Rapid Rescue's BronyCon 2013 Experience.
I've been withholding everything I did at the Convention for a while. Mostly because when I got home, I was too tired and busy to write anything up. So, let's talk about yours-truly's personal experience with BronyCon.
Work my eight hours at work that day. Also recieve my paycheck and cash it. Come back home, pull all my previously-packed bags into the living room to leave them somewhere accessable. Lay down, attempt to sleep.
Awaken. Can't sleep. One of those moments where the body says 'NOPE,jpg' and won't allow you to find a comfortable resting situation. I had to be up at 0430 to leave my home in Southern Maryland to make it to Baltimore with one stop in between anyhow. I wake up and start dicking around with Evil Genius for a while on Steam. Talking to one of the friends carpooling with me about it, as well.
0400, Medic 4 ("Porkchop") arrives at my place. We take his belongings from his car, pack them into mine with all my stuff. Get underway to pick up Janice Ghosthunter at 0430. We arrive at her place at about 0445 and we're easily packed and underway. Officially turn on the Brony Playlist I had organized over the past eight months on my phone and we start jamming.
Arrive at my old house, where my mum and grandmum live. We've prearranged to meet my mum so I can do a car-shuffle with her. She gets my Grand Marquis for a few days, I get her Ford Escape. We repack after waiting about a half hour for her to show up, hampering the timeframe a bit more. We leave from that house, I have to fill her car up from a half tank, stop and enjoy some nice McDonald's breakfast with a guy who takes my cash and leans in too close to nearly whisper that I have a nice vehicle. No, you cannot steal it, sir.
We get underway to BronyCon, finally. We're arriving a day before Con because, well...that's when staff has to be there. We bebop and enjoy our music on the way. Finally get on the I-95 Capital Beltway, exchange onto BWI Parkway...and traffic starts slowing. Dramatically. I'm calling ahead to Medic 2 ("Life Line") because he's been there since the day before. He's apparently stuck guarding an AV room and can't leave for the first orientation at 1000 hours. We kept calling back and forth to try to communicate to my Department Head...but alas, nowhere to be found.
Porkchop's dead asleep in the back of the car. I'm tired, but...we're stuck in traffic and I can't sleep. I get out of the car and walk about a bit; stretch some. Can't say that I did that in the middle of the Baltimore Washington Parkway everyday, can I? We finally get back underway after waiting something like 45 minutes, pass by the accident that caused it. I get all excited because I can tell they've extricated someone, explain to Janice about how extrication works, Porkchop as well because he's a fellow EMT/Firefighter.
Finally arrive in Baltimore proper. I get to the hotel, have to loop it three times. Once because I didn't see the garage until too late. Second time because I thought I only saw the exit and not the entrance. Final time, we get in there. Get my parking pass. We head upstairs after contacting Life Line again and meet up with him. Ask him where everyone is, where to go. He has no clue. Since we're all first-timers to BronyCon, I doubt that anyone really knows who we are, nor what to do with us. We wander about and finally find someone who tells us to head up to level 3. We do so, head down to the Security Pen while they're in mid-briefing. I finally meet Rabbi face-to-face, we get pulled aside from the general security guys going on the tour. Namely because I already know the Baltimore Convention Center from the many visits to the JEMS expo. Rabbi simply states 'no worries' to going for the grand tour. Shows me to the Infirmary. We get some business settled, get tucked into the wait.
Head downstairs, get my pass for parking upgraded to a weekend pass by the voucher-lady. We end up discussing what Bronies are, explain to her the good that most of us do in the community. 'Most of us'. I try not to raise her expectations above any other communities out there, given that there are some men who just want to watch the world burn. She thanks me for the explaination after telling me about how Otakon gets. I tell her that I've been there and done that. What Marylander hasn't seen Otakon in the 18 years it's been here? I've never gone in, but...I've been past it.
At about 1300, I take the four of us present (Janice, Life Line, Porkchop, myself) to a Chinese place nearby that I knew from the JEMS expos. They have beautiful food and a nice lounge. I treat -everyone- there to lunch. Not because I have to, but...because I wanted to. I get shit from at least two of them for paying for everyone, but...that's just who I am. We left, went back to the Infirmary.
The waiting was the hardest part. It's roughly 1130, and we can't check into our rooms until 1400. I'm still tired, but there's nowhere to sleep. We have another problem, as well.
Janice's cousin is flying in. But he's not going to be nearby. Janice and I have to go to Reagan to pick him up. And he arrives at 1700. I'm already exhausted from a lack of sleep, but to drive all the way back down to DC/Alexandria, VA? My poor mind's already going. We decide to leave Porkchop with the bags and get him to get our room. Janice and I leave without meeting any other medics at 1615 to head to DC. We run into more traffic, more cussing ensues...but we finally get her cousin and get him aboard. He was a panelist for Double Rainboom, so there's no way I could've left him at the airport...
We finally re-arrive in Baltimore about 1900 hours. It takes a while to track where my room key is, because Porkchop's off 'exploring' and won't answer his phone. I head up to Con Ops who apparently had a second key. They only issued one to Porkchop. Finally, arrive in room, get settled, get my gear ready. End up meeting the other medics who showed up after I left for DC, talk to them for a while...and finally tell them I can't stay up much longer. I'm exhausted from the day's events and need my rest. They let me go, I return to the room and crash, hard, at 2100. Duty starts at 2330. I sleep right up until 2330, run like a wildman, meet my partner and run an empty, call-less shift until 0800 the next day.
Of note, I did get to meet and talk to one person in the fandom whom I simply think of as awesome. Fire Mane. He came right up to me and began talking to me like an old friend or something, despite not knowing me personally. He tells me about the message he plans on having at his panel, and it's something that actually carries straight into the weekend ahead. "What's the opposite of success?" I think 'failure', of course, but he tells me it's quitting. "You see a pothole in a street, that's a failure. Do the road crews just give up because there's a failure? No. They return to it and fill it to make it a success. Therefore, the opposite of success is qutting." I'm glad he told me this, because...it really made things easier.
We didn't really do much more other than get our hands on some cards, play a few rounds of poker and blackjack...and then even moved the party to the pen with the admin therein (Ceiling), and play a few rounds to keep him company. Poor guy's stuck alone in there, makes his night a bit more tolerable. Because of this, we also meet Worldkeeper and Iron Sights, two guys who're patrol-partners. I end up heading down with them for a little patroling, share a cigar with Worldkeeper, and end up meeting two more security guys from that night.
In all, the night wasn't too terribly busy. But there was stuff going on.
Finally arrive back in my room at about 0830, take a shower, and crash. Hardcore. There was no reaching me.
Wake up, finally. See on my phone that both CloudSpire and Rabbi have attempted to contact me. I fear the worst. Janice and her cousin are off in the con somewhere, I've missed opening ceremonies, and I'm just...I'm here. I get my gear on, head down to the Infirmary, then to the Pen. I can't really find anyone, so, I simply head to the Con floor to see what's going on. My radio's on, so I hear the medics are all wandering about...
Finally run into one familiar face. Meet up with Life Line and we have discussions about what I missed while sleeping. He tells me of the few incidents they've had and handled. I finally meet another few medics that I only saw briefly from the day before. Help them out by running calls, because...that's what medics did. The entire con, you'd never know any of us had a set schedule. Anytime we weren't on duty, if we could run a call, we did. That's why I give the slanted view that Medical might've just been a bit more awesome than any other department out there. I was highly impressed with the guys I chose. Sure, we had our snafus...but those guys know how to help others.
Cue time passing with me helping with calls, doing not a whole lot. It's about 1800 or so, I finally meet up with a guy who was going to be on the staff and I've sort of befriended, despite everyone else sort of giving him crap, Steev. We go out to dinner at the Chinese place from before. Can't sing it's praises enough. Uncle Lee's. Go there when in Baltimore. Trust me. Uncle Lee himself comes by our table, asks me about what Bronies are and if we're part of the convention. Talk to him about it, he thanks me, tells me we're always welcome to dine there. Steev and I finish, head back to the hotel. Somewhere along the way, we break out into Flim and Flam's Super Speedy Squeezy Cider 6000 song. It was epic. Two guys walking down Penn Street West, singing this tune, and not even Bronies around us could figure it out.
Steev and I go seperate ways upon arrival at the Convention Center, simply because he has some people to meet up with, and I can't find my own. I return to my room, find Janice and her cousin there, talk with them about what they've done. They're enjoying themselves, I explain where I just came from. We laugh a bit, talk about the convention...and I decide that my place is back on the floor downstairs. It's around 2000 now, so...duty soon. I head down to the Infirmary, talk with two of the medics therein for a bit, find out about how mid-shift's been doing.
I waited until my partner for the night shows up (Fixed Toast, great gal). I tell her what all's going on in comparison to the night before, where we virtually did nothing. She's understanding, gets herself prepared. We head down, and Bronypalooza's causing earthquakes. Or, rather, disturbances on the Richter Scale measuring to 1.6. We're dealing with calls all over the place ranging from drunks to simple cuts and even a few anxiety attacks. Everything. I'm jealous because I keep seeing Big Mac plushies, and I haven't been to the Vendor Hall yet. But because it's closed at nights, well...nothin' I can do.
After Bronypalooza closes down, we're told to get everyone out of the Con floor. This resulted in...well, me being cussed at. There was a problem. I was slighted from it, felt it was completely unnecessary, but whatever. The persons involved never once apologized to me, but did use myself and the medics on several calls. So, goes to show you how EMTs are treated. No, this isn't just something that happens at Cons, either. I've had it happen in my real-world affairs as well. People are quick to forget you until they need your services. Then you're suddenly termed a 'hero'. Getting off the soapbox, now.
So, myself and Toast decide to go back to the Infirmary, then head to the Security Pen for more card playing with Ceiling. I eventually get bored and head down to the Convention Center and walk the floor with Worldkeeper and his partner. We discuss Best Pony, can't understand why they can't pronounce 'Big MacIntosh' correctly, and try to help them understand better. Worldkeeper kept mistaking him for Pinkie Pie. Dunno why.
This is also the night where I decided that it was fun to walk up to a huge group with whomever I happened to be with and mention 'fun'. It was epic to get the Legion started. "FUN FUN FUN FUN FUN FUN FUN!"
Finally got back to the Infirmary at about 0730 to meet the next shift and debrief them. Poor Blitzkrieg and Life Line, all alone as well. I think they ran into more than my shift did on their days on, but I helped them where possible. I filled my reports out, checked off the air, and went to shower, bed at around 0930.
So I finally awake and feel peckish. I'm hungry as all get out, decide it's time to find the Staff Suite's goodies. I'm dressed, out the door, board the elevator...and end up onboard with Cathy Weseluck. I was too scared to say anything to her, as this is my first convention, and I'm standing next to one of the VAs. It's like meeting a god, but not knowing how to properly worship the ground they tread upon. I simply disembarked on my floor, and began having breathing difficulties. My heart's racing, I can't even.
Got something to eat, saw the guys in there finally found the PMV channel (I had been leaving it on during rest to have music to sleep to), and left out. I turn my radio on, hear that there's not a lot going on, and make my way to the Infirmary. No one present, but there's stuff going on next door. Head over to the dispatch room, talk with those guys and gals for a bit to make friendlies, then tell them I'll be on without using the radio. I head down to the Con floor, indulge in walking about and run into the medics after a bit. Because nothing -heavy- is happening, and I know they're all out there, I call them to the escelator nearest the Skybridge to the Hilton and we take a photo together. The only one we got. We laugh and joke for a bit, notice there's a huge dance going on in the middle of the Mezzanine...and plan. We plot to walk directly into the center and see what happens, then start dancing.
Mind you, we're mostly dressed in tactical vests. We have security shirts on. This can only go one way: awesome. We go down in a straight line, walk straight into the center...and everyone starts backing right up. Looks like we're about to break things up, but we end up dropping the medbags and dancing. Crowd enjoys it, we make fools of ourselves, then make a hasty retreat. Someone was filming this, still haven't seen it, though. Rabbi sees us all gathered, comes over. "All of my medics are together, what's going on? What's wrong?" We politely inform him that we comendeered a dance. He says 'good enough' and leaves it at that. We break off, go our seperate ways, laughing. I walk aimlessly on the floor for a while longer, attend to one or two calls, then head up to the Staff Suite to get something for dinner. It's roughly 1900, and Blitzkreig and I are together. We stop by the Infirmary so I can drop my bag off, then both head up to find the first hot chow we'd come across from the Suite: tacos! So delicious, so worth it. Kreig and I also end up watching some of the O's game (literally, one inning), since the Infirmary was high enough and correctly angled to watch the entire thing. We joked for a while, enjoyed some laughs, and then he headed to bed. Couldn't blame the guy, he was morning shift and frequently working straight up to mine.
I ended up going back to my room to get some stuff, and found that Janice had gotten me a new patch, which I still need to sew on my vest. Big Mac cutie mark, get. I also had been sending some people around looking for the Big Mac plushies, to no avail. There were leads...but I wasn't able to get to the Vendor hall early enough.
BronyPalooza was interesting. This was the night of the now-infamous events between myself and this poor, young lady who tried to make -my- night better. Of note, this wasn't the only incident. I also had a guy who had cut his finger pretty badly, and his friends wouldn't drive him to the hospital. I had to get him a cab and had offered to pay the driver myself, but the driver took him for free. Also had an underaged drinker a bit earlier in the evening, whom I wasn't trying to get into trouble insomuch as let him sleep off his stupor. I hear that he ended up bragging about it somewhere on /mlp/,
So, after all this noise occurs, I end up finding out that we've got to check out by 1000 hours. Two hours after I get off. I'm tired, I want to sleep...but I know I can't. I also have a huge drive ahead of me. I know I'm exhausted and going to be no-good...but I have a task to do.
DAWN OF THE FINAL DAY; August 4th, 0800
After having dealt with some stuff, I finally get up to my room and pack my bags. I bring them to my car, get everyone's stuff together. I'm still exhausted. Best I can do now is nap in the Infirmary on the air mattress. I wind up back there at about 1000, fall asleep quickly. Ten minutes into sleeping, I'm awoken and told 'we need a medic on the floor'. So I rush out without hesitation. Someone's dislocated their knee, we call for the ambulance...deal with all that and decide 'fuck it, I'm staying up'.
I finally get to go to the Vendor Hall and buy stuff. And I do so. I also get employed, briefly, as a drug sniffing hound. Don't ask. I talk with a few vendors, don't get to talk to Michelle Creber, despite Worldkeeper trying his best to get me to talk to her...and move along. The night security guys have been hanging out with me the whole while, empathetic to how long I've been on. No medics put me down, but they should've. I wind up putzing about and taking calls. The closing ceremonies go down, and I wind up with a patient in the Infirmary, so I never hear Rabbi's comment about how great a job the medics were doing. And they deserved it.
We go in for the final debrief at 1700. I've been relieved of my radio, and I'm ready to leave...when the security pen has an announcement that there's a patient on the BCC floor. One of the security guards had a fall. One Rabbi and seven medics fly out of the door and down Penn Street, then up escalators to find that the patient's...well, she's fine. It was funny, all the same. We head back to the debrief, get applauded...and with everything over, I find myself in this odd situation. All these people I've grown to know...are going to be gone.
I approach Freya, the night shift commander. She's crying. I shake my head and tell her that she's going to get me started, and it does. I'm tearing up, the medics are heading to the Infirmary, and they all...they're all just amazing. I tried to do our final debrief, but I found myself doing nothing but sobbing. I did my best to convey to them how awesome they did, and how much they helped alleviate my job as Commander. They really went above and beyond and did all I asked and then some. I couldn't have had a better group, despite being understaffed.
We all were ready to leave when I was summoned back to the Pen. Rabbi's asked if he'd heard about the incident from the night before involving me, to which he tells me he's yet to hear it. This event, as I told you guys, still brings a tear to my eyes. Regardless, I retell the tale...and start sobbing again. I hate this. I hate being emotionally vulnerable, much less crying in front of others. I'm given several hugs, Rabbi tells everyone he's proud he chose me to lead the medical crew...and I have the long, solemn walk back to the Infirmary. After calming down, I watch as medic by medic leaves...and finally, my time comes as well. I'm physically and emotionally drained, so I can't dead-dog with everyone else. I left Baltimore at 1830 hours. My final shift over...and my experience of BronyCon being one of hard work, personal sacrifice, but a fun time.
I know there's a lot of stories out there of how people hated things that happened at the event. There's a lot of hurt feelings, and a lot of personal grief. Well, let me tell you this: this was my experience that changed my view of the Bronies and being in this fandom for the better. I'm not attacking any of you, as you're all entitlted to what happened. But know that this was a growing experience for most. Despite being severely shorted in staff, just about all of us went out and did our jobs and tried to help you guys enjoy the best con you could have. And no matter how many times I get the negative remarks for what happened in Baltimore, I think to all the people who have reached out and told me they enjoyed their time and how much fun they have. We're all human, and we all came together to indulge in the common kinship we have: love and tolerance. I -enjoyed- my time serving you, the community. I -enjoyed- my trip to my first con. And I -enjoyed- being able to meet my friends and making so many positive impacts. No one can take that from me, now.
Your BronyCon 2013 Medical Pegasi,
