Something with a bit more meat to it...
Aug. 14th, 2002 05:42 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
deathpixieWhich is odd, coming from a vegetarian. *grins*
Anyway, I have access to a computer for more than a few minutes, and my brain is functioning enough (barely!) to string together words to make sentences, to make paragraphs, to make a post. So here goes.
I'm starting to relax. Tbose who saw me at Dexcon got the Stressed Version, for which I apologise. Things had been piling up, and my coping mechanisms aren't what they were. Throw in the fact I was still physically recovering from the Evil that is chickenpox, and no wonder people were asking me if I was okay. Again, apologies for any snappishness.
But yeah, I'm moving into holiday mode. Things are planned, which always makes me relax, and we've got a course plotted for the next week or two. I've also caught up on sleep, because it's hot here in Laurel and I keep napping (not as much as Mel, who has been falling asleep everytime she sits still *grins*), so I'm feeling ready to go again. Which will happen soonish.
The drive form Toronto to Laurel (which is just outisde Baltimore, for those who need to know), was fun and unmarked by eventfulness, save for "those darned kids" in one town who had stolen the street sign we needed and the vagaries of Mapquest. The Dexcon CD makes for got driving music, with enough chops and changes to keep you awake and on your toes, and enough songs everyone knows to sing along to. I also found out Matt likes the Lightning Seeds, which is probably related to his Inner Gay Man. I also got to talk to Frito for more than five minutes (unlike during Dexcons) and decided she's also Cool People. Having a conversation with someone does help you get to know them. :) Any way, we got to Laurel in one piece - and I do apologise for not taking my turn at driving. Damn narcolepsy - where we were welcomed by WG Sarah and Girlyskin, plus Maggie the Cat and another Sparkly person whose name I missed in the general confusion. There was a Sparkly Orgy that night, from which I excused myself and promptly passed out on Sarah's bed. Post-Con exhaustion.
The next few days were "catch up" days. Quiet ones, whereon I caught up on sleep, food and comic reading. Like all of the Astro City trades and the entire Powers run. Among others. Basically recuperating. Eventually Mel and I organised ourselves enough to make a trip up to New York by Greyhound, which is only four hours. Not unlike going to Melbourne from Wodonga, really. It's good travelling with someone else, because there's always someone to talk to, and Mel and I complement each other well. In New York she discovered my affinity with trains and my love of maps, and I discovered her spatial sense and memory for places. Which meant that we didn't get lost. At all. Not even when catching the subway from the bus station to the place in Manhatten Valley we were staying in.
All up, we probably spent about two full days in the Big Apple. It's kind of cool - it reminds me of London, with its sheer busy-ness - but it lacks the sense of history London has. We did the full tour thing with Domenika, and I can tell you, if you ever find yourself needing s native guide in New York, there is none finer. Dom loves her city, and loves it with a passion that's contagious. She also walks, which is great, since I was starting to feel logey after a week of non-activity.
The next day we took ourselves to the Met, via Central Park, and Mel discovered just how noisy my leg joints - knees, ankles and toes - can be; quiet rooms and tiled floors mean I sound like a bag of castanets when I walk. ;) The Met was nifty, and requires about a month of on-off exploring to properly appreciate. Unfortunately we didn't have that, and had to take ourselves down to the bus station to head back to Laurel and sort out things with Heatherly.
Ever come across something so ludicrously stupid you just stand there and shake your head? Greyhound is one of them.
See, we got there in plenty of time to book a couple of seats on the 1.30pm bus, and then took ourselves to the snack place that does really good pizza slices. Having sated hunger and attended to other needs, we rocked up to the terminal at about ten past one. Plenty of time, you'd think.
You'd think wrong.
It turns out (after wating for half an hour) that the bus has already gone. Departed. Left. Without us. Twenty-five minutes early.
Un-fucking-believable.
Upon hearing this news I stomped off to have a theraputic yell at someone, and Mel had the unenviable task of calming me down when I returned with the news that it is Greyhound 'policy' to leave when the bus is full. A policy, mind you, that we couldn't find written down on any of the material we had. As my magistrate once said, it's not policy unless it's on paper. But we could use our tickets for the next bus - at 3.30pm - so we went off to sit down and rest our aching feet and legs and drink evil coffee and on my part, do some theraputic writing. My Hob Gadling story made some progress, and I regained my temper. All good things.
Eventually we got on a bus, passed out within minutes of sitting down, and eventually arrived back in Baltimore, early enough for the local cab drivers to start making offers. Shades of Vietnam. *grins* Fortunately our saviours in the form of Girly and Sarah arrived and escorted us back to Laurel, whereupon we made some arrangements with Hilly to get to her place the next day. Today has been kinda quiet again, mainly because it's really swelteringly hot - humidity, gah! - but the others did get to witness a plot bunny attack on my person in IHOP. I now have the beginnings of a Powers fic, mainly because there isn't any out there and there should be. Besides, it's tailor-made for my style - crime thrillers, usually dark, involving ordinary people and super powers. The only question here is "why haven't I written anything in this area before?"
And that's it for now. We're having dinner at Benway's on Thursday night, and we're hoping to see something of Washington before heading off on Saturday. A native guide would be handy, hint hint. ;)
And that's it, I think. I'll see if Mel wants the computer. :)
Anyway, I have access to a computer for more than a few minutes, and my brain is functioning enough (barely!) to string together words to make sentences, to make paragraphs, to make a post. So here goes.
I'm starting to relax. Tbose who saw me at Dexcon got the Stressed Version, for which I apologise. Things had been piling up, and my coping mechanisms aren't what they were. Throw in the fact I was still physically recovering from the Evil that is chickenpox, and no wonder people were asking me if I was okay. Again, apologies for any snappishness.
But yeah, I'm moving into holiday mode. Things are planned, which always makes me relax, and we've got a course plotted for the next week or two. I've also caught up on sleep, because it's hot here in Laurel and I keep napping (not as much as Mel, who has been falling asleep everytime she sits still *grins*), so I'm feeling ready to go again. Which will happen soonish.
The drive form Toronto to Laurel (which is just outisde Baltimore, for those who need to know), was fun and unmarked by eventfulness, save for "those darned kids" in one town who had stolen the street sign we needed and the vagaries of Mapquest. The Dexcon CD makes for got driving music, with enough chops and changes to keep you awake and on your toes, and enough songs everyone knows to sing along to. I also found out Matt likes the Lightning Seeds, which is probably related to his Inner Gay Man. I also got to talk to Frito for more than five minutes (unlike during Dexcons) and decided she's also Cool People. Having a conversation with someone does help you get to know them. :) Any way, we got to Laurel in one piece - and I do apologise for not taking my turn at driving. Damn narcolepsy - where we were welcomed by WG Sarah and Girlyskin, plus Maggie the Cat and another Sparkly person whose name I missed in the general confusion. There was a Sparkly Orgy that night, from which I excused myself and promptly passed out on Sarah's bed. Post-Con exhaustion.
The next few days were "catch up" days. Quiet ones, whereon I caught up on sleep, food and comic reading. Like all of the Astro City trades and the entire Powers run. Among others. Basically recuperating. Eventually Mel and I organised ourselves enough to make a trip up to New York by Greyhound, which is only four hours. Not unlike going to Melbourne from Wodonga, really. It's good travelling with someone else, because there's always someone to talk to, and Mel and I complement each other well. In New York she discovered my affinity with trains and my love of maps, and I discovered her spatial sense and memory for places. Which meant that we didn't get lost. At all. Not even when catching the subway from the bus station to the place in Manhatten Valley we were staying in.
All up, we probably spent about two full days in the Big Apple. It's kind of cool - it reminds me of London, with its sheer busy-ness - but it lacks the sense of history London has. We did the full tour thing with Domenika, and I can tell you, if you ever find yourself needing s native guide in New York, there is none finer. Dom loves her city, and loves it with a passion that's contagious. She also walks, which is great, since I was starting to feel logey after a week of non-activity.
The next day we took ourselves to the Met, via Central Park, and Mel discovered just how noisy my leg joints - knees, ankles and toes - can be; quiet rooms and tiled floors mean I sound like a bag of castanets when I walk. ;) The Met was nifty, and requires about a month of on-off exploring to properly appreciate. Unfortunately we didn't have that, and had to take ourselves down to the bus station to head back to Laurel and sort out things with Heatherly.
Ever come across something so ludicrously stupid you just stand there and shake your head? Greyhound is one of them.
See, we got there in plenty of time to book a couple of seats on the 1.30pm bus, and then took ourselves to the snack place that does really good pizza slices. Having sated hunger and attended to other needs, we rocked up to the terminal at about ten past one. Plenty of time, you'd think.
You'd think wrong.
It turns out (after wating for half an hour) that the bus has already gone. Departed. Left. Without us. Twenty-five minutes early.
Un-fucking-believable.
Upon hearing this news I stomped off to have a theraputic yell at someone, and Mel had the unenviable task of calming me down when I returned with the news that it is Greyhound 'policy' to leave when the bus is full. A policy, mind you, that we couldn't find written down on any of the material we had. As my magistrate once said, it's not policy unless it's on paper. But we could use our tickets for the next bus - at 3.30pm - so we went off to sit down and rest our aching feet and legs and drink evil coffee and on my part, do some theraputic writing. My Hob Gadling story made some progress, and I regained my temper. All good things.
Eventually we got on a bus, passed out within minutes of sitting down, and eventually arrived back in Baltimore, early enough for the local cab drivers to start making offers. Shades of Vietnam. *grins* Fortunately our saviours in the form of Girly and Sarah arrived and escorted us back to Laurel, whereupon we made some arrangements with Hilly to get to her place the next day. Today has been kinda quiet again, mainly because it's really swelteringly hot - humidity, gah! - but the others did get to witness a plot bunny attack on my person in IHOP. I now have the beginnings of a Powers fic, mainly because there isn't any out there and there should be. Besides, it's tailor-made for my style - crime thrillers, usually dark, involving ordinary people and super powers. The only question here is "why haven't I written anything in this area before?"
And that's it for now. We're having dinner at Benway's on Thursday night, and we're hoping to see something of Washington before heading off on Saturday. A native guide would be handy, hint hint. ;)
And that's it, I think. I'll see if Mel wants the computer. :)
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no subject
Date: 2002-08-14 05:31 pm (UTC)Are you going to DC via getting a Baltimore-type person to drive you, or are you on your own? (If you're on your own, you guys could take the Marc train (I know there are 2 big Marc stations in Baltimore, plus one at the BWI Airport.) to DC and the DC Metro to whereever you wanted to meet us. (In theory, Matt could probably be persuaded to drive up and get you or something, but I won't commit him to that without asking, and he's in the middle of some weird musical fit at the moment - Laurel isn't -that- far away.)
I have a half day of vacation time left, so I can bail work at 1pm if you guys are gonna be in the area Friday.
no subject
Date: 2002-08-14 06:42 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2002-08-14 09:26 pm (UTC)Anyway, have a nice time, Rossi. Funny. I thought the only time people developed narcolepsy was when they were reading my stories...
no subject
Date: 2002-08-14 10:43 pm (UTC)Yay! I am not alone in Clicky Limbs land!
*g* I've woken Mel up that way myself. It's hard to tiptoe across the motel room to get a drink of water when your knees let out a positively metronomic regular click with every step. Mel was very confused when I tried to explain that *I* wasn't making the clicking noise, my *knees* were.
*snugs Rossi* And I'm glad you're having fun. ^-^
WHOO HOOO!
Date: 2002-08-15 01:32 pm (UTC)Be careful, darlings, and am I still expecting y'all on Monday?