Well, the United Astrology Conference 2008 has come and gone. Although my presence in Denver was only ten much-too-short days, it was the culmination of years of planning. Making new friends and connecting with old ones is always the most important part of any astrology conference for me these days. Even though I was extremely busy for most of the time I was there, it was still invigorating (although also extremely exhausting).
Let's try and organize this chronologically for clarity's sake.
After arriving and checking in to my lovely, humongous suite Monday after an uneventful flight from Philadelphia to Denver – I immediately had to run out and do some shopping. I needed to pick up a "disposable" printer, paper, and other supplies for AFAN and personal use. After my hospitality suite co-workers (Dottie and Jenny) and our designated driver (Christine) arrived a bit later, it was time for Sam's Club run. There we bought the food and beverages for the first few days of hospitality suite operation. That night, I just had a quiet dinner with my hospitality suite co-workers and got a good night's sleep before the busy week I new was coming.
Tuesday, we had to serve lunch for participants in the AFAN "Manifesting Your Vision" workshop participants and also host a gathering of those participants that evening. The evening's function is when most people started becoming aware that the AFAN suite was the place to be after hours.
Wednesday was more of the same, with a larger crowd in the evening and an even later night for the AFAN "Meet & Greet."
Thursday, I moderated an AFAN community issues panel in the afternoon on "9th House Matters." It we had a great panel and some great discussion. The panelists were Nick Campion, Ronnie Dreyer, Kim Farnell, Robert Hand, Donna Page, Toni Thomas, Chris Turner and Joanne Wickenburg. We discussed education, legal issues, publishing and media in a three-hour workshop.
Prior to the workshop, there was a worry that one of the participants in the opening ceremonies hadn't shown up yet, and I was asked to take his place for a rehearsal and possibly for the event itself. Thankfully, he showed up and I was relieved of that burden. That night, members of the Conjuntion e-mail list went out to Maggiano's Little Italy – can you say, "Table for 25 please?" It was a lot of fun, and had I been involved in the opening ceremonies, I wouldn't have been able to be there. After the opening ceremonies, once again the AFAN suite was the place to be. Another late night. They kept getting later each night.
Friday, I took the day off. Which mostly consisted of me doing things I hadn't been scheduled to do – like sitting at the AFAN table when no one else was available. It was also the only night the AFAN suite was not the after-hours party place. I figured the dance part was going to run late, so I took the opportunity to have dinner with some friends, briefly hit the Kepler suite, then went to bed at the ungodly hour of 10:30 p.m.
I had to pace myself.
UAC isn't a sprint - it's a marathon.
Saturday, in addition to my usual duties of running around "putting out fires and herding cats" there was "Plutopia," which I was a minor part of. I was what they were calling a "man in black" (although I wore navy blue) – outside security. My acting job was to make sure people stayed in line, had their tickets, and that tickets were signed in advance – and if not, inspect their photo ID as they signed it for me. Basically, intimidation. Not typecasting at all, huh?
Some people didn't realize we were acting our parts. One Indian gentleman kept coming up to me and asking when the doors would open, what entrance we would be using, etc. I kept answering, "That information is only provided on a need-to-know basis" or "That information is currently confidential. You will be provided with proper instructions at the appropriate time." I finally had to take a friend of mine aside and have her tell him we were acting our roles – and that we didn't have the information he wanted. Some people refused to cooperate (*cough* Robert Corre *cough*), so we had to make an example of them.
I had a great time, as did those who had a sense of humor about it. I refused to "break character" for even my closest friends.
After "Plutopia," the AFAN suite opened for the night. But I had a lecture the first slot Sunday morning, so I excused myself early and went to bed so I could actually be conscious during my lecture.
Sunday's lecture, "The Astrology of Artists," went very well. There were many in the audience who were familiar with the artists I featured and people also seemed to pick up on my research methods very well. There were even two very synchronous moments. The room monitor was actually a relative of one of my featured artists – Mary Pratt. Also, since I was at UAC and didn't have time to check the news much, I was unaware that Robert Rauschenberg had passed away two days before the lecture. I said he was still alive, and was quickly informed of his recent passing.
I also attended Sunday the only complete lecture I was able to during UAC, my friend Branka Stamenkovic's "Ecological Relationship Analysis" – a lecture on using horary astrology to define relationships. She was using my LCD projector, and although I've known her for many years, I had never been to one of her lectures. I highly recommend her tapes and courses for those interested in horary astrology.
That evening, I hosted AFAN's "Double Secret Probation Jam Session" – which was apparently so secret that no one else brought his or her instruments. But the night did feature Curtis Manwaring showing us all how jazz guitar should be played and also Christian Borup playing some tasty blues licks and accompanying me as I sang my faux-blues song "Mercury Retrograde Blues." The first of the lost objects I suffered was right after this as my guitar capo literally disappeared from the table next to where Christian and me were sitting. The horary chart argues for recovery. We'll wait and see. That party broke up about 3:30 a.m. – thankfully my lecture the next day was not until 4:30 p.m.
Monday, after sleeping in, I decided to go to a lecture by my friend Pat Geisler titled "Role of a Lifetime" – about actors who are famous for only one role. It's a topic of interest for me, but about a half hour into the lecture as I looked up a chart on my laptop Solar Fire Gold began acting very strangely. I would close the chart window and it would immediately open the window again and redraw the same chart – even after a complete re-boot of my computer.
Now, since my lecture was in the next slot, excused myself as Pat took a short pause and skedaddled over to the Astrolabe booth where they backed up my data quickly and brought me over to the Esoteric Technologies booth for further diagnosis. They had never seen anything like it before. It looks like it was a corrupt file problem, so we uninstalled the program and reinstalled it, restored my data, and I was off to my lecture. Special thanks go out to the people at Astrolabe and Esoteric for getting me up and running for my lecture.
As to my lecture, the room was packed. There were people sitting on the floor behind me, and they had to refuse entry to some. It went well, but I fear it was over the heads of many and that I tried to pack too much information into one lecture. I still got many compliments on the talk, however.
After a quick panic about leaving my laptop and power cord in the lecture room after returning to my hotel room (I didn't I just thought I did), I got ready for the Regulus Banquet – Astrology's Oscars. It was a great night with many tears and many laughs and great company. Afterward, we of course opened up the AFAN suite for another late-night session – this one breaking up at 4:30 a.m.
Tuesday saw the closing ceremonies, more tears and laughs. I got to go to the Rockies/Giants game at Coors Field with some friends from the Conjunction list, courtesy of a sports astrologer who knew one of the Giant's media people. Great seats on the lower level right behind Home Plate. And then yet another party night in the AFAN suite.
Wednesday was packing up day – shipping things back home, packing the suitcases and saying last goodbyes. My shuttle to the airport picked me and two other UAC attendees up at 9:15 p.m., and I made two more new friends on the way to the airport – talking astrology and probably confusing the shuttle driver immensely. After a burger and a beer at the airport to help me sleep on the red-eye flight, I settled in for three hours of a baby crying in the seat behind me. Oh Joy.
So, UAC. How does one sum it up?
The Good – Reconnecting with old friends and meeting new ones from MySpace and other space, including Roland "The Hoarse Whisperer," Meredith, Chris Brennan, Curtis Manwaring, Allison, Sarah, Renee, Donna, Nick, Moses, Gary, and the rest of the AYA crowd - and far too many others for my altitude and party-addled brain to recall right now.
The Bad – The nosebleeds, getting winded on the escalator, losing stuff (Neptune stationed on my Sun and Saturn was on my Moon). I "lost" at one time or another my guitar capo, my Waterman pen, my plane tickets, suit buttons, my passport, my shuttle ticket, my laptop, my iPaq and my mind. All have been recovered thus far except the capo – and perhaps my mind. I just found the iPaq about an hour ago in a suit pocket that I swear I searched when frantically looking for it at the hotel yesterday.
Also, not having enough time to talk with friends both old and new. If they didn't make it up to the AFAN suite (and sometimes even if they did), I was being pulled in too many directions to have a real conversation of any length. Some old friends I was only able to talk to for a few seconds, share a hug, and an "I'll catch you later."
Not taking nearly enough pictures.
The Ugly – The AFAN suite the morning after one of the parties. Yuck. People should either finish their drinks or at least dump the excess liquid into the sink.
Memorable Moments in Time – the Massage Daisy-Chain, various "Plutopia" moments, discussions of music and bands most people don't care about, the Marion March tribute that I could only see through tears, the "old guard" dancing up a storm Monday night after the banquet, and
All in all, I'd have to say that it was the best UAC for me personally - my fourth. Not because of the lectures, or the planned activities, or the chance to share my ideas at lectures – but just to be around people of somewhat like minds and share the world of astrology.
I miss you all terribly already. I hope some of you will be at SOTA in October in Toronto, my next scheduled conference.
Hurry up, 2012!