The FIAWOL lifestyle is not for me....

[poltr1]

Every so often,on my LJ-friends list, I'll read announcements on upcoming science fiction conventions, or reports on past ones. More often than not, these are posted by single people, or married people with no children, or empty-nesters.

Part of me would like to go to some of these conventions -- meet some new friends, touch base with old friends, see some interesting panels, meet some interesting guests. But conventions can get expensive -- hotel rooms, convention fees, meals, goodies from the dealer's room. And because I'm divorced and paying child support (and spousal support until next year), conventions (or "cons" for short) have become a luxury that I can no longer afford.

Sometimes I often ask myself, "Are con friends real friends?" I'll see them in passing at a convention, and because we're so busy with our own schedules, not a lot of time is spent on those friendships during a convention. I'm thankful for things like filkhaven and LJ, through which I can deepen my relationships with my con friends.

I also ask myself, "Is my life being served well by living out some escapist fantasy?"

I used to collect lots of things like CDs, DVDs, videotapes, books, and comic books, until I consolidated the collections and realized I no longer have the space to keep them, and the money to maintain the collections.

Or maybe I'm just growing older, and outgrowing SF fandom.

*FIAWOL = Fandom Is A Way Of Life. Polar opposite of FIJAGH = Fandom Is Just A Goddamed Hobby.

Comments

[browngirl.livejournal.com]

*nod* I hear you.

[catalana.livejournal.com]

I think you can enjoy SF without viewing it as necessarily an escape from reality but as a part of your reality. I think that people do sometimes live too much in fantasy land. but if your reality can include going to cons and seeing people, that can be fun. You just need to have priorities and realize that eating and paying rent and stuff comes first - and, sadly, many fans don't quite grasp that. I'm glad you do.

[egoldberg.livejournal.com]

Bingo. I kinda reached a sense of FIAWOM for myself years back (Fandom Is a Waste of Money).

[kliklikitty.livejournal.com]

I happen to love SF & SciFi as forms of escapism. After a very trying day an hour or so in a good book is a great way to get my mind on pleasant things before drifting off to sleep.

I don't do cons because they are always very pricey. When I want to show an author, actor, visionary etc. my appreciation I do so by buying their stuff telling others about them & sending them tasteful Thank You cards & notes.

I guess I've always known the difference between being a fan & being a fanatic.

Fanatic may be the root word for Fan but that does not mean that fandom should be fanaticism IMO.

[beige-alert.livejournal.com]

The internet contact with people is very helpful, certainly. You need more contact than just the occasional con.

"Fandom" can be different things. I do go to a number of cons, and sometimes to quite distant ones. But the city I live in has an active filk community with monthly housefilks. So getting together with friends every month and eating snacks and talking and, naturally, playing music together, well, we're all filkers filking so I guess this is Fandom, but it's a kind of fandom that's a pretty reasonable way of life. Traveling to distant lands to see people is fun, too, but in the end you have to be realistic about what you can and should do, and, for that matter, what you really want to do.