Douglas - Snapshot Chronicles

More Minecraft: YouCube Meetup makes all the difference

08.07.2014 by Susan Getgood //

So. Mineorama, the Minecraft convention I wrote about in June, was “postponed” under quite dodgy circumstances a mere 5 days before it was scheduled to take place. And when I say postponed, the chances of it ever happening are (in my opinion) slightly less than a snowball’s in hell.

Cue lots of disappointed fans, many of whom had planned summer holidays in NYC just to attend the two-day convention, We were among the lucky locals who were potentially out our registration fees (although it looks like American Express has allowed my claim and refunded my payment) but not air tickets and potentially non-cancellable lodging reservations.

And then something amazing happened. A group of YouTube stars and server vendors who were scheduled to appear or exhibit at the conference put their heads and resources together and in a matter of days pulled together a one-day FREE meet-up for the fans, open to anyone who had proof of purchase of Mineorama tickets.

Space was limited so you had to register for the event, and bring both the YouCube Meetup Eventbrite registration and your proof of Mineorama tickets to the door, but on the day, everything went very smoothly. There was plenty of security managing the entry and meet-up lines, and volunteers kept everything moving to schedule.

Doug was more interested in meeting his favorite YouTube stars than the panels. Here he is with AntVenom:

And with JeromeASF.

I mostly hung around in the “parent lounge,” the floor near an outlet so I could get a little work done, or stood in line holding his place while he scouted the room looking for other stars to get photos with. That strategy ended up paying off big time; he was able to meet the guys slated for the last autograph session earlier in the day so we could scram and get lunch much earlier than we expected. WIN!

We both had a great time. He got to meet some of his favorite YouTubers as well as talk Minecraft with other fans as we waited in line. I loved seeing him have so much fun.

I also love the lesson that this whole affair provided the kids about the Internet — the good and the bad. Especially the good though. We get enough of the doom and gloom fear-mongering about safety and security of the Internet every day. While it is good to be cautious when purchasing anything over the Internet, Mineorama had all the trappings of a legitimate conference. Including relationships with STEM education initiatives and NYC schools. If it was fraud (and I am not saying it was), it wasn’t Internet fraud. It was just fraud. And honestly, I am inclined to believe that the organizers intentions were good, but their execution extremely poor.

But the good. That is the story that matters. The group of folks (MCProHosting, SkyDoesMinecraft and Mineplex) who came together and at their own expense put together the one-day meet-up exemplifies everything that I love about online community. Once you find your tribe, the tribe will be there for you. What could have been utter disappointment for the kids turned into a perfect example of how people can make a difference.

Sweet.

There has been some chatter on Twitter about the YouCube Meetup folks doing a Kickstarter to fund a 2015 meet up. I haven’t seen any details yet, but if they do it, I’m in.

For Boston

04.16.2013 by Susan Getgood //

I’ve lived in New England most of my life, and until three years ago, in a small Massachusetts town not far from the Boston Marathon starting line in Hopkinton. It’s impossible to live in Massachusetts, and especially in MetroWest and not know a few runners, both official and unofficial.

Now that we live in Connecticut, we are a little more removed from Marathon madness. Still, around 2:30 yesterday, I thought about going online to see who had won, but got wrapped up in something else. An hour later, my route to a meeting took me past the TV monitor in the lobby.

Stunned. Sad. Sorrow. For the victims. For Boston. For the Marathon tradition.

And selfishly relieved that my son wasn’t with his father in Massachusetts for spring break.

Rationally, I know there was no chance they would have been near the finish line. Even though my ex often goes to watch the Marathon, he goes to Hopkinton or Framingham.

But I can’t help but be grateful that I was spared even a moment of wondering.

And so sad and so sorry for all those affected – in any way, no matter how small it may seem. Sorrow has no rules. We only own our personal response. Not someone else’s.

So be kind today. To others, but also to yourself.

XOXO

2013. So far a mixed bag. With an extra helping of awful.

03.14.2013 by Susan Getgood //

Well, 2013, so far you are a mixed bag.

There have been some good moments.

Douglas and I had a great weekend trip into NYC in January. We saw Blue Man Group, ate at a terrific restaurant in the East Village (The Smith) and went to the Harry Potter exhibit at Discovery Times Square.

Not sure if they do this at other venues, but if you’ve ever been to a Blue Man show in NY, you may recall the audience warm-up bit at the beginning where a few audience member names are featured on an LCD display. Starts out as though they are calling attention to celebrities in the audience and asking the rest to congratulate or thank the celebrity. When we went, the first two were purportedly an Olympic Curling champion and a scientist with the human genome project.

The last one? Well, that was Douglas! Digging around the FAQ on the Blue Man website for the show running time to plan our dinner reservation, I had seen the notation about submitting a name for the LCD. There was no guarantee they would use Doug’s name but the chances seemed good, as I set up the situation for them; a 12 year boy attending with his mom seemed tailor-made for some laughs.

It met all my expectations. As the LCD crawled with his name, it noted (and I paraphrase because you can’t take pictures): Douglas is a person with no particular skills or talents, so he really needs our love. Tell Douglas “we love you.” At which point the whole audience yells “We love you Douglas.” He was naturally mortified that I would do this to him, making it all the sweeter, but deep down, even though he’ll never admit it, I think he also was secretly a little pleased. Every so often it’s nice to be the special one.

The other personal highlight of the year to date? Douglas won the school science fair. First place for 6th & 7th grade and First overall. His project, entitled “Produce Power” explored which fruits and vegetables would make the best “battery” for a digital clock. Here’s the mad scientist presenting his project at the fair last week:

And, while not quite a highlight, we finally resolved the divorce. There is still a lot of financial mess to deal with, especially regarding the real estate, but the divorce was granted February 13th and will be final in mid-May. Ironic, that my first full day as a formerly-married person was Valentine’s Day.

I won’t write much more about the divorce here or elsewhere, but of late I have been reflecting on life and relationships quite a bit. It’s not quite ironic, but there is something “funny sad” about the trajectory that so many of us late Boomers/early GenXers seem to be on, if my Facebook feed is any indication.

We spent our early adulthood building our careers, in no tremendous hurry to “settle down.” In fact, until my mid-30s, I never really thought I would get married.

And then we did enter into a long-term domestic partnership (including marriage and children). We thought we were “safe” because we had waited. We didn’t make youthful mistakes in our partner choice. We were older, established. We wouldn’t outgrow each other.

Except no. That’s not what happened. There are no guarantees in life. So now in the back third of my adult life, I am experiencing my third marital status – divorced. I’m not sad or happy. Just relieved to be moving on.

reva wstminster — Reva watches Westminster (2007)

And now the extra helping of awful. We learned this week that my dear darling Reva, Ch. Blueberry’s Best Served Cold, has cancer and there isn’t really anything we can do about it. There are three different tumors, so even if we could deal with the worst one without going bankrupt, one of the others would get her sooner rather than later.

We are devastated. She is only 8-1/2 years old, and I thought I had years left with her. Right now, she is pretty chipper and her normal self, so we are taking each day one day at a time. But things could go quickly. We just don’t know.

This, this alone, moves 2013 into the column of officially sucking. Because no matter what good things happen, and I am hopeful some will, nothing will make up for losing her.

That’s all I am going to write about this here until she does pass. Because it devastates me just to type the words, and I need to stop crying.

I’m sure by this point you do too (and thanks for sticking with this post) so please enjoy this video from a few years ago of Reva and her son Cash playing with “Clocky.” Reva is the larger blacker dog; Cash was just a puppy. And remember every day is a gift.

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