To RT or Not to RT

Last year, I went to my very first RT. I'm not a hugely social person, so I didn't experience the parties and all that. I was there mostly to get a feel for things. I got to meet a ton of people, most of whom I even liked, and I had my very first fan experience when someone early on in the autograph room walked up with a print copy of Two Lives in Waltz Time - her copy - and asked for an autograph and picture. Surreal, to say the least.

This year, in spite of having a mass market paperback out, I'm not going. I probably could, but I'm actually in LA the previous weekend, and to go would mean driving home to San Francisco on Monday, then getting on a flight Tuesday morning and being gone for another week. I decided against it, that I didn't want to go to RT already tired since it's a draining experience anyway.

But I'm curious. Do you go to RT? Why? Do you go as a reader or a writer? Is it honestly worth the expense to you?