Apparently, as a rule I don't talk much
Mar. 19th, 2006 03:17 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
pameladeanYesterday I was a guest of the Minnesota SF Writers' Meetup, organized by an energetic and charming woman named Hilary who once, long ago, came up to me at Minicon after I had read the first chapter of the yet-incomplete Tam Lin and, in the company of her friend Nat, asked, "Did you go to Carleton?" I had described the room that Nat was presently occupying at Carleton.
She had secured the private room at Curran's, a restaurant conveniently located within walking distance of my house. There were sixteen people there, that being the number the restaurant had told Hilary the room would hold. As it turned, out, this only worked if you put several people at smaller tables some where they couldn't hear properly. We crammed everybody into one long table.![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
mmerriam and careswen were there, and had kindly snagged seats across from the one designated for me (I was a little late), so that I wouldn't feel too intimidated. Two people I know from local fandom but don't see much these days, Andre and Rebecca, were there; also dsgood, whom I still see at MinnStf when I get there; as well as several Carleton graduates and a woman who works at Carleton because she read Tam Lin. I know that somewhere there must be people who went to Carleton because of Tam Lin and discovered bitterly that they hated the entire experience, but they don't seem to feel impelled to tell me about it.
As I had suspected, it's really not possible to have other than a good time in the company of a lot of aspiring writers and some of their co-conspirators. But my voice gave out quite early, and the people at the other end of the table could not hear me very well. At least one of them buttonholed me afterwards and got to ask her question after all.
I walked home in the lovely sunshine and then dallied about until it was time to go with David to a small party that had suddenly sprung up like a daffodil shoot. I got to talk to people I hadn't seen for a while, and be mugged by demanding cats, and hear music, and it was all good. David was trying out his new camera, and that is always very endearing and entertaining to watch.
P.
She had secured the private room at Curran's, a restaurant conveniently located within walking distance of my house. There were sixteen people there, that being the number the restaurant had told Hilary the room would hold. As it turned, out, this only worked if you put several people at smaller tables some where they couldn't hear properly. We crammed everybody into one long table.
mmerriam and careswen were there, and had kindly snagged seats across from the one designated for me (I was a little late), so that I wouldn't feel too intimidated. Two people I know from local fandom but don't see much these days, Andre and Rebecca, were there; also dsgood, whom I still see at MinnStf when I get there; as well as several Carleton graduates and a woman who works at Carleton because she read Tam Lin. I know that somewhere there must be people who went to Carleton because of Tam Lin and discovered bitterly that they hated the entire experience, but they don't seem to feel impelled to tell me about it.As I had suspected, it's really not possible to have other than a good time in the company of a lot of aspiring writers and some of their co-conspirators. But my voice gave out quite early, and the people at the other end of the table could not hear me very well. At least one of them buttonholed me afterwards and got to ask her question after all.
I walked home in the lovely sunshine and then dallied about until it was time to go with David to a small party that had suddenly sprung up like a daffodil shoot. I got to talk to people I hadn't seen for a while, and be mugged by demanding cats, and hear music, and it was all good. David was trying out his new camera, and that is always very endearing and entertaining to watch.
P.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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Date: 2006-03-19 11:51 pm (UTC)Aww. Wow, that's lovely.
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Date: 2006-03-20 02:20 am (UTC)P.
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Date: 2006-03-20 12:55 am (UTC)I would say you did quite well at answering questions. (Actually, I did say it in my LiveJournal.)
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Date: 2006-03-20 02:19 am (UTC)I couldn't recall your LJ username, and was also trying to be overly specific and got so tangled up in my sentence that I forgot to actually put you in. I have recreated the original messy sentence. I do apologize.
P.
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Date: 2006-03-20 04:38 am (UTC)Though I did have a flashback to various 1950s/1960s stories in which the protagonist is being written out of the universe.
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Date: 2006-03-20 01:42 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-03-20 02:19 am (UTC)If Minicon is doing readings, I'll do one there.
P.
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Date: 2006-03-20 02:55 am (UTC)Tam Lin is the college experience I wish I'd had...but hey, I get to read it!
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Date: 2006-03-20 06:07 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-03-21 01:15 am (UTC)P.
How delightful!
Date: 2006-03-20 06:56 pm (UTC)Were Nat's and my eyes really as round as saucers when we met you? Sigh. We were so young in those days.
Hmm
PS For the curious, here is a link to the Twin Cities Speculative Fiction Writers Network (http://scifiwriting.meetup.com/2/about/).
Re: How delightful!
Date: 2006-03-20 09:44 pm (UTC)Yes, your eyes were really quite huge. I thought at first you were Minicon volunteers with some dire news or other.
Thanks for the link and the actual name of the group. I should update the entry.
P.
Re: How delightful!
Date: 2006-03-21 04:22 am (UTC)BTW, here are photos (http://scifiwriting.meetup.com/2/photos/?photoAlbumId=70050&photoId=346418) of the event.
And here is a link (http://scifiwriting.meetup.com/2/boards/view/viewthread?thread=1742025) to a bunch of other blogs about the event.
And here is a link to our group Thank you letter (http://scifiwriting.meetup.com/2/boards/view/viewthread?thread=1747690) to you.
Thank you again, Pamela! We had a lovely time with you!
Hmm
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Date: 2006-03-21 07:29 am (UTC)But AS it's come up -- *squees incoherently*.
And while it would have been quite enough all by itself, I also owe you for introducing me to Chrostopher Fry, which was a bonus miracle not included in the cover price, for which I owe you a drink or two at least.