New York trip
So I came to New York planning to:
-See Sleep No More
-Go to Cat Valente's book release party
-Relax and feel less creativity-related angst
And it was totally a success!
First of all, taking BoltBus on a Saturday morning is sooooo much better than taking it on a Friday evening. I had the half-row to myself, and a power outlet!
I saw Sleep No More twice, once on Saturday and once on Monday (I saw it in Boston once last year). Seeing it twice this time was the right call--the story/characters seemed pretty much the same as in Boston, but the set was different in a lot of ways, and two nights was enough to really get a feel for it (I totally missed the top floor, with the psych ward and the maze/forest of sticks with the tiny hut, on Saturday). I don't think I would've gotten a whole lot out of subsequent viewings--I don't feel the need to understand the story/characters totally comprehensively, and I think it would've just made the setting seem less dazzlingly weird and endless to have gotten an even better mental map of things. But a part of me is definitely sad that I probably will never go back. I never do scented anything, but I really wish I had some kind of book of the scents from various bits of the set (pine, earth, caramel, dried herbs, etc). I did manage to bring home this key--I tried to give it back to the actor who dropped it, but he wouldn't take it, so I kept it. So that's a bit of a sense of closure.
The Deathless reading was great--Adam and I had to bow out on the early side because his back was hurting, but we stayed for all of the songs and book excerpts. I'm so glad I have the book on preorder, so it'll be waiting for me when I go home. From all of Cat's books, I'm used to getting two things: a delicious, layered, feminist-leaning mythic melange of niftyness, and moments that stab my heart (in a good way). Based on the bits I heard at the reading, I know that Deathless will be no exception, and I can't wait to read it. The music was pretty awesome too :)
Besides these Events, I also: ate lots of incredibly delicious food; cuddled with Adam; made a tiny bit of progress on my knitting and reading (maybe will make more on the bus tomorrow if my stomach will let me); talked to Danielle about art and many other things; played Minecraft without feeling guilty about not doing something "more important" (since there was nothing more important to be doing); went shopping and found two amazing dresses and a nice skirt. Some combination of these things (well, talking about art was probably the most useful!) helped smooth over some angst I've been having about marketability vs. motivation. Lesson: make what is most awesome, without making compromises based on what I think will affect its sellability, because I will be happier and it will probably be *better* art also. (Totally in the category of "so-called-wisdom that you only believe when you arrive at that conclusion yourself, not when someone else tells you".)
So, yay for taking a small vacation. A lot of vacations I've taken recently have been of the more-involved-traveling variety, or conventions, or other goal-oriented things. I think this one was a good template for a relaxing-oriented vacation.
(This is crossposted on Dreamwidth, where there are
comments so far.)
-See Sleep No More
-Go to Cat Valente's book release party
-Relax and feel less creativity-related angst
And it was totally a success!
First of all, taking BoltBus on a Saturday morning is sooooo much better than taking it on a Friday evening. I had the half-row to myself, and a power outlet!
I saw Sleep No More twice, once on Saturday and once on Monday (I saw it in Boston once last year). Seeing it twice this time was the right call--the story/characters seemed pretty much the same as in Boston, but the set was different in a lot of ways, and two nights was enough to really get a feel for it (I totally missed the top floor, with the psych ward and the maze/forest of sticks with the tiny hut, on Saturday). I don't think I would've gotten a whole lot out of subsequent viewings--I don't feel the need to understand the story/characters totally comprehensively, and I think it would've just made the setting seem less dazzlingly weird and endless to have gotten an even better mental map of things. But a part of me is definitely sad that I probably will never go back. I never do scented anything, but I really wish I had some kind of book of the scents from various bits of the set (pine, earth, caramel, dried herbs, etc). I did manage to bring home this key--I tried to give it back to the actor who dropped it, but he wouldn't take it, so I kept it. So that's a bit of a sense of closure.
The Deathless reading was great--Adam and I had to bow out on the early side because his back was hurting, but we stayed for all of the songs and book excerpts. I'm so glad I have the book on preorder, so it'll be waiting for me when I go home. From all of Cat's books, I'm used to getting two things: a delicious, layered, feminist-leaning mythic melange of niftyness, and moments that stab my heart (in a good way). Based on the bits I heard at the reading, I know that Deathless will be no exception, and I can't wait to read it. The music was pretty awesome too :)
Besides these Events, I also: ate lots of incredibly delicious food; cuddled with Adam; made a tiny bit of progress on my knitting and reading (maybe will make more on the bus tomorrow if my stomach will let me); talked to Danielle about art and many other things; played Minecraft without feeling guilty about not doing something "more important" (since there was nothing more important to be doing); went shopping and found two amazing dresses and a nice skirt. Some combination of these things (well, talking about art was probably the most useful!) helped smooth over some angst I've been having about marketability vs. motivation. Lesson: make what is most awesome, without making compromises based on what I think will affect its sellability, because I will be happier and it will probably be *better* art also. (Totally in the category of "so-called-wisdom that you only believe when you arrive at that conclusion yourself, not when someone else tells you".)
So, yay for taking a small vacation. A lot of vacations I've taken recently have been of the more-involved-traveling variety, or conventions, or other goal-oriented things. I think this one was a good template for a relaxing-oriented vacation.
(This is crossposted on Dreamwidth, where there are
comments so far.)