as ready as we'll ever be

As of about 5PM yesterday, Chicon 7 has a logistics schedule.  Took me about 4-5 hours plus an hour or two writing out instructions and making signout sheets.

Lisa keeps saying that "I need you because you can herd cats".  I replied "I have not actually herded any cats, but I have prepared a fairly detailed Feline Distribution Policy and Schedule"

She has handled the load in arrangements - scheduling the trucks and people going to the various places to get things and bring them to the hotel, where the expensive Union people will unload the trucks into our staging area.

At this point, I have a fairly detailed excel spreadsheet, with one tab per day inclusive of load-in and load-out days, detailing pretty much everything that needs to be moved from the staging area to somewhere else in the hotel, and when it needs to be moved and moved by.  Some of it is a bit vague - like "computers and printers for Art Show", since I don't know how many boxes there are.  But I've been informed that everything in the ISFIC storage locker is labeled by department.  Therefore, in theory, the Teamsters will pile the boxes as labeld into the areas by the sign on the wall, and I can say "OK - see that pile over there?  Take everything in that pile that is labeled 'ConSuite' and take it to Hollywood B.  Make several trips.  Here's a map

I think I have a pretty good handle on the in-con movement of stuff, though I have a few questions about what may or not have been typos on the work orders.  "We're bringing a sign kiosk to  Masquerade registration on Thursday, and taking it back on Saturday lunchtime, when the Masquerade itself doesn't take place until that night.  Did they mean *Sunday*lunchtime?"

We're pretty complete up through Monday, as that is strike day and we don't know what our staging area location or dock time slots are.  But we do have the complete list of "grid" (standing metal grid panels used to make displays and sign kiosks) that is coming back downstairs from the party floors and most of the upper level con spaces.  What we don't have is where exactly it is going or when it has to be there, as well as all of the misc boxes (like the above "computers and printers for Art Show") that need to come back to staging,  But hopefully we'll be able to beat that out of people at some point over the weekened.

Several departments (Registration, ChiKidz, and the Dance techs) have stepped up to take responsibility for getting their own piles of boxes to an from staging, as long as we can supply them with carts to do so. This is going to be a huge help.

Favorite exchange from this weekend:

L: (exasperated at finding yet another thing we didn't have a work order for) That was probably in Ken's head and we don't have Ken's head!

Me: Do we know anyone with a Ouija Board?