I was listening to the BSD Now podcast and they were talking a lot about BSD conventions. It sounded like fun. I'd like to go to one. They said they are very welcoming to newcomers.
With my social phobia and agoraphobia, I think a BSD convention might be more manageable than, say, something like DEFCON or SCaLE. My estimate is that the latter would contain an order of magnitude more people than a BSD convention, and thus take place at larger, more daunting locations.
The folks on the BSD Now podcast mentioned that to maximize enjoyment of a BSD (or any) convention, one must observe the 6-2-1 rule, which consists of at least 6 hours of sleep, 2 meals, and 1 shower. This is reasonable. To help with my anxiety, I'd make it the 6-2-2-1 rule, which is at least 6 hours of sleep, 2 meals, 2 clonazepams (take one an hour before, and one during the convention), and 1 shower.
The closest upcoming BSD convention is BSDCan in June 2025, in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The BSDCan website has information about accommodations and traveling to Canada. https://www.bsdcan.org/2025/
I looked up flights out of O'Hare to Ottawa on June 10th, and there are 20 available on the Air Canada website. It is a 2 hour flight. ~$252 for economy class seat and a shittier flying experience. ~$500 for a non-refundable business class seat, which is a more tolerable flying experience. ~$600 for a refundable business class one. I'm leaning toward the latter.
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