Firefly Cargo Blog

BOOK it on Over

2011-11-22T16:26:00.003-05:00

I'm never here anymore. Sorry. Bad blogger. :(

Where I AM on a daily basis is facebook. So hop on over there and like the Firefly Cargo Bay page. I'd certainly take it as a kindness :)

The link is this one right here. I post almost every day, but in short little bursts, so you know, less tedious :)

Polaris News

2011-06-28T11:53:00.004-04:00

Just a mere 18 days away from Polaris in Toronto! Are you going to come out and see Jewel Staite and Adam Baldwin? Are you going to stop by the Firefly Cargo Bay booth in the Dealers' Room? Well, then, you'll need this:

Simply print this out and present it at our booth. You'll get $5.00 off when you spend $25.00 or more (It's their 25th anniversary!) Want to know where to find us from the 15-17th of July? Right in spots F3/F4 of the Richmond Ballroom:

See you there!

Become a Record Producer!

2011-04-28T10:15:00.002-04:00

The Bedlam Bards & Marc Gunn have finished the live recording sessions for their new album, Firefly Drinking Songs. This is a fan-funded project, meaning you have a chance to help finance this album at whichever level is right for you. So here's your chance to be a patron of the arts.

To learn more and show your support, go to

Firefly Drinking Songs CD

Until Next Time:
"Some people juggle geese!"

Patches Back in Stock

2011-03-10T11:40:00.004-05:00

Thank you for your patience while we had the new batch of Browncoat and Serenity Disc patches made. They are now both back in stock and ready to ship!

Back into the Black once more

2011-02-08T19:35:00.001-05:00

The FFCB crew is off to Capricon! All orders placed between now and Monday will be filled first thing Tuesday. (okay, maybe second thing Tuesday)

See you in the world!

Venturing into the Verse

2011-01-23T06:23:00.000-05:00

Our crew will be out in the Black and unreachable from Jan 23- Jan 30. All orders received in that time frame will be processed beginning on the 31st
xie-xie!

New Year, New Shinys!

2011-01-05T12:29:00.005-05:00

Check out the first of the new products in the Firefly Cargo Bay for 2011!

Pub Coasters! Sold singly, or in packs of 4 or 8. Double sided (different images on each side) and 4" in diameter.

Great for keeping spills of Mudders Milk off your furniture!
check em out on the products page of the secret stash.

Ladies and Menfolk, we have a job!

2010-12-28T10:27:00.001-05:00

Did Buddha not bring you a pony or a plastic rocket? Well, Firefly Cargo Bay is open again so you can get your fix of shiny Firefly Goodies!

Dear Buddha Please Bring me a Pony and a Plastic Rocket

2010-12-22T15:45:00.001-05:00

PLEASE NOTE:
FFCB will be CLOSED for Christmas, starting December 23 through December 27. We will reopen for business TUESDAY DECEMBER 28. All orders will be processed in the order they were received at that time. Xie-xie!

Follow FFCB on facebook!

2010-10-29T09:53:00.002-04:00

A customer asked recently, "can I like you on facebook?" And I thought, "I don't have a facebook page for the shop. Why don't I have a facebook page for the shop? I'm always on facebook-- I mean working away diligently on the computer!"

So, now, you can follow me on facebook yea!

I'm still working out some things on the page, but I can guarantee the updates will be more frequent there if not all that in depth!

Until next time:
"Get on the Cortex. Signal everyone who ever sheltered us after a heist"
(quote not directly correct, I know. I'm sorry)

We're In!

2010-09-28T10:18:00.003-04:00

Checking the business books today, I see that Polaris cashed my payment check, so ladies and menfolk, Firefly Cargo Bay is IN! Two tables of Browncoaty goodness in July in Toronto... with ADAM BALDWIN as guest! (Not, unfortunately, at the booth, but at the con in general)

That makes POLARIS 25 the first confirmed show of 2011.

*squee*

Until next time:
"Do we care? Are we caring about that now?"

Yep, That Went Well

2010-09-23T08:55:00.004-04:00

Ni Hao!

I've been working away like a little busy Space Monkey (of the non terrifying variety) since Dragon*Con doing all the necessary post con stuff when I got to thinking, "What am I forgetting? Taxes, inventory sheet, pay consignees, settle up business bills, process back orders.... OH YEAH! Post about it all!"

So here I am shiny Browncoats with the update. In short. Best. Year. Yet. As you may know, I base my coming year's product line and show attending on the money that comes in at D*C (call me wacky, but I like to spend the money I have and not the money I'm projecting i'm going to have... I never did get that aspect of budgeting. I mean, what happens if the money you *expect* to have does not arrive? But I digress...as usual.) So there are conventions in the future of FFCB, there are shiny new products coming in 2011, and we will keep flyin', pushing out just a little bit further, for another year. Yea!

D*C was amazing and the new layout of the tables is working very well. I've also requested a third spot for '11 and hope it works out. Eighteen feet of table! The con was also great because I made more new business contacts and thus began the process of increasing the product I carry. I've currently got 3 new suppliers of shiny 'Verse related goodies working on deals with me. Then there is still the matter of the new products that are stuck in my mind begging to be made. They WILL be a part of the '11 product line.

So, yeah, good all around. And it's always nice to see so many people when I go to cons. I'm actually recognizing faces sometimes too, which is shiny. And the comments and reactions I hear about the stuff at the booth really help me. My job has me, at my computer and dealing with people only on the internet. I have no idea who is looking at my stuff, what they think of it, or how it makes them feel. Hearing and seeing people reassures me that, no, I'm not just doing this for myself. Other people get it.

For that and your continued interest in this little endeavor, I thank you. Sincerely.

Now I'm going to go before I get all mushy. ;)

Until next time:
"You call that 'going well'?"

NOTICE

2010-08-31T21:33:00.001-04:00

FIREFLY CARGO BAY WILL BE OUT IN THE 'VERSE - AT DRAGON*CON IN ATLANTA GEORGIA WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 1 THROUGH WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 8
ORDERS WILL BE PROCESSED IMMEDIATELY UPON RETURN IN THE ORDER THEY WERE RECEIVED. THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATIENCE!!

Find Us!

2010-08-26T10:41:00.005-04:00

As mentioned before, Firefly cargo Bay can unload at Dragon*Con in aisle E tables 27 and 28. So... where is that?

RIGHT HERE:

And that- of course is in the BASEMENT of the Marriott Marquis. Although please stop by the lower lobby levels and see teh Bedlam Bards in the Exhibitors' Halls with the Southeastern Browncoats , who are also giving home to the Browncoats: REDEMPTION crew. Somewhere up there as well is the Austin Browncoats who are shiny shiny people. Be sure to make your rounds!

Until next time:
"I'm a business man, see? Roots in the community"

We have a Docking Bay!

2010-08-10T12:46:00.002-04:00

I just got the official local letter from the good folks at Dragon*Con and Firefly Cargo Bay will be in aisle "E" in the basement of the Marriott hotel. The tables numbers are E27 and E28 but that won't much matter. You just need to find aisle E and then look for the banner with the FFCB logo on it.

SHiny stuff for sale! Big stuff, little stuff, Browncoat stuff, Dr. Who stuff, Whedon stuff, Princess Bride stuff, LOTS of STUFF!

So, 24 days from now, stop in at the 24th Dragon*Con and say Ni Hao!

Can't Stop the Shiny!

2010-06-28T09:57:00.005-04:00

It was another good year for the Toronto Can't Stop the Serenity crew even with the horribleness that was going on just blocks away at the same time. The turnout was very good and the auction bidders brought their cashy money. Naturally, the final donation total won't be in for a while yet, but I know there were several items that went into triple digits. I'm please to say that the parasol I donated (and a crew member got Jewel Staite to autograph) brought in $140.00 for Equality Now . Here it is being modeled by a lovely runner:

All in all, another good year for the local crew.

Until next time:
"We're just happy to be doin' good works."

But Who's Counting?

2010-06-07T11:05:00.003-04:00

I am in the midst of painting the most current batch of Kaylee-Esque parasols (the yellow is drying now) and it has occurred to me that I may be hitting a milestone. I never numbered the finished ones as I went along, but boy, do I wish I had done that now! I think after I finish this batch - 6 in total, for I have found that doing 6 at a time is a good amount for me- I will have hand painted over 100 Kaylee Parasols! By my math with the quantity and number of time I've ordered it's got to be around there. I do have a tabulation of all that sold through the website, but then there are the ones sold at shows, or donated to charity auctions and such. So I really don't know for sure, but I've got to be close, if not over the triple digits.

When I first started making them I was so uptight about it. We had a computer printed spiral as a template. Too mathematical. I ended up pausing the dvd and tracing the pattern off the still image on the screen! Then I had to transfer it to the parasol and paint over the lines so they wouldn't show. One parasol took me hours to do and I was never happy with the results. Some of those first ones were a lot different looking!

It was during this frustration that I finally hit the simple answer that was in front of me all the time. I was griping that I was putting all this work into replicating something that some prop person probably just whipped out fast without thinking much about it. Yep, that simple- Kaylee *would* have done her parasol freehand and with a light attitude. So I put myself in a Keylee frame of mind and have been much happier with the parasol results ever since.

I also remember the first time I ordered the supplies- I thought getting enough for 12 parasols was going to be too much. I'd never sell 12 of them after all! Hee!

So, here's to the next 100!

Until next time:
"Everything's shiny Captain!"

Off to Mary-Land

2010-05-26T11:11:00.007-04:00

I'm beginning to think that a post is nothing more than something that holds up a power line. It certainly doesn't apply to this blog, 'eh? Another month has gone by and no updates.

Because I've been BUSY! That's a good thing for FFCB followers! Mostly, I've been pulling stuff together for various Can't Stop the Serenity screenings around North America. Want to know what I've been doing? Then head out to the Toronto showing or the one hosted by the Seattle Browncoats or even Whedonfest 2010. Actually, attend any of the 2010 CStS events and you'll see FFCB represented. This is due in part to my undying love for, I mean working relationship with the Browncoats: REDEMPTION team.

Incidentally, just as a FYI, the Toronto Browncoats have taken phone bids in the past on auction items if you've got your eye on that parasol signed by Jewel. Contact them to learn more.

Okay, what else.....? Oh! Shipping!

I have been working with a wonderful woman in the local Canadian Postal Outlet and she's helped enormously. They all recommended the card for small business discounts, but that doesn't help all that much- maybe a buck here or there once a month or so with what I ship. But lovely Jan analyzed *why* things were costing so much and was able to make suggestions. By cutting my boxes ONE INCH smaller they qualified for the cheaper price bracket, thus saving about 5 dollars EVERY SHIPMENT! What does that mean? Well, the shiny news is that FFCB can now LOWER its shipping charge! Yea! Win for everybody! Oh, and to my American readers; Do NOT let your postal system go private. You have NO IDEA how great and wonderful the US Postal System is. Seriously, I lived there 27 years and here 15 years and I still use the USPS whenever I can.

Also, I have solved the problem of things getting stuck in customs for over two months (do you believe that? Neither did I!). Turns out, all I had to do was switch packaging. I noticed the trend that it was only the Kaylee-Esque Parasols that were being delayed. I went on a hunch and changed from mailing tubes to rectangular boxes. Sure enough, no more delays. What customs has against mailing tubes I do not know, but now I no longer need to know. So, as far as I can tell, delay problem gone! Shiny!

I wish this was the end of the post and happy news just continued. Sadly, Jan was diagnosed with and died from cancer all in one week in mid April. That's 2 people I've lost to the disease in less than 3 weeks. Dear Death, you suck. ANYWAY! She was a good business friend and I will think of her any time I ship stuff out to you shiny Browncoats. She will guide your orders to you I'm sure.

So, next up is Balticon! with Tanya Huff as GoH. Tanya is a great writer, friend and all round lovely lady. She'll be wearing her writer hat, her musician hat (in the filk circles and such) and her crazy-hyped-up-cause-we're-at-a-con hat this weekend. Such fun! All the merchandise for the Firefly Cargo Bay booth is safely (I hope!) sitting at the hotel waiting for my arrival. Squee! Come see the shinys!

Now, I've rambled long enough. Time to pack! I'm putting more merchandise in my suitcase and I hope I have room for clothes. If not, I'll certainly be able to go through the security screening at the airport much faster!

Until next time:
"Yep. That went well."

This is What I'm Uncomprehending On...

2010-04-23T10:26:00.007-04:00

I just reread my last post and can tell how whimsical in the brainpan I was. I said we'd reopen on Tuesday April 12, but was making the post on Monday April 12!! I meant Monday the 19th in the posting, but we're even past that point now! Gorram it!

Anyway! Mundane life sucks! Fandom rules! We're flyin' once again and slowly getting caught up after losing the entire month of April so far! All orders are being processed on time again and the back log is cleared. Thank you all for your understanding.

NOW! Norwescon!
Norwescon was Oh. So. Shiny. I was a little anxious about how I'd run such a large show on my own. Not a problem thanks to the wonderful con com and staff and volunteers. Seriously, it was the easiest show I've run in the 3 years I've been doing dealers' rooms! It was the first show with the full arsenal of buttons out and they were a huge hit. I will be restocking and maybe adding more (although I have over 100 designs already!) The shiny QMx products were available there too and I need to restock those as well. Thank you Seattle area Browncoats and sci fi fans for making Norwescon so enjoyable and worth the trip all the way across the continent! I plan to be back next year!

FilKontario was a surreal weekend for me, what with all the personal stuff going on. But I couldn't have been at a better place when this happened. Thank you again to my filk family for, well, just being you!

Okay, other updates...
The raffle of the Fruity Oaty Dolls got a great response when I posted it, with lots of people saying they wanted them. However, only ONE person actually entered the raffle! This actually worked out okay, because I discovered since then that there are legal issues in Ontario with running a raffle. It totally didn't serve the purpose of raising money to help offset the cost of the upcoming Bards Without Borders Duex, though. Ah well, the best laid plans, as they say....

So, now I'm catching up with the April stuff and looking forward to convention 3 of 6 for 2010: Balitcon!!! This is another one I'm running on my own, so it should prove to be interesting! More updates as I can get to them....!

Until next time:
"Wow, Simon. That was... historical."

April Updates

2010-04-12T09:01:00.004-04:00

Ni Hao,

Just a quick word here, even though there is much to update.

I have returned from Norwescon and FilKONtario on back to back weekends. Con updates will be coming, as well as updates on that raffle of the Fruity Oaty Dolls.

However, since April 3, my mother-in-law fell gravely ill and subsequently passed away. Naturally this has thrown our normal family life and schedule into chaos.

Firefly Cargo Bay is a one woman operation and although I try to be as efficient as possible and get those shinys out to you wonderful Browncoats, sometime I have to let the mundane world supersede my fandom. Obviously this is one of those times.

So I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause, but FFCB will be closed until Tuesday April 12. Orders will be accepted and processed in the chronology they were received.

Thank you for your understanding.

NEW SHINYS!

2010-03-18T16:33:00.007-04:00

Okay, get your squee-ing voices ready! I have just added the latest products to the page at Firefly Cargo Bay and they are gorram shiny, if I say so myself!

There are several QMx products there including the new Atlas of the Verse as well as the wave card sets, BDH poster sets, Bank Heist Money and there will be more official QMx items to come. Scan down the page to fin the header "QMX ITEM!" to find them all

Also new to the secret stash are items that can't be fond anywhere else. I've already shown you the cool, if somewhat creepy Fruity Oaty Dolls. Joining them is a new item I am absolutely thrilled about. These genuine leather wristbands are not available ANYWHERE ELSE. The designs are browncoat specific and are engraved right into the leather. They come in brown (with "Browncoat" and the independent emblem on it) and red (with "Serenity" and the chinese for serenity and an outline inspired by a very familiar ship)

Oh, there's also a second version of the serenity necklace that's been in the shop for a year or so. This one is a little more elegant, so I'm calling it the Companion Necklace.

Check out all the new shinys to be found in the secret stash!

Until next time:
"Oooh! Look at all the pretties!"

Bringing the Bards to Toronto

2010-03-12T13:35:00.003-05:00

You may remember, this fall we have Bards Without Borders Deux coming up. Those crazy Bedlam Bards choose to live in Texas, which, as you know, is a long way from Toronto! It's going to take some considerable amounts of cashy money to pay the expenses to get them up here.

With that in mind, Firefly Cargo Bay will be holding monthly raffles in which you can win shiny shiny stuff not available anywhere else. And since today is my birthday, I decided to start the first one now!

Here's how it's going to work. If you'd like to enter the drawing, paypal the amount to paddison at kos dot net and you're in. Simply put "March Raffle" or Bards without Borders Draw" or something similar in the subject line or somewhere on the transaction. You need not give me postal information or anything other than your email and the amount. Please note that this raffle is being conducted IN CANADIAN FUNDS. Two weeks from today (Mar 26) I will take all the entered emails and draw one at random and that person wins. I *will not* be using these emails addresses for anything other than the draw- no worries of spamming here (I don't have time for that kinda crap anyway). I will contact the winner for mailing address and post here the results. Then in april we'll do it all over again with shiny new prizes.

I will verify receipt of the transaction via email and keep records of the accounts. The Bards Without Borders ledgers will be posted periodically, and will be available anytime on request. Any moneys raised that exceed the costs of bring the Bards back to town will be donated to Browncoats: REDEMPTION

Tickets cost 3 for $5.00, 10 for $10.00 and 30 for $25.00. Wanna know what's up first? How 'bout a set of Fruity Oaty Dolls!
This is a set of 3 hand made (and I mean HAND- I don't own a sewing machine!) rag dolls inspired by the wild commercial in "Serenity". No subliminal message comes with these dolls however. You do get a little foam Fruity Oaty Bar though! Each doll stands over 19" tall (from toes to top of head).

So what do you say? It's not mandatory, but these dolls could all be yours!

2010-02-19T15:28:00.003-05:00

The Bards are Back in Town!

Well, okay, not yet- but they're coming! Cedric and Hawke, better known as the BEDLAM BARDS will be back in Toronto come November for "Bards Without Borders Deux"!

They will be appearing the weekend of November 19-21 at SFContario, Toronto's newest science fiction convention, celebrating the best of science fiction and fantasy. SFContario will include the content of literature, media, and visual arts, the educational and academic aspects of science and culture, and the participatory and social aspects such as costuming, gaming, filking, fanzines, online fandom, and other fannish activities. The con will have 3 days of activities will focusing more on creativity, both content (books, art, and media) and fan activity (filking, costuming, gaming, etc.)

The Bards will have a full concert in the main convention room as well as hosting panels, workshops and maybe even some hypnosis sessions throughout the entire weekend. Other Browncoat specific activities will be going on as well during the con. Plus, if you clearly put somewhere on your membership form "I AM A BROWNCOAT" you will receive a special goodie bag at registration!!

Oh, and did I mention Firefly Cargo Bay will be in the dealers' room with a full 2 tables of shiny stuff for sale? The whole new 2010 product line which also features some gems from QMx!

So, what are you waiting for?!?!?!? Get on over to SFContario and get yourself registered! Don't forget to include "I AM A BROWNCOAT" on your membership form! Free shinys, after all and that's quite a discount, because 10% of nothin is... let me do the math here... nothin into nothin carry the nothin.....

Is It September Yet?

2010-02-16T11:03:00.003-05:00

My mother always told me not to wish my life away, but it's hard not to when the movie Browncoats: REDEMPTION comes out in September.
Here is the latest trailer now live on their site.

SHINY!
(hey, I know some of those people in there!)

Until next time:
"Wacky fun!"

CONfirmed

2010-02-05T11:22:00.005-05:00

Ni Hao!

I've been busy scanning the airline web pages trying to figure out the mystery that is best air fare rates. So far, I'm losing.

ANYWAY, I'm doing this because of the six cons I decided to work this year, I'm definitely in for four of them. The are, in timeline order...

Norwescon. I'm working this big con on my own, so if you're in the Seattle area and planning on attending, please be sure to stop by the booth! And bring food ;)

FilKONtario. My filk related merchandise will be in the interfilk bazaar being sold by the wonderful FKO volunteers. I'll be around the con itself actually taking part! Yea me!

Confluence. Returning to my home town with a full FFCB booth at this great con. Come to the 'Burgh and see all the new shinys I have!

Dragon*Con. Back for our 3rd big year! A full FFCB booth and the release of Browncoats:REDEMPTION Why would you *not* be there?!??! (psst: there will be more than a few shiny BC:R items available at the Firefly Cargo Bay booth in the Marriott dealers room-- BOTTOM floor!!!)

Also on tap, but not confirmed are Balticon with wonderful author GoH Tanya Huff. I should know by mid-March if they're letting me in the dealers' room. I'll post when I know for sure.

The last con of 2010 will be hopefully, SFContario. This is Toronto's newest scifi convention and looks very promising. They do have a music track and this should be of note to Browncoats in the area because we are working on (hush hush now--) BARDS WITHOUT BORDERS DEUX!!!!! That's right, ladies and menfolk, we're planning on getting the Bedlam Bards back through customs for music and mayhem! Hhmm.. and now that I've just broadwaved that I guess I really HAVE to make it happen now.... Well, I've never been known to be one not to overstep boundaries!

ON A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT TOPIC TO DISTRACT YOU FROM MY PREMATURE ANNOUNCEMENT :)

I have completed the sequel to my (I'm so proud) very popular Youtube video Motivated by Firefly and am thrilled to present Still Motivated by Firefly. Enjoy!

Until next time:
"Some people juggle geese!"

A SHINY New Year!

2010-01-29T10:49:00.005-05:00

Ni Hao!

Just a quick post to let you know that the NEW SHINYS for 2010 are starting to make their way into the Firefly Cargo Bay! Some are original items I'm making myself, others are exclusive items I'm having produced and some are from those 'verse lovin' folks at QMx! All very squee worthy and all coming in the next few weeks.

Watch this space for further details!

Until next time:
"Oh! Look at all the pretties!"

FFCB is IN At Norwescon!

2010-01-09T12:28:00.003-05:00

Just got the word today that FFCB is confirmed for two tables in the dealers of Norwescon33 in Seattle April 1-4. And can you guess what I'm going to say...? Yep-- SQUEE!

Now... I will post more about this later, but for the moment I'm looking for someone to help me work the booth, as my usual lackey will most likely not be able to make it. You will need to find you own accommodations, and transportation, but membership to the con is covered.

Let me know if you're interested.

Until next time:
"Ladies and Menfolk, we have a job."

Not Quite Back, But Working Anyway

2009-12-30T16:55:00.005-05:00

Ni Hao and Happy (almost) New Year!

I'm back at the ol' Cortex keyboard and working on getting Firefly Cargo Bay's line up of convention attendances going for 2010. As mentioned before, we are confirmed for Dragon*Con in Atlanta for Labor Day weekend. Other possibilities are:

Norwescon 33 in Seattle April 1-4 (waiting on acceptance or not)
FKO Toronto April 9-11 (will have the filk related items at the interfilk bazaar, but not a separate FFCB booth)
Balticon Baltimore May 28-31 (awaiting response from organizers)
Confluence Pittsburgh July 23-25 (undecided if I'm attending again this year)
Dragon*Con Atlanta Sept 3-6 (we're SO there mei mei!)
SFContario Toronto November 19-21 (not applied yet, but will most likely have a full booth here of all the shinys)

That's all on the line up for now. I was going to attend Conflikt in Seattle at the end of January but my Permenant Resident card won't be renewed in time to leave the country- and be allowed back in!. I also scratched Orycon from the list although it pained me to do so. This has con has come highly recommended by some filkers who love it, but there aren't that many flights from here to there, and I'm having trouble working out the logistics. Plus, I found out that to get to the dealers' room, guests have to go outside the hotel to the exhibit hall. Going anywhere away from the con (even if it's at the far end of the hotel inside) doesn't bode well for dealer sales. I learned that the hard way at DucKon.

So, that's what's in the works at this point. Six is a good number and they are spaced out in time and local a bit, too. I'm thinking if I don't get in some places I'll add other cons to keep the number at six. I'd like to do more, but I haven't found that man from Gallifray to help get me and my stuff all the places I want to be!! (yes, I know, wrong fandom! But the TARDIS could get me to so many more cons than Serenity could-- even ones I've already missed!)

Now... you're up to date!

Until Next Time:
"I may not be a fancy gentleman like yourself, with your very fine hat. But I'm here for business."

Closed for the Holidays

2009-12-22T16:47:00.002-05:00

Browncoats! Go forth and celebrate whatever it is you celebrate! And if you don't celebrate anything.... then party on someone else's behalf! It's cold and dark out there gorram it- gotta party just t get through!

I will be closing the Cargo Bay doors until next week. Any orders that come in during that time will be processed in the order they were received once I get back (Monday). Until then, Happy Holidays!

Until next time:
"Dear Buddha, please bring me a pony and a plastic rocket."

OOOOO Ficial!

2009-12-14T15:44:00.002-05:00

Got the official "yes you paid for your space in Dragon*con 2010" letter in the mail today. It's on their letterhead and everything, so, woot! Firefly Cargo Bay is confirmed for 2 tables in the dealers' hall again! *squee!*

Naturally there is no location of said tables yet, as it's not even '10, but WE'RE THERE!!!!!!!!!

Damned Allied Postal System

2009-11-06T11:14:00.004-05:00

Ni Hao!

You may or may not know that the hub of operations for Firefly Cargo Bay is located in Canada. Now, I love living here, but running a small business from Canada when 99% of your customers are located in the States is not always the easiest. My main problem of late deals with shipping.

Now, things usually take about 2 weeks to get from me over that invisible line to anyone in the States. That was bad enough, but tolerable. See, they would always clear customs at Detroit or Buffalo or where ever the package crossed. Once they made it through there, they would be delivered to the person the next day.

Since September they all seem to go to a bulk processing post office in New Jersey (I know this because we had a long heated discussion about these policies with Canada Post recently). There it can sit until they damn well please. Seriously. Both countries' post offices say to us, "It's Customs, they can do whatever they want." Are you friggin' kidding me??!?!?

Now, I've discussed the matter with Ma Cobb to see how she handles shipping. She sends her stuff regular air mail and she says for the most part things arrive okay and in a timely manner. I'm a little leery of doing that because it doesn't come with a tracking number. Therefore if it doesn't arrive I A) don't know where it is and B) can make no claim on it. Unlike the Postal System, I do not like having to tell customers "oh well, you're S.O.L!"

So, where soes that leave us? I'm not quite sure. I'm looking into starting to ship UPS because the cost is not that much higher. HOWEVER I have no way of knowing what the brokerage costs would be and if the customer would have to pay any duty or taxes and such. I've looked into the next highest up method for the post office because they say the guarantee delivery in 6 days. When pressed, the postal agent admitted that was guaranteed to the customs point. And then again, it could sit forever.

I do not know what I want to finally do about all this at this point, but I am telling you it all because I want to let you know I am aware of the crappy situation. I am not happy about it in the least and I am working to rectify it. *Sigh* How come it never goes smooth?

Anyway! Hang in there with me please. I'm sure we'll get it all sorted out in the end. I'll keep you posted. No. Wait. If I keep you "posted" you won't find out anything for over a month! I'll keep you informed! :)

Until next time:
"Things always seem to get a little more complicated, don't they, sir?"

Browncoats Beware!

2009-10-19T11:32:00.003-04:00

I got this email from a customer who told what happened after he flew his Browncoat Independence Flag outside his home:
"We ran the flag up the pole and had a police officer visit to ask if it was a terrorist flag. As a terrorist expert that was a new one on me." ~P.C. Tuscon, ARIZONA. I, myself don't know what to make of that, but got a laugh out of it just the same.

Annnywaaaay...
In other news, I will be out in the Black at the end of the week attending OVFF and will be unable to process orders until I return on Tuesday (Oct 27). Please note that I will be filling orders up until and including Wednesday, and will even ship them from the States if I have to. All others will be processed as soon as I return, and in the the order they were received, as usual I'm-away-at-a-show procedure.

You may have noticed I said I was "attending" OVFF and not "working" it. Yep, I scheduled in a working vacation- just going to check out the show and see where I can spread my Browncoaty Goodness! Yea me.

So, stay shiny and keep flying all you wonderful Browncoats! See you in the world.

Until next time:
"I wasn't planning on any dirt-kissing, Sir."

Someone Took my September!

2009-09-28T10:12:00.006-04:00

Wait? What? Last week of September? No no, it couldn't be- I just got back from Dragon*Con! Whoa! That went... well, WHOOSH!

Okay, I will spare you all the fangirl squeishness that was Dragon*Con for me this year and just give you the bottom line: It was a huge success! After last year's shipping fiasco that cost me more than I could have ever made, I was hoping to bring in about the same amount of sales as last year just to be on par with expectations. Well shiny Browncoats must have been saving their coin for D*C because sales were almost double what they were last year! (It also helped that we were in a slightly better location and that we had 2 tables instead of one).

What does this mean for all of you? More shinys! Yes, my con and merchandise budget is based mainly on what happens at D*C. Because sales were so phenomenal (and I'm not repeating it to brag- I'm repeating it to stress how stunned I am!) Firefly Cargo Bay will be able to go out to the black and hit 5 or maybe even 6 cons in 2010! And I'm aiming for some new ones this year (hit some of those border worlds I haven't seen yet).

It also means that I can afford to purchase or have made or buy the supplies to make brand new shiny goods for the the secret stash including some more of the official stuff from QMx, since I am one of their official retailers after all. Believe me when I say that I already have ideas aplenty for new shiny stuff!

On the down side, since Dragon*Con was so good sales wise it means my on hand stock is pretty well depleted. So far this has not had an impact on web site sales (after all, the Cafe Press site is usually always in stock of whatever you want) as everything that's been ordered since D*C I had extras of here. Rest assured I am working on filling up the crates again with all the Browncoaty Goodness I can.

There are some things that are going to be pulled out of the Cargo Hold however. Some sizes of the flags just didn't sell as well as hoped and have not had good enough sales to warrant a reorder. The remaining 16"X 24" Independent Flags have gone on clearance sale and when they're gone, they're gone (price reduction is now/ will be shortly evident on the FFCB products page for all clearance items). Same story for the Browncoat Car Flag. There has also been a price drop on the books Finding Serenity and Serenity Found. Check out all the new updates at the FFCB site.

Unfortunately, until further notice, the Companion Fan will have to be pulled from the site. My supplier only offers the fans in green and navy now instead of the Inara-ish burgundy. I have been looking for suitable replacements, but as yet have not found one of high enough quality.

So, okay, I think I've rambled long enough here. I need to get back to work updating the FFCB web site and restocking and getting my gorram butt in gear on working on those new items! Updates when things progress (or I remember to blog about it- whichever comes first!)

(Oh, and BTW I have reserved my spot for next year's Dragon*Con already- paid in full and on file- so FIREFLY CARGO BAY WILL BE AT DRAGON*CON 2010!!!!!!!)

Until next time:
"It's good to have cargo. 'Course that makes you a target for every other smuggler out there, but that can be fun too."

Browncoats: Redemption

2009-09-15T10:13:00.005-04:00

Okay, the full Dragon*Con recap will be coming in the days to come, plus exciting product updates. But in the meantime, do yourself a kindness and check out the teaser trailer for Browncoats: Redemption, the Whedon-blessed fan made film. It's going to be oh. so. shiny!

Until next time:
no quote- just go watch the gorram good trailer already! :)

Are We There Yet?

2009-09-01T21:50:00.004-04:00

In under 72 hours now I will be on my way to Geek Mecca! Yes, it's Dragon*Con time once again! *SQUEE!*

I'm very excited about all the secret shinys that will be previewed only at the Firefly Cargo Bay Booth in the BASEMENT of the Marriott Marquis in Atlanta this weekend. They're so new I don't even have them in Secret Stash yet! Naturally, there are the new buttons, but also at least 3 other items that have not been offered before.

OKAY! I can't wait! Here's a hint:

There- I feel better. And I didn't *say* anything! Oh, hey, I also have free Kaylee Strawberry Candies to give out, so, stop by for sure.

I'm packed, got my tickets and the shinys and pretties are already in the Marriott's storage locker. JUST GET ME THERE ALREADY!

Until next time:
"Don't usually see you two planetside"

Cleared for Docking

2009-08-13T10:36:00.005-04:00

Ni Hao!

Great news- I've gotten official word from the folks at Dragon*Con and I can announce that Firefly Cargo Bay has a home in the dealers' room on the BASEMENT LEVEL of the Marriott Marquis. We have a *little* better location than last year. That coupled with the fact that I have two tables this year instead of one should make it easier for all you shiny Browncoats (and other geeks that I love so much) to be able to find us.

What else do you want me to do? Draw you a map? Um..... Okay!

The "enter" highlighted in orange is the only way in and out of the dealers' room. (right at the base of the down escalator going to the VERY LOWEST LEVEL). You will find FFCB pointed out there in the first of the short rows.

As I said, I have 2 tables this year, and a banner with my logo and I'll have my parasol up that reads "Kaylee Parasols Sold Here" so you should be able to find me this year. When you do, be sure to say hi! I'll be there for most of the open hours.

You may have noticed that I have stressed that the dealers' room is on THE LOWEST LEVEL of the hotel on the BASEMENT floor several times now. That is for 2 reasons. First, the floor above us holds the two exhibitors' halls. They look very much like dealers' rooms and the same sorts of things go on there. Many folks told me last year they couldn't find my booth. Then we discovered that they were on the wrong floor and never made it down to the dealers' room at all. This brings up point number two- the elevator of the hotel doesn't go to the basement level. Really. Nice way to make it difficult for us, 'eh? So you have to get on the escalators and keep riding them down until you can go no further. Walk off that one, show your badge and enter the dealers' room.

I'll see you in 21 days! (*squee!*)

And speaking of squee worthiness, Ma Cobb's Hat Shoppe is featuring the buttons I supplied her with as her August/September Free Give-Away!! These were the first button designs I worked with when I got my button making machine. Since then I have added lots more in each theme and more themes as well. These will all be at Dragon*Con as well, so come check them out there. They will also be up in the Secret Stash right around the time of, or shortly after Dragon*Con. Thanks to Ma Cobb for showing them off so beautifully!

So, hey, exciting stuff! But now I must get back to getting ready for my trip to Geek Mecca. Only three weeks away! See you there!

Until Next Time:
"Don't I usually stay with the ship?"

Back from the Black

2009-08-09T22:12:00.002-04:00

Ni Hao!

Sorry it took so long for me to post, but I sold out of the last of my available Kaylee-Esque parasols and have been busy painting shiny swirls on 2 dozen of them to replenish. But I had a wonderful convention in Pittsburgh, and would like to share (no pictures yet, as my minions have not sent them to me)Here it is! The Confluence report! Contain your excitement.

I'm back from Confluence now and WOW what a weekend! So much fun! Faces and voices new (to me) and old and lots of good music and eats (and sales- the business woman in me goes *whew*) A full report after I get resettled a little but now some highlights:

Cedric !!! Yea! Awesome concert with great reaction from the people who hadn't seen him before -- ever (I rarely get to be in a crowd that doesn't know his and the Bedlam Bards stuff well!)

Friday night filk-- I ended up sitting by Toyboat; unintentional groupie *blush* Also singing along with "Ladies Don't Do those Things" (one of my favorites!) in an impromptu trio (granted there were only about 8 people left in the room at that point anyway)

breakfast at Eggs n' At- it's a Pittsburgh thing... and so am I! :)

hearing someone describe my booth as "a geek's wet dream!"

dinner at Permanti Brothers (again, a Pittsburgh thing)

"The Girl in the Firefly" musical play-- SO squee worthy! L-O-V-E-D it!

More Difficulties concert so enjoyable! I heard "Cranes Over Hiroshima" for the first time there (remember- I'm still *really* new to filk here!) I had a hard time with it because a 10 year old neighbor was just diagnosed with leukemia this month, and the song- and the fact that it was being signed as well- really got to me.

adding to my filk cd collection some more *bounce bounce*

being in Saturday night's filk circle with the Fictitious Husband- first time ever! Got confirmation that Eric Coleman is a dangerous man behind the guitar! I think I believe him when he said we were all lucky his songbook was upstairs. Also discovered that Mark Bernstein LOOKS like a nice guy, but is really an evil, evil man (ask him to perform his Punfinished Symphony if you dare!) Plus, Blind Lemming Chiffon performed his "I am the Carpenter" which delights me to no end.

Got to catch the Heather Dale concert- although due to a failure to communicate, the Fictitious Husband and Thing One and Thing Two did not. My children did have people singing to them, though later- in the dealers' room, in the elevator and at the afternoon filk circle- they totally are hooked now! (and have I mentioned how great I think it is that a sci fi convention is being held in Moon Township?)

On Friday I got up and ready and went to breakfast. When I came back I organized things for rapid set up of the booth the minute I was allowed in the dealers' room. This was at noon. We set up in the best booth location ever! (the guys next to us brought homemade brownies and were happy to share) We had an hour before opening, so we went across the street for munchies/dinner. We worked from 5-8 and the booth got a good reception and decent sales.

On Saturday I had breakfast with sister, brother-in-law and Cedric at Eggs n' At . I went to work at 10, but snuck out to catch the Power Salad concert at 1. I left that at 1:15. It was already too loud and he kept telling the sound guy to turn up the music track. Either I wasn't in the mood, or he wasn't my style, because i wasn't enjoying it. I went back to the booth. We worked until 6 and then got dinner at the Primanti's location there. Still good food, but it just taste better with the atmosphere of The Strip. Soon it was time for the play and we waited in the lobby with, I think, everyone else who attended the con, under disapproving glares from hotel staff. I was very much looking forward to seeing "The Girl in the Firefly" and the Parsec players did not disappoint! I had a wonderful time and enjoyed the mash up of Doctor Who and Firefly immensely.

Sunday I was back at Egg n' At for breakfast and then to work. By 1 I started the inventory and packing the booth up little by little. At three I began getting it all together in earnest and we were done by... 5? I hauled the stuff up to my room to seal it all up and label it for the next shipment which is (*squee*) Dragon*Con in a mere 25 days!

I had a wonderful weekend and will most likely be back again to Confluence in 2010

Okay, so enough rambling here! I'm happy to have a good con report to share and sorry I inflicted such a long one on yinz guys! In short, Firefly Cargo Bay is back on track so the financial future is looking a little less scary at this point.

And that? Well, that's just shiny!

Until next time:
"Yep. That went well."

Into the Black

2009-07-22T11:40:00.004-04:00

It's just hours now (albeit in the double digit hours) until we head out for Confluence *squee!* A con in my home town! *squee*

I'm finishing up the new batch of Kaylee-Esque parasols and have a whole box of new shinys due to my new toy. I'm excited to see how they go over.

Unfortunately though I am not a member of the 21st Century- I do not own a lap top. So I will be away from the Cortex until Tuesday. Be assured though, that there will b a full con report when I return.

(now i have t get back to the 100 things I have to do before we leave!)

Until next time:
"see you in the world."

All Over the PLace

2009-07-16T10:45:00.003-04:00

here are just some general updates to let you know that I'm not just out there floatin' in the Black with Jubal Early:

I've been watching the first complete month with Cafe Press' new pricing policy. And from what I can tell, their prices are higher than mine on practically every item. Seriously.

How this now works is something like this; If you go directly to my shop and find a design that you like- say the Evil Laugh one - and want to buy a mini poster print of it, you will pay $6.99. Of that, I would get $2.00 which helps pay to keep my shop on the site. Thank you very much!

Now, if you start at the main cafe press site and do a search on say "Browncoat" and the Evil Laugh design comes up and you buy a mini poster print, you will pay $8.00, of which I will get 80¢. This also helps pay to keep my shop on the site, but at three times slower a rate. Even if you are in the general market place and click on the link to "show all designs by Firefly Cargo Bay" etc, those sales still count as being from the marketplace and not my shop.

Having said all that, there are some items they have on sale from time to time, which make them cheaper there than directly in my shop. By all means- save yourself some cashy money wherever you can! I'd advise searching the main site and then if you see a design you like, and it happens to be one of mine, open up a new window in your browser. Pull up my shop directly on that one (go ahead, you can bookmark it) and compare the price.

That way- YOU get the best deal and I get to keep flyin'!

Now, I Hear You Ask- "So, are you leaving Cafe press then?"

In short- no.

Over the last few years they've changed a lot of things and I've watched my commission drop, pretty much on a regular basis. This is even though sales have remained fairly steady (and I thank you shiny people for that!) They changed the volume bonus program and I got less money. They pulled my most popular shops for various reasons and I got less money. Now they've introduced this new pricing plan and I'm getting less money. I will not be surprised when they phase out the shopkeeper price setting all together- I know it's coming.

But I will stay! When I started this experiment 4 years ago, I said I would keep the shop open as long as it paid for itself. It still continues to do that (again- thanks to you!) Cafe Press has the best marketing and circulation and internet reach out there that I've found. That certainly helps me. I have a Zazzle site but I never go there any more (it's harder to get the designs on the site and I haven't even put it on the new items) I've investigated other sites as well, but none have the shop potential that Cafe Press already has.

So the Firefly Cargo Bay at Cafe Press is staying put. I'm not abandoning ship, either. I've just placed my attention elsewhere for a while. I will get back to it again.

After all, there's always a ton of more ideas for designs floating in this head! Just gotta find time to get them out there in the 'Verse!

"So What HAVE You Been Doing?" I'm glad you asked!

The Firefly Cargo Bay has recently acquired a new-to-me button machine system! (see it right there behind Jayne's work out bench?) Squee! I have been trying out designs and papers and the like to see which of what works best. (This has left me with a big bag full of less than perfect test buttons which will be showing up on freebie tables at any conventions I attend!)

I've been having so much excitement from this little device it's unreal. My first line of designs will show up as a free give away in Ma Cobb's Hat Shoppe. She's thinking of making them her August promotion, so keep an eye out for that.

After that, sometime they- along with other button designs- will appear in the Secret Stash of the Firefly Cargo Bay. And Speaking of the Secret Stash...

I've been taking some product out of the web site, adding some in and assessing the others. The layout of the site has not changed yet- BUT IT WILL. (Someone at DucKon even said to me "your web site sucks." *insert big frowny face*)

I do want the new layout before year's end, but we'll see how that goes. It's going to have drop down menus to divide the product up better. Categories such as "flags", "jewelry", "toys and novelties" and "costume and decor" are some of what I'm thinking. That should make the product page load time a lot shorter!

And, since I have you here, just a note about ordering from the secret stash. I hate the fact that the Allied Postal System charges so much to get your shinys to you. This is why with EVERY ORDER I add some little thank you freebies in the package. These are constantly changing- due to whatever I have on hand or what will fit in the box, but will always be included. So check out the site and know you'll be getting some extra Browncoaty Goodness in every box!

After all, I am a business (wo)man with roots in the community!

Until next time:
"I may not be a fancy gentleman like yourself, with your very fine hat, but I do business. I'm here for business"

I Can Haz a Button Maker!

2009-06-24T17:00:00.006-04:00

I am now the owner of a new-to-me button machine. Am I happy? Can't you hear me squee-ing from there? Why am I so happy? Because I always have all these fun ideas for designs and if I put them on shirts to take to a show, I have to take 4 or 6 of each size and hope they sell. If I get them on buttons they are much more easily transported. We all make out, because the customer can get a fun design for 2 bucks that they don't have to worry about how to get home, and I don't have to haul around big boxes full of shirts!

I prefer being fun flighty artist designer person, but if I want to keep doing that, I've got to pay the bills. Thus, I am phasing out the t shirts (at shows) and moving into 2 1/2" buttons... along with the bookmarks and fans and coasters and flags and all the other fun- transportable- stuff I already do.

I'm not sure what designs to do first on the button maker... but I'm going to have fun playing with it. Ya gotta love new toys!

Back from DucKon

2009-06-18T14:15:00.004-04:00

Ni Hao again,

back from DucKon in mostly one piece. Con crud made me miss all the best bits of the weekend *pouty face*

But I'm back at 90% at this point and filling orders that were made whist I was away. What I saw of the con I really liked, but it was the first time I was not sorry a con came to an end. With the illness knocking me out on Saturday, and our room being 2 down from the 24 hour con suite I had no sleep. In fact, when I got home monday night, I went to bed at 8pm and slept for 12 solid hours! Total unconsciousness!

On the down side, sales were very dismal at this con. On the up side, I don't have to restock too much for Confluence. People just weren't coming through the room. I guess the gamers kept to themselves and I know the filk track was so rockin' full that there was no time for them to get ALL THE WAY over to the other side of the hotel (seriously- we were in no man's land!)

Anyway, I a m more bummed that my con crud kept me from enjoying all the talent and great people who were there. *sigh* They can't all be gems.

Well, it's 35 days until Confluence and we'll see how that one goes (and please don't be put off by their sucky website- it's going to be a great weekend!)

Until next time:
"This must be what going mad feels like."

New Stuff and off to DucKon

2009-06-10T16:37:00.003-04:00

Ni Hao!

As promised, the new products are in the secret stash of the Firefly Cargo Bay. I've put up the attention paddles and the drink bottles that are both filk related. Right now, there are almost 20 sets of the paddles in my suitcase. I hope the customs guys don't ask! BTW- the full shipment of stock is out to delivery to the hotel, so YEA!

I am starting my DucKon adventure at about 6:30 tomorrow morning. All orders that come in from that point on will be processed in the order they are received the day I get back (June 16). All orders waiting payment will be sent out when I return as well.

So watch this space next week for all the fangirl blathering about my geeky weekend!

Until next time:
"I'm fine! I'm... Giddy!"

Just Ducky!

2009-06-08T19:31:00.003-04:00

Ni Hao!

Here I sit, just 3 days away from my departure to DucKon *squee*. My suitcase is packed and my stock is... sitting in customs. *sigh* Our broker (NOT ups!) thinks the paperwork is all straightened out now, so maybe it will get released tomorrow. It's in Detroit now, so it doesn't have far to go once it gets cleared (as long as it doesn't get stuck in a hockey riot or something).

ANYWAY, I'm totally psyched for the trip. (picture me bouncy!) My stock of Jayne Hats is healthy thanks to the ever knitting fingers of Ma Cobb. Plus she's supplied some of those shiny buttons of hers AND the new "cry babies". Everything else has been replenished in the stock, too since FilKONtario - including some filk specific items not found anywhere else but my booth! (Okay, until Wednesday anyway... I'm going to put them up on the products page of Firefly Cargo Bay's secret stash)

So, yea me! All fangirl over going to another con! But I'm not neglecting the business, by any means. All orders that come in to FFCB will be processed the day I get back (Tuesday June 16) in the order in which they were received. Gotta keep flyin' after all!

Until next time:
"Hang on travelers"

Forward Thinking

2009-05-31T11:11:00.001-04:00

So yesterday was the big yard sale- the last thing I had to do in the month of May. Ahhhhhh! Time to relax! After all, DucKon isn't for another 2 weeks! No worries.

Oh. Wait. Half of my stock for the dealers' room is sitting in the storage room here in Canada. That means it needs sorted, counted, packed and shipped through customs across the border. That whole process takes pretty much... two weeks.

*SIGH* No rest for the wicked!

Back to work!

Until Next Time:
"We got a job to do, we gotta make good."

Quick Update

2009-05-22T10:13:00.003-04:00

Ni Hao!

Yes, I"m still flyin' out here! Been busy with little shiny things. I'm happy to say that orders to the Firefly Cargo Bay Secret Stash have been steady of late. Yea! And thanks to the shiny Browncoats who've been ordering. That's been keeping me occupied as is getting stuff ready for the 2009 Toronto Can't Stop the Serenity. Little shinys from FFCB will be in the goody bags that each movie goer receives and there are some one of a kind auction items also up for grabs there that came into their possession via me. Sadly, I myself will not be able to attend this year's screening. Big. Frowny. Face. So, hey, go in my place, will ya! And bring a friend, or two or three!

In other news, Dragon*Con has cashed my check for the dealers' room, so those tables are mine! Mine! All Mine! *ahem* sorry about that. No, wait, I'm not! *stupid grin*. I'm also starting to try and figure out the best way to get my stuff to DucKon. It's very mind consuming to try to get all your stuff to a show before you do. And allowing time for UPS to lose it (it doesn't hurt to have a contingency plan!) Fortunately, I do not have to worry about this when I head to Confluence in July, as I am driving to that one. (And please don't let the crappy web site, throw you- the con is going to be great!)

So, those and other little things have been keeping me bendy, I got the lights from the consul, lift me up, like little angels...
THUMP

Until next time:
"Did (s)he just go crazy and fall asleep?"

Still Flyin'

2009-05-05T10:23:00.004-04:00

The phone rang early this morning and the call made me feel like a goof. It was the dealer liaison from Dragon*Con. You know, the one I pestered so relentlessly for a week when I was placed on the waiting list for spots there. Turns out all that drama was for naught.

Yes, ladies and menfolk, we have a job! There are two tables reserved for Firefly Cargo Bay in the dealers' room of the 2009 D*C. I don't have the location yet (I wasn't about to ask for it when he had just given me the spots- I'll wait for a while before I pester again).

So, YEA! Firefly Cargo Bay will be working the hall. You have NO idea how relieved this makes me. Or, maybe you do. Anyway... SQUEE!

Until next time:
"of course, it makes us a target for every other scavenger out there, but that can be fun too."

Another Month Zooms By

2009-05-01T19:32:00.003-04:00

Ni Hao! Welcome to May!

Things are a might bit calmer here now in the ol' Cargo Bay. I've had time to calm down from the whole incident with the Dragon (Con) thing. I was in contact with a lot of people there and it is pretty much just a fluke that I was able to get in last year. They were all very nice, but didn't seem as upset about me not getting a spot this year as I was. They don't seem to realize there, that *it's all about me*! Go figure.

Anyway, I've decided to go to Dragon*Con anyway. Yea me. The fictious husband convinced me that it would be a good marketing opportunity even without the table, and I may actually get a foot in the door for spots in 2010. So, Atlanta here I come (well, in September anyway.)

In other con news, it occurs to me that I never even filed a post FilKONtario report! And that was almost a month ago! Well, I got the few pictures I took back so I will try to remember all that happened that weekend and make a post *this* weekend. I have notes all about it... somewhere!

Since this is now May 1st, that means there is a mere 22 days until my Filk Over! Very exciting! Music, laughs, food, and really really great people all here for a weekend. Yea!

So, as you can tell, my mood is looking up. Things are still flying here at FFCB and I can't complain (I usually do anyway though, don't I?) Thanks all for the moral support during my crazy time! Better reports to come, I promise!

Until next time:
"Woman, you are completely off your nut!"

Something That Makes me Happy

2009-04-21T16:54:00.006-04:00

As you can imagine, I could use a little happy happy joy joy this week, so I'll post something I found on Tony Fabris' Blog a few weeks ago. This is a photo of Marian Call performing during her recent show at the Wayward Coffee House.

I love that shot! (as noted, taken by Graham Smith, and used by permission) She's really belting it out (and doing her YoSaffBridge Song I believe). What is great- well, for me anyway- is that very cunning Browncoat Flag behind her that decorates the stage. Gee, I wonder where the Wayward got that? (okay, no I don't- I donated it to them remember?) I'm thrilled that they've displayed it in such a wonderful spot.

So, there is happy happy joy joy yet out there in the black

Until next time:
"I'm fine! I'm...Giddy!"

It Doesn't Hurt to Have a Contingency Plan, Kaylee

2009-04-21T16:29:00.003-04:00

*SIGH*

You know, you try to do things by the book and wait your turn and be a "nice" girl... and ya just get screwed for it! After having my application for space in the dealers' room of Dragon*Con a mere 6 days after it was online, and I was STILL too slow! The room is sold out and I got the notice on Monday (if I was on the waiting list in January, why I'm being told in APRIL is a mystery, but I won't dwell.)

Some of you may remember the saga of pre-Dragon*Con that Firefly Cargo Bay went through last year. Well, it turns out that me having that spot in the Dealers' Room to begin with must have just been dumb luck.

I will not go into much detail here, because I'm still far too emotional about it all (FFCB is now looking at 40% of its yearly "income" vanish and I'm in full panic mode) but in short, it looks 95% certain that Firefly Cargo Bay will *not* have a booth in the dealers room of D*C in 2009. I need 4 other vendors to drop out- with enough time for me to get my stuff there- before I can have a spot. *sigh*. At this point I am saying I can not even attend unless I have a spot. Now, I'm not giving up the room in the Marriott I fought so hard for just yet though either. What does that mean? I haven't a clue. I need a few days to sort out all the options and alternatives, but I definitely keep you posted.

On a happier note, also in the mail this week was my Illinois State Business Authorization, so I am legal to do business in Chicago. Yea! Bring on DucKon!! And they know I'm coming. I could use a good con right about now. Is it June yet? 51 days! (but who's counting? oh right- that would be me. Back to work!)

Until Next time:
"Just once I'd like things to go according to the gorram plan!

We're Official!

2009-03-23T19:07:00.004-04:00

I'm thrilled to announce that Firefly Cargo Bay is now an official QMx retailer! That means that I will now be able to sell some of their shinys as well as the stuff I already have! This applies to the Firefly Cargo Bay website as well as FFCB booths at any cons we do out in the 'Verse. Squee!

The first product I have available is one I'm absolutely thrilled about- Marian Call's "Got to Fly" cd. This is music for Browncoats and BSG fans and will appeal to geeks everywhere! I was fortunate enough to hear her perform and meet her during Conflikt 2 and I can tell you, not only are you going to love her music, but she is definitely is one of us! My current favorite line from her songs? "I am better acquainted than a good girl ought to be with Aragorn and YoSaffBridge and Worf and Hal and Han;" Hee Hee!

Also now available are those shiny Browncoat buffed leather coaster sets that I told you were coming. I'm thrilled with the way they turned out. The sets contain 6 thick leather coasters that are 4" in diameter. They also come in a tin and gift boxes. You can find them at the bottom of the products page of the secret stash.

So, that's all pretty shiny news, 'eh? And the win just keeps on coming! We are now less than 2 weeks away from FilKONtario and I have more new filk-related products to peddle on the two (yes, two- I finally learned!) tables that I have in the dealers' room. Even if you came to pay a visit to my table at Conflikt 2, there are some new new new items that will be debuting at FKO. If you're in the Toronto area first weekend in April- certainly stop in and checkout all the fun and music.

Well, pretty happy happy joy joy for this report, no? Let's hope that trend continues!

Until next time:
"Yep. That went well!"

SQUEE- Quack- SQUEE!

2009-03-08T22:09:00.002-04:00

We're in!

Just got he word today that Firefly Cargo Bay is assured space in the dealers' room at Duckon 18 near Chicago! Picture me doing the happy dance!

This is another con to which I've never been and it looks very exciting. It's Tom Smith's stomping ground and he'll be in attendance, plus, just announced, vixy and Tony!!! *bounce*bounce*bounce* Plus writer guests and science guests and more filk guests! *bounce*bounce*bounce* I've gotten word that some of my fellow UFOers are also going to be there. Okay, this is just made of win for me (I'm presently ignoring the airfare to Chicago as to not ruin my happy mood!)

Next up, though on the convention docket is FilKONtario the first weekend of April. And, believe me, I'm just BURSTING to show everyone there all the new shinys I have - browncoaty and filky. (They're words... now.) A mere 26 days to go! (again with the squee!- I love conventions!)

So, I is happy camper! *bounce*bounce*

Until next time:
"I'm fine. I'm-- giddy!"

Buy a Bard!

2009-03-08T22:04:00.003-04:00

Yep! It's that time again! Time to bid your hard earned coin on Cedric of The Bedlam Bards to perform at your town's Can't Stop the Serenity screening.

The auction closes in just days, and as of this typing, he's already up over $1,000.00 US DOllars (and worth every penny and more!)

So- get out there on the cortex and get bidding!

Can't Stop the Indecision

2009-03-05T09:28:00.002-05:00

The Can't Stop the Serenity crew has posted the entries for the 2009 poster/shirt design. All of them are very shiny indeed! I can't decide!

How 'bout you? Get on over there and vote. I will once I can make up my mind....

Voting closes March 12... I'd better decide soon!

Until next time:
"Wow, Simon, that was very... historical."

New Stuff! New Stuff! New Stuff!

2009-02-23T11:54:00.010-05:00

Hey! Guess what? Oh...wait, I gave it away in the title, didn't I? *sigh*

ANYWAY! There are new shinys just put in the hold of the Firefly Cargo Bay! The first is one I've been talking about for a while now. I've finished the first of the Firefly Rag Dolls. As you may recall, I had been debating which Big Damn Hero to choose as my first cute and cuddle version. What made the final decision was the trip to the fabric store. I pillaged the remnant bin with the crew in my mind and pulled out any material that would work for any of their outfits. The best bit came when I paid for them- turns out it was buy one get one free so... SHINY!

So the very first of my Firefly Rag Dolls turned out to be "You're-Gonna-Come-with-Us Kaylee" complete with flip flops and paper parasol! I'm listing them at $15.00 without the doll stand.

Another new item was a surprise. These parts just hit me as I passed the clearance section in the craft store, and they became the Serenity Necklace. Each pendant has the Chinese Serenity hand inked on the red shell disc. The hand strung beaded cord is about 20" in length and held fast with a twist clasp. They retail for $12.00.

The final item isn't exactly stored away yet, but rather they're in production. I'm giving you a sneak peak of them here, because A) I'm really excited about them and 2) I can! they are a set of 6 buffed leather drink coaters with the image "branded" on them. They do come in this shiny (literally!) tin and a gift box. I should have the actual items in my hands before FilKONtario and they will be at the Firefly Cargo Bay booth!

There will also be new new new shinys at the FKO event too especially for filkers, but I'm not spoiling those surprises yet!

Until next time:
"Oh! Look at al the pretties!"

How Can Brown Screw You Over Today?

2009-02-17T18:23:00.007-05:00

And I don't mean people with coats of a brownish color!

Have you heard the UPS saga of Seattle? O.M.G.

Okay, so those of you who have followed the trials of me getting items shipped to shows are no strangers to the things with which I have already put up with. Well, Conflikt presented me with new stresses that I could not have imagined (to be fair, Conflikt had nothing to do with the stresses- that's just where they happened t take place. They're really wonderful people running that show so YOU SHOULD GO! Hey, 2010 GoH Tom Smith! I need not say more!)

So, I am here in Canada and the show is in the States. Wanting to avoid any more joys of product border crossing I planned ahead and got the items ready for shipping when I was at my parents place in Pittsburgh over Christmas (brains!) So come the time for them to be sent to Seattle, Mr UPS showed up at their door, paperwork was filled out and the boxes went merrily on their way.

Now, come Sunday, I had asked at the front desk for some UPS way bills. They gave me forms for 2 day air. HA! Like I can afford THAT! I went back and asked for the forms for ground transport. They don't usually have those. What? Ka. They use DHL. I'm told that "most people go online and print the way bills out from the internet." Okay I'll do that... but I have to wait until I've packed up everything once the show closes- I won't know how many boxes or what the weight will be. Fine.

Sunday night...at 12:30 ish... I was at the hotel's computer filling out all the online things. Well, trying to anyway. It wouldn't schedule a pick up the hotel according to the web site. This was just baffling to me. I went to the front desk and basically said WTF! He said, "Which zip code did you use?" I said, "The hotel's." He replied, "Well, which one?" Again- WTF! Seems 'they' changed the hotel's zip code recently. He gave me the old zip code and I went back to the computer. It worked. Well, there's a half an hour of my life I'll never get back.

Okay! So then I try to print out the labels. They don't let you do that without an account with UPS. Fine. I'll set up an account with yet another company. Or so I thought. I tried and tried to put in a user ID. No luck. After 1/2 hour or so I gave up. I went to the DHL site to try to get an idea of how much they would cost me, since the hotel *had* their way bills. THEY won't give you an estimate without opening an account with them. Are you friggin kidding me?!?!?

So I went back and forth between other computer options and the not-helpful-at-all front desk "staff". It was 3:30 in the morning at this time and I was using all my efforts not to cry. I was leaving for the airport in 2 hours and still had no way to get my stock back.

I decided to see if anyone was still in the con suite. As I went to the steps, out came Halley and Tim (????... I talked to him all weekend and never caught his name. :( Well, it's not like he was walking around with his name on a badge or anything. Oh wait....) I spilled out my sob story and Halley said, "I *live* here" and offered to take my stuff to the UPS store. This was going to work, until I realized that I wouldn't be able to leave my business credit card with her and they'd want to see it. PLus my big honkin boxes wouldn't have fit in her car. She said that Cindy was still in con suite and maybe she'd have some ideas.

Well, of course she did! She suggested that it was just the user name problem on the UPS site that would solve all of this. She logged on to her computer and opened an account with them right away. So I resigned myself to trying again and returned to the hotel computer. After ten different attempts at user names I was going to burst. I was tired and stressed and almost at wits end. The thought entered my head "too bad there's a character limit on the IDs. I bet if I put in Raxacorafalapetoria no one would have THAT one!" This led me to another favorite Dr Who scene. I typed in a word from that scene and THANK THE DOCTOR it was accepted!

And then I printed the labels and everything was fine. So I went back up to my room and at 4:30 am found myself labeling 4 boxes on 2 sides. Unbelievable! I sat in the room for a little while trying not to fall asleep. When that was failing, I took my cart full of stuff down to the lobby and told them that it was all set to go. The pick up would be Thursday. Or so I thought.

Jump forward to Friday. I was back home and checked the UPS tracking site to see if my stuff was on it's way. It wasn't in the system. I thought maybe the site just hadn't been updated yet ('cause I'm stupid that way) and I'd check again on Monday. Monday saw the same thing so my fictious husband called UPS. What they said almost made me reach through the phone lines and throttle them. They said they couldn't pick it up because (are you ready?) "it is an international shipment." HOW IS A SHIPMENT FROM SEATTLE TO PITTSBURGH INTERNATIONAL?!?!?!? (and how is Harvey Wall Banger one word? But that's another story!)

UPS saw that my US Visa for the business has the billing address in Canada, so they wouldn't touch the shipment, because, you know we're all terrorists up here and train our geese to fly into plane engines so pilots have to land in the Hudson River. Now, that's ridiculous enough, but what's worse is they didn't call or email or anything to let us know they weren't going to pick up the boxes. They were just going to let them sit. Nice.

After several phone calls to several different people, it was determined that we needed an account with a billing address in the US before they'd touch the boxes. This is where my parents come in AGAIN. So we now have another account with UPS. They issue us new pick up numbers and tell us they'll get the boxes the following day. Tuesday comes and goes and no one gets the boxes. Oh, there was a UPS driver at the hotel, but the floor manager said he won't take them because they weren't on his call sheet. Great. We did get a call at home that went like this, "Is the the Seattle Renton Holiday Inn." "No, this is the Paddison residence" "Oh. Sorry" Click. On Wednesday we go through the exact same story as Monday and finally convince the UPS phone person that we have a US account with a US billing address and all that. They issue us ANOTHER pick up number and say they'll get it today.

On Thursday the boxes still haven't gone anywhere. We're told now that someone TRIED to pick up the boxes but were unable to do so. WHAT?!?!? We call Amber again (yes, we're on first name basis with the hotel floor manager as well as the UPS phone manager at this point.) Okay, after more phone running around we find out my boxes are gone. What? Where? It seems that a UPS driver was in the hotel the day before and whomever was on staff during that shift forced them on him. Great. We were told the tracking numbers on the labels I printed over a week and a half ago were invalid. So where were my boxes? How could I track them? And what about Naomi? Wait- that's something completely different.

SO I typed in the ORIGINAL tracking number that it took me hours and hours to get in the week hours of the end of Conflikt and what do you think? There was my information. The shipment was picked up, en route and being paid for by my business US Visa card LIKE I WANTED IN THE FIRST PLACE!!!!

The stock is safely in my parents basement now, resting comfortably until I go and get it in March. And there it will stay until FilKONtario. And who takes it across the border then? ME! In my little red van I call Serenity. You know, if I would just sell out of my items at shows I wouldn't HAVE these problems! Geesh!

BTW- tons of eternal thanks to Halley and Cindy!! I really owe you guys! Remind me to take you out to dinner at the '10 Conflikt!

Until next time:
"This must be what going mad feels like."

Conflikt 2: Day 3

2009-02-06T18:19:00.006-05:00

Even after going to bed at 4 AM, I was awake at 8 Am. Staying up most of the night seems to acclimate your system to a time zone change! Just in time to go home :( So I got up and I packed everything that I was no longer going to need. Since the dealers' room wasn't slated to open until 11, I went to the lobby to use the hotel's computer and free internet. I needed to check out the UPS site to get labels and schedule a pick up for the unsold stuff. Since they won't let you do that without the weight of each box, I had to wait until after the show was done. No fun. I didn't even know how many boxes I would have at this point. (I started with 5) So instead I hit the facebook site and killed an hour there easy.

By 10 I went for breakfast and was behind my table before 11. It was really slow for most of Sunday. I was able to finish more rag dolls and ended the weekend with 4 Firefly Rag Doll bodies completely finished. And I wasn't even doing any during open filks. That's great considering it took me more than 2 months to do the 6 I already have! I wonder how many I'll be able to get done at FKO! One high point was Mark Bernstein's reaction to my Can't Sleep button. He asked if Tom Smith had seen it. When I informed him they were brand new, he bought one on the spot. He said he lives in the same town as Tom and would give it to him the next time he saw him. That made me happy! I was even more overjoyed when Mark said that he was sure that Tom would think it was great. Things like this make for a happy fangirl!

By 3:30 the Con Chair announced to the attendees that the dealers' room would be closing for the weekend at 4:30. Naturally, 4 PM was the busiest the table was for the whole weekend combined. I can kind of understand it, as people wanted to wait until after the auction to see just how much money they'd have left in their budgets, but it does get pretty frustrating when you've been sitting staring at the walls for 3 days and now at 4:45 everyone wants your attention. It took me 3 hours to pack up the table (going to cons is NOT a one person job for FFCB!)

Fortunately Julesong was patient and waited for me (she offered to help, but that would require me actually knowing what I was doing at the time!). At 7:30 we were on our way to the Wayward Coffee House. If you are a Browncoat and go to Seattle and do not make it to the Wayward well then SHAME ON YOU! The first thing that greets you once you walk in the door is a huge banner with the Serenity logo on it. I had the "Kaylee Ploughman Sandwich" for dinner, so you now what the menu is like. There's Firefly and Serenity stuff all over the place. vixy and Tony play there quite often as do The Bedlam Bards whenever they're in the area. The place has the slogan of "it's better than a plan" so, come on...!

I did notice that they were missing a certain Browncoat Flag in their decor, so when we got back, I put together a little bag of goodies for them- a 3X5 flag and some handouts and freebies. I gave it to Tony Fabris to give to the owner the next time they play there. (and if anyone goes there and gets pictures of the flag up on the walls PLEASE send them to me! earthgirl@kos.net)

On the way back to Renton we drove through the city and I got to see the Space Needle all lit up against the Seattle skyline. Very pretty. I had my video camera at the bottom of my bag, or I would have been able to get the drive by shots. Ah well, next year (I hope!)

I went back to the "Smoked Salmon" filk-until-you-drop session. I think they should call it "Sleepless in Seattle." Or at least "Restless in Renton." It was okay, but the night before was a much better circle. I did get treated to experencing Seanan McGuire tell the stories of Edgar Alan and Lenore, her uncle's ravens. I don't think I laughed that hard since... a long long long time! It was hysterical. I'm fully under the belief that she should get into a studio and make a cd of her telling the stories ala The Vinyl Cafe" It would sell like crazy I'm sure. She could call it "Tales of the Crazy Ravens." So much fun. This incident also brought about the quote of the day IMHO: "Have you ever tried to cary an angry raven?" Seanan McGuire.

People were dropping out of the filk pretty rapidly. It sort of deteriorated at 1:30 with a heated legal discussion. Ah well. I went out to get things ready for the UPS Labels. I will spare you the drama of the following 2 hours. Just be sure that I owe TONS to Halley who found me at 3:30 when my brain was on empty and my emotions were on overflow. My salvation angel! This led to the con suite where Cindy gave me an answer to all my problems. Thank you eternally! tears of despair were not shed due to these two women!

I will once again skip the travel report as they always tend to end up as rants from me. I got here and that's all that matters in the end. I had a fabulous weekend and really hope to get back to next year's Conflikt... with an assistant! Great pictures of the event can be foundhere.

Thank you to all involved with Conflikt for making me feel welcome and putting on a great weekend and exposing me to all the wonderful music, comedy and fellowship. There are many many more people whose company and music I was fortunate enough to enjoy. I could never list all their names here- some of them I never even did get their names! *sigh* I can only hope to see them again at other filk cons.

For, you see, I'm now a filk addict! I am getting help though- I'm enrolled in a 12 string program (yes, that's a design that will be coming into the filk shop soon!)

Thank you all!

Until next time:
"I cried like a baby; a hungry angry baby"

Conflikt 2: Day 2

2009-02-06T14:35:00.008-05:00

The second day of Conflikt 2 was actually my third day there and the fullest by far. I was up early again, showered and then called home. Very chatty, my homelings were, but that's okay as the dealers' room didn't open until 10. That was 1 PM on my internal clock! I then went and got breakfast and strolled casually to the dealer's room door. There I found Julesong at the reg desk and we had a chance to talk in person for the first time, although we've know of each other for 3 years now. She joined me at my booth which was fun.

Then time for the brunch came and the dealers were left staring at each other for 90 minutes or more. I mentioned to the Con Chair that the dealers' room could be shut for the entire brunch and it would hurt no one. Look for that possibly next year. After the brunch Julessong returned to visit with me and the time went fast. She even invited to take me to the Wayward Coffee House before the weekend was through. *SQUEE!* But more on that later.

During the brunch I was able to complete the bodies for 2 1/2 of those Firefly Rag Dolls that are in the works. I'm going to write on them that they were constructed at Conflikt 2, so... well, just cause I want to.

At 2:30ish vixy came in to pick up her complimentary shirt. She also bought a few other items from the table and left me with the comment of "You're awesome." Coming from a talent like her? Well, I will store that in my memory bank for when I'm having a down-on-myself day. *grin*

The concerts in the afternoon sounded really good from what I could here- the music was wonderful, but airwalls muffle lyrics. There were slow times that I was able to pop in next door and hear the performances proper. Much like the Friday night concert by Puzzlebox, the shows by Randy Hoffman, Mark Berstein and interfilk guest Laurence Dean made me want to spend more time on the concert side of the airwall. I resisted attempting to open the door that was right behind my table and connected to the stage. At least I got to hear the gist of the shows, and I was so glad that all of them did bits in all of the open filks, too.

The dealers' room closed a little later than expected, but the night's concerts got pushed back an hour, so I was able to close up and do the books and try to get some food. I ended up not getting food, but getting McDonald's instead, but it was enough to keep me from going into shakes or passing out during the shows. I even ended up serving a "bouncer" for the banquet hall, helping to keep people out while they were doing the sound checks.

I guess because of this- and Julessong reserving herself a seat and me keifing the one next to it- I had a front row seat for Marian Call's concert. O!M!G! What a voice! And she's a geek too! Amazing. Browncoats: BUY HER CD!!!!! You will not be sorry in the least. I think my favorite song was Good Old Girl which is about, among other things, Serenity (the ship, not the movie or the state of being or the 2 hour pilot or the adult diaper). And saying that's my favorite one was tough because all the songs she did were great. She's wonderful.

She's also a really cool person, as is her husband. I got to talk to each of them for a *very* little bit after the performance, which was nice for me. I hope to cross paths with her again sometime soon. Because of talking with her, I did miss the concert of toastmaster Frank Hayes. This makes me sad, as he seems like a funny guy and I would have loved to hear his full show. I did get to hear him sing in the open filks a bit, but what I heard more was him getting lovingly abused for his habit of forgetting his own stuff. By the end of the weekend, I had found inspiration from this for a new design. I will post it when it's finished.

I was back in the music hall for Seanan McGuire's sound engineer's nightmare. I jest, as did everyone on stage, about the complexities of getting the sound levels right for more than 7 people on a concert stage. The show was fun and energetic and during this time two of my most favorite things of the night happened. The first was vixy's comment of "Apparently I'm dead. This is really going to ruin my sex life!" The second was the enormous reaction of the crowd to the announcement of "We are now an official con- the hotel elevator is broken!"

Since everything started late, it was midnight by the time the shows were over. This led to a late open filk. I think Saturday's filk was the most enjoyable I have attended to date. Some favorite moments? Brooke Lunderville's song about extraterrestrials stealing all the vegetables" and Tony's comment of "Songs keep the zombies away" (there's a filk in there somewhere- not too far!). Randy Hoffman had a great song I want to hear again about leaving 'em with a laugh- funny filk songs. I hope he'll do it again at either FKO or Confluence.

There were so many more good points to Saturday night.. or actually Sunday morning, that I can't list them here.. I finally left at 4 Am (I heard it went on until 6!) By the time I got to my room, the con suite door was closed. No worries about *them* keeping * me* up this night!

Next Report:
Conflikt Day 3

No Longer CONFLIKTed

2009-02-06T13:28:00.007-05:00

Ni Hao!

Yes, I'm back from Seattle- I didn't stay. Just slow in getting out from under the paperwork, exploded suitcase, time zone adjustment and playing catch up from all the stuff I normally had to do here the days I was gone. But here it is at last! My con report!

I will spare you all the trials of air travel because even a good trip somewhere still has its frustrations and annoyances. I arrived at the right hotel on Thursday evening and found that my given room was right next to the con suite. It was a big king sized bed room, but I didn't know how well being on the other wall of the con suite would go.

I got my boxes that I shipped out to the hotel brought up to my room and after dinner, began constructing my display cubes. This turned out to be a good thing- the head start- because with all the stuff I take I have discovered that going to cons is NOT a one person job! I did get to meet two of the con coms that evening which was not surprising, since they were setting up the con suite!

On Friday morning I awoke promptly at 7:30...Eastern time. *sigh*. I was able to get back to sleep for another hour but woke up again at 5:30 on the hotel clock. It turns out that there was an earthquake at exactly that time. Missed it completely. Instead, I got up and showered and returned to working on my display until 9 am. This was lunch time according to my body, so I went down for a big breakfast at the hotel restaurant. Afterwards I walked to the WalMart across the road for some supplies I was missing. I love hotels that have places to which I can walk!

I was under the impression that the dealers' room would not be available to us until 5 pm, so I was thrilled when the con's hotel liaison knocked on my door with the news that the room was open and I could set up. Yea! We snagged a luggage cart and loaded up most of my stuff and down to the room went. there was only 3 of us in a big space, so I was able to expand way out beyond my 1 table. I tend to take over wherever I go! Note to self: FFCB *needs* two tables!

The dealers' room was separated by an air wall from the main concert room. I was quite literally back stage. I wasn't going to miss a single performance. Happy Filk Fan! I spent the rest of the day at the table, either setting up, "futzing" or making sales. I was surprised at the number of sales Friday because of the dealer room time confusion, but it was a pleasant surprise. As good as sales were, reactions to my stuff were 10 times better! It seems I was a hit.

That night I went to the first open filk. When I walked into the room I was spotted by Tony right away. He was just getting ready to start a song but interrupted himself to say to vixy "There's this awesome shirt-!" while pointing through the wall to the dealers' room. I smiled so much my cheeks hurt because I knew he was referring to my design that is inspired by her song, The Girl That's Never Been from the Shadowbeast album. She just matter-of-factly replied, "I was consulted on the shirt!" Great moment for me, though and I will always remember Tony's look when he first saw the shirt at my booth. Times like that, ladies and gentlemen, is really why I do all this insanity!

ANYWAY- the open filk was amazing! Turns out the song Tony was getting ready to perform when I walked in was "Dorothy" for Seanan McGuire and she and vixy belted it out. Also that night was a parody of "Life is a Cabaret" by Mark Berstein that won him the song writing contest at last year's FilKONtario called "Life is a Muppet Show" and was from the PoV of Statler and Waldorf. Loved it! Later there was a parody of vixy & Tony's "Mal's Song" that had everyone laughing so hard that someone said the singer "broke the filk room". I thought Tony was going to be in pain, he was double over and laughing so hard! In fact, I think there are very few songs off of Thirteen that weren't parodied that weekend!

The music was amazing, the people were fun, and me...? I was on East Coast time. So at one AM my body was telling me it was 4 Am and I reluctantly headed to my king sized bed and it's 6 pillows. The con suite wasn't a concern as I was too tired to be conscious for too long.

Next report:
Saturday at Conflikt!

We're got a Green Light for Upthrust

2009-01-28T18:56:00.003-05:00

The ipod is loaded and charged. The video camera is empty and charged. I'm packed and ready for my 3 AM bus to the air port for my 9 AM flight to go to Detroit and then continue to Seattle for Conflikt Squee! keep the snow and other weather to yourselves so I don't get stranded in any airports anywhere! Full report when I return.

Until next time:
"Take me out into the Black...!"

May Have Been the Losing Side

2009-01-19T21:37:00.010-05:00

...Still not convinced it was the wrong one.

Did you ever feel like you're fighting a losing battle? Come on now, we're Browncoats, that's what we're known for! Well, I fight to find time in my real life to make new designs for the cafe press Firefly Cargo Bay and finally get a new image or two up there and BAM! One step forward, two steps back....

*Sigh* Once again I got the "pending images in media basket" email from the powers that be at CP. Not only did one of my new designs get flagged, but they tagged an old one as well! One of my most popular ones too! How am I ever going to stay in business if they keep pulling all the images that people are actually BUYING??? It was only text, but it mentioned Star Trek and with the new movie coming out... Well the lawyers are full on the hunt I suppose.

*Sigh* I hate to see things get pulled off of there, because it feels like I've wasted the time spent designing them. But corporate lawyers scare me, so I pull the products. I am going to try much harder to stay away from the copy right infringement line. It's tough though because, well, I'm trying to invoke the images that Browncoats will know and want and... oh look at that double edged sword over there!

OKAY! But not all doom and gloom for the New Year! Oh, no! Very shiny things abounding here. For instance Conflikt is just around the corner (10 days! Squee!) and I'm so excited (and already packed). Full reports will follow in early February

Also, Firefly Cargo Bay is confirmed for not one but TWO tables at FilKONtario in April. Naturally, I can never limit myself to bringing just a few things to a con, so I finally smartened up and got more space. She can be taught!

In terms of other cons I'll be attending, my application and full payment for (two!) tables at Dragon*Con is now in the somewhat trustworthy hands of Canada Post. Planning a much bigger booth there this year, so I won't get shoved into the hovel like last year. I (tentatively) state that you'll be able to find me this time!

Polaris here in Toronto doesn't even have their new web site up yet, so I'm wondering how much they've got their act together. They've been having personnel troubles of late- so the rumor mills tell me so.... We'll see. If it turns out that Polaris falls through, I may add another con in the fall. Texas has a lot of good ones. I love Texas.

I'm also "on the books" for Confluence in Pittsburgh (go Steelers) in late July. This will be my first appearance there and I'm really looking forward to getting to meet new filkers.

So, I think that covers all the scheduled cons at this point (I'm in total con with drawl, can you tell?). In other news, Captain Hammer was unavailable for comment for the first time ever. No, wait.

The other projects are progressing, if somewhat slower than I'd like. I've got a good body count going of the Firefly Rag Dolls and still haven't decided which Big Damn Hero I'm going to recreate first. I guess that all depends on what kinds of fabrics I come across. Oh! Excellent news on that front; the great (and I don't use the term loosely) folks over at Browncoat Fashions have generously allowed me access to their scrap basket! I've gotten word that they'll save those pieces of material that are too small for them to work with when they make their stunning brown coats Firefly Costumes and send them along to me! How shiny is that! So these bits of fabric will go to dress my little rag dolls instead of hitting the landfill. earthgirl approves!

Okay, well, I think I've emptied the contents of my brain for a while. Are you lucky readers? :)

So, on this eve of Inauguration Day and until next time:
"I'd like to be the King of all Londinuim and wear a shiny hat...."

Shiny New Year

2009-01-10T20:35:00.007-05:00

Ni Hao fellow Browncoats!

Welcome to 2009! It may have seemed as if I had gone into hibernation lately. I assure you that is not the case. I have been working on shiny new things behind the scenes here at Firefly Cargo Bay and '09 promises to be very exciting indeed!

Off line I have been working on a variety of things. First up is the preparation for FFCB's first show of the year; Conflikt in Seattle January 30 through February 1. I tried to scale down the amount of items I'd have at this show, since it is a small one. I failed at that miserably! I am taking at least 5 of each of every product I have! Plus, I'm having some of the Cafe Press designs shipped out there as well. That means I'll have nearly 200 different items to offer the filk fans attending the con. I know I'll be spilling off the table I got and taking up the majority of the dealers' room! I can't help myself.

Am I excited to be attending the filk con? Well... is it wrong that I'm already packed? It's *only* three weeks away you know!

Other activities include sporting my domestic side. I've been sewing. Really. By hand. I'm in the process of making rag dolls for each of the Firefly crew members. Right now i have 6 finished bodies and lots of material for more. I haven't decided which Big Damn Hero doll I will be making first. My daughters have voted for Kaylee in the layer cake dress, but I'm sort of leaning towards seeing what a little rag doll Jayne would look like! Whichever I decide, I will surely post the first finished one here before they go on the web site for sale. Each one is about 8 inches tall and, as I stated, made completely by hand, from scratch. I am able to complete about 1 body a day (just the body, not the clothes or finished doll) but so far they are worth the time imho.

Let's see... what else? Oh yes! More new products for the new year! Not all made by me mind you. That would take more time than I have to spare. But items designed by me and produced through various companies. I won't post any spoilers here (mostly because I like to have said items in production before I get anyone all excited about them or anything- just in case!)

There are already some new designs over at the Cafe Press Firefly Cargo Bay Shop waiting in the "Latest Cargo" section. I will have to admit several of them are actually Doctor Who related, but that's not my fault. I blame it squarely on Geek2Chic and thank them for it!

Well, that's the very brief run down of what's been doing here. We're still flyin' and that's good enough for me! (hey, if it's good enough for Mal!) My goals for 2009 are still to arrange for shipping within the US and for cleaning up the Firefly Cargo Bay website. Please be patient with both items, as others are involved, so logistics are not as simple as I would like. We'll get there though.

So, until new items, events, or occurrences... well, occur, have a great start to 09 and stay shiny!

Until next time:
"How come things never go according to the gorram plan?!"

Pssssttt....

2008-12-22T19:22:00.001-05:00

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

I'm only taking a small amount of your computer time this posting to thank you for all your interest and support of the cafe press and my other Firefly Cargo Bay web shop. It's Browncoats that keep us flying and make that signal go a little bit further.

I'll be back to ramble on in January about all the comings and goings at FFCB, but for now, just a simple, heartfelt...

xie-xie!

Best Wishes to you and yours all throughout 2009

earthgirl

Like Freebies?

2008-12-07T12:58:00.002-05:00

It may be better to give than receive, but the receiving can be pretty shiny too. If you'd like a little extra Browncoat love, then head on over to Ma Cobb's Hat Shoppe and order a Very Cunning Hat for either yourself or as a gift for that special Browncoat in your life. If you do so through the month of December, you get shiny free Temporary Tattoos that look very familiar.

Yep, you can get some free shinys to give away, or keep for yourself just by getting one of the best gorram Browncoat symbols in the whole 'Verse. Come on- you know you want one! Now's a great time to go ahead and get one.

Let's face it- Browncoats are worth a little indulgence!

Until next time:
"How's it sit? Pretty cunning dontya think?"

They're Here!

2008-12-07T12:48:00.008-05:00

The oh so shiny patches I have designed are now in the hold of the Cargo Bay! And not a moment too soon (if there is such a thing).

Both designs are fully embroidered and measure a big 3" in diameter. I think they're going to look very cunning on coats of brownish color!

Each patch is now on the bottom of the products page of the FireflyCargoBay ready for orders. Although I have not sorted and labeled/packaged them each all shiny-like yet, I will send any out right away that are ordered. I believe there's a major gift giving holiday coming up or something....

Until next time:
"Maybe I'm santa come down the chimney. Give presents to all the good boys and girls. Then again, maybe not."

Please note that the image of the Serenity Disc is a scan of the prototype. I do not have an image of the actual Serenity Disc patch at this time. i have the patch- just not the good picture. Xie-xie.

The Terrifying Space Monkeys got Me!

2008-11-26T21:49:00.005-05:00

HONESTLY!... Well...no.

Where the hell have *I* been?!?!?!? Nearly a whole month without posting! Where does that get fun? I'll tell you what's *not* fun- fiscal year end! I've been counting stock and printing reports and balancing books and crossing Is and dotting Ts.. no.. .wait.... But I've been buried in the prep work the accountant needs for weeks now it seems. Being a (mostly) one woman operation does get a little tricky sometimes.

Oh, but dear fellow Browncoats, I have not abandoned you ("No one's gettin' left!") I have been working behind the cortex to bring you lots of new shinys for 2009. Oh, such fun! In production now are two different 3" round embroidered patches. One is an image reminiscent of the Serenity logo (without the English word Serenity in it) and the other says "Big Damn Heroes Aim to Misbehave." I hope to have them in my hands before the year is out (2008 that is, not 2009!!!) I will post them here once I have them and they will immediately go into the Firefly Cargo Bay web site products page.

Speaking of the Products page, I have not yet heard back from my site designer. That page is getting way too full and takes *forever* to load (I know, and I feel your pain about it... and I'm on high speed!). I really wanted it streamlined with drop down menus and product categories. I'll keep you posted on what he says. Until then, please bare with me on it.

Some products will be leaving the secret compartments. They just aren't doing as well as they need to be to hold on to their place. Fear not, though, as I will drop nothing until after the holidays. I would like to mention that the Browncoat playing cards are currently in their second run of production, so I don't have any of those on hand at the moment. Two or so more weeks on those and they should be back in stock.

Other new products are in the works as well- new lanyards and coaster for Browncoats are just two of the shinys in the works. I am also expanding my filk related products lines as well. I'm heading to at least two filk cons this year, so that only makes sense. Those crazy wonderful filkers are just pulling me in!

And that brings up conventions! I'm eagerly looking forward to Conflikt in Seattle in January, as well as FKO in Toronto in April. I've also gotten confirmation of TWO table spots in Pittsburgh's Confluence Dealer Room. The other two shows, Dragon*Con and Polaris, have not yet opened their 09 Dealer applications, so I'm not official there yet. but I will be!! :)

I'm looking at other shows as well, but I have to remember that I have a family, too, so, you know... can't go every weekend. *frowny* Oh, yeah, and there's that money thing that all these hotels and airlines want whenever I do a show. *sigh* I hate that! BUT, on the bright side, I'm never ever going to make any more huge shipping errors like I did with D*C this year! So, hey, I learned something.

Well, now, does this catch us up to date? Please know that I haven't left you floating out in the black. I am working on new and fun things for your squee approval. Just keep flyin with me and we'll make 2009 very gorram shiny indeed!

Until next time:
"Well... Here I am."

We're in!

2008-11-01T10:53:00.003-04:00

It's official- the first convention that Firefly Cargo Bay will be attending is Conflikt in Seattle January 30- February 1, 2009. This is a filk con and I'm excited because both the filk and Browncoat communities are very large and active in the NW area. I haven't been to a con on the west coast since 2006 and the con-that-never-was, Flanvestion II (hello all Browncoat Backup Bash attendees!) I'm so psyched to go, I wish it was January already. My mother always says, "Don't wish your life away" but it's hard not to! I wanna go!

Apparently, they're psyched about me going, too. I received this in an email from the con comm: "Just peeked at your web pages, and I'm _really_ excited you want to come out to the west coast. " I like being different! :) I will have many new and exciting products at my first show of 09 as well as a lot of the shinys that I've hauled all over the place in 08. Both filk and Browncoat items will be offered.

So, if you're out in the north west part of the American 'verse, plan to come hear some awesome sci fi themed folk music and hang out with really really cool people, and pop into the dealers' room and say hi!

Until next time:
"Ladies and menfolk, we have ourselves a job."

Dear Diary: Today I was captured by Hill Folk, Never to be Seen Again

2008-10-22T11:38:00.016-04:00

...it was the best day ever.

Okay, I wasn't captured by hill folk, but I have been missing for a while. Bad blogger, bad bad!

I departed the country early in October to head to a Mighty Fine Shindig, The Browncoat Ball. Once I had found out months ago that Austin, Texas had won the 08 bid, I knew I was going. I had only been there once before (13 years ago, for 5 days) but fell in love with the town. Plus, now I have many Browncoat friends there, too- most important of them being the Bedlam Bards.

On this particular trip I even got to ditch my kids with their aunt and uncle and enjoy a weekend away with my fictious husband! We said goodbye to Thing One and Thing Two on Friday morning (Oct 10) and headed to the airport. Here, TSA provided me with an early morning security massage. Lucky me. (NOT!) But if that was the worst of what was to happen on the trip, I would be fine.

Flights were uneventful, which is the way I like them. We were in the hotel and settled just in time for the Ball's registration to start. So we registered, dropped of the donations for the raffle prizes and headed to find some dinner. We just wanted something fast, so we asked the concierge where we could get pizza. He directed us a few blocks away and when we got there we read : "New York Style Pizza!" In Texas. We decided to skip that and instead hit the corner pub we passed on the way there. Good choice. We sat outside to eat (In October!) and enjoyed the place immensely. If you're in Austin, check out the Hickory Street Bar and Grille. Go for the salad bar and the Shiner Bock!

After diner we returned to our room and changed for the cocktail hour(s). There we saw the Bards, and palm reading (Hi Joyce!) and fountains of chocolate and crafts and belly dancing (Hi April!) and about 75+ Browncoats. We ended up closing the place with Cedric and then heading to the hospitality suite. We talked out on the balcony (in OCtober!) and watched the excitement from 6th Street. We called it a night long before the partiers there did!

Saturday morning began the program tracks. The imaginary husband went off to learn knife throwing while I went into video editing. I learned some tips to make more fan videos, but was more flattered with what was shown on screen. Out of 5 videos run, 3 of them were mine! The next thing we attended was the filk circle. I tried to pass in "pick, pass or play" but was reprimanded by Cedric for not performing my sister's filked lyrics to the Bards' version of the Fruity Oaty Bar jingle. I said I didn't have them, but sure enough, they were pulled up on a Mac in the room from the email I sent Cedric a few weeks prior. Damn this new fangled technology!

We then had a small band of us going to the New York Style pizza place for lunch. The food was iffy but the company was first rate! We divided up after that and my fake husband and I found ourselves- quite by chance- in The Land Yacht It took us to Zilker's botanical gardens. This was a place that I absolutely adored on my last visit to Austin and I felt I had to go back. I have not included the link here, because I don't feel it is worth sharing. They've made a lot of changes in the past 13 years, and I don't think many of them are for the better. We left after only an hour and I prefer to remember the gardens as they were upon my first visit.

We returned to the hotel (via regular cab) and passed "The Original Taco Cabana", implying that there is more than one. Turns out its a whole chain of restaurants, negating each locations' claim of being "the original". At any rate, we decided to hit the roof top puddle, I mean pool (in October!). We opened the door to find the place filled with Barbie posers half our age. We left there too and just hung out until the Ball Proper (we had decided to skip the third session of programing).

At 7 pm we headed down to the Ball and saw all the pretties in their frofraw. Browncoats clean up very well and everyone looked very shiny as evidenced here. The food was fabulous, the string quartet was too loud, the desserts were to die for. We were lucky enough to snags seats at a table with the folks from Browncoat Fashions and others and had wonderful fun watching them take part in the Big Damn Heist. The dancing began with all 4 bards performing, which was quite the treat! The Brobdingnagian Bards performed their set. As usual, Marc and Andrew gave a great fun filled performance. I only found out later that it was their last performance ever together (big frowny face) but further discovered that they will each be pursuing solo careers (big happy face!)

The Bedlam Bards took the stage for the first of their sets and all had a great time. During the break more dancing ensued- this time of the disco variety! The Bards returned for another set and most of us closed the place at 2 am.

Sunday saw brunch with a good 1/3 of the crowd still in attendance. We were fortunate to be at a table with Marc Gunn of the Brobdingnagian Bards (formerly, I guess at that point) and a whole group of lively funny 'Coats. Marc even treated us to some air auto harp!

After brunch we still had 2 hours before our shuttle took us to the airport. So the FH and I walked the 2 blocks to the Austin Capitol Building. We spent a nice time there and then stopped in the Visitor Center where we had a really nice time; enjoyed that a lot, actually. We also strolled down 6th street- not nearly as impressive on a Sunday afternoon as it is every night, I'm sure. But now we can at least say we've been there!

We found a shuttle waiting outside the hotel when we returned. It wasn't our scheduled one, but he said he'd take us anyway. So with that, our Austin mini vacation ended abruptly.

Xie-xie to the Austin Brwoncoats for putting on a really nice party (and there was no punching!) I hope for more shindigery with you very shiny 'Coats again! You've done the impossible, and that makes you mighty!

Until Next Time:
"I prefer our parties. The dress code is easier and plus I know all the steps"

The Monkeys Have Landed!

2008-10-15T10:07:00.004-04:00

Yes, that's right- there were monkeys. Some terrifying Space Monkeys got loose. And now they are in the Firefly Cargo Bay and ready to invade your personal part of the 'Verse.

Each set comes with a 6" tall rocket ship with opening top hatch and three different colored Space Monkeys. The Monkeys can be stored inside the "Ape-1" when not out causing havoc. All the little terrors are bendable and posable with magnetic hands and feet. They stick to the side of their ship, or anything else metal! Each Space Monkey is 3" tall.

The cost for the entire set is $18.00 plus shipping, and they are now available to send out into the 'Verse. The TERRIFYING SPACE MONKEYS can be found now at the bottom of the Products page of Firefly Cargo Bay .

You've been warned!

Until next time:
"Well, my days of not taking you seriously are certainly coming to a middle."

On a Happier Note...

2008-09-17T12:22:00.004-04:00

There's new shinys in the Firefly Cargo Bay!

Those of you who were at Dragon*Con and actually managed to find our little hovel in the wall surely saw these pretties:

These are Big Damn Bracelets made by FanGirl of FanDone . She has given me permission to sell her hand made bracelets which are so very pretty (too pretty for god to let them die!). Each one has three charms and color beads that relate to the character. Shown here, of course, is Wash's pieces with the firefly, "W" and Hawaiian shirt charms.

There is one for each of the nine Big Damn Heroes. All can be found at the bottom of the products page of the Firefly Cargo Bay's secret stash.

There will be more new items coming soon. I won't tell you what they are, but here's a hint:

Until Next Time:
"Were there monkeys? Some terrifying space monkeys maybe got loose?"

You Call This Going Well?

2008-09-17T11:59:00.002-04:00

Ladies and Menfolk, those of you who followed my saga with customs and brokerage to get my goods down to Atlanta for Dragon*Con can have sympathy for me when I tell you the following:

I received a bill from UPS Brokerage USA. Now *they* want $800.00 in duty and taxes from me? Why? Well, I shipped a crate from the US to Canada with good in it that originated in Honduras and China! (can you all hear me screaming from there?)

Yes, friends, after making us track down where Hanes and other companies that we bought products from out of the USA originally made said products, the UPS broker failed to tell anyone or put anywhere on the paperwork that the items in question were PURCHASED in the USA. So Uncle Sam thinks I owe him half of what the good in my crate are worth. A long fight is ahead of us.

$800.00? $800.00! Do you know how much stuff I have to sell to have $800.00 to just GIVE away? That's over a year's worth of sales in my cafe press shop (and that's if the months are really big sellers!) This all has to do with NAFTA, but someone please tell me who is getting the "FREE" in the free trade agreement?

You know, I'm very fortunate that FFCB isn't my means for support. If it was my only small business, we'd be under by now. Taxes and tariffs and fees would have sunk us this summer. How can a small business survive? Right now, we're just going to gear up for the administrative battle that awaits us with customs.

And what have I learned from this? Two things- One, my husband may be imaginary, but he's very tolerant and his income keeps my children housed, fed and clothed. And Two, we need a warehouse somewhere in the USA to never have to deal with rutting customs agents again!

Until Next Time:
"This has not been my best day ever"

DRAGON*CON: IT'S ALL OVER :(

2008-09-07T20:20:00.006-04:00

I was awake at 5 am on Tuesday, so I got up and ready. I told my sister goodbye and go back to sleep (her flight wasn't until 2 pm or something). From the time I stepped outside the hotel lobby (6:10), got the shuttle (the Link), tickets for my flight, through TSA, and at the gate was pretty much one hour (7:15). Impressive!

I've often complained about the fact that at the Toronto airport all the employees mumble and you can't understand a word any of them are saying. This is in no way a problem at Atlanta's airport. These people are L-O-U-D!!! I went to my gate and bought some milk to drink with my life force of cons; brown sugar cinnamon pop tarts! and then... I wait.

At one point 3 sailors, dressed in the stereotypical white pant suit with blue neckerchief, quickly walked through the hall. I wouldn't have been surprised if they stopped and suddenly broke into a number from On the Town! They didn't, and soon the rest of the cadets walked at a quick pace to catch up with the three leaders. There must have been at least 3 dozen of them and I think they were rushing to a connecting flight.

These were the only people I saw in costume, and after 4 days of seeing every costume imaginable- and some I'd never had thought of- seeing people in "street clothes" was odd. But my flight arrived (9:25) and we were off. During the 2 hour flight I did some more paper work, but then just tried to doze off. I think i did at one point too.

Upon landing I went to baggage claim and found my suitcase quickly. While waiting for it, around the carousel came a big blue bin. It was marked "costumes and props" and bore the sticker of the 501st Storm Trooper Brigade. I smiled, and kept an eye out for who claimed the bin. Turned out to be a smallish woman, who "normally" looked like a grade school teacher or something.

The new terminal at the Toronto airport is all shiny and new and corporate and not personal. But it is laid out easier for arriving people without all the confusion of those waiting for them standing in the way. We landed at 11:30 and my bus didn't arrive until 2:30. I grabbed an overpriced airport lunch and then headed to find my stop. The layout of the rest of the terminal, I discovered, is not so hot. They do not have the ground transport area labeled well at all. I ended up lugging 50 pounds of luggage back and forth over both ends of public transport. On both levels. Twice.

When I find my spot, there is a bench, in the shade, with a nice cool breeze. I have a 2 hour wait. I love my ipod! The rest of my travels I spend trying to get out of con mode and back into "mommy" mode. And so my trip to Geek Mecca comes to an end...until next year! (BIG smiley face!)

DRAGON*CON DAY FOUR (SEPT 1)

2008-09-07T19:11:00.013-04:00

When I got up in the middle of the night, I had noticed the bill to check out slipped under our door. This was odd because we weren't leaving until Tuesday. I put it on the desk and went back to bed.

First stop in the morning was front desk to have them reactivate our keys and make sure we still had a room for the night. On our way to the M store, George Taki passed us on his way to check out. Or beam up, whichever. We had breakfast at the booth while I rearranged to (happily) fill in the hole that were made by us selling out of things. Yea!

I took the opportunity to walk around the dealers' room for the very first time that weekend. i spent an hour and a half doing so and came back about $100.00 lighter. (Yikes!) Did I then stay and work the booth? Nope! I had a lunch date with college friends of mine who recently moved to Georgia. (Hi Tim! Hi Joanna! Hi babies!)

At lunch we talked of many things and they asked lots of questions about Dragon*Con and such. Joanna said they used to make so much fun of Dragon*Con when she was growing up (she's originally from near Atlanta). Shortly thereafter I told her I saw the whole Sean Astin panel she said "Sean Astin was there?" Then turning quickly to Tim said, "We're going to Dragon*Con next year!" So much for making fun of it, eh? We had a very nice, albeit brief lunch visit (and a shout out to the two bestest twin nine month olds ANYWHERE!) and then they dropped me off at the hotel once again.

I was going to go back to the booth, but took the chance to get back into the Hyatt. The numbers were way down on Monday-- like the attendance at a "normal" convention, and getting to and fro was much easier. There' s a really cool illuminated Dragon*Con sign in the front of the Hyatt that I wanted to take a picture of. I had seen it in passing one of the other days, but Directionally Challenged me couldn't find it again. What I did find was two Bards hanging out in the Hyatt. I ended up talking to them for an hour, which was nice.

FINALLY, I got back to the booth and heard FanGirl's report of seeing Walter Koenig in the Starbucks and also discovering that all the people that were in the hotel lobby all weekend long had turned into suitcases! (There were so many people checking out that morning that concierge had the suitcases lined up around the lobby in an orderly fashion- at Dragon*Con, even suitcases stand in line!!)

The booth was very busy and the ladies held their own. I had begun counting up inventory to use as totals on the customs paperwork. I was not looking forward to dealing with THEM again! I tried to make everything as accurate and thorough as possible. I was also tidying up and packing up what I could while I did this.

At 5 pm there was a mass destruction of the Dealers' room. Half the boxes that were full at the beginning of the show were packed empty in the crate (yea!) We took the Bards' stuff to them and helped load up their truck (which they call Vera) and said good bye to them (big frowny face)- only until October and The Browncoat Ball. (huge happy face) Then back to the crate. It got packed up and sealed in. Then- I hit a wall. I was soooooooo tired. I had some difficulty finding the Freeman representative in the exhibit hall, and there was some miscommunication, but all the paperwork got to the right people. Eventually.

I told the ladies I was done making decisions and wherever they wanted to eat was fine by me. We ended up in FanGirl's hotel room (since hers was made up and ours never did get that way this day) and had yummy pizza room service. We were all tired and got punch drunk and silly. Massive giggles ensued. Such fun. After this, my sister and I rode to the 47th floor of the Marriott just cause we could. We weren't the only ones to do so and the rapid glass elevator ride was good fun. We, naturally went all the way to the bottom floor just cause we could. We took some lobby pictures and then shared a brief elevator ride and conversation with James Hong

We then went ot the room to pack our stuff and try to get some sleep. Before drifting off I looked at teh clock. It was 12:03. I said, "Hey, Mar'e" She replied wisely, "What?" I said, "Happy Birthday!" She laughed and said thank you. and then we pretty much dropped to sleep.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: "We now return you to your regularly scheduled hotel."

DRAGON*CON DAY THREE (AUG 31)

2008-09-06T17:13:00.007-04:00

As had become habit, on Sunday I woke up way early. In the time that I got up and got down to open the Dealer table, I had talked myself into going to the Sean Astin panel. I mean, the ladies had been doing so well without me already. (I can rationalize anything!). So, my sister went off to her photo op with Kevin Sorbo and I went in to open the booth. FanGirl appeared and I told her, "See ya!"

I walked over to the Hyatt and went down the hall prepared to line up out the door and outside- it was only an hour until the panel after all. I rounded the corner in the hall and was floored to see the end of the line. It wasn't outside. It wasn't even to the door. I thought "This can't be right. It's SEAN ASTIN folks!" But I was right and got to sit inside on the top step. I had a nice conversation with the fellow in front of me who turned out to be a filk fan. Much fun was had while waiting. I ended up in the 5th row center for the panel. I enjoyed every second of it. He's a very charming intelligent man with lots of wonderful stories. He can be long winded, but none of us cared, as everything he was saying was interesting. (and, yes, I video taped the whole thing)

I returned to the booth when it was over and was told I had to go to the Firefly panel which they moved to the Marriott. I knew this couldn't be, because my sister wanted to go to the Andromeda panel and FanGirl wanted to attend the Last Unicorn panel. These were all at the same time. I was told that FanGirl would rather see the video I took at the Firefly panel than attend her own. So off I went.

When I got upstairs, I needed to hit the washroom first. There I found Mary from Browncoat Fashions with her crew in tow. I saw Baby Kaylee (absolutely adorable!). I wanted to take a picture, but I also knew I *had* to get in that Firefly line. On my way there, I saw a proud Canadian Browncoat exactly third in line for the panel (Hi Magie!). I stopped to talk to her and found out they had already closed the line to the panel. (Turns out this was not true- the sign that said "Firefly Line Ends Here" only told people where to line up- not that they weren't letting anyone else in- this worked out okay in the end though). I handed my video camera to Magie and gave her a brief tutorial on it. My deal was that I'd give her a copy of the other two panels (neither of which she'd been able to get into) if she'd tape this one for me. She happily agreed. I warned her that I had just videoed the entire hour of the Sean Astin panel and the battery was probably going to die half way through this one (I *knew* I should have bought a backup battery!)

I returned to the booth and informed the ladies of the current Firefly Panel situation. Then I sent them each on the way to the panels they wanted to see. I then womaned the booth by myself for the first time. Time just dragged! Every time there was a burst of sales or activity I thought for sure another 1/2 hour had passed. No such luck. 10 minutes at the most. Eventually my sister returned with happy stories from the Andromedia panel and the time went faster.

Soon it was 7pm and we were able to close the booth and head up to the Hard Rock Cafe to (hopefully) meet up with (and crash) the Browncoat Cruise Reunion group. We squeezed in past waiting people to look around for our group. Cedric spotted us and called to me. We went over and saw there was NO room to put two more people. I flitted around a bit and saw Baby Kaylee again- all smiles, while two of her older brothers - jayne and mal- slept soundly at the table. I waved to Dave again and talked with Cedric awhile. I was trying to see if the staff would accommodate us- I really wanted to just hang out and visit with Cedric and Hawke- something I rarely get to do, and we were all in a festive mood. Alas, it was not to be as there *were* people waiting to be seated, and there *was* no room for us, and we probably would have taken forever to get served. So I said goodbye to the shiny bunch (big frowny face).

We headed to the food court of the mall to get something fast until it dawned on me that it was Sunday- going on 8pm. The mall would be closed. So we just hit the McDonald's. After waiting in line for about 8 or 10 minutes and not seeing anyone move I said to my sister, "WHY are we waiting for McDONALD'S ?!??!?!" We went back to the Marriott and grabbed something from the M store. (awesome little addition to a hotel- every one should have one!). We turned on Dragon*Con TV and watched the bumpers and the start of the masquerade while l we ate and I did the daily books.

After a while (and a balanced ledger) we headed tot he Filk room in the Hyatt. Cedric was playing when we entered- as a matter of fact, that's what helped us find the room! I became a Bloggerazzi and video taped Cedric's new "browncoat" song (and now I owe him a quarter for usng his term "bloggerazzi"!) During the song, a washer fell from the strap of his instrument (insert all sorts of jokes here). It was hard to find in the swirly carpet pattern, and several audience members tried to help- some on their hands and knees, some bent over, some standing. It was to this scene that The Great Luke Ski entered the room. Whithout missing a beat he said, "Oh, good! I'm just in time for avant-garde Twister!" I love the quick wit of the filking community! When what was lost was found, someone else performed and a little while after, Hawke arrived and the boys played again. Things continued this way until shortly before 11:30, when they called a break to "maximize the capacity of seating"- that's geek speak for "rearrange the chairs". Carrie Dahlby would be in concert then.

During this break I needed to leave the room. A few people got into this loud passionate (and I'm convinced alcohol induced) argument about the Lord of the Rings movies. One chick was so convinced that Peter Jackson violate the works of Tolkien and would hear of nothing else. I'm not a confrontational person myself and didn't like to be forced to listen to this debacle. I pretty much bolted out the door when chicky babe (I do not have enough respect for this being to call her a woman) began a point by saying, "say to women are raped and one gets pregnant and the other one doesn't. The one that doesn't says 'well, that's over and there's no consequences so it's done now' but the other one-" I was gone by that time. Had I stayed violence would have ensued. What she finished with, or how she ever related that to LotR I have no idea and never care to know. Insert slow burn here.

I sat out in the hall and deleted some files for the video camera and happily eavesdropped on Cedric talking to someone about filk and the Bards' music. It was closer to 11:30, so I headed back in. The gorram argument was STILL going on! Fortunately chicky and her hapless target shut up when Carrie started her music. Guy number #2- the loudest- kept going for a few minutes. Grrr Arrgh! Carrie's concert was a lot of fun, and she was followed by Luke Ski and joined him on several songs. they closed with Grease Wars which I absolutely LOVE- naturally I video taped the whole thing (I'm an addict- I admit it!)

Luke Ski's concert ended at 1:30 am and we headed to bed.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: "Geek girls are either elfishly anorexic or completely overly boobular."

DRAGON*CON DAY TWO (Aug 30, 2008)

2008-09-05T19:31:00.017-04:00

Once again, I woke up very early- like a kid on Christmas morning. Saturday was the day of the Dragon*Con Parade! I had some give aways for the marching Browncoats, but realized I left them in the dealer room. I couldn't get in there until 9:30 and the parade started at 10. That meant I would have to grab the bag of goodies and then hoof it all the way down to the parade muster grounds within a half an hour. That would be cutting it close, to say the least! Grrr Arrgghh!

Fortunately, they let dealers in at 9 so I had plenty of time to get down there. Once there, the Browncoats were easy to find, thanks to the 76th Independent Battalion flying a very shiny Browncoat Flag. I handed out the goodies to old and new Browncoat friends (Ni Hao all!). Then my sister and I found a spot on the parade route (while we left poor FanGirl to woman the booth all by herself). I ended up recording the whole parade, or most of it anyway- with special emphasis on the Browncoats, of course. DVD copies upon request.

After the parade we headed to the Hilton. FanGirl had asked us to sign her up for "The Serenity Sandwich" (a photo op with both Alan and Nathan.) After I got her ticket I looked down the hall in the direction of some slight commotion I heard. There I saw Kevin Sorbo walking down the hall. My sister had said she would have liked to see him that weekend- meaning go to one of his panels- and here he was walking down the hall, about to pass right between us. I began to tell her to get her camera out, but noticed she spotted him. She froze and inhaled all the available oxygen in the room. She silently watched him go by as I grinned- her first fan girl moment! And she handled it with great dignity (I was so proud *grin*)

We returned to the dealers' room (one of us was floating- guess which one!) We stayed there until it was time for FanGirl to get her "Serenity Sandwich". During this time, she called on the cell phone and asked to talk to me. She hatched a plot to buy my sister an early birthday present (she was turning 39- again- on Tuesday) of a photo op with Kevin Sorbo. She asked if I thought that would be okay, or would she be too nervous. Had it been me- I'da freaked out and been way too much of a mess to do it, but I'm not the gutsy one of the duo (no matter what you've heard!) So I said "Sure! Go for it!" and returned to the booth with a big grin on my face. When FanGirl returned, she present the gift and needless to say, it was received very well. Best. Birthday. Gift. Ever. (and much better than what I got her which was nothing-- I was doing my River imitation!)

We all worked the booth until it was time for my sister to get in line for the Big Damn Hero panel. I went with her to hand out the last of my free stickers, so FanGirl held down the fort once again. I left my video camera with my sister. She recorded the whole panel, so eventually, I'll get to see it. DVD copies available on request (see a theme developing there?)

I returned to the booth (and it was about time I actually worked some hours at my own gorram booth!) We closed at 7 and then went to dinner (yummy Italian food in HUGE portions!) While walking back from dinner I was chatty from being tired and the drinks at dinner. I had just finished telling an admittedly not-that-exciting story when the ladies turned to each other and smiled knowingly. Me, being clueless as usual said, "What? The story wasn't that good." The two of them both turned at me beaming. "Karen, " said FanGIrl, "NATHAN FILLION JUST WALKED RIGHT PAST US!" I stopped dead and turned around in disbelief to see his silhouette (surrounded by about 1/2 dozen people- over which he was towering) continuing up the street. I stood there shocked and totally disappointed in myself. HOW could I have not seen Nathan walking up the street right towards me?!?!? FanGirl told me "Your Mal-Dar is waaay off tonight!" *Sigh* Yes indeed. This incident totally negates my Burbank elevator story. I *love* my Burbank elevator story! I decided that I was simply respecting his privacy (by being totally oblivious to his presence.) That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

We returned to the room and I did the books for the day (I am on a business trip, remember?) I counted the numbers three times and got three different totals. I decided it was time to put them aside. I got dressed in my pretties and we hit the elevator. I was thrilled when someone next to me said, "That's a very nice Arwen necklace" (you may remember that I won it at the FKO Auction in April). Not only did I appreciate the compliment, but the fact that he knew it was "Awen's necklace!" -well, I knew I was in a place I belong. *warm happy* (and thank you to whomever you were that gave me that comment!)

We headed to the Sheridan once again, for the Whedonverse track kinda claimed it as their own (mmwwhhhaa ha ha ha ha- so that's, you know, coming along. I've been working with a vocal coach.) This time they were a little more prepared for us with "cattle ropes" outside the grande ballroom. We were all there for the Mighty Fine Shindig. In line I spotted a Browncoat from Toronto (Hi Dave!) and ran over to give him a hug- then promptly ran back to my spot in line. We started filing in and because of the switchback pattern of the ropes I passed Dave again. I gave him a "line hug" as we passed each other. He got in before we could attempt the feat again.

The line was moving quickly and I was to be next in the door when the person letting people in held up a hand and said, "Just a sec." Instinctively I went "awwwww." (my sister said I was about to cry- well, gorram it! I was RIGHT THERE!) He said, "No worries, you're number 600. We just need to let the doorway clear a little more." I could see Cedric through the door, and Dave again, and several others I knew (or wanted to-- *ahem* I mean... oh, never mind.) Not long after, they let us in and we moved into the center of the room. Several photos were being taken of all the Browncoats dressed in character. One of my favorites was the BWAH! pose of the Mals:
I had a really great time at the shindig (although I could have done without the lights being turned way up, completely off and then messed with again. And when they finally left them alone I thought it was too dark- as my video will attest. Oh, and $4.00 for a Coke? Are you friggin kidding me? Hell, this is the city where they make the rutting stuff, it should be practically free!) By two a.m however, we departed and returned to our room. I once again added the day's numbers and they balanced to the penny (which always makes me happy when that happens.) At 3 a.m. I went to bed.

The parade had many great costumes- the giant Janye hat for example. But others stopped by the dealer booth or were spotted in one of the parts of the various hotels. The day's favorites for me were The Man in Black and Buttercup from the Princess Bride- done extremely well and "Eggar"- the guy whose body gets "put on like an Eggar suit" in "Men in Black" He looked like the guy, was dressed in the dirty tan overalls and attached rubber (?) cock roaches all over it and carried the shotgun. Priceless! We've decided we love the costumes you don't normally see, such as those mentioned. this also leads to the daily report of our words from the weekend:

QUOTE OF THE DAY: "There's always a Slave Leah."

DRAGON*CON DAY ONE (Aug 29, 2008)

2008-09-05T15:24:00.017-04:00

Friday was the official start of Dragon*Con and I was up early-ish. We went to the hotel restaurant for the breakfast buffet. Pricey but very worth it. Tons of food, eggs, french toast, cottage cheese, fruit, cereals,, yogurts, and much more food than I could list here (or that you would care to read about.)

My sister and I went to the dealer's room to finish dressing the booth ("futzing"). The room opened at 1 pm and within the first 15 minutes there were 3 sales. After those, I abandoned the ladies to woman the booth for themselves. I had a VIP (very important panel) to get to. This was the Alan Tudyk/Nathan Fillion panel and the line was already out of the Hyatt and down the sidewalk and around two corners. I was worried that I wouldn't get in. I passed Cedric as he played and sang to entertain the waiting crowd. I got to the end of the line and asked a very nice lady if she would remember me and save my place while I passed out the free stickers that I had made to the people in line. Thankfully she agreed and I began with the people who had filed in behind us (Hi Artcat!). I had some doubt about making the stickers as they were a big expense and a ton of work, but after giving out less than a dozen of them I knew I made the right choice. People were honestly delighted with getting the free shinys and I loved hearing their reaction to my designs (and I was sure to put "COMPLIMENTS OF Firefly Cargo Bay" as not not invoke the wrath of any lawyers!) I got to the front of the line and still had stickers left. This was good, as it ensured (by the count of stickers vs the number of seats in the room) that I would get in to see the panel.

The two of them? One word: Hi-Larious! I had a fantastic time and was soooooo glad I got in to see them. I video taped the whole thing (copies available upon request). This was the only panel I considered my "must see" and I enjoyed every second of it. This is a crappy picture of the duo. The video has better images. (yea!) The panel had started late so I only got back to the booth at 4.

We stayed and womaned the table until 6 pm. Then my sister and I abandoned FanGirl so we could get to the Sheridan to line up for the Dr Horrible show. This is the first year the Sheridan is hosting events for Dragon*Con and by the stupefied looks on the faces of all the staff and security in the hotel, I know they didn't know what to do with us all. I'm sure they didn't expect that many people to show up for the event because they kept moving the line to different parts of the hotel to accommodate us all. Again, I had free stickers and was working my way from the back of the line to the front. With all the line moving, though, somehow I got turned around and ended up once again at the back of the line (?). No one got double stickers though. I might have walked through a star gate or something. The room in which Dr Horrible was held seated 1,500 people- and some got turned away at the door! Thankfully we weren't among them.

The show consisted of the original Dr Horrible being shown on a screen and actors, well, acting, on stage next to it. it was so well done with participants coming out into the audience and everything. Props to the Whedonverse track people for arranging this (especially since DH only debuted July 19!!). We had a blast and it was awesome to hear everyone singing along with the show. I video taped all but the last 2 minutes or so (my camera's battery died. I *knew* I should have bought a back up before D*C!!) DVD copies available upon request.

After the show let out, the two of us hoofed it back up the hill to the Hyatt to catch The Bedlam Bards concert. They were pretty much left off the bill and all advertising and schedules this year due to .... management problem which have hopefully now been fixed. This made them difficult to find and some people were telling us they didn't even know the Bards had attended this year. *big frowny face*. Because of these factors, the show was less well attended than usual. That did not stop the boys from putting on one heck of a good show (which you get from the Bards whether the audience is of one or one thousand). They got to play a little over an hour, and I helped serve as "Water Wench". Good to know that if my fictious husband ever leaves me, I have a fallback as a Bard Roadie!

Once the boys were done, "The Other B Bards from Austin" took the stage. They are more commonly known as The Brobdingnagian Bards(pronounced brob-din-nahg-EE-en). My sister asked if I wanted to stay for their show. I had heard some MP3s of their stuff, but never saw them live. The choice to stay there an extra hour was the best decision I made all day! If for nothing else than the fact of hearing "Bohemian Rhapsody" improved on recorder! Great performers, fun music of the celtic AND sci fi genres and just a great show. I video taped both of the Bards' concerts (DVD copies available upon request).

This made it nearly 11 pm, so once again we went to the Sheridan (it was easier this time as it was all down hill). We were going for the third consecutive showing of "Buffy Horror Picture Show". Once again, I had free stickers to give out in the line. But there was no line! In fact, the show was almost canceled due to low attendance. But near start time enough people had shown up. This was the Buffy episode "Once More with Feeling" with audience participation much like "The Rocky Horror Picture Show." But not nearly as organized. It seemed more like drunks screaming at the screen and ignoring the actors on stage. We should have skipped it and gone to the filk room instead. Ah well, I'll know for next year.

The show let out at 1:30 in the morning and my sister was a bit concerned about walking back to the Marriott by ourselves. I laughed at her and said, "This is Friday night at Dragon*Con- we will NOT be alone!" Sure enough, tons of people (and police) were milling about the entire space between the Sheridan and Marriott and Hyatt and Hilton hotel. We decided to depart from the crowd and got to bed around 2 am.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: When asked how we were going to get through the crowd in the Hyatt lobby: "When in doubt, follow the viking!" (it worked- he served as a great crowd clearer! and he didn't even know it!)

"You're coming with us!"

2008-09-05T13:30:00.008-04:00

Ni Hao once again!

Yes, I am back from Dragon*Con and slowly readjusting to life outside the Geek Mecca. *sigh* Reality sucks.

ANYWAY! I know some of you have been waiting to hang on every word of my tales from Atlanta as to live vicariously through me. So, let me start off by answering your foremost question: YES! All the bull that customs put me through was forgotten by the end of day one! (I won't say it was "worth" it all- because nothing is worth the reaming they put us through, but I digress as I am known to do.)

DRAGON*CON ADVANCE DAY (THURS AUG 27, 2008)

I will skip the details of my travels to Atlanta, because I know you all want to get to the Browncoaty goodness of it all. So we begin with me and my sister and FanGirl outside the airport deciding what mode of transportation we would take to the Marriott. We decided a cab (because they have van taxis) when we hear, "Hey Browncoat!" Someone had spotted FanGirl's Can't Stop the Serenity shirt and called out. She asked if we knew how to get to the hotels. We told her she could join in our cab and that was fun. She then mentioned her costume was Kaylee. FanGirl took the opportunity to plug our booth by asking, "Do you have a parasol, because she sells them." The Browncoat said, "Well, I sort of do... maybe... are you the one I talked to over email?" I asked her name and when she told me I was delighted to find out that we had randomly run into someone who I've been emailing back and forth with for the past couple of weeks about parasols! (Hi, Beth!) What are the odds among 40,000+ people eh?

So, we got to the hotel (after a $40.00 cab ride- won't do that again. Good thing there were 4 of us!!) and had very little wait checking into the hotel. Robert Englund checked in right next to me. Cool. We moved out into a clearing and decided to stash our stuff and then find someplace to eat. Richard Hatch walked right past us. Not the scary one from "Survivor" but the cool one from (both) Battlestar Galactica(s). This was *very* nice, as I fell in love with him as Apollo in the 80s. And, no, I didn't squee.

We ended up in the food court of a mall that was right by the hotel. This worked out well as we were very hungry for food fast. During our mini meal, Cedric called and said he was in the hotel lobby. Huzzah! Impending Bard Hug!!

We all got together and went to the dealer room to set up. Guess what? It was Oh. So. Easy. My crate was there (all banged up to hell, but the goods were still intact) and we started setting up. It took 3 hours (including futzing time) and it looked pretty shiny if I say so myself. Somehow we found space to display almost all of the good that the three of us had to peddle. It would turn out that we were tucked a little too far back in the aisle (which was an easy-to-miss aisle anyway) and Browncoats had trouble finding us. Only at a con could you give directions like, "When you get to the booth selling corsets, turn right and we're across from the guys offering leather shorts for sale."- and that STILL didn't narrow location down enough! Remember when I said, "If you can't find us, ya just ain't tryin'"? I take it all back- it's not you fault. Next year I hope to be able to get another aisle. With power.

Anyway! Back to the booth set up! Cedric was very helpful with his man parts (and, no, I'm not going to explain that any further than that. Let me just say that FanGirl figured she said the word "penis" more times in 2 hours with the Bards than she had in the last 2 years. Now there's an accomplishment of which the Bards can be proud!) But then the boys had to depart because they had to attend a Browncoat Wedding! Yes, really, two Browncoats got married at Dragon*Con and apparently it was a mighty fine shindig. I do not know if hats made out of trees and mulled wine was involved or not.

After we were pretty much ready to open, we left the lower levels and ran into Cedric in the lobby. We visited with him for a while and then made our way back to our room (on the 24th floor- no running stairs this con for me!) Finally we unpacked an moved in. Then to bed. Tomorrow was going to be my most busy day and I was psyched for it!

QUOTE OF THE DAY: "Karen, don't lean on your booth" (it was on wheels and I was unconsciously and continually leaning on it as evidenced by the fact that the previous quote was said by Cedric, FanGirl AND my sister!)

Still Flyin'!

2008-08-27T18:19:00.003-04:00

I got confirmation from Freeman that my crate of shiny stuff is indeed in their hands today and should be waiting for me when I arrive in Atlanta for Dragon*Con Thursday morning. (oh, hey, that's tomorrow!!)

I'm glad to have all my stuff there, for sure. But as a bonus for those of you attending, because of the whole customs debacle both FanGirl at FanDone and Geek2Chic custom tees shipped in extra goodies to fill the booth. THAT means-- tons and tons of pretties for the Browncoats who choose to peruse the dealer room! I hope we have room for it now! We'll hang it all from the ceiling if we have to!

Since I'm departing for the deep south later this night, I will not be on the cortex for about a week. Rest assured that all reports will be documented here-- I hope they're all good reports! (After the customs fight, I've earned them!)

Until next time:
"Anyone we walk away from, right? I call this a win!"

And We're In!

2008-08-26T14:16:00.005-04:00

Got the call from the transport company today- the Firefly Cargo Bay items are on the US side and should be in Atlanta tomorrow! *sighs huge sigh of relief*

I am so worn out already, and I'm not even there yet!! All this hassle has left me feeling like the Reavers have had their way with me. But it all gets better from here,'eh? (I hope so anyway. Do you know the customs broker actually had *us* call the Hanes' manufacturing plant in Honduras to find out HOW *they* make their shirts?!?!?!) What we went through to get our stuff across can not be normal operations. It just can't be. No one would put up with that on a regular basis. What really kills me is two separate items. First, most of my suppliers are in the USA, so the stuff I got was already cleared to enter the country from other means before. And two, and this one hurts the most, The first customs broker was based in Detroit and after 3 days of answering his asinine questions we were passed to a broker in Buffalo. The one line in the email said, "textiles do not need to be cleared if coming across at the Buffalo station." or something like that. That didn't stop Buffalo guy from starting back at aquare one with all of the questions however.

ANYWAY! It's over and done with an me and my stuff WILL be at Dragon*Con- open for business in the Marriott Marquis International Ballroom starting at 1 pm on Friday. Come on by and say Ni Hao! (and if you leave us some cashy money that's okay too!)

*whew*

Until next time:
"Do we even care? Are we caring about that now?"

Never Again with Cows

2008-08-22T19:41:00.007-04:00

I knew getting my stuff to Atlanta for Dragon*Con would be difficult. I had no idea it would be the rutting problem it has become!

Short version- my crate of stuff was supposed to be at Freeman's warehouse yesterday. Today we discover it hasn't even left Canada! It seems US Customs wants to know a few things about the items inside. Fair enough, we thought, until we heard the questions.

For instance, regarding the knitted jayne hats, they wanted to know where they came from. When we told them a woman knits them here, they wanted to know where the yarn came from. We said, Walmart. They said, "Where did they get it? What is the country of origin?" Um... isn't that Walmart's responsibility to find out? Apparently not. What else did they want to know? Well - My husband spent the day on the phone getting the addresses of fabric manufactures in Hong Kong who make the fabric used in making the flags that I buy and have silk screened. Never mind that I bought the flags from the "US Flag Company" (seriously)- the US Customs people want *us* to track down where THEY got the fabric to make the flags. Also, where the paper parasols came from and the address of the manufacturing plant in Honduras where Hanes makes their T-shirts. Never mind that I bought the T-shirts from Cafe Press which is based in the USA. An entire day. Taken from his real job, to spend on the phone calling overseas for bullshit. My suppliers are responsible for making sure their products came into the country legally, not me. US Customs doesn't seem to see that logic.

We're just a little business trying to survive. The US economy is not going to crumble by us sending $5000.00 worth of merchandise into the States from Canada. Hey, Customs, 95% of my suppliers are in the States. I bought all the supplies from the US and paid all duty and taxes on every last fucking item that I brought across the border from the States. Now, I'm taking the very same items back across the border and I really don't think it should be suspect as illegal or dangerous or contraband simply because it spent a few months in Canada. Guess what else, Customs., I'm bringing it into the States to sell and when I do that I HAVE TO COLLECT AND PAY 8% OF WHATEVER I CHARGE TO GEORGIA IN STATE TAXES. Yes, US, you are officially getting more of the money from any of my potential sales than I myself would be. Let's see, add that to the cost of the supplies that I paid to the US companies where I got the items and then take out the duty and taxes... Hey US, I'm actually PAYING YOU with these items.

That is, if you ever let me take them into the country at all.

Oh, and since the stuff was supposed to be at Freeman's Thursday and is still sitting at the border, Freeman is going to tack on a fee for the crate getting there past the deadline. That is (say it with me) if it ever gets there at all. Set up is Thursday. Even if it ships out Monday it'll only GET there Thursday. It might not be taken to the hotel until Friday. Did I mention Dragon*Con starts Friday?

So where are we at now? Well, Firefly Cargo Bay has a table in the Marriott Marquis International Hall. My sister has some stock with her that doesn't have to cross the border. I have a few items coming in my suitcase. The Bedlam Bards will have their cds and shirts and other items. Geek2Chic has sent 85 shirts down to the hotel for sale at my table. Fangirl from FanDone is bringing lots of shiny items to peddle. So, we'll have stuff, I just don't know how many items at this point. (And don't worry, I won't boost my prices to make up for all these extra fees Customs is causing me-- I know I can't possible break even at this point so I'm not gonna try.)

What will happen now...? Watch this space for updates.

Until next time:
"I'm a businessman, see. Roots in the community"

Well, That Makes More Sense!

2008-08-11T18:18:00.007-04:00

We called the Dragon*Con dealer people and it turns out I'm not at booth #64 like it said in my letter. I'm at space number G4. It seems someone doesn't print very clearly and the G looked like a 6. It happens.

More D*C related stuff: There will be some Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along-Blog items for sale at the table. If you want them while you're there you'd best snag them when you see them. Once they're gone, they're gone forever! Cafe Press got a letter from Joss' lawyers saying, basically, cut it out, and pulled all designs related to DHSB. Quite officially too, which was surprising coming from Joss. He's always been supportive of the little guy and turns a blind eye to the freelance stuff. But I guess now that his own personal money is involved it's a different story.

I don't blame him or anything, and can understand that he wants to pay his crew and cast and all that and fair's fair. But he should know by now that people that love his work go all piratey and bootleg and yet still shell out every last dime they have for the official stuff when it's made available. We create a lot of "buzz" (as cafe press terms it) for his work and are a very creative bunch. So he should work with us instead of hushing us up.

I guess what it really comes down to is that I wouldn't mind being shut out in favor of the licensed merchandise if THE OFFICIAL STUFF DIDN'T SUCK SO HARD! It's really boring mediocre, first draft idea stuff and many of the designs and ideas on the sites on cafe press (and elsewhere) were much better.

I'm just sayin'.

Oh, and Adam Baldwin cancelled his appearance a D*C again this year.

So, I think that covers all my rants for the moment (I have a huge one with Canada Post right now, but it'd get banned from the internet if I printed in the language I want to use at the present time. Let's just say, that scene in "The Message" where Womack wants to light the postal clerk on fire? - I can relate!)

Until next time:
"Let's hope we got some funny hats, too"

No One's Gettin' Left

2008-08-05T21:28:00.002-04:00

Hello all!

We're back after 10+ days of no internet access. So... what did I miss?

I got my letter from Dragon*Con . Firefly Cargo Bay will be located at table #64 which helps not at all, as there is no 64 on the pdf of the dealer room map on the site. So many bugs to work out before the end of the month (yikes! less than 23 days away!!)

Other than that, I'm just going to spend the next few days catching up on what I didn't do without a computer and readying everything for the big D*C!

Until next time:
"Hey. Doctor. Glad to have you back now. On the ship."

On the Raggedy Edge

2008-07-24T09:51:00.001-04:00

PLEASE NOTE: Firefly Cargo Bay personnel will be flying under the Alliance radar and away from Cortex communications until August 6. Orders will be able to be taken at any time, but can not be processed until after that date. We apologize for the inconvenience and, beginning on the 6th, will promptly address all requests in the order they were received. xie-xie!

Until next time:
"Take me out into the black
Tell 'em I ain't comin' back!"

Polaris: The Smoke has Cleared

2008-07-17T15:24:00.007-04:00

Thank you to all who came out to have a gorram good time at Polaris 22 and congrats on surviving the Inferno...3 times!

Sales at the booth were steady and better than expected which is good and bad. The good is that the more sales I have the longer I can keep flyin and the more new, different and shiny merchandise I can make and offer. The bad is that some of my stock is really quite depleted. Not shiny.

I did sell out of the Companion Fans, but I saw this coming. When Monday rolled around our favorite UPS driver dropped off a box of 2 dozen of them from my suppler ready for painting. That's the good. The not so good is that they are not exactly like my first batch. :( Oh, they're nice and all that- the fabric patterns are different- not ugly or anything just different. That' really not a major problem, but I liked my very first type the very best and now I don't even have one (I sold my display.) It's okay... I'll get over it.

What I didn't see coming is a total sell out of my stock of Kaylee-Esque parasols! Wow! How shiny was that? So instantly I plopped my self down to order more from my supplier so I could paint them up for Dragon*Con . Word of advice; never try to order white paper parasols in high wedding season! Three suppliers- all out. "Check back in September" I was told. Major downer....

On the upside,one of those parasols went to a Kaylee who was entered in the masquerade. Here she is in full shininess!

Also on the up-ness was the addition of new Browncoat and Dr. Who shirts provided by Geek2Chic Custom Tees. These were very well received (as well they should be because they are pretties!) and as you read this the team is hard at work printing lots more for Dragon*Con. You really need to come check out all the new shinys!

There was lots more in the crates of the Firefly Cargo Bay booth. Ma Cobb dropped off some more of her very cunning hats (of which we sold out) and some new Mini Jayne hats (of which we also sold out). She's knitting her little fingers to the bone to have more for the big D*C, so don't worry- we'll have them for you! (That's one of hers on the little girl in the above picture) And we'll also have some Itty Bitty Jayne hats that fit perfectly on little goslings that can be juggled! They also serve as nice pins if you don't happen to be one of those people who juggle geese.

July's product of the month was premired at Polaris too. I now have in the shop "Very Fine Badger Hats". That's right, now all you businessmen with roots in the community can wear your own very fine hat like Badger. I did. All weekend! They are offered for $10.00 plus shipping and are now in the Firefly Cargo Bay on the products page. Here's a peek:

So, there you are- all caught up on what's going on here. I'll be reorganizing the stock we have and making room for the new stuff in the next couple of weeks to make sure it all gets to Dragon*Con. I hope to see you there!

Until next time:
"I may not be a fancy gentleman like yourself with your very fine hat, but I do business. We're here for business."

Your Mouth is Talkin'...

2008-07-03T09:39:00.002-04:00

...you might want to look to that.

I spoke to soon in my last post. Polaris needed to do the dealer shuffle and have moved my tentative table location. Firefly Cargo Bay will now be found at location X2 in the dealer room on the 11-13 of July.

Stop by and see us! I've set up a test booth here and I think we have room for all the shinys. PLUS word has come in that there may even be some "guest shinys" so you really don't want to miss it if you're anywhere near Toronto.

Until next time:
"Easy as lyin'!"

Countdown to Polaris

2008-07-01T09:08:00.005-04:00

Ni Hao!

Well, now that the yearly Can't Stop the Serenity showing here in Toronto is behind us until 2009, it is time for the Firefly Cargo Bay to look towards our next show . We have gotten word that our booth is located at table B7. That means you walk into the main doors of the dealer room, head straight for the back wall and turn right. We'll be a few tables down the aisle on the left side. You'll be able to spot us pretty easily- -we'll be the only booth with five variations of the Browncoat Flag !

If this location changes, I will certainly post it here. I will do the same for any other changes or updates that may take place between now and July 11th when the show opens.

NOW: I have not forgotten about the "one new product a month" goal for 2008. I do have new products to put on the Firefly Cargo Bay website to fall in line with that, I just haven't been able to get pictures of them up yet!

Let's recap the year so far (if I can remember all the new shinys)
January: the Companion Fan
February: the Kaylee-esque parasol
March: Black Market Beagle Bobble Heads
April: the Bedlam Bards' cd "On the Drift"
May brought both the Done the Impossible dvd and cd

And then June when whooshing by. Although I do not have them up on the site yet, I will spoil the surprise for you (surprise? I didn't mention anything for a whole month!)

The latest product(s) in the Firefly Cargo Bay are keychains! One has a little mutant guy saying "Grrr Arrggh", another has the "chain of command" line from Jayne on it, and another looks like a little Wash shirt! All are available for $2.00 (plus shipping) each. As for what they look like... well, I do have to get them out for Polaris, so I'l lbe sure to photograph them then!

And, then that brings us to July's new product!

Nope, no spoilers here! If you want to see it early, you'll just have to come out to Polaris and find me in the dealer room!

Until next time:
"Well, that makes you sort of a tease then!"

Serenity Forever- Equality Now!

2008-06-24T10:58:00.003-04:00

Just a shout out to all who attended a Can't Stop the Serenity screening to benefit Equality Now in *any* city world wide. Our local Toronto event was, once again a big success (they ran out of tickets!!) I was proud to be able to sponsor the day in part and found my donation of the 4X6 Browncoat Flags for the goody bags came in handy at auction time- people were waving them to indicate that they wanted to bid! (That was my master plan all along- HA!)

The one-and-only-in-the-whole-'Verse item I donated for the auction fetched a shiny $350.00- and that's in Canadian funds so it's worth more than in US money (lol)! I made Mr. Bandito- the winning bidder- swear to me that he would not put it up on ebay or anything, so you'll have to wait until I get my pictures before you see it. I was very proud of its performance and wondered allowed what I could donate next year to top it. I was told I'd have to bring Nathan Fillion himself! Boy, would THAT be fun to try!!!

So a brief post here just to say a big thank you. The TO BCs are still counting all the cashy money, so we don't have a total yet on what our part was in the world wide effort. I know locally we topped last year's efforts. Watch the main Can't Stop the Serenity board for all the participating city's take.

I will post more when I shift gears. CStS is now behind us and I need to get my gorram buttocks in order for Polaris. Firefly Cargo Bay will be in the dealers' room with lots of shiny wares... some never seen anywhere before! Come check us out on July 11- 13 in Toronto . Browncoats will be a plenty!

Until next time:
"Yep. That went well."

"Day" is a Vestigial Mode of Time Measurement Based on Solar Cycles

2008-06-05T13:46:00.007-04:00

It isn't applicable....

Is it June already? How did that happen? Well, May went whooshing by and I didn't even tell you about May's new product. Sorry, I was greatly distracted by some Penguins (congratulations Detroit.)

Without any further delay I will announce TWO new products that if you don't already own, your life as a Browncoat is incomplete. Trust me- these are must haves!

First product up features the Bedlam Bards, and Michelle Dockrey, and Emerald Rose, and Rob Kuhlman and many many more. It is, of course, the soundtrack cd to the documentary "Done the Impossible: The Fans' Tale of Serenity;" Lots of great vocal and instrumental music is featured on this cd by a wide range of talented Firefly loving musicians.

And speaking of "Done the Impossible", now also available in the Cargo Bay is the dvd of the fantastic documentary chronicling the fans' devotion to Firefly and how "Serenity" came about. It features interviews with not only fans, but cast members, creators and crew involved in the Firefly show. Tons of bonus features and "easter eggs" are included as well.

So, there you go, the latest shiny wares that are now available in the secret stash of the Firefly Cargo Bay. The link to the shop is over at the left there, so go check 'em out.

And I'll try to be much prompter in announcing the new product for June. It shouldn't be too difficult now that hockey season is over- I'm not a baseball fan.

Until next time:
"They don't seem to be playing by any civilized rules."

We're Just Happy to be Doin' Good Works!

2008-05-22T15:55:00.009-04:00

Well, ladies and menfolk, check your calendars and you'll see that we are indeed less than one month away from the 2008 Can't Stop the Serenity worldwide screenings and you need to go!! As expected, I am a sponsor for my local screening in Toronto. This year I have donated a only-one-in-the-whole-'Verse custom made woven throw featuring the ship Serenity and the show's theme lyrics. It was quite the challenge to let it go, I must say, and I hope it brings in tons of cashy money for Equality Now.

I'm also happy to say that Firefly Cargo Bay is not limiting it's shiny wares to the auctions and give aways to just Toronto. Merchandise from the shop will be available at screening in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Charlotte, North Carolina and Austin, Texas. Take your coin to these screenings and bid on the auctions or buy the raffle tickets and you too may walk way from the Big Damn Movie with some wares from Firefly Cargo Bay.

Even if you're not near any of those cities, you should see if there's a screening in your local area. It's not just a movie, it's an event! And if you're organizing a screening and you'd like some shiny stuff for your attendees, drop me a request at earthgirl@kos.net.

See you in the theater!!

Until next time:
"Day. A vestigial mode of time measurement based on solar cycles. It isn't applicable."

Out to the Black Again

2008-05-08T17:31:00.002-04:00

Polaris has cashed my payment check, so Firefly Cargo Bay officially has a spot in the dealer room for this year's sci fi con. Come on out and stop by. Lots of shiny stuff will be there, including some EXCLUSIVE items that won't be available anywhere else.

I know several local Browncoats who have already confirmed their attendance as well, so get your membership and join us for a gorram great time July 11-13, 2008 in Toronto at the airport Doubletree hotel!

Until next time:
"Up until the punching, it was a really nice party."

April's New Product

2008-05-07T18:43:00.006-04:00

I was continuing in my "one new product every month" for 2008, and realized I hadn't TOLD anyone what it was! Tragic Space Dementia is to blame!

So, January's was The Companion Fan and February brought us The Kaylee-esque Parasol. March roared in with Black Market Beagle Bobbleheads

In April, I thought it was very fitting, since we were doing Bards Without Borders, to introduce "On the Drift: Music Inspired by Firefly and Serenity" cds by the Bedlam Bards as the New Product of the Month. The cds are being offered for $15.00 plus shipping and will also be available at any shows I attend in the dealer room. Visit Firefly Cargo Bay secret stash website to pick up your copy, or visit the bedlam bards' main web page too (link to the left there)

The May product of the month will be announced shortly- but before June, I promise!!

Until next time:
"This is all part of your tragic Space Dementia. Makes you all paranoid and crochety. Breaks the heart."

Honest Jobs

2008-04-30T09:23:00.005-04:00

When you're a little operation like Firefly Cargo Bay is, you take jobs when they come. You tend to stay away from the big alliance make work and such.

But there's this place called Dragon*Con, where the geeks inherit the earth (well, at least downtown Atlanta Georgia for labor day weekend anyway). Its siren song has been beaconing me for a year or two now, and in 2008 not only have I given in, but I will be partaking in the mass frenzy of the dealer hall. Scroll down here under 'dealer' to see that we're all official and gonna be there among 40,000 of our newest closest friends. I'm psyched! What I want to see most is Adam Baldwin up close, um uh, no...was that out loud? What I want to see most is the parade on Saturday where the streets between the 4 host hotels become Nerdvanna with the costumed participants displaying their finery. The Browncoats turned out in good numbers last year from what I heard and this year the 76th Independent Battalion will be sporting shiny Browncoat flags that they got from somewhere *wink*

As for other trips out to the black, I've gotten notification that Polaris has received my paperwork application to be int he dealers' room, but they have not cashed my check yet. So Firefly Cargo Bay is still tentatively setting up shop in Polaris' dealer room. I make nothing official until cash has been exchanged. (That's the way of the Companion after all)

Until next time:
"Since I can't find honest work, I might as well become a petty thief like you!"

If You Can't Walk, You Crawl

2008-04-26T09:25:00.005-04:00

Well, I can walk, but if someone wants to carry me anyway....

Ever since FilKONtario, I've been following vixy and Tony's blogs and in one post, vixy mentioned that she is "walking" to all the Filk cons. I thought this was a great idea and decided to track my walking progress and direct it to the Browncoat Ball.

Now, vixy has a pedometer and I do not. But I do have a treadmill which keeps track of how many miles I've, well, tread. I thought that would work just fine, so I calculated how many miles I've walked since I got the machine. It was 96 miles, which sounds pretty impressive to me since I have only owned the thing for less than a month.

BUT when you look on a map, 96 miles doesn't even get me half way to Toronto. It's 1724 (and some) miles from my place to Austin Texas. At three miles a day it would take me 574 (and some) days to get there! Not very inspiring for a workout regiment. So I decided to work it another way. I counted the days remaining until the Browncoat Ball and figured out where I would get to in that time.

I will only be in Detroit in the middle of October at this rate! Very uninspiring when your goal is still 6 States away! I've gone back to other methods of motivation for the treadmill! I should get a pedometer- I walk a lot more off the treadmill than I do on it.

Until next time:
"A man walks down the street in a hat like that, people know he's not afraid of anything."

See Me Do the Happy Dance!

2008-04-21T15:17:00.003-04:00

At loooooooong last I can finally and officially report that MY WEBSITE IS UP AND RUNNING! *happy dance*happy dance*

Now, it's still got some adjustments to be made and there are certainly some long over due updates that need to be added, but the bulk of it is there and working. most importantly (well, from a fangirl's point of view that she wants to keep flying) is that the shopping cart section is working.

So, check it out and bookmark it, as I have a lot more stuff to add on to the shop (Independent Flags in 4 sizes-- and some with star color options too!- for example)

Let me know what you think of the site and keep an eye out for updates-
www.fireflycargobay.com

until next time:
"Well then, this is a day I'm glad to be me."

Little People Serenity

2008-04-15T15:48:00.002-04:00

Turns out YouTube rejected my Fisher Price Little People Version of Serenity. The video was too long. So I will re edit it into two parts and that should cut it down enough to repost it.

More waiting- sorry. I hope it will be worth it! :)

EDITED: YouTube now has them up and available for viewing. They are not set to the original music as I indented, but I divided them as best I could to keep the integrity of the original. That means, those of you who saw it at Bards Without Borders are the *only* ones so far to see it in its entirety and original edit. Aren't you special?

Here's the link to part one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNhlunBZoFU

Until next time:
"We gotta go to the crappy town where I'm a hero!"

Monday, Monday

2008-04-15T15:33:00.004-04:00

So, unfortunately the morning of Monday April 7 came around. One of the reasons Marianne and I didn't force ourselves to bed the night before was sleep would make the morning arrive faster. And Monday morning meant we both had to go back to our respective realities.

But, here it was in front of us. We took our time getting up, as check out wasn't until 1 pm. We knew the Bards were meeting Dave in the A&W across the road around 10 ish, so we headed over there around 9:30. Did you know they have a fairly decent breakfast? I got a yummy french toast for only 5 bucks. Much better than the out of season fruit and burnt pancakes I had at the hotel for $18.00!

While I was eating, my cell phone rang. It was Cedric and he wanted to make sure they got to see me before they headed out for the day and I left too. I told him we were at the A&W and he said, "That's where we're meeting Dave." I said I knew that and that's why I was there! So in short order, we had breakfast with the Bards.

Dave showed up and we all headed back to the lobby (Cedric needed to grab something before they headed out on their Niagara Falls excursion). Filkers were all hustling and bustling about or just hanging out. So, getting caught in conversations, it was well past 11 before the bards were on their way to the Falls. Marianne and I hung out in the lobby, because Mark (my fictitious husband- according to cedric) would be there any minute.

An hour later he showed up (the hotel was on DIXIE road dear, not DIXON road!) So we took Marianne to the bus stop and then headed home. Back to momma-ville. Back to making lunches and doing laundry. Back to tidying up toys and helping with homework.

*Sigh*. How many days until next year's FilKONtario?

Until next time:
"Let's slide right past the part where you explain exactly what that means"

So... What Happened Sunday?

2008-04-13T22:14:00.007-04:00

I'm not really sure-- it's all quite the blur...

I know we didn't choose the hotels' breakfast buffet, though! Marianne had the lemon pound cake she brought with her and I downed a couple of those Brown Sugar Cinnamon Pop Tarts that you can't get here in Canada (hey, the border guy didn't stop her from bringin' 'em in, so...!) Then we went up to the con suite since it was open to check out what was going on there. Nothing was.

We didn't do all that much until the dealers' room opened again. We hung out there most of the day. Not very busy, but that's to be expected on a Sunday of a con. At one point the Bards came in with a Browncoat from Buffalo and one from Hamilton (hi laura! hi kim!). Seems there was a bit of a mix up and they thought the Bards' concert was Sunday, not Saturday! What did they get for missing all the fun? A private concert in the Bards' hotel room. Who? Me? Jealous? Well, duh!

Not much else exciting happened that day that I can remember now (a week later). I know at one point someone walked in carrying a quilt. Marianne asked if that was the one from the silent auction and he said it was, and that he won. This instantly reminded me that I, too, had placed a bid on an item and I completely forgot to check on it. There was only 1/2 hour remaining to pick up auction items, so I dashed off to the main hall. The item on which I had bit was still sitting on the table. As I got closer, I saw that my name was the one highlighted in orange. I won the auction, I won the auction! What did I garner for myself? Well, if you'll forgive the non-Firefly fandom point, I got me this:
So happy me! :)

So anyway, around 3ish I started packing up little things and this snowballed into Marianne and I closing down shop completely. The Bards, Joyce, Dave, Laura and Kim all kept us company and we made arrangements to go to dinner- since we missed the chance of Friday. When all the stuff was stashed in our room, we met in the lobby and headed back to Kelssey's.

Already there were comcons and filk guests. More attendees showed up after we were there, and later we discovered Urban Tapestry and vixy and Tony were on the other side of the restaurant! It was the unofficial filk dining hall! We had a very nice dinner with the crew (despite the wadded up straw paper throwing incident-- I will not say who was all involved!!) and talked about a lot of things. My citizenship was discussed as I am still US citizen but a Permanent Resident of Canada. Cedric asked, "But where do your loyalties lie?" Without a breath I said, "With the Browncoats." Silly question!

After dinner we returned to the hotel and missed saying goodbye to Laura and Kim. Dave left in the parking lot and I eavesdropped on his and the Bards' plan to meet in the morning at the A&W for breakfast. I'm selfish that way ;). We were killing time in the gift shop until the room for the dead penguin filk opened. I bought my daughters' the obligatory gift: a small plush maple leaf on a key chain that plays "Oh Canada" when you squeeze it. I kid you not! I got one for each of my girls and they absolutely love them!

We got ourselves settled in the same seats we had the previous night, under the "Statler and Waldorf" section of the room, as someone so aptly put it! The Bards came in a little while later and I snagged Hawke so he could sign Marianne's copy of his new cd (now available here: http://cdbaby.com/cd/hawke ). I was surprised that even when he was done, he took up a seat next to me and not in the filk circle. Not that I minded or anything, but I figured he'd want to join in with the other musicians. Turns out he likes the smaller filk circles and spent the night in the "audience".

This was an awesome night of music. Cedric did the sparrow song- and no one wanted to follow him! Someone even said, "You sucked the energy right out of the room with that one!" (it was said as a compliment, but as I type it, it doesn't look like it. But it was). Someone else took "I Am the Walrus" and made it "I Am the Carpenter" using imagery from "Alice in Wonderland". Tony put down his laptop and stopped blogging to pick up the guitar a few times- one with vixy on Seanan McGuire's "Evil Laugh" (my laugh is an evil laugh! Ha! ha! ha! ha! Die!). Another favorite was "Mordor Bound" to the Simon and Garfunlkle classic "Homeward Bound." And someone even did "I'm Going to Go Back there Someday" acapella. I love any place with two Muppet references in the same night!

There were so many good tunes that night I can't possibly remember them all. Hawke called it a night before midnight and Cedric exited after a rousing gypsy violin number (which had the ladies dancing- and falling- by the bar) around 12 or so. Marianne and I kept saying, "We should go to bed" but never left our seats. Finally, around 1:30, logic took over and we bid farewell to our first FilKONtario. We both decided we're going back next year!

The next post- Back to Reality!

Until then:
"Well, my days of not taking you seriously are certainly coming to a middle."

And the FKO Report Continues...

2008-04-13T15:17:00.005-04:00

When we last left our fearless crew of Browncoats at FilKONtario 2008, they had just enjoyed vixy and Tony's concert, ending with "Mal's Song". As vixy said, "I think we'll get lynched if we don't do this song!" Do you know how awesome it is to hear 150 people singing "..you can't take the sky from me..." at the top of their lungs. Oh. So. Shiny.

Anyway, some of the Browncoats went to buy the new vixy and Tony cd and commenced stalking them for autographs. Marianne and I went to the "new" room we were put in and the hotel staff asked where we wanted the chairs. This was odd because they were bringing in semi comfortable ones, when the room was already filled with padded leather swivel ones. Anyway, we told them to put them in a circle and then we moved one of the two long tables in the middle and made for an eating place. When people started showing up we got a rough count of how many would be eating with us and what everyone ate on pizza.

I then left to call for it, but had left coloring sheets and Wash'n'Wear paper dolls and scissors and photo boards to keep the troupes entertained:
The Pizza Pizza guy said it would be about 40 minutes, so after 30 I went to the lobby to wait for the delivery. At 40 minutes there was still no one. At 50 minutes someone joined me in the lobby to see where dinner was (hi Tom!). I asked if they were in there gnawing on the tables in hunger. I was reassured no one was.

By 7pm I was on my cell phone in the lobby trying to find this friggin' driver. They asked me my phone number and I told them I was calling on a different phone in the lobby. The Pizza Pizza operator then asked, "What city are you in?" I knew this was not going to go well! Durng a billion more questions the delivery guy walked in the door. I sort of mobbed him- gave him the money and then saw that Tom had the pizzas. How Tom got sucked into carrying the pizzas I'm not sure but he did a damned fine job! We all ate (finally) drank (thanks to the FKO con suite crew) and were merry (because we are a happy lot.)

By the time everyone had their fill (and Alex walked back in-- almost missed the meal, didn't ya!) it was going on 8 pm. Any schedule I had thought of was now completely out the window. So I asked which of the two activities I had planned would most people like to do. A third option was presented that I didn't even think of-- they wanted to be hypnotized by Cedric again! I apologized for not even considering that, but it did put Cedric on the spot. He rose to the occasion and had all of the room feeling the experience of being on Serenity in flight. I, being in charge of other things, had to opt out of taking part again, but everyone else said they really enjoyed it all.

Closer to nine I cornered the Bards into performing again like the original schedule had intended. We got private concert performances of "Fruity Oaty Bars', "The Ballad of Jayne" and "Leaf on the Wind" among others. We were only about 1/2 way into it when Marsha lamented that she had to go help with the auction but didn't want to leave the private concert. Cedric suggested we all go check out the auction. We all agreed.

The auction. WHAT can I say about the auction? I've been to auctions before. Never one like this one. They had "runners" who would take the items to members of the audience who wanted a better look. They also had "wenches". These were (mostly) women (but Tony helped out too) who would run from bidder to bidder, massaging their shoulders, and sitting on their laps and stroking their hair, trying to get them to bid higher. Once they did, the wenches would run to the second person in the bidding war and pamper them until *they* bid higher- then back to bidder #1. It made for a wild, funny and profitable night for the auction. There were other items that remained in the silent auction that continued into Sunday, but more about that later.

After the auction, most of the Browncoat crew said goodnight and went their way. Those of us who were in for the weekend however were just getting started. Marianne Dave and I went to the Celtic Filk circle in which Cedric was participating. It was fine, if not overly celtic (I don't consider the Rolling Stones to be a celtic band!) The stuff that was celtic was more of the slow melodic type and it was very nice, but not helping keep me awake. I suggested to my sister that we hit one of the other filk rooms or the con suite. It was then she noticed Cedric was packing up too. Great, I was going to look like a stalking fangirl.

About a dozen of us all had the same idea when we invaded the second filk room. Cedric scored a chair and two of the 3 members of Urban Tapestry literally sat at his feet. I no longer looked that much like a fangirl! :) During the night Cedric kept his word of singing "Sail the Sky" with UT. Debbie's beautiful flute solo in the instrumental break made me adore more a song I already love. This room had more of the music that kept us going for a long time. It was 2 am before Dave said his goodbyes and Marianne and I held on until 2:30. Cedric was still going strong, however.

On the way up to the room, we ran into Hawke in the hall coming out of the room in which we had our dinner. It seems there was another filk going on in there and he'd been there all night playing! Ah, the things you learn too late! But we'd had enough and headed up to our room and those night comfy beds that we neither had to share- or make!

More on the remaining day of the con in the next post.

Until next time:
"Did he just go crazy and fall asleep?"

A Few Videos of the 'Verse

2008-04-11T11:11:00.002-04:00

You Tube has finished processing the videos I posted. Here's the links:

Motivated by Firefly:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2OsPGnrd_U#GU5U2spHI_4

and...
They're still working on The Fisher Price Little People Version of Serenity
I'm not surprised-- it's a long 'un after all!

Until next time:
"I think I might cry!"

FKO: Day Two

2008-04-10T16:29:00.009-04:00

This was the day- the day of Bards Without Borders! I wasn't nervous when I woke up, which, for those of you who know me, is really weird. Enthusiasm spills over and I talk way too much and end up physically vibrating! But I was fine this particular day, so we went down to the lobby for the restaurant's breakfast buffet. It was advertised as quite the bounty, but what they actually had was less than stellar. We did get to sit near the Bards (and we all behaved and didn't throw food!). This allowed us to overhear all the comments they got from people looking forward to their concert that day.

When we were finished we decided to head out and get the room for the events ready. The bill came and I almost fell out of the bench- it was our most expensive meal so far in the weekend! And our other two were lunch and dinner at Kelsey's!! Mental note- do not go back to the Delta hotel breakfast buffet!

We got into the room and the sun was shining right inside. I closed some of the curtains because they were making the light hit the table where the Bards would be sitting for their Q&A. They showed up and got situated and they had an audience of me, Joyce and Marianne. We talked for a while, then another couple came in, and then some more people (hi sue! Hi elizabeth!) and then some more people (hi marsha! dave! mike! laurie! and other's I don't know your names!) There were some good questions and Hawke answered in great detail. Cedric got a word or two in as well.

When the hour was wrapping up, Marianne and I went over to the dealer room to open up shop as Cedric took over for his hypnosis session. I had to sneak back into the room twice to get things (stealth-- there are other schools of thought.) When I returned for the remainder the whole session seemed to be going well. Comments from the audience confirmed this thought. By this time the room was boiling in the sun, so we kicked on the air conditioning (remember the comments in yesterday's post about SNOW!! Welcome to Spring in Canada!)

It was nearing the end of the hour and the concom people started dropping off the equipment for our video hour. Now, I'm a geek, but not a techno geek. I was so glad that there were 4 people setting up the a/v stuff. During this time the room filled up nicely and we were going to have a full crowd for the show. You know how I said I wasn't nervous before? This started changing when the video set up was not working and nothing was going right. Here sat a room full of people and I may have no means to entertain them. My heart was going faster and faster. I made some comment about having to resort to shadow puppets which got a little laughter. That eased the tension I felt a little, but not a lot. Then someone mentioned something about a back up system and thought's of Mal on Mr. Universe's planet dashed through my head.

In what seemed like the longest time ever, Sally returned with the back up system and got it all hooked up. We had showtime! (and I sighed the biggest sigh of relief *ever*!). My programing started off with a clip of the Bards performing "The Ballad of Joss" and after the line "... til all those crazy Browncoats rise again" I hear Hawke shout from a few rows back "AND WE WILL!" right in time with video Hawke! The clip ended and then I didn't know how to use the play station controls to choose the next clip. I pressed every button-- except the right one. Dave came up from behind, pressed the right one and the show continued. Good thing Dave was there throughout the weekend (hugs, Dave!!)

Next up was one of my Fisher Price Little People version of Firefly. Then the bootleg gag reel from the series. It was during this that some nasty squeezles must have chewed on the wires to the equipment- everything went white! I panicked! But that's one thing about being at sci fi themed cons- geeks everywhere! It took a simple thought of unplugging it and plugging it back in after the machine cooled down to get the show going again. I personally didn't lay a finger on the machine-- that's how inept I am at technical and a/v stuff. I 'd end up breaking it!

So the show continued with a fan vid of "Mal's Song" and other Serenifly stuff. My slideshow of "Motivated by Firefly" went over very well as did the world premiere of "The Fisher Price Little People Version of Serenity". We ended the program with the Canadian made parody "Mosquito". Lots of laughter was heard throughout the show and it made me very happy to have been there to witness that kind of feedback.

The group of Browncoats then gathered and went for an extended lunch. Marianne and I womanned the dealer room. Near 3 pm it was time for the Bards' concert in the main hall. They were pretty much ready at three even though the show didn't start for another 15 minutes. They did a"sound check" of "Whiskey in the Jar" that set the mood for the whole show. Not long into it though, Hawke broke hi sG string right on stage! (okay, actually it was a D string, which Tony - of vixy and Tony- pointed out, but that's not nearly as much fun to talk about.) While he adjusted his accouterments, Cedric played the funeral song from the episode "The Message." I have neaver heard them perform this before and I absolutely love Greg Edmonson's original on the soundtrack. So, naturally, it was at this time my con crud acted up and I had a coughing fit. Grr Arrgh! I hastily exited for the washroom until I could get it under control. (thank you sue for video taping the whole concert!!)

During a pause Cedric told the people who did not know what Firefly was to get in touch with one of us with loaner copies so that when the Bards came back, they'd know what the songs were about. Someone in the back called out, "Are you coming back?!" Cedric replied, "Ask Firefly Cargo Bay!" At this I called up, "Why don't you just *stay*?" Dave - the Bards' guide and personal bank for the weekend- was quick on the wit and answered from the side of the room "Because I can't afford it!"

The show went well but they had to trim their usual closer numbers. They ended with "Freedom Costs" and everyone joined in and shook the walls. It was great. Next up were the guests of honour, vixy and Tony. I knew I was staying for this concert too (as my poor sister dealt with the dealer table all by herself) because I knew not only "Mal's Song" but a few of Michelle's other tunes. Let me tell you, that duo took control of their set! I was pleased to see that the Browncoats that arrived to see the Bards stayed for this show as well. Immediately after it ended they all rushed to the dealers' room to buy the pair's new cd!

Next post- the evening of Bards Without Borders!
Until next time:
"Yep. That went well."

The FilKONtario Report: Day One

2008-04-09T11:59:00.006-04:00

Covering the goings on a con takes way too many words for one post, so I'll break it down into different ones and try to be brief (ha ha ha ha!)

FRIDAY, APRIL 4
My driver (hi gary!) and I left in the rain about 9 am and headed west to Toronto. The drive was uneventful except for the rain that turned to snow and lots of it. Horizontal snow because of the 100 km winds whipping across the country. No fun. I felt especially bad because this was the day the Bedlam Bards were touring around Toronto with their local guide (hi dave!). They weren't too happy about it either, but hey, they came to Canada, we gave them winter!

We arrived at the Delta around 11 am and found my sister (hi marianne!) sitting in the lobby with some "hard core" filkers. It wasn't long before we found someone official looking with the con (turned out to be dave- another dave) and he got us a key to the dealers' room. I needed to stash the huge pile of stuff somewhere, as our room wasn't ready. We did that and then went for some lunch.

When we got back our room wasn't ready, but they gave us another one. This was good because Marianne had been up for 28 hours straight. We got in and did some napping. At 2:30 I reluctantly woke her up as we had a dealer table to set up at 3 pm. We got into the room and started unpacking. I brought WAY too much stuff again, but it all worked out okay as there was room for an extra table. They asked me if I wanted it and I'm no fool-- (keep your comments to yourselves!)

During unloading I heard familiar voices in the hall. I turned and saw Cedric and Joyce. Huge hugging ensued. I apologized to them for the weather. I told them I scheduled warmth and sunshine to come up from the States for the whole time they were here, but it got stuck in Customs and wouldn't arrive until tomorrow. Joyce looked so frozen! We talked briefly and then went back to our work (the Bards had a sound check soon and they needed to grab the instruments).

Found room for more of the stuff on the tables and remembered why Marianne is the schlepper extraordinaire! She had lots of cleaver ideas (and now says she's done for the year with them) and the booth really came together nicely. See:

So the booth was done and the sales started pretty much at an overlapping time. We stayed in the dealers' room until they closed for the wedding that was taking place that evening.

There was a lack of communication, so we missed having dinner with the Bards. :( But we were back in plenty of time for the opening ceremonies and the FKO 19 preview concerts. First up was Urban Tapestry- three women with great voices and a sense of fun. Following them was Heather Dale. After 2 songs, I was an official fan! She's amazing and sings of strong women and has such an eclectic source of musical base that I was drawn in instantly. They only reason I didn't come home with one of her cds this weekend was I took too long in deciding which one I wanted and she had to leave earlier than I and took her supply with her. This, my friends, is why I love the internet!

After the concert, we headed up to the con suite for the cd launch party of vixy and Tony's release "Thirteen". It was packed and the two of them were over in the corner surrounded. We ran into Hawke and talked to him for a good long time. It was well after midnight when we started drifting towards the door. We were going to hit some of the filk circles, but decided to hit the beds instead. Saturday, after all, was going to be a busy day.

Until next time:
"That there - exactly the kinda diversion we coulda used."