Another 'fest' that has come and gone and by the time it was finished I felt like I had my fill.
They always exhaust me. I am not young anymore and persistent socialising takes more out of me than climbing through a window 12 feet above the ground.
Could it be I am a poor socialiser? I already know that and being on HIVE for a decent amount of time hasn’t changed that fact.
Many have posted several articles about HF7, I will post just one and try and do it a little differently as I always do.
Amsterdam
It’s not my first time, but I can’t remember what happened two decades ago so it may as well have been.
I feared for my life several times due to crazy cyclists none of which wear helmets and bear down on you with speed while crossing a road. I never wore a helmet as a kid but in the UK it’s quite normal.
When crossing a road there are FOUR lanes you have to check. Cyclists are by far more the dangerous ones.
It's great if it doesn't rain. I walked a lot from The Student Hotel into the city area. The weather, unfortunately, sucked on Sunday and I was glad of the umbrella I was loaned by @revisesociology.
The Hotel
It appeared that everyone stayed at the Volks, with just me and one of the @liketo developers opting for the ‘other hotel’ that was almost opposite.
...'99% of the HIVE crowd stayed here, this was the happening place and 'that other place' was distinctly unfashionable'...
Quite different from my experience in Krakow where the breakfast room was swimming with STEEM people (then) at the ‘second rate’ place.
I was hoping for some breakfast conversations, such as the ones @bingbabe and I partook in with @felixxx, @meno, and others.
Getting a large cup of coffee seems impossible. The cups were small or extra-small.
The breakfast was decent, and this time I included it, unlike in Bangkok where they threatened to throw me out as I was given a freebie from @goblinknackers.
The Student Hotel was very arty, follow the skulls to the elevators and gaze at the blow-up dolls while waiting for their arrival.
Oh and.. in your room... just in case you need it.
The Talks
These were a very mixed bunch over the two days. I was alert for some, while others had me almost snoring. Not because they were particularly boring, but due to the afternoon slot.
I tend to doze off even if there's a stripper gyrating in front of me after food, but some of the presentations were deep.
One talk by @lasseehlers was unexpected, and I note nobody has mentioned it anywhere so far. While I felt everyone was waiting for him to trip up he did quite well and I felt a little sorry for him.
@lasseehlers is a self-proclaimed HIVE ‘outcast’ and though I didn’t chat for fear of the conversation moving toward the ‘curvature of the earth’, he had some balls to get up on the stage and present.
The @risingstargame talk was quite over-whelming (especially to non-players) and though the stunt by @tdctunes, @steevc, and @atomcollector caused me to laugh out loud I fear many of the audience might have missed it simply because they don't play the game and the 'Illegal Busking' mission doesn't mean anything.
There were many other talks but I don’t want this post to be a tl;dr, so will leave it there.
The People
This is my third event and there is always a core of similar people attending plus a mix of new ones.
...'a much slimmed down @detlev with @gtg and @jarvie in the background'...
It was good to say hello to the ‘usuals’ and that was as far as it went for many. That’s OK, I am not particularly skilled at small talk, and the dedication of turning up is good in my mind.
@steevc looking a little glum. I spent a good deal of time with @steevc and @revisesociology as we have met on numerous occasions and I am comfortable with them.
@atomcollector (@risingstargame) was particularly friendly and won me over with his dedication to the game. I advised him to take something from it, even if it's small. I think he and his wife deserve that.
My conversation with non-English speakers ended with mixed results. I don't hear very well and with all the background noise I was picking up possibly 50% of the dialogue.
This doesn’t bode well for flowing conversation. Day 2 was better as the church wasn’t so deafening and led to a decent conversation with @alexvan about flagging amongst other things.
@lordbutterfly's persona is completely the reverse of what everyone thought and he explained it was done purposely. I managed a chat with him during the final dinner.
Midway through Day 2, I figured I would just ask people for photographs, and that appeared to slightly crack the ice.
@zirochka, HIVE's very own newscaster from the heart of Kyiv will keep informing us of what it's really like to live through a war. I can't take credit for that description, that was @growandbow's.
@brittandjosie was particularly bubbly and made the effort to attend. Maybe @hivewatchers can make the effort to give her a break. Look at her account, she is no fly-by-night and is committed.
I shared a tram ride with @blocktrades and @alpha who I always seem to have a good conversation with. @rollie1212, as always was very friendly.
Several other witnesses attended, some of them tough to converse with, although I can always talk music with @gtg if need be.
Maybe I should have talked more Python and asked the question, ‘to avoid a comment going under the dust level and paying ZERO, what is the minimum amount of vests it requires?’
Yes, I am still looking for the answer to that one.
I have quite a few more images, but will leave it for now as this is getting quite wordy.
Did I enjoy HF7? Yes.., but it will probably be my last one, they do serve a purpose and thanks @roelandp for hosting it again.
If you found this article so invigorating that you are now a positively googly-eyed, drooling lunatic with dripping saliva or even if you liked it just a bit, then please upvote, comment, rehive, engage me or all of these things.
