Life and Wizardry

Arrived back in Dallas about 9:00 PM last night. The trip was . . . Invigorating, for lack of a better word. Berkeley and San Francisco were wonderful. I'll have to go back one day when I have time, so I can play in the Exploratorium and drive up Lombard Street.

So many unexpected things happened on this trip. First off, I enjoyed myself. (Big thanks to my wonderful co-workers!) I also got a sunburn, watched five Law & Order episodes (television!!), froze my ass off riding on a ferry, ate smoked salmon, skipped two conference sessions, flirted with two men (one married, sadly), rode in a subway, drank an intense balance-impairing margarita, lost control of my mouth, and at one point acted exactly like an ousted Reality TV contestant.

Not what I expected at all. I thought this would be like every other dull-as-cardboard conference, the ones where I went to a bunch of good lectures during the day then ordered room service and sank into gloom every the evening, crawling into bed at 9:00 because there wasn't anything else to do.

This is how I used to live. This is my old lifestyle, the one I had, what, fifteen years ago? Back when I never sat at home on a Friday or Saturday.

I like having choices again, even if what I choose is wrong. I like knowing I can be upset enough to say stupid things out loud without censoring myself first, and that I can still laugh loudly enough to make an entire restaurant look at our table. Knowing that I can still say I'm sorry when I've acted like an idiot. And I like feeling the sensations that accompany flirting, and even reveling in the crushing weight of stupidity I feel when I realize a particular flirt is DOA.

The conference in itself wasn't life-altering, but maybe it's a sign of more good things to come. My fingers are crossed.

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Spent today playing Aunt. Picked up Niece R and Nephew R about 5:30, and drove to Barnes and Noble to wait for Harry Potter Party armbands. I had heard negative things about the party, things like how the kids would have to wait in line to get in, and how they were expecting a ton of kids. I prepared R & R for the worst, explaining we would try to go to the party, but that we needed a backup plan in case something went wrong.

Getting armbands was easier than expected. Since we had a lot of time to kill we played miniature golf in an indoor, blacklight-illuminated course at the mall. Then dinner at OTB, a board game at my house, and finally (at 10:00 PM) the party.

It was horrible. Not all that crowded -- we got in without any trouble at all -- but NO organization. It seems the kids were supposed to complete the activities in a particular order, but I couldn't find out what order. No one seemed to know anything. The store was reduced to a bunch of aimless lines snaking around bookcases, the lines filled with aimless adults who knew as little as I did. We stayed about half an hour, and then left. We bought ice cream from Paculio's instead, and had more fun playing around the fountain than we ever would have had in that dreadful party.

And I still don't have to book. I'll have to swing by and pick up a copy tomorrow, as I'm all out of reading material.