Well, I’ve left. The plane hasn’t taken off yet – that should happen in about 90 minutes – but I’m sitting in the departure lounge of the Perth domestic airport, drinking coffee and blogging. I’ve gone through the morning rituals, done what I can to make sure that things go as well as they can for this first leg of the trip, and am basically unwinding. The plan, if I have one, is to read and nap on the plane, maybe watch a bit of a movie if that proves interesting, but basically zone out for four hours as I head to Sydney.

This is always an interesting time. You’re poised, like a diver on a precipice, waiting to start things. You know roughly what to expect, how it will likely play out, but have no idea what will actually happen. It seems like that the thirteen days between my sitting here drinking coffee and my coming through the arrival gate over my right shoulder at noon on Thursday will be a long time. It will go by in a flash. There will be dinners, bars, talking, some uncomfortable flights, good bits, bad bits, but when I get off that final plane on the way home it will have seemed to have taken no time at all. Hopefully it will have been fun, though.

What do I think will be highlights? Hmm. Dinner tonight with Nick, Adrian, Rob, Cat and Terry. Staying with EllenK. Seeing Amelia. The Locus folk. Bob and Karen(!). Gary. Alisa. The people. The World Fantasy Award banquet. I’m a freaking nominee!! How cool is that? I shall sit in the room, having eaten plastic banquet chicken, surrounded by friends, and enjoy the moment of being a nominee. No idea how it will turn out, and happy about that. I think others will win, but it’ll be great to just be there and enjoy it. I also hope to do some podcasting. It might be kept on file rather than posted immediately, but there should be WFC podcasts. And lots more.

I’m sure there will be other stuff, and I’ll blog bits of it. Miss lots of it, and see you on the other side.

What else?

Program participants have been asked to let as many other people as possible know that there won’t be the usual emails to members of the convention as to their convention schedules. Please go to World Fantasy Convention tentative schedule. Pass the word.

I’m sort of edgy and irritable, so it’s good that everyone’s out of the house. Maybe I need something cathartic. Hmm. It’s less than 24hrs till take off and I’ve been unable to do the online check-in with Qantas. This sort of thing just erks the devil out of me, and is part of the reason I’m on edge. It’s a system that should work and usually does. When it doesn’t – when systems like that don’t – they really bother me.

I am, however, all packed. I could leave in 30 minutes if I had to (which I happily don’t). I’ll have an early lunch with Marianne then spend some time with the family, before hopefully getting an early night. In the interim I’m piecing together some WFC social plans and getting into the swing of that. It should be a great time, though this is the first time I’ll be at a WFC without either the Aussie contingent or Charles. It’ll be interesting to see how it goes.

Now, I could tell you all of the people I cannot wait to see, but I’d leave someone out and that would be bad. I can’t wait to see everyone, especially if we’ve already made plans.  It should be a lot of fun.

Hmmm. We need a new webcam and some other stuff. Back in a bit.

As I’ve blogged already, I will be attending World Fantasy Convention in Columbus, Ohio over the Halloween weekend.  My scheduling is light and I am available for social liaison for most of the weekend, however I will be on this panel:

Saturday 1 pm Panel A13: Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror 2010. Kathryn Cramer, Ellen
Datlow, Jonathan Strahan (m), Paula Guran, Gardner Dozois

There is a general AUTOGRAPH RECEPTION at Friday: 8-11:30PM in the Regency Ballroom. Although I’ve been to many World Fantasy Conventions, I’ve never actually gone to one of these. However, right now I have no dinner plans for Friday night. If I remain free, I shall be there too.

There’s an odd thing that happens when I travel by myself to the other side of the world. I leave before I go. It varies from trip to trip, but in the few days prior to leaving my focus shifts and turns, and moves towards my destination. Suddenly I’m not so much thinking about what’s happening in front of me, but about travel plans, destinations, schedules and such. Is this connection planned, am I going to have anyone to have dinner with there, will that thing be fun…and so on. Attention just slips away.

I can tell I’m almost at that point. Alisa Krasnostein flew out for World Fantasy last night. Part of my attention went with her. Emails are coming in about plans, or not, and I’m thinking about what goes into my suitcase. I leave in 50 hours, but part of me has already left.