Daily Doings at the Line of Death Bar & Grill

Every so often,on my LJ-friends list, I'll read announcements on upcoming science fiction conventions, or reports on past ones. More often than not, these are posted by single people, or married people with no children, or empty-nesters.

Part of me would like to go to some of these conventions -- meet some new friends, touch base with old friends, see some interesting panels, meet some interesting guests. But conventions can get expensive -- hotel rooms, convention fees, meals, goodies from the dealer's room. And because I'm divorced and paying child support (and spousal support until next year), conventions (or "cons" for short) have become a luxury that I can no longer afford.

Sometimes I often ask myself, "Are con friends real friends?" I'll see them in passing at a convention, and because we're so busy with our own schedules, not a lot of time is spent on those friendships during a convention. I'm thankful for things like filkhaven and LJ, through which I can deepen my relationships with my con friends.

I also ask myself, "Is my life being served well by living out some escapist fantasy?"

I used to collect lots of things like CDs, DVDs, videotapes, books, and comic books, until I consolidated the collections and realized I no longer have the space to keep them, and the money to maintain the collections.

Or maybe I'm just growing older, and outgrowing SF fandom.

*FIAWOL = Fandom Is A Way Of Life. Polar opposite of FIJAGH = Fandom Is Just A Goddamed Hobby.