Someone asked me recently to define what I do for dragon*con tech staff. I thought about a lot of answers, all of which encompassed part of the job, but eventually I hit on a word that I think nails the entire thing in one: "logistics."

My job is to know tech staff, inside and out, from the moment they sign up. Their biographical and geographical info goes in the database, but the rest goes inside my head. What are they like? Who do they work well with? Who brought them on staff? What skills do they have? What other departments do they like to work with? What hours of the day do they prefer to work? What did they work last year? Where are they interested in working next year? What do they want to learn?

Once obtained, I use that knowledge along with any of the following:

• trading of favors
• bartering of alcohol
• insouciant flipping of skirts
• occasional eyelash-batting
• whining
• outright begging*

to slot all of these individual people into a cohesive whole that spans 4 ballrooms (7 when subdivided), one equipment room, one operations room, and two other rooms of nefarious and private use. Most of these rooms run at least 16 hours per day; several run nearly 24-7.

(You'd be amazed at what I can accomplish via email.)

The end result is deceptively simple. If there's a problem, or a hole on staff to fill, no matter how strange or bizarre or abstruse, my job is to have an answer.

That's what I'm doing right now. Tracking down photos for badges. Emailing staffers to nudge them regarding shifts. Tipping them off about events in ballrooms that they should likely work. Arranging for flight pickup, cleaning up the check-in system, and plotting other things too small or mundane to shift here.

But really, I do need to call Rob Constantine about that event in that ballroom … ;)

See?

Anyway. The minutiae have me, and will until early September. Not sure what my posting frequency will be, but rest assured, I'm at the computer a lot these days.

* In 2005, I even discovered that for a couple of people, all I had to do was demonstrate that the D cups really did bounce when I jumped up and down. By doing that, I got energy drinks for my fellow Ops workers and a half-gallon of pie for myself. I considered it a jump well spent.