My 80GB Snazzy McSnazzersons Video iPod is waiting at home for me! They had said it would be there on the 19th, but I was kind of hoping it would turn up today. I wasn’t able to print the official “shipment release authorization” form due to a lack of a functioning printer, so I handwrote a page that had similar information (I authorize FedEx to blah blah…for this tracking number..please leave…this page is equivalent to your actual form…[signature]) and taped it up on the door, hoping that would be good enough.

I just printed out the official form (at work) in case I needed to use it for tomorrow, but then I checked the FedEx tracking number:

Dec 18, 2006 - 11:27 AM - Delivered - Left at front door. Package delivered to recipient address, release authorized

And then I squealed in my head a lot! I am very excited about trying it out when I get home. I already used the Videora iPod Converter to make the CSI:NY episode Silent Night iPod-compatible, and last night I downloaded SG-1’s episode 200 and Atlantis’s The Real World via BitTorrent (thanks clayfoot!) because I’d never seen them. So I plan to convert those to iPod format too, whee!

Did I mention that I’m excited? Did I mention that the iPod’s hard drive is twice the size of my laptop’s hard drive? Did I mention that I can’t wait to get home? Wheeeeeeee!

I had a pretty good time at Shore Leave despite being sick and alone. First, a rundown of who I interpreted for this weekend. I had William Schallert and Antoinette Bower on Friday night, and on Saturday I interpreted for Amanda Tapping, Carmen Argenziano, Corin Nemec, and Connor Trinneer. Today I had all of them again, plus Kent McCord and Jamie Bamber.

Yesterday night was a lot of fun. Unfortunately I didn’t find anybody to help me with my corset; the one person who had the time to help started doing something weird. When I asked her about it, the answer was quite discouraging, so I went back to my room and did it myself after all. I thought I did a pretty good job anyway, and I was pleased with my appearance. The first part of the Masquerade was pretty typical; the kids all went first (one had hearing aids in both ears) and received their awards before the adults began. There were a few major productions but the really good parts for me were the Giant Assimilated Tribble, the Purple Menace (Barney the Dinosaur done Star Wars style), and the woman who beautifully replicated Amanda Grayson’s costume from Star Trek IV. Once the presentations were over, the halftime show began. I knew it was going to be the Boogie Knights, and I elected to stand because interpreting peppy music while wearing a corset is not an easy thing to do while seated. Because I was standing, I was more prominent than usual, so I made sure to keep my hands moving even if I was just making up the signs. I had a fabulous time! When the judges returned, the MC thanked the singers…and the judges’ clerk stood up and yelled “and thanks to the interpreter, too!” That was the first of many, many compliments I received during the rest of the con…apparently a lot of people were watching me and liked me! One of the con chairs told me somebody sitting beside her during the halftime show had gotten her attention and said she should watch me for a while! Several people asked me “how did you do that?!” I told all of them at least part of the truth, which I will now collect here. First, having the set list helped (thanks, kradical!) because I not only knew what was coming next, but how close we were to being done! It also helps tremendously if I know the song they’re parodying (is “filking” an alternative word, filkerdave and vixyish?). I also do a little bit of lipreading when I’m having trouble understanding - if you see me peering at the performers, that’s why. And finally, if I’m completely lost…I make stuff up that fits the general message/theme of the song! But anyway, I received tons of praise for my performance. (Several people said my outfit was pretty, too!)

Today started out awful. I was still sick, of course, but while I was packing up I realized…I’d thrown away the stipend envelope they gave me. They gave it to me while I was eating lunch; during lunch I had to relocate and I put the envelope into the lunch bag to carry it along. I forgot about it and threw away my lunch bag when I was done. After I carried some stuff out to my car this morning, I went to ask if that had been cash or a check…and it was cash, unfortunately. They said to find one of the con chairs and they’d see what they could do for me. I was crying, of course (and I’m sick, so it was messy), and I went back to my room. I stopped briefly at the front desk to ask what happens to trash, and of course it was irretrievable. I called A and cried at her, and she said not to worry about it…I don’t need the money, really, and I don’t do it for the money anyway, and this kind of thing happens to everybody at least once. So I agreed that I would just let it go, and I went downstairs to interpret. (I also bought an IDIC pin to put on the vest I wear to leather events, just to see if any Trekkies notice it! It’s more subtle than a communicator, and I like the meaning…the idea to get one came during the one panel I attended during the con, which was about gay fandom.)

After interpreting for a bit, I went to the registration desk to see if the staff photos had been returned. If you’re working during the con, you don’t usually have time to wait in the autograph line, so you hand in whatever you want autographed and the stars sign them at night or before their first appearance in the morning. The pictures weren’t there, but the treasurer still was, and she asked if I’d worked anything out with the con chair. I told her I wasn’t going to worry about it, but it turned out the con chair was standing nearby and the treasurer called her over! They discussed it while I chatted with some kids who were interested in my job, and then the con chair came over to me and told me not to worry…they were going to replace it. She said that with all I do for them, and especially after all the compliments SHE had heard about my performance last night, it was no trouble to replace it. As the treasurer was writing out the check, she told me she was glad they could replace it because losing something when you’re sick and exhausted (I had mentioned while explaining earlier that I’ve been sick all weekend) is understandable. So I got the money after all, which made me feel really good…though not as good as all the compliments I got for interpreting!

I did eventually get the photographs; Connor Trinneer just put his name on it but Amanda Tapping put my name, “with love” (that was on all of them), and she put “thank you!” too, probably because I’d slipped in a note saying I was the interpreter. I interpreted for a bit longer before leaving for home. I am taking tomorrow off as a sick day, because I still feel like crap and my voice sounds weird which is no fun when your voice is an essential part of your job. I’m not sure if I’ll make it to the staff meeting in Silver Spring tomorrow night…we earn three hours of vacation by going (because it’s after working hours), and I want to see a few people, but I don’t know that I’ll feel like going. I can always say “I didn’t want to infect the entire staff” if I don’t end up going - and hey, that’s true too.