Home again, home again, jiggedy jig

Pittsburgh was great. The Hilton was not. All my flights left and arrived on time. I'm back to the real world with three dozen new books (could have had more) most of them free. It was a feeding frenzy an hour into the Dorch party. The two book limit disintegrated when people realized they could get back in line. I saw women taking them out in boxes. I'm sorry, but let's not be piggy. I only took books that looked interesting, not as a means of financial support once I listed them on E-Bay. As it was, I had to bribe the airport guy to put a "heavy load" sticker on my suitcase instead of charging me extra for the weight.

Now I can concentrate on writing again instead of trawling Goodwill for one more accessory for my costumes. As soon as someone (hint, hint) emails the pictures they took of me, I'll post them. And send them pictures I took of them. The other shots are of the city itself. Was I the only one to venture out more than once?

The little store where I had Pelmeni (meat-filled dough) with a big scoop of sour cream. Yum. You can see one of the three tables in the store. The owner tried to get me to eat Halva, which is a nut/honey/mystery ingredient so sweet the half-teaspoon sample put me into a diabetic coma for a few minutes.

Walking downtown, looking for a place to eat (try Costanza's chicken marsala) I passed this chain link fence. Someone had cut out the pages of three very old books and wired them to the fence. This one had a map glued in it, with a star and the words "You are here." It was so cool, I had to take a picture.

RT Day 700, 982

This is a typical RT conference. (RWA too) Nothing works the way you want it to. I must admit, this hotel is different in that it's under construction. We are woken by hammers, saws and lots of noise. The rooms that are finished aren't. Ceiling fixtures in the halls are missing. The elevators are busy - wait! That's normal. I can't wait until tomorrow at check out time. Imagine 1,500 women, each with four suitcases, cramming five elevators. It's like the Great American Race on estrogen. Whoo-ee!
Now the only big complaint I have is the timing. Why, oh, why does it have to be during hockey play-off season? Thank God for Versus and their coverage. Which meant I missed Heather Graham's fantastic vampire ball last night. So sad. I missed losing a decade of my life.
I'd post pictures (I did bring my USB cable) but I haven't taken pictures of anything fantastic.
Off for breakfast and to prepare for the book fair.

RT Day 4

Romantic Times conference, Day 4
There are different ways to work a conference. Socially/networking; for the workshops; for the experience of being in another city. I usually opt for reason 3. Not that I don’t enjoy meeting new people and learning new things at workshop, but I love finding out new things about the city I’m visiting for several days.
Pittsburgh:Working people, a tough, gritty city with pockets of really cool places like the Strip, which is more Little Europe than any place I’ve seen outside of Europe.
The Cheesecake Factory (no lines, contrary to what I’ve heard) which is universal, but not in my part of the world. I enjoyed the architecture of my salad (really, I think there were support beams in place that dissolved as I plowed my way through it) and the wonderful cheesecake, and especially the tender care of my waiter, Paul, whom I think I have fallen in love with a tiny bit. He called me dear and wanted to take care of me. It’s probably in his waiter handbook on how to get a 25% tip from women traveling alone, but it worked, so kudos to him.
The internet connection in our room is spotty, so I’ve resorted to hanging out in the lobby to get any work done. Lots of opportunities to people-watch.
Only one workshop for me this afternoon, and maybe the opportunity to write before it starts.
Later!

There's no need to sew

There's no need to sew as long as there's a Goodwill nearby.

Here is a preview (sort of) of my costume for the Under the Sea Faery Ball at RT. The easy thing to do would be to go for the mermaid look. Tsk. So predictable. Be creative, people! We are writers, after all. With that in mind, I decided to be (ta da) the Tourist With Bad Taste Who Fell Off The Tour Boat. Think clash. Loud. Tacky. Seaweed. An anchor if I can find one. That's me, or will be.

As for the Golden Age of Hollywood Ball, first thought would be to get an extravagant ball gown and a string of pearls. But Hollywood is more than glamor, there are fringe players - like the talent scout. Exaggerated. Me, again. An oversized pair of glasses, the right hat and a sleazy attitude - does that shout Hollywood, or what?

See you there. Can't wait.

I think I'll dress up as the six of pentacles

I'm starting to think about RT. Yes, I know it's two weeks away. I have no costumes. Nothing I can make or buy will outshine the totally professional zealotry of some attendees. I'm thinking of going outside the box and dressing up as a fringe player to the different themes.

Who's going, and what are you doing for costumes?

In writing news, I hunkered down over the weekend and pounded out some pages. Plus, I did a tarot reading for my characters, which was dead on. Try it for yourself at http://www.osho.com/.