Today is the start of an adventure that has been in my diary for at least 2 years. As soon as Michael (one of my partners…the one I’m married too! Check out the About page for a diagram of my polycule) heard that there was a possibility that WorldCon could be held in Dublin, Ireland, this year, it was put onto the Calendar.
WorldCon is the World Science Fiction Convention. It takes place every year at a different location. Michael attended ‘LonCon 3’, which was the WorldCon in 2014 and absolutely loved it (making Megan and I a little green with envy at all the fun he was having, truth be told!).
Originally, Michael, Megan and I were going to attend together, driving across to Dublin by taking the ferry from Liverpool. However Megan’s anxiety ‘got the better of her’, and she decided last year that she knew it was a trip she wasn’t going to be able to make. It saddened her, but she still wanted Michael and I to forge ahead and make the trip. So our plan changed. We switched from car and ferry, to flying over to Dublin with Ryanair (chosen for price, not service I assure you!). Our plan to stay in a hotel room changed to a hostel, which then changed to student accommodation (which is leased out to tourists during the summer) after the hostel we had booked closed! So there’s been some stress along the way, but we are finally here and on our way.
Only…I’m finding it hard to be excited and it’s killing me inside. Over the last few weeks, my own anxiety has been on the rise and it has peaked over the last week or so. I like flying…in fact I love flying. I have flown solo plenty of times in my life, both for personal and work reasons. So why today, even with Michael with me (a person who has been part of my life for the best part of 18 years and I trust with my soul) is it bothering me so much? Why today, am I writing this to distract myself rather than enjoying this experience like I usually do?
It’s very frustrating, and something I really hope I overcome once we land. I want to enjoy this trip, I really do!
Once we are in Dublin, we have today and tomorrow for sight seeing, and then the convention starts on Thursday. I am looking forward to seeing a couple of familiar faces and although it makes the knot in my stomach tighten, I do want I to make some new friends if I can. There are so many awesome panels on my list of ‘want to attends’ that I need to whittle down, as I have lots of overlap! And I am looking forward to finding out what exactly Star Trek Yoga is….even Michael is going to join in!
The act of writing this out has helped me a little bit. It’s helping me to see that I am actually looking forward to doing things at the convention.
I am also looking forward to a trip to Bewley’s on Grafton Street…it’s a must visit, correct? 😉
