The Will, the Emma, and the Baker's Dozen Assorted Nerds: A Cautionary Tale
It's been a long time, Livejournal. I'm not entirely certain I'm even on any friends lists anymore, but seeing as how tonight might never have happened if it weren't for Livejournal, I thought it an appropriate place to spill my tale.
Tonight, I spent an enjoyable three hours talking, eating, laughing, and listening to a widely varietal group of nerds, including two of my favorite authors, in a restaurant that opens at 6pm and closes at 9am.
The reason I owe Livejournal for this is that I first learned of the Night Kitchen's existence on Emma Bull's LJ. The owner is a fan and acquaintance, and so Bull announced the restaurant's opening there. Because I knew this, I posted on Twitter last week, stating that I had just learned Emma and her husband, Will Shetterly, would be guests of honor at a fiction convention-thing here, and inquired if it would be odd for me to just hang out at the Night Kitchen all weekend, hoping to run into them. Will responded, inviting me to a gathering they had planned for their first night in town: they wanted to finally see the infamous Night Kitchen, and decided to make an event of it. A dozen or so assorted nerds showed up, and Will and Emma each read a story for us (Emma's new, Will's old).
I can't begin to express to you what lovely people Will and Emma are. It felt more like a spontaneous gathering of friends than an Official Reading. They remembered with fondness the cookies I baked for them when they visited here in 2007. Hell, the fact that they actually ATE the cookies a fan brought them at a reading/signing says a lot about them and their fans in general.
The group was delightfully random: ages spanned from early-mid-20s to late-40s-early-50s (guesses all, of course), and we were a nice mixture of writers, fantasy nerds, cosplayers, and Steampunk aficionados. The owner, Rebecca, was delighted to learn I was the one who always wrote "WARF RATS RAIN" on the blackboard in the bathroom, and revealed herself as the one who always added "The Pack reigns. Wharf Rats dribble." Ah, geekery.
It's funny, but as Will was reading I kept thinking, "This is the man who created/invented/spawned Woofboy." Since Woofboy is intrinsically linked to Scott in my head (long story. Short version: Scott = ex-best-friend/onetime-soulmate/breaker-of-heart), it was an odd thought, but somehow comforting.
I gave them a copy of The Mongrel Jews' new album, and I think they'll listen to it. Hell, they might even like it.
I sort of spaced and didn't take any damn pictures, but this is their reading in 2007.
P.S. The cautionary part is that fried cheese curds and four cups of coffee do not a dinner make, and if you try to get away with such a thing you will likely end up feeling very ill indeed. My only hope is that I feel equally crap tomorrow and can call in sick to work.
P.P.S. I can't even tell you how sad I am that Emma didn't notice my cowboy boots with real, genuine spurs.
Tonight, I spent an enjoyable three hours talking, eating, laughing, and listening to a widely varietal group of nerds, including two of my favorite authors, in a restaurant that opens at 6pm and closes at 9am.
The reason I owe Livejournal for this is that I first learned of the Night Kitchen's existence on Emma Bull's LJ. The owner is a fan and acquaintance, and so Bull announced the restaurant's opening there. Because I knew this, I posted on Twitter last week, stating that I had just learned Emma and her husband, Will Shetterly, would be guests of honor at a fiction convention-thing here, and inquired if it would be odd for me to just hang out at the Night Kitchen all weekend, hoping to run into them. Will responded, inviting me to a gathering they had planned for their first night in town: they wanted to finally see the infamous Night Kitchen, and decided to make an event of it. A dozen or so assorted nerds showed up, and Will and Emma each read a story for us (Emma's new, Will's old).
I can't begin to express to you what lovely people Will and Emma are. It felt more like a spontaneous gathering of friends than an Official Reading. They remembered with fondness the cookies I baked for them when they visited here in 2007. Hell, the fact that they actually ATE the cookies a fan brought them at a reading/signing says a lot about them and their fans in general.
The group was delightfully random: ages spanned from early-mid-20s to late-40s-early-50s (guesses all, of course), and we were a nice mixture of writers, fantasy nerds, cosplayers, and Steampunk aficionados. The owner, Rebecca, was delighted to learn I was the one who always wrote "WARF RATS RAIN" on the blackboard in the bathroom, and revealed herself as the one who always added "The Pack reigns. Wharf Rats dribble." Ah, geekery.
It's funny, but as Will was reading I kept thinking, "This is the man who created/invented/spawned Woofboy." Since Woofboy is intrinsically linked to Scott in my head (long story. Short version: Scott = ex-best-friend/onetime-soulmate/breaker-of-heart), it was an odd thought, but somehow comforting.
I gave them a copy of The Mongrel Jews' new album, and I think they'll listen to it. Hell, they might even like it.
I sort of spaced and didn't take any damn pictures, but this is their reading in 2007.
P.S. The cautionary part is that fried cheese curds and four cups of coffee do not a dinner make, and if you try to get away with such a thing you will likely end up feeling very ill indeed. My only hope is that I feel equally crap tomorrow and can call in sick to work.
P.P.S. I can't even tell you how sad I am that Emma didn't notice my cowboy boots with real, genuine spurs.