October 31st

Oct 31, 2011 12:55

 Happy Hallowe'en, and Happy Samhain to those that are celebrating!

These days for me, Hallowe'en is the day I have an excuse to make sure there is chocolate in the house just in case trick or treaters come, and then, when they never do (like never - we’re just not that kind of neighbourhood I guess, I remember someone coming round once my whole life and it was over 10 years ago) I get to eat it myself. Which is a fine holiday IMO. Plus, I’m going to pick up my poppy today.

And Hallowe'en also means tomorrow is the beginning of Nano! Argh oh god. I’m ifonlyella if anyone wants to be writing buddies. I really want to win this year!

***

So we came back from Devon last Friday, because on the 22nd I was going to London to see two New Yorkers: Maureen Johnson in the morning, and Jay Brannan in the evening.


I got up at a time early for me, probably pretty normal for more functional and productive members of our species, but particularly because now I'm lightboxing again I have to allow an extra hour. Haha, that's what I tell myself, as if I wouldn't use that hour to internet anyway, whatever convenient excuse. Little bit of angst about outfit ("Is it cold? It will be cold by midnight. It might rain. I should wear waterproof shoes. I should wear flat shoes. What if it gets sunny at lunch time. What if I meet someone attractive. What if I want to try on clothes in a shop.") and writing down easy to remember Google Maps instructions ("Walk in a straight line. Keep walking. Keep walking. Until you get there.") and onto the coach.

I felt all confident, walking down the King's Road in the sun, not horrifically late, but all confidence fled when I actually arrived and remembered that there were very many people here and I didn't know any of them and why was I here again and suddenly all the shyness I'll just stand here silently and enjoy this complementary glittery cupcake thank you very much. I weirdest thing was that there were, I don't know, about 100 people there? And they all looked like, y'know, my favourite type of people, that being, pleasant YA fangirls (and a few fanboys!) of about my age. And I realised I would happily talk to these people online, but I was pretty scared of just talking to one of them randomly now. Which was odd, I can be so brazen.

Anyway, kohlrimmedeye I sorta knew a little, and was there, so I stared around for a little while trying to figure out who she was. But I hadn't been there very long when Maureen Johnson started talking. Maureen is just fabulous and lovely and everything I want to be when I grow up shut up I'm not a grown up yet. She spoke about what she liked about the UK, the research she did for The Name of The Star and how ridiculous ghost hunting TV shows are and her crazy neighbor and  generally writerly things and hilarious stories about her life. She gave me free magnets for RSPVing! And there was a YA quiz, but I wasn’t quick enough to win a free t-shirt.

When she started signing, I found kohlrimmedeye, who is very lovely and also a totally professional and dedicated bookseller. I babbled at her for a little while before joining the end of the signing queue, which hadn’t been organized and had become a bit confused about which way it ought to be going. Some people also started giving some fan attention to Cassie Clare, who I realized I had walked past earlier and not recognized, and Charlie, of internet fame/didn’t want one of Lal’s cupcakes that one time, and blue haired Tom, also of internet fame apparently, but who I hadn’t heard of but seemed funny and y’know, had cool hair.

The queue took longer than I would have expected, about an hour, but there were some nice people to chat with. I ended up getting two books signed, one for me and one for hanelissar, who couldn’t come for three separate reasons but would have wanted to be there, and also a signed postcard for Lal. Maureen was very lovely and chatty and friendly and after we had met I sat down kinda behind to to rest and also keep watching a little bit. Kohlrimmedeye and I chatted a bit more, and I noticed that my blood sugar was properly low and this was making me feel a little loopy.


I left after Maureen did, and considering but ultimately rejecting whether to try to take a balloon with me, and walked up the Kings Road, which seemed longer the second time, for delicious soul restoring coffee at Starbucks. Like a fool, I did not eat, which I really ought to have I don’t know what I was thinking, because all I had for breakfast was a slice of pizza and since then just that glitter cupcake and that would have been an excellent moment for a Panini. But I didn’t, I just drank coffee and read and then I went to Oxford Street because I haven’t been there for a little while now and probably won’t again until the January sales, and my gig venue was right near there. But, I went on my customary pilgrimage to H&M and to flagship Topshop yet didn’t by anything. Which is a good thing for my very limited funds but also kinda weird. I can’t remember the last time I went to flagship Topshop, insanely exhausting place that it is, and didn’t buy something.

Anyway, then I went to the venue, feeling a little bit tired and rundown by this point - hello low blood sugar - and no one was there yet, but it was right next to Foyles, so I sat and read in Foyles for a little while until about 6.30pm. Then I wandered back and now there were four or five other people floating around so I joined the queue and got chatting, which was nice. When the doors opened we were the first few people inside and we managed to get these seats, equidistant between the bar and the stage with a perfect view, which was life saving because the thought of standing up for another four hours was not a pleasant one. Drinks were insanely expensive inside, but I wasn’t meant to be having many anyway since the whole not eating all day thing.

The support came on at 8.30pm - it was a guy called Nick Howard and he was unexpectedly absolutely awesome. Really good. Also, his friend (bandmate?) Spencer was playing some percussion and I was delighted that he had among his instruments a cajon ala lc2l  So they woke me up considerably and put me in a great mood for Jay, who came on at 9.30 and played for about an hour. 
Jay Brannan’s music means so much to me - aside from being just generally really good, it really helped when I was seriously depressed coming up to two years ago, and the long process of becoming less depressed (which can be a weird thing to talk about with other people that get depressed, but not seasonally.). His music was one of the first things that made me feel again, or that I was capable of feeling again, of connecting to emotionally and recognizing and feeling inherent beauty within. So. It’s kinda a big deal to me.

Anyway, regardless of your emotional state, Jay’s music is good - he’s a singer songwriter with an acoustic guitar and a sweet voice, but most of his songs are slightly off-kilter, with bittersweet and thoughtful lyrics, sad and funny and subversive and rude and lovely.

The gig was sold out weeks beforehand, and he played a mixture of fan favourites and new songs from his upcoming album. I feel like I have been waiting for his new album forever and ever. His new Christmas song is hilarious. And then afterwards, I met him and Nick Howard at the merch stall, where I bought Nick Howard’s album and a T-shirt from Jay. The shirt says “I’m having a quarter life crisis” = achingly appropriate.

I got home about quarter to 2 I think. It was a lovely day.


Then it was my birthday!

My brother took 2 days off work to come and see me here, which I really appreciated. Sunday we relaxed and made cake with my Mum, Monday we went to a restaurant and bought fancy cake and alcohol, and played a board game I love and haven’t played for ages, and relaxed. And then I also went out for a couple of cocktails with a couple of friends, and it was really nice. I received well wishes and cards and cheques and book tokens and actual books and a good luck charm AND certain people sent me lovely birthday fanmixes, which I am really, really enjoying, so thank you guys so so much!

Gifts to myself from the cheque money so far include a new pair of boots (flat! Brown lace up ankle boots made of fake leather and fake sheepskin on the inside which are water proof and warm and comfy yay all of these things are good things) and a modest lump sum on my Starbucks card, to help me through the cold months ahead. Om nom nom.

A week on, I really need to finish my cake today…
 

nano will be the death of me, maureen johnson is crazy fabulous, jay brannan breaks my heart, birthdays tell you to eat more cake

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