the thing on the doorstep
Had a really, really lovely time at Readercon. Saw folks, met new folks, almost-met some folks. The SO read one of his stories and everyone laughed at the funny parts. I bought too many books, especially ChiZine when they made an "everything is $5" announcement 15 minutes before the dealers' room closed. (Note to self: Always hit the ChiZine table 15 minutes before the dealers' room closes.)
I liked the panels on plot without conflict and diversity in horror (the latter with nick_kaufmann) very much. I hit the accessibility panel on the way out and made one small request, which they said they'd do, so yay.
And I made a Daniel Pinkwater bag:
KEVIN SHAPIRO.
The patch is scanned from Young Adult Novel, and there's a "Horace Gerstenblut n'existe pas" patch on the inside pocket. The SO also made me a Horace Gerstenblut t-shirt, which I wore on Friday. (I secretly wanted to wear a baby buggy wheel or a giant plastic lobster around my neck to complete the look, but I chickened out at the last minute.)
In other news, being laid off is awesome. Vertigo's gone. Headaches (most likely due to eyestrain) are gone. I eat better, exercise more, and sleep through the night. I've spent more time with family and friends in the last two months than in the last two years. (Okay, probably an exaggeration. Probably.) I make dentist and doctor appointments whenever I feel like it. IT'S CRAZY.
Also working on re-learning how to unitask. As in, reading one (one) entire book at a time, instead of multiple blog posts between meetings. Finishing one project at a time, doing stuff slowly and carefully instead of multitasking fifty thousand things at once.
It's been great. I don't know how (or if) I can ever go back.