As above: better now.
Thanks for those who emailed or posted messages of support. Things are not actually so terribly bad; I’m even feeling kind of flush, having just been unexpectedly paid for a job I did several months ago. The real issue was a crucial meeting with the people who hold the purse-strings of my grant, upon which rests my continued participation in the graduate endeavor. The meeting’s in five minutes, with a followup on Friday. Fingers are pretty severely crossed.
So, yeah, I could have afforded GenCon - but I can’t really afford to pay next year’s tuition out of my pocket, and that made the choice for me.
On the bright side, I have people willing to spend lots and lots of money on my behalf to bring me back lovely new games, and I’m going to plan a game-playing orgy for this weekend and pretend I’m at GenCon, and I am also full of hope for this meeting, which I am for once actually prepared for.
Wish me luck, folks!