Vegas. We saw zee vite tigers and checked out The Venetian, which is absolutely beautiful. We saw the Pirate show and would have caught the volcano at the Mirage if it hadn't been shut down for repairs. We cabbed it to Rio and caught the scary Mardi Gras show while we waited for the buffet.

Here's the deal: I'm actually pretty shy around people I don't know. And here was a group of people that knew an awful lot more about me than I knew about them. I kept finding myself sitting there thinking, "Should I just go up to a group of people and talk to them? Should I wait to be approached? Should I make sure everyone gets a secret moment with me?" I was a bit stressed out every time we all got together in a big group. It was much easier when Fred and I were rejoicing over our recent Trollstomp or when Tindo's best thrill ride of the vacation was finding out her purse wasn't actually stolen. In a large crowd like that where I'm not just on stage singing? I really don't know what to do with myself. So I end up sticking to one person or two and hope that people float in and out of the conversation.

I finally did some gambling Saturday night, after riding the Big Shot twice. I lost money. Because it's Vegas. That's what I do. I'm never the big winner. Ever. And it was back to Tong's after that, as the karaoke-seeking group found out that after the night before, the Sahara wasn't hosting Karaoke anymore. I was tired and my throat was sore, and it was clear that we were turning into some way-partied-out Squishites. We took pictures and said the long goodbyes as we started pairing off and going home.

Last night's show went quite well, even though I was nervous that my voice wasn't going to be strong enough. I kicked it into high gear and then totally lost it once the show was over. But it was there when I needed it, much like over the weekend.

We had dinner at a nearby diner after the show last night and got the biggest scare: The Pepsi Girl was in to eat. Y'all, her eyes are black as night.

For more Squishite stories, you can check out Fred's journal (where Eric comes off looking like a cross between Jeff Foxworthy and Gallagher, I think), or Miss "Ericajackson.com" if you're nasty's site.

I'm exhausted. I saw The Gift tonight. That Billy Bob sure does have himself some Daddy issues.

Okay, we did the trial run of Squishycon. I think it went well. Next year we might as well have it someplace cheaper, since all we need is a Karaoke bar and a couple of thrill rides next to a mall and an arcade. Akron, here we come!

Oh, and as we were leaving the casino Sunday morning, the valet pulled up, saw me wearing my crown and said, "Why, you must be the Pretty Pretty Princess!"

Perfect.

Oh, and, the best thing about all of Squishycon?

Crazy Liza, people.

"You made them listen to you sing even after you lost that contest? You're terrible."