Friday

I’m losing track of time, now, dear reader. Is it Sunday or Saturday? Was yesterday Friday or Saturday? I started out at breakfast with a meeting of the Board of the Locus Foundation – always a worthwhile thing – which took most of the morning. I then dealt with some scheduling issues, went to the dealer’s room, had lunch with Alisa and Fran, did a quick podcast, and then hit the bar before heading out to dinner with Alisa, Holly, Barry, Theo and Mette at a tapas restaurant, The Burgundy Room. We had a ball, then had the awesome icecream that had been suggested by Katie before heading back for the big signing evening. It was a zoo, but interesting too. Lots of people to talk to. Then the bar, much silliness with Gardner, Alisa and Fran before bed. More later.

and Friday…

It’s Friday morning. Up too late in the Hyatt bar drinking. Yesterday started with breakfast with David Hartwell and Alisa Krasnostein, where much was discussed over omelettes and such. That segued nicely into a stroll around nearby Columbus with Cecelia, Gary, and Alisa, before returning for registration and the dealer’s room. I bought a book. Much of the day was spent meeting people, doing the dealer’s room, though lunch was grabbed in a downstairs food hall with Amelia B and family.

The afternoon wandered into early evening and I headed to the bar. It was buzzing, and I spent some time with Gary, Peter, the newly arrived Farah, Holly, Delia and many other lovely people. Alisa and I then grabbed dinner at a nearby brew pub before heading back to the bar and more chatting, chatting, chatting (Sophie would not have liked it). I was meaning to be in bed at a reasonable hour, but I wasn’t. Jeff Ford waylaid me as I headed to bed, then it was 1.15am. Today there’s a board meeting, lunch and so on. Should be fun/interesting.

Columbus rocks?

Tuesday was a gentle day, dear reader. I awoke early, and was greeted one by one by arriving Locusfolk. Kirsten, then Rachel, then Liza, then Carolyn. I had bagels – they only feed you bagels at Locus now – and coffee and chatted. There was a quick trip out to recover an ailing child, then back to the office to work on recommended reading. A worthwhile afternoon. Then over to Bob and Karen’s for pre-dinner drinks, and over to a wonderful Indian restaurant on Solano Avenue in Berkely. We talked all things science fiction and such before I headed back to the house and bed.

Wednesday started early. I was up at about 4.45am so I could be ready to leave at 5.30 for the airport. Kirsten was kind enough to drive us, so Liza and I got there on time. I’d purchased an extra seat on the flight which necessitated some messing around on check-in, but the flights were comfortable and as easy as any I’ve had. Liza and I talked work and other stuff, even doing some work, as we flew from Oakland to Chicago. Tailwinds were sufficient to get us in a half hour early but they were also sufficient to keep our connecting aircraft in Minneapolis. Three hours drifted by in an airport bar, where more chatting and work went on.

We did, eventually, get into Columbus though, where we quickly met up with Alisa then Cecelia, Gary, Ellen and a bunch of the World Fantasy crowd. Some pink drinks were had, then dinner too. I left the bar at midnight so I’d be sure I’d be up for my 8.30 breakfast with David today. After that, who knows? Dealer’s room, podcasting and such. I’ll try to report back as the day goes on, but a good start to Columbus already!