why I'm looking forward to vegas
9 Comments Published by katitude on Wednesday, June 28, 2006 at 3:47 p.m..
Ten+ years ago, I was married to a punk rocker (yet another thing I can file under "seemed like a good idea at the time"). Long story, and there were many issues, but honestly, you would think that someone so liberal on the outside would be slightly less.... middle class in their thinking. Turned out his definition of "wife" was substantially different than mine. Life was not fun. Anyhow, back to my story...
Through my brother I ordered my first computer. Except programming courses in college, I'd only ever worked on computers within very defined applications for whatever industry I was in. I liked my expensive toy, liked playing with it, upgrading it (yeah, hold the geek comments to the end please), and reworking my resume yet again. Heard a radio ad for a local ISP and next thing you know I'm Archie-ing and Veronica-ing all over the place.
Now this ISP was very local to the Tee Dot, and small - the brainchild of two brothers Kludge and Bozak (not their real names). Shortly after launching, the services expanded as the www started and included a telnet chat. Now this chat was just for people on the ISP using their soon-to-be-obsolete software, and a motley crew soon showed up.
Dyslexicon was unusual for a chat...there were no moderators, no rules except maybe don't piss off the regulars. The fact that we were all local meant that there were meetups, Future Bakery for coffee and The Phoenix Club for wild and drunk evenings.
The chat was my lifeline. Here I could get the social interaction I needed without any spousal bullshit (of course he had to create some, it's what he did after all). I got to know some truly fabulous people, from some very disparate backgrounds. For a period of about a year, my friendships deepened and my marriage took a step from rocky into precarious. He was no longer the centre of my universe (never was truth be told) and it pissed him off. And he hated the fact that his campaign of belittling was not succeeding - how could it when there were all these great people who thought I was the cat's pajamas?
That part of the story came to it's obvious end. Sad, but inevitable. To this day he blames the internet chat for the breakup. I tend to look at it as the catalyst rather than the cause. Through Dyslexicon, I was able to meet people who I had nothing in common with other than being early-adopter geeks. They stretched my mind, my viewpoints, my awareness. The incestuous little group became a family of sorts...we drank together, partied together, and in a lot of cases, slept together. We supported each other, teased each other, gossiped about each other.
Of course this couldn't sustain itself - one by one people split off, went their own way. The network has become tenuous in a high-school-reunion kind of way: "oh remember Vauxhall, that drawing hobby ended up being a career", "Mino? I heard he moved to Greece and Birnie is now married". You get the picture. Do I still hang around with anyone from D-Con? Yep. I met Jules there, as well as Hunny Bunny.
And my point is, you ask? With the poker bloggers, I feel like I have stumbled on another Dyselxicon. I know I'm late to the party, but the friendships and camaraderie are very real. I can't wait to meet you all, to drink and laugh and drink and jopke and drink and play poker. Because in the words of the inimitable Joe Speaker:
Through my brother I ordered my first computer. Except programming courses in college, I'd only ever worked on computers within very defined applications for whatever industry I was in. I liked my expensive toy, liked playing with it, upgrading it (yeah, hold the geek comments to the end please), and reworking my resume yet again. Heard a radio ad for a local ISP and next thing you know I'm Archie-ing and Veronica-ing all over the place.
Now this ISP was very local to the Tee Dot, and small - the brainchild of two brothers Kludge and Bozak (not their real names). Shortly after launching, the services expanded as the www started and included a telnet chat. Now this chat was just for people on the ISP using their soon-to-be-obsolete software, and a motley crew soon showed up.
Dyslexicon was unusual for a chat...there were no moderators, no rules except maybe don't piss off the regulars. The fact that we were all local meant that there were meetups, Future Bakery for coffee and The Phoenix Club for wild and drunk evenings.
The chat was my lifeline. Here I could get the social interaction I needed without any spousal bullshit (of course he had to create some, it's what he did after all). I got to know some truly fabulous people, from some very disparate backgrounds. For a period of about a year, my friendships deepened and my marriage took a step from rocky into precarious. He was no longer the centre of my universe (never was truth be told) and it pissed him off. And he hated the fact that his campaign of belittling was not succeeding - how could it when there were all these great people who thought I was the cat's pajamas?
That part of the story came to it's obvious end. Sad, but inevitable. To this day he blames the internet chat for the breakup. I tend to look at it as the catalyst rather than the cause. Through Dyslexicon, I was able to meet people who I had nothing in common with other than being early-adopter geeks. They stretched my mind, my viewpoints, my awareness. The incestuous little group became a family of sorts...we drank together, partied together, and in a lot of cases, slept together. We supported each other, teased each other, gossiped about each other.
Of course this couldn't sustain itself - one by one people split off, went their own way. The network has become tenuous in a high-school-reunion kind of way: "oh remember Vauxhall, that drawing hobby ended up being a career", "Mino? I heard he moved to Greece and Birnie is now married". You get the picture. Do I still hang around with anyone from D-Con? Yep. I met Jules there, as well as Hunny Bunny.
And my point is, you ask? With the poker bloggers, I feel like I have stumbled on another Dyselxicon. I know I'm late to the party, but the friendships and camaraderie are very real. I can't wait to meet you all, to drink and laugh and drink and jopke and drink and play poker. Because in the words of the inimitable Joe Speaker:
It's not about the poker, people. It's about the people, people. And the best memories you'll take from the upcoming weekend will not be about raking pots, but about those unplanned, spontaneous moments, of which there will be many.
I'm sooooo there!
Sketch of Feline, By Vauxhall
Awesome post. Now I'm looking even MORE forward to next week!!
Had to create this account just to post (now I guess I should start using it).
Let's draw a circle:
I've been playing the WWDN tournaments since just about the start (granted, I've missed some in between). In fact, we played at the same table last night (I welcomed you as another Torontonian). And for 7 years (or more?)... I was a D-Conner. From around 6 months into its creation to its bitter end. Even spent some time on dcon2000. Went as Astin there as well, think I made it up to officer eventually.
Never made it to the Phoenix, but I was at a few of the Futures meets.
Don't think I knew you, but I did hang out with a lot of fellow d-conners: Static, Babe/Punchie, Raptured, Stampy, Stitchface, Pandora, and many more, occasionally even the previously mentioned Vauxhall... Heck, I even played Vauxhall Jr. on D-Con for a while, for the simple purpose of driving him nuts.
It's a small world.. and Toronto just happens to be a village of 3 million people.
Holy small world, Batman! I remember Static and Pandora, both came to one of my Est-Fests. How bizarre, that we were both on the same talker AND the WWdN, but our paths never really crossed.
Still keep in touch with any of the D-Con crowd?
Okay, I remember the login Astin - I was on D-Con as Loud back then too.
No matter how far I travel in the world, I am continually reminded of how SMALL the darn place is!
Kat..great post which only scratches at the surface of the D-con experience, but definately illustrates why the blogger community is so kewl. Of course, we've all aged (appropriately?) and we're not all sleeping together, but Speaker's right - once again it's about the people
Yup, still keep in touch with a couple of the ol' D-Con crowd. Not surprisingly, there's a bunch of them out in the blogsphere too.
D-Con was bigger than it seemed. After its demise, I'd still meet people who were on there that I never spoke to before. It's always an interesting touchstone to discover.
And Loud - I remember you as well. Might have even met you at one of the Futures meets.
You will have fun, it's required.
Make sure you do "Storm the Castle" and make prop bets on the wheel for pokery type fun.
Great post...I am looking at ways to get out there next week. We'll see.
Thanks for playing in The Mookie last night.
Kat,
Hmmmm. Thought I partied like a rockstar and was fairly in the know in T.O. of the eighties/nineties. Know I'm not so sure. The mention of Vauxhaul is making me crazy its so familiar. Is there anywhere else I would know him (her?) from?
Anyway, it's been a weird 6 months with poker. If you'd told me in January the thing Id be most interested in come July was meeting the 'sphere - I'd think you were nuts.
Cya in Vegas.
Ah, if only I could join the fun. You and all the people I have "met" thus far are such a good time. Perhaps next year I can join the fun in 3D! You have a most excellent blog. I am enjoying reading it quite alot! Thanks!