It was a work day at Locus HQ.  What this meant for your humble correspondent was that everyone was up at CHARLES’s house (except Carolyn, who I missed this trip), but that they were all either frantically finishing work on the latest issue of Locus, or getting ready for Denver.

I woke early again, which is a pattern here that probably will be broken in Denver.  It was foggy and cool, so I went upstairs at a little after 6.00am, got myself some coffee, and read more of Pratchett’s Nation.  Tim was the first person in at around 8.00am, so we chatted for a while about Locus, publishing, and life.   I then did the online check-in thing for tomorrow, chatted with Charles, Francesca, and Amelia, and got some laundry done.  The early afternoon was all about editing columns, and doing some future planning for the reviews.  After that, dinner and bed.

I don’t know if  any of this quite conveys what it’s like to come  back to a place that is so familiar.  I first visited Locus HQ in 1994, and have been back most years since then (I missed 1996, 2000, and 2001 I think).  I worked here for a year myself.  It’s very much a part of my world, though it’s half a world away and it’s good to see it again.  I’ll be back, even more briefly, in October, which will be nice.

Oh, since tomorrow is WorldCon, blogging will be light to non-existent I suspect.  I’ll try, but experience suggests…

The only way to get in touch with anyone at a monster event like WorldCon is by cellphone.  For the duration of Denvention, and the rest of this trip, my cellphone number is 510-282-9480. I pick up a new simcard every trip so it changes every year, but it works really well as a way of managing getting in touch.  If you need me, call!

Saturday was supposed to be a slow day.  It was three days till we fly to Denver and four till Worldcon starts.  I woke early and spent some quiet time out on the back deck, just reading, blogging and relaxing.  Charles and I spent the morning chatting about this and that, maybe do a little panel preparation, but nothing too demanding.

We had lunch up here at the house and then at 2pm Jeremy from Night Shade dropped by.  Jeremy’s a ball of energy so we got to talking, some drinks hit the table, and we went back and forth about all kinds of interesting stuff.  At 4pm I was due to participate in the Conflux Minicon, which was great (and you should GO to Conflux if you can).  Jeremy, Charles and I were sitting at a table on the Locus HQ back deck, drinks and nibbles around us, chatting while I answered questions.  Disturbingly, between a couple questions, I seem to have committed to two more editing projects.  There’s a lot to do before these become real, so I won’t say what they are, but it made my head spin a little.

Not long after the Minicon ended for me, Ellen Klages showed up.  There was much talking, laughing, and catching up.  Eventually we headed off to dinner at Crogans, where I broked my diet, and then came back to the house for more catching up.  It was a good day.

So, CHARLES is reading the blog.  We’re sitting in the back office at Locus, talking about the future of SF, reviewing etc.  He also reminded me he’s not Charles, he is, of course, CHARLES.

I always know that I’ve arrived in California when I get to sit out quietly on the back deck at Ridgewood Lane for the first time. It’s a peaceful place surrounded by tall pine and plum trees, covered in flowers, and with quiet places to sit and relax. I’ve been here for parties for 40 people, spent warm evenings drinking scotch and reminiscing with CHARLES, and seen off jetlag more than a few times. It’s a touchstone place. The air is softer and gentler than the air at home, and most times it’s cool and comfortable.

Right now, having woken early, I’m out here listening to music, reading a little and just unwinding. Later I’ll probably be out here with Jeremy Lassen from Night Shade. We have much to discuss and this’ll be a good place for a drink. Then, at 4pm, I’ll be online from here for the Conflux online convention. Depending how the weather goes, I might even end the day out here drinking scotch with Charles. I’m glad it’s still here.