So, Thursday. I took the train out to meet up with my friend
Friday I had no programming whatsoever! Well, except for "Meet the ProSe." This is amazing and exciting! I shared a long breakfast with Steve Berman (
I registered and then proceeded to wander around running into people I knew and chatting with them. This took quite a while, and my memory has blurred--it was a bit overwhelming, actually. I do remember seeing Ella Drake, though I got to chat more with her on Saturday. Also
I also went to "A Child's Garden of True Norwegian Black Metal" presented by Elizabeth Hand. That was awesome.
In the evening, my roomie
My quote for Meet the Prose was "Give my Lady Laycock a knock and your eyes'll cross until you see your own nancy," which occasioned much hilarity, as you might imagine.
Saturday was my big programming day. I was on four panels, of which I moderated three, and had a kaffeeklatsch.
I slept horribly because I was so thirsty, so was not in the best of moods when I attempted to get breakfast on Saturday morning. It was just before nine a.m., and I was moderating my first panel at ten a.m.. I was told there was a 45-minute wait for a table. For the buffet. When there were empty tables everywhere. I smothered my hungry, coffee-deprived rage and hunted about for friends with tables. Luckily, I soon spied Gardner Dozois and Susan Caspar and a friend of theirs, and not only got to eat, but got some useful input for my panel that night.
The whole breakfast thing is the only thing I don't like about that hotel. The food is excellent. The handling of customer traffic, not so much. [/end whining]
I would talk about my panels, but I find it impossible to make notes on them as they progress. I moderated two in a row on Saturday morning, each discussing an aspect of Paranormal Romance and/or Urban Fantasy. I'm told both went well, and generated some ideas for future panels, which is always a plus. I had an hour break, then my kaffeeklatsch, at which I had an enjoyable chat with Ella Drake and her husband, then another hour break before the sole panel I wasn't moderating.
I was then free until 9 pm! Some of my workshop pals and I (
Remember the virus? I was completely wiped out after dinner, but still had one more panel to moderate. I went to the bar and got some ice cream with
Sunday, I moderated one final 10 a.m. panel, on World War One. It was funny seeing how subdued the panelists were beforehand, as compared to Saturday! We were all most exhausted, but managed to accomplish the panel's purpose, which was to come up with targeted WWI-related panel ideas for next year.
Had lunch with, again, a series of folks including
I hung around until late afternoon before my ride departed, and by then was in such a fog of fatigue that it was all very dreamlike. I still hadn't realized I was actually sick, even though my throat was really hurting. I hope I didn't infect anyone. Stupid viruses. Maybe we need a panel next year, about viruses as characters in spec fic....
