Back and Forth to Reno We Go
I got up at 3:30 AM this morning so that at 4:30, Lisa and I could head off to Reno to do a major grocery shopping trip, starting with WinCo Foods, which is open 24 hours. Most people were masked. Unfortunately, a distressing number of staff were not, and we avoided them as best we could. After that it was down to Raley's, where we expected to wait, but it turned out that they opened earlier than Google said they do.
We had the opposite problem at our next stop, which was something we needed to either get done today or possibly have to postpone until at late as January, thanks to how crowded our schedule is for the next couple of months. The business has changed its hours but their Google listing hasn't been updated. So rather than wait around for hours with perishable groceries on board, we went home. It was the end of Lisa's "day" anyway. After putting away the groceries, Lisa went to bed, I had breakfast, and then returned to Reno to get the critical-path task accomplished. After that, I did four other errands that I'd originally planned for tomorrow, but since I was already there, I figured I would get them all done now.
I still have to go back to Reno tomorrow, because I have an appointment at Noon at Reno Airport for a COVID test that I need to get into Canada to attend World Fantasy Con. I couldn't get the test today because it has to be within three days of my flight. I wanted the maximum lead time possible that was still within the window so that I could be sure of getting my test results in time to be able to show them to everyone who needs to see them on Wednesday. With all of the other shopping errands done, I will only have to go to Reno airport, get my test, and drive home. That's still three round-trips to Reno in two days, which is a hassle, especially when one has grown used to a commute of only a few meters from the bedroom to the home office.
I spent the latter part of the day attending part of a hybrid staff meeting of the DisCon III committee, with some people on site at the Omni Shoreham in DC where the convention will be in a less than two months, and the rest of us attending virtually, both in live-streamed general sessions (which I missed while shuttling between Fernley and Reno) and Zoom breakout sessions. This did work out better than I expected, as our WSFS Deputy Division Head (Sharon Sbarsky) who is attending in person turned out to be able to stitch together a communication issue when it turned out that two different breakout groups were discussing the same issue, and it was one that crossed four different divisions' responsibilities. She (carrying the Zoom call on her device) walked from where she was in the hotel to where the in-person element of the other group was and we were able to merge the sessions and sort out the issue, at least as much as we could at the time.
There was a social gathering this evening, which was billed as an in-person gathering in a suite in the Omni combined with a Zoom element, but only Lisa, I, and our division head,
lindadee turned up online. I did get to talk a bit with DC3's chair, Mary Robinette Kowal, who told me to follow up by email, which I understand, having been in her position. I bailed out at 7 PM my time, because it's been a long day. It would have been worse if my work day did not usually start at 4 AM Pacific.
There is another day of meetings tomorrow, and this time I should be able to attend them, as most of what I need to be see ends before I have to head to Reno for my test.
We had the opposite problem at our next stop, which was something we needed to either get done today or possibly have to postpone until at late as January, thanks to how crowded our schedule is for the next couple of months. The business has changed its hours but their Google listing hasn't been updated. So rather than wait around for hours with perishable groceries on board, we went home. It was the end of Lisa's "day" anyway. After putting away the groceries, Lisa went to bed, I had breakfast, and then returned to Reno to get the critical-path task accomplished. After that, I did four other errands that I'd originally planned for tomorrow, but since I was already there, I figured I would get them all done now.
I still have to go back to Reno tomorrow, because I have an appointment at Noon at Reno Airport for a COVID test that I need to get into Canada to attend World Fantasy Con. I couldn't get the test today because it has to be within three days of my flight. I wanted the maximum lead time possible that was still within the window so that I could be sure of getting my test results in time to be able to show them to everyone who needs to see them on Wednesday. With all of the other shopping errands done, I will only have to go to Reno airport, get my test, and drive home. That's still three round-trips to Reno in two days, which is a hassle, especially when one has grown used to a commute of only a few meters from the bedroom to the home office.
I spent the latter part of the day attending part of a hybrid staff meeting of the DisCon III committee, with some people on site at the Omni Shoreham in DC where the convention will be in a less than two months, and the rest of us attending virtually, both in live-streamed general sessions (which I missed while shuttling between Fernley and Reno) and Zoom breakout sessions. This did work out better than I expected, as our WSFS Deputy Division Head (Sharon Sbarsky) who is attending in person turned out to be able to stitch together a communication issue when it turned out that two different breakout groups were discussing the same issue, and it was one that crossed four different divisions' responsibilities. She (carrying the Zoom call on her device) walked from where she was in the hotel to where the in-person element of the other group was and we were able to merge the sessions and sort out the issue, at least as much as we could at the time.
There was a social gathering this evening, which was billed as an in-person gathering in a suite in the Omni combined with a Zoom element, but only Lisa, I, and our division head,
lindadee turned up online. I did get to talk a bit with DC3's chair, Mary Robinette Kowal, who told me to follow up by email, which I understand, having been in her position. I bailed out at 7 PM my time, because it's been a long day. It would have been worse if my work day did not usually start at 4 AM Pacific.
There is another day of meetings tomorrow, and this time I should be able to attend them, as most of what I need to be see ends before I have to head to Reno for my test.