I wrote a brief recap of Readercon 2009 for Tor.com. Unfortunately, it’s one of those cons defined by the company one keeps, so the parts I enjoyed most are hard to recap, since it was, “Then we talked for three hours!”

The recap does mention the announcement to do one-track programming next year, which is apparently now in flux. As I’m not a huge fan of single-track programming, especially for a con this size, how things fall out will probably affect whether or not I go next year.

Two nourishment-related things that did not end up in my recap:

* The number of times I shelled out ten bucks for a garden salad with chickpeas in an attempt to eat something that was not nachos.+
* The number of times I walked the mile-plus round trip to the Starbucks in the Cabot House shopping center (Distinctive Home Furnishings since 1950mumble!). Fun fact: it’s much nicer to make that trip when it’s 78 degrees instead of 105, like last year.

+ I ate a horrendous amount of nachos. I couldn’t bring myself to beg for grilled cheese this year, somehow.

This weekend I attended the third (?) annual SalonCon in Somerset, New Jersey. I went for a chance to hang out with and to catch a glimpse of amazing costumes. And to wear the dress that ate the last week of my life.

I achieved all three of those things, so in that sense the con was an unmitigated success. However, there was a lot going on, and not all of it was great, so SalonCon gets a List.

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Acceptable Subtitles:
The Dressening
My First SalonCon
Has Prom Taught Me Nothing?

I’m been talked into going to SalonCon. Apparently there’s a dance? And we all know what happens when I know there’s a dance – I decide to make my own dress and embark on an ill-advised misadventure!

I snagged this dress at Goodwill:

Now I have to alter it. Should I manage it, I’ll provide “After” pictures. If I fail, I’ll be showing up in something entirely different and you’ll never know what horrible things transpired in the depths of my sewing machine!