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Convention 2001 thoughts and observations (long disjointed rant)

Hi!

First off, let me offer my sincerest thanks to the NFKA for putting what I thought to be a great convention altogether.  Granted, this was my first national convention of *any* kind, so I have absolutely nothing to judge it by.  I've heard some buzzing that there've been bigger/better shows, and if that's the case, I can't wait to experience them!  I guess I started my convention going out on a great note and I hope to attend many more in the future.

I know a lot of people go there for the fish.  To be truthful, if I didn't get or find the fish I wanted (and there were a couple I didn't see), I would have been well satisfied simply because I got to meet and chat with dozens of people I've only known from the lists, many of whom I've been corresponding with since the mid 90's.. :)  If I offended anyone, I apologize, I know I'm loud and obnoxious, hope you didn't mind.. :P  The information I was able to garner just from having a face-to-face discourse will serve me well in the future and was *well* worth the trip.  

My impression of the show was: WOW.  This was the first time I've ever seen many of these killies in real life.  Heck, it was the first time I'd even *heard* of some of these fish.  I guess you get that when you don't have a local group to attend on a regular basis.  When I was in California last year, I attended a few So.Cal. club meetings, which was a hoot, as well, but I don't live in SoCal anymore.. :(  Again, I hear the field was rather small, so I look forward to seeing one of the "HUGE" shows in the future.

The talks were very entertaining.  Because I'm mostly a Rivulus and cool water killie keeper, two of the speakers were right in line.  Mr. Suijker (sp?) gave a splendid presentation on the Rivs he's collected and no doubt had a great effect on the bidding in the auction for some fish he discovered.  Peter Tirbak's presentation was also very informative and convinced me to try to pick up some A. ogoense species to go along with my Diapterons, rivs, and cameronense.. :)  

Another lesson learned:  You can never have too many fish and there's no such thing as "I don't have enough room."  There's always room.  You just have to make it so.  25 tanks and counting... :)

Anyway, I didn't make it through Dr. Huber's presentation as I'd been up for approximately 35-36 hours straight (with a few nod-offs) and instead of sleeping at the table, (which I found myself increasingly inclined to do and I didn't want to seem rude), I went outside to wake up in the cool air and had some very informative conversations.  I apologize again for anyone offended by my brief bout with narcolepsy.  :)  

The awards ceremony was *long*.  Man, there's a lot of awards out there.  I think Norm Ruebsamen had to pay extra airfare to haul all his awards home with him.  :)  Congrats to all and really big to Norm for his dedication to the hobby.  Of course, everyone who keeps killies should get an award for keeping some of the coolest fish in the world!  (hmmm.. or is it the jewels in the tanks that are the true reward for our diligence and dedication?)

The auction was insane.  Well, for me it was.  I knew I only had a few fish I was going for and I knew they were going to go for >$70 each.  I was right.

The priciest fish were the Rivulus sp. Paryagi, which are the fish that Mr. Suijker discovered.  They went for $110, $105, and $85, respectively.  Another high fetcher was the Riv. sp. Mahdia, another Mr. Suijker discovery.  I don't remember the exact price, but I know they went for more than $80.  A pair of Diapterons went for $100, if I'm not mistaken, and the Simp. grisolfi seemed to fetch prices in a similar range.  There were a *ton* of lampeyes A. rancureli and another that I can't recall.  Seems no one is *really* dying for lampeyes these days, although I really dig them, myself.  Unfortunately, I've got so many fry that I really couldn't justify bringing home more in my limited travelpack.  I think there were quite a few Notho's, but as they're not exactly my bag I didn't pay much attention.  There were quite a few Cameronense group fish, and a nice variety of ogoense types (I brought home ottogartneri and pyrophore "komono yellow" thanks to the Tirbak presentation..!
 :) ).  I also picked up a pair of A. congicum (which seemed plentiful in the auction), as I've a thing for "purdy yellerish fish."  There were also *numerous* Diapterons, more than I could count and remember.  All species of Diapteron were represented in the auction other than seegersi, but I don't think I've every seen seegersi on any auction listing from past events (I'm probably wrong).  I think most of them went to the same guy, bummer for me, but nevertheless, I'll get another crack at them another day.  :)  Anyway, there were relatively few bargains to be had Sunday, although some fish went for rather surprising figures.. GAR going for $50 and a pair of amoenum went for $27, I think.  Interesting day.  I stayed to the end of the auction, always one foot getting closer to the door and I risked missing my flight just to try and bid on a nice pair of georgiae that was in the last part of the auction.  (speaking of which, I brought home a pair of A. georgiae GAB 90/23, bu!
t the female didn't make it (my only loss).  anyone with an extra female or in need of a male, let me know!  thanks!)

Some notes about the Radisson:  The "restaurant" was rather pricey for what you got.  And the breakfast buffet on Sunday morning was an absolute shame.  No eggs, no pancakes, no waffles, bah, I shoulda walked to McD's next door.  Hey, I like to eat and my dining experience was pretty iffy at the restaurant.  The banquet dinner, however, was much better than the restaurant fare, IMHO.  Better variety than the breakfast buffet.  I can't really comment on the rooms, but I'd like to thank Dick Martino for his suggestion, which worked like a charm!  :)  Thanks Mr. Martino!

I also missed the "old farts hour" Saturday morning, darnit.

Well, that about does it for my thoughts on the convention.  I hope to make it to future events, and I hope to enter some fish of mine into the show!  Great meeting all you folks who allowed me to bug you incessantly and I hope everyone had as great a time as I did.  

Take care,

-Shane Essary
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