Last February, I was in a van going up to Vancouver with JoCo and Paul & Storm. We were all getting in the last of our smartphone usage before we went into roaming in Canada. We decided to broadcast on Ustream very quickly before we crossed the border, so Paul alerted Twitter, while Storm drove and Jonathan and I sat in the bucket seats in the back with assorted instruments and boxes of t-shirts behind and between our chairs. Everybody was quiet for a while, as Paul twittered and fielded questions. Jonathan turned to me,
“Hey Molly. Want to go on a cruise?”
“Sure.”
“Alright, awesome.”
I’ve had a hard time explaining it to people who weren’t there, how it was different and better than W00tstock or PAX, because while it has the same ‘geek homecoming’ sort of feel, we’re all always in the same place, eating at the same times, going on day trips to the same places.
At a normal convention, you might travel with a pack of 2 or 3 friends, but there are so many panels going on concurrently that you’ll never sit with the same crowd twice. But in the context of a cruise ship, we were all programmed for a few events a day, with little to no overlap, and so we all traveled about the ship in a big geeky pack. Everyone sat in on everything worth sitting in on. In-jokes from the concert on night 1 could carry into the concert night 4, and everyone was in on it.
At a PAX or a W00tstock, some people have to break off from the gathering early (they’re in another hotel, or they’re crashing someone’s couch and don’t want to get in too late, or they’re local); some people can’t stay up late to drink and goof off (they have to drive, or they have work in the morning, or they only bought a 1-day pass so they have to leave early tomorrow). At a normal convention, would it be plausible to stay up until 4:30 in the morning playing tabletop games? Probably not.
But on JCCC, one of us was as busy as any of us. In the wee hours of the morning we could say “We’re at sea tomorrow!” and it was determined that we all had nowhere to be the next morning and could play tabletop games for as long as we wanted – or we would say “Well, there is the Q&A tomorrow morning” and everybody retired to bed accordingly. And this confinement on the ship combined with the openness of the JCCC schedule gave way to such a unique kind of freedom that I’ve never experienced at any convention ever. It made way for iPhone handbell choirs and Pirate Fluxx tournaments. The cruise was about the roaming pack of nerds as much as it was about JoCo and his Superfriends.
When David Rees ran into the Crow’s Nest Lounge late in the evening and said “There’s a faction of nerds in the Harbor Lights Disco. Let’s go!” we went. And why not? If we don’t go dancing with David Rees, what else do we do?
Nothing. We had no excuse not to.
And that’s what was so freeing.
I feel like I’m still at this weird transitional point where I’m onstage with a bunch of these ridiculously talented people, but I’m also still a huge fan of them to the point that I feel out of place sharing a stage with them. I’m not sure how well I downplay my constant, overwhelming giddiness, but if the guys notice it they’re kind enough not to acknowledge it.
I have to mention how grateful I am to Paul, Storm, Liz, Armand, and Jonathan for inviting me onto this magical mystery tour and trusting me with their audience, and I have to thank the Sea Monkeys for being such great company and not poisoning my food.
(Aside: Peter Sagal, I’m sorry I said that Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me is my mom’s favorite NPR show – I mean, it still is, but I realize that it made me sound like a turd and that you hear it all the time from turds like me. John Roderick, you are no longer dead to me. Nolan, I haven’t forgotten that I owe you $3.)
It was a wholly wonderful and bizarre experience.
It was bizarre to feel tipsy all the time. It was bizarre to be tipsy for only maybe a quarter of that time. It was bizarre to have ladies in maroon double-breasted coats bringing whatever drinks I wanted, whenever I wanted them. It was bizarre not to handle actual currency for an entire trip. It was bizarre to be completely out of touch with my family for a week. It was bizarre to wake up to different scenery at my window every morning. It was bizarre to be invited into the company of all these guys I’ve admired and modeled my work after for years. It was bizarre to be recognized by strangers for my music. It was bizarre to stand in a crowd of hundreds, all dressed to the nines, and all wearing self-adhesive mustaches. It was such a drastic departure from my real life. From anybody’s real life, I think.
A lot of people from the cruise have been twittering recently that they still feel like the ground beneath them is pitching and swaying, after a week of living and sleeping in a cruise ship. Sometimes when I’m sitting still, I can still feel it in my back, like the entire chair is filled with water. Like right now, for example.
Paul’s daughter Shawn said that it might be because the entire cruise is only happening in someone’s dream, and we’re all trying to perform inception on that person, and that person was sleeping on a water bed. So, here’s hoping that the vague sense of swaying means the dream isn’t over yet.
Welcome to cruise life! And to how wonderfully weird it is to have a conference at sea, no matter what that conference is. That’s what’s kept me coming back for 57 of them.
Interesting to read your analysis of how the cruise was different from other types of events.
Also interesting to hear how it was like from the performer’s circle, rather than as a Sea Monkey.
I bemoan falling ill and not being up to many of the side activities. (Had hoped to find myself in a game of Dominion with you … ) Still, the concerts and other events I could attend were amazing.
Nice write up Molly, and lovely to meet you on the cruise. You never look giddy to me, you look quite calm, and that’s probably what makes the guys so comfortable with you!
Some day, I hope to go on such a venture. Especially if you and other such spectacular folk are involved. For the time being, I will have to settle for seeing you whenever you play a show within a reasonable day’s driving distance. (Which has been, well, once so far. I mean, what, are you busy with SCHOOL or something?)
Glad to hear the trip was everything you hoped and more. Now, get back into the swing of things here in the mundane world… And don’t forget about Vlog Relay.
The cruise was really, really special. I wasn’t entirely sure I should be taking that time off away from work, but I’m so glad I did! As I remarked to my cruise roommates… I didn’t really care how much sleep I missed the night before because I got to play Apples to Apples until Oh-Dark-Hundred with Molly Lewis and a handful of other hardcore gamers.
Best. Week. Ever. I’ve said it previously but it’s not any less true. The sense of community was intoxicating over those 6.5 or so days. Even when there were 20 or so of us in the airport waiting for various flights, it was still there. A lovely, if bittersweet epilogue to the trip.
I never did get a chance to meet you, which is unfortunate to say the least, but you had an awesome set, and you killed Brand New Sucker during the first Karaoke night.
Maybe I’ll get lucky and run into you at PAX East.
PS. – anyone reading here, I’d love to see you at PAX East this coming March. Yes even -you-.
Wow Molly, it sounds like you had an unforgettable time. I am really happy for you. My hope (grin) is that you realize you deserve to be onstage with those other talented people because you are extremely talented.
This post really captures what was unique and special about the cruise in a way I hadn’t been able to articulate.
One of the highlights for me was when you asked for a picture after the group shot. I’m thrilled to have met you (and to have finally seen you perform in person).
It’s oing to happen again one day, right? I mean I haven’t missed it FOREVER, right?
I never had so much fun playing Apples to Apples as I did that night we stayed up until, what, 4:30am? I never thought I was a hardcode gamer, Icemage, but I guess I am, now.
I’ve remarked to a few people and I’ll say it again, this cruise was the most fun I’ve had on a vacation in five years. I’m thrilled to have met all of the amazing people that I did and I look forward to seeing you all again at a JoCo concert/cruise/W00tstock/PAX/interwebs or wherever you happen to be.
@James I agree with you. Molly most certainly deserves to be up on stage. She’s intelligent, witty and clever, and can hold her own with just about anyone there.
HardCORE gamer. Sheesh. Not hardcode. Although that thought is quite interesting.
Hard CORE gamer. Apples to Apples. Ha ha. I see what you did there.
lol… apparently the page thought I was replying to Jim. Probably my fail.
Retry Go!
Best. Week. Ever. I’ve said it previously but it’s not any less true. The sense of community was intoxicating over those 6.5 or so days. Even when there were 20 or so of us in the airport waiting for various flights, it was still there. A lovely, if bittersweet epilogue to the trip.
I never did get a chance to meet you, which is unfortunate to say the least, but you had an awesome set, and you killed Brand New Sucker during the first Karaoke night.
Maybe I’ll get lucky and run into you at PAX East.
PS. – anyone reading here, I’d love to see you at PAX East this coming March. Yes even -you-.
P.P.S. – Jim, we needs moar Rockbands. I’ll look for you on xbox live.
“Paul’s daughter Shawn said that it might be because the entire cruise is only happening in someone’s dream, and we’re all trying to perform inception on that person, and that person was sleeping on a water bed. ”
This is why Shawn is probably the awesomest kid ever. I think maybe SHE won the cruise.
Yes, this is exactly what it was like! (minus the part about being on stage with ridiculously talented people, which I only enjoyed for a few moments during the Fancy Pants parade. By the way, I think the definition of the transitional point, which I think is awesome, is singing both at the karaoke and at the concerts.) I’ve never been to a PAX or a w00tstock so I don’t know exactly what they’re like, but I nonetheless used PAX as a comparison when I attempted to describe the experience to someone, knowing that it wasn’t quite accurate. Now I can show everyone this post and they will understand. The main point, as I see it, is that we were stuck with each other the whole time, and since we were all so awesome, that turned out to be a good thing.
I read somewhere that people designed complicated personality questionnaires to figure out the best college roommate assignments, and then eventually discovered that the best way to ensure the roommates get along is to match them up according to their ten favourite musicians. This might have something to do with why we all got along so well despite being sleep-deprived.
It was great fun playing games with you all until all hours of the morning. I’d never have described myself as a hard-core gamer, because that term is usually applied to computer gamers these days, and when I go to LAN parties I usually just enjoy the long stretch of free time and do my own thing on my computer (ignoring the LAN except for chat) or play networked Tetris. But I guess I am a hard-core gamer after all.
At PAX, when you get hungry at 3a.m or so, is it possible to send someone to their room to play Rock Band while waiting for free food for everyone?
Small correction: I believe the disco was called Northern Lights.
If it helps with the giddiness, you probably have more non-JoCo fan fans (not a typo) than Paul and Storm… although they do have Neil Gaiman…. whatever, you have decades to catch up.
Yeah, that was pretty amazing. I’m really glad you were apart of it Molly, otherwise you wouldn’t have been able to kick so much ass as a Halfling Thief in JoCo Dungeons and Dragons
Also, your huge treasure trove of games introduced me to my new favorite “Once upon a time” the storytelling card game!
Can’t wait for next time!!!
Oh yes, Once Upon A Time is my new favourite game too.
When everybody gets turned into amoebas, and the king and queen amoebas turn into even more amoebic amoebas, you can’t help but have fun!
Also, Molly, thanks for teaching me the Macarena, just because I never would have expected to learn that particular skill on a cruise ship full of geeks. I mean I had been considering learning scuba diving, but the Macarena was way over the horizon.
You were incredibly eloquent in the way you put it – and the dreamlike quality held for all involved even well beyond the performers. That was the second cruise I’ve been on, and was so far and beyond what the first one was I can’t even begin to describe.
Honestly, I feel lucky it occurred and I was able to be a part of it. The whole “I was there” was a part of what was so special about it – knowing we all came together from all corners of the country and the world. We all had common ground and a way to interact and things we could all enjoy together.
Everyone asks me how my cruise was, and I can’t stop talking about it. Still got my fingers crossed I can go on the next one and capture some little piece of that starshine we all got to enjoy.
Shawn totally has it right–and so do you. Thanks for articulating so clearly why this was *different*. So good. So, so good.
I’m so jealous. Sounded like an amazing experience. And your writing style is just so easy to read. Thank you for the post. Hopefully i will be able to attend one of these awesome geek-togethers one day
I’m so glad you were on the cruise, your performances were awesome and your age and chick-ness balanced out a stage full of bearded dudes.
I’m the one who sang “I’m a Mason Now” at JoCo Karaoke… When you announced that you had wanted to sing it my first reaction was “oh no, Molly wants to stab me in the neck with a pencil”… then I was like, “hey cool, Molly wants to stab me in the neck with a pencil!” 
Your performance of “Brand New Sucker” turned me majorly back onto that song, too.
You gained a lot of new fans on that ship. The friends who came with us couldn’t stop talking about how awesome you were. You deserve every second of it, you’re super-talented and it’s so cool to see your star rising!
(points) JUDAS!
No hard feelings. I hadn’t accounted for everybody singing backup on Brand New Sucker, which was unexpected and cool.
(she said as she whittled away at her pencil.)
I was just looking through my videos and found I have a good one of you singing Brand New Sucker (in which you specify that you will stab Tailspin in the neck with an *artisanally sharpened* pencil, so I hope you’re whittling artisanally.) Is it okay if I put it on YouTube eventually?
I mean I’m just assuming I can put videos of your actual shows on YouTube, but this is karaoke, and people are traditionally ashamed of their karaoke performances.
I don’t think I got there early enough to hear/film I’m a Mason Now.
Also, unrelated, but I got Brand New Sucker in my head while playing that Sheriff game (the one that was in Italian) and eventually realised it was because ‘I Shot the Sherriff’ morphs to ‘I’m not responsible for you’ in my head. Does anyone else get that?
I loved reading this, and even more so meeting you in real life. Playing Cranium (curiously without any clay dough, using paper as substitute) and helping David Rees serve those kids in the “disco tech” as he called it were awesome experiences, and just plain fun! Hope to see you and everyone else at PAX East, or a future w00tstock.
It’s taken a while, but I think I figured out why I didn’t feel the mopey “I don’t wanna go home!” feeling that most people seemed to have felt on those last hours of the cruise. And, no, it simply wasn’t wanting to get home to my own bed and my cat.
Molly, you referenced the idea that we were all doing and experiencing these things as a large group instead of 2′s and 3′s. I also feel that we are all more or less cut from the same cloth. We are nerds. But for that week we had this common thing going on and that united us and you could strike up a conversation with anyone of us anywhere, even if it’s just breaking the ice talking about what stickers or signatures you have on your JoCo badge.
Walking down the hall today, it hit me that I have that same feeling here at work. And I am very, very lucky to have that. And it’s not just a group of people or my department. It’s the whole organization. Thousands of people all working towards a common, if somewhat nebulous goal. Many of them can definitely be classified as nerds, too. (For the record, I work for a large museum/library in the DC area.)
And so we have this shared thing going on, if not in such a concentrated way as the cruse, and yet it’s like a little bit of the JoCo Cruise Crazy being with me every day. (It also helps that we made about a dozen new friends on the cruise.)
I hope that everyone else out there is able to find a piece of that in their day-to-day. It’s a remarkably good feeling.
Goldang it you are an amazing writer. I feel like I have an actually pretty good impression of what it was like to be there. Wish I was. I’ve been in events where I’ve been included and respected by my idols and I know what you mean. I’ve never been on a cruise, though. I should sort that out.