I’d Like to Issue a Formal Complaint.

I am attending Dublin2019 – The 77th World Science Fiction Convention – and I am dying.

This morning has gone as follows; I woke up way too early (hungover from the beer and whiskey tasting from the night before) to light streaming through my blinds (note to self: buy sleeping mask) and thought, today is the day I look at the programme. (Excitement!)

After a very necessary jaunt for coffee and electrolytes I proceeded to download their scheduling app.

The nightmare begins here.

Thursday has a total of 200 items listed. Let us do some quick maths (help). The first event is at 10am, the last runs until 12.50am (call it 1am) That’s 15 hours, the panels are mostly an hour each, that means that for each hour in the convention day there are on average 13.3 CHOICES. Whats more, the panels and whatnot are staggered by a half hours. This means that if, for example, I wanted to go to ‘Writing Robot and Nonhuman Intelligence’ at 12pm but then at 12.30pm I ALSO need to see ‘How to Build an Evil Empire’. What am I to do??? This is just the first day!!

And I want to go to Every. Single. Thing.

Dear Worldcon, I am not mad, I am not disappointed, but for the love of all that is holy (and my mental health this weekend) when are you issuing the time turners??