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Renee and Amanda spend some quality time
in my room, |
I don't know who fed me the crack rock and told me to go to JournalCon alone. All I know is that on Friday,
October 6, I deplaned in Pittsburgh and found myself wandering the airport looking for someone named Dreama.
A call to her cell phone told me that she was reputed to be in a white mini van with tinted windows. I saw one
parked along the curb, but it had Florida plates. So I sat shadily nearby, staring (stalkerlike) at the van until
I figured that it had to be her. I wandered up to the passenger window and saw a woman at the wheel seated next
to a little elf wearing glasses. "Dreama?" I asked the driver. "Amy? Hi! Yes, it's us! The Happy JournalCon van!" "I probably would have guessed that," I told the elf, "If the SIGN weren't in YOUR LAP!" She picked it up and waved it at me, a bit late. |
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The elf turned out to be Amanda, who I didn't recognize because she's so...tiny...and so...brunette. I immediately fell in love with her so-very-dry sense of humor and she was one of the coolest, most down-to-earth people I met.
We had a few stops to make before we reached to hotel, during the course of which I recorded the weekend's first quote: Someone: "I don't eat much meat." Renee: "You don't?? I eat the shit out of meat!" |
Look at this picture and tell me that you don't want her for your very own. She comes with a southern accent, expressive hand gestures, and more knowledge about the jouralling community than anyone I've ever come across. |
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Jen Wade all gussied up in some sassy shoes. She's really a swell gal. |
Many hoity-toity people wearing suits populated the lobby of the William Tell Westin
Penn Flah Flah (or whatever the name of the hotel was). The first JournalCon attendees we bumped into were my roomie,
Jen Wade, and Beth. I immediately felt like a giantess as both of these ladies are lovely and petite, and
when they joined the Elf and Renee in a chat circle, I was left trying to remember to not drag my knuckles as I
went over to the desk to check in. Everyone prettied up to get to the welcoming reception on time, but when we arrived, we found that the hotel wouldn't be ready for us for another half-hour. Jen and I stood in a circle with Beth, Emily, Columbine, and were soon joined by Pamie. I tried to be cool...yeah, I'm hanging with Pamie, whatever...but that always makes me even more shy and I was happy when more people arrived and we could get into the reception room and sit. |
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The reception was very nice. There was a table full of snacky food and a bartender and cashier that looked like they'd been on the Pittsburgh Vaudeville circuit. After obtaining a beer, Pamie asked Emily if she smoked. When she said yes, they went off to find out where one could smoke in the building. On their way out the door and to the smoking alcove, they grabbed me (why? I do not know), and we hustled off down the hall until we found a room that could be an alcove. I watched them smoke until I heard male voices talking in the hallway, then I ran away and left them to get the detentions for smoking in the alcove. I'm no fool.
People were kind of nervous at the reception, so there were a lot of trips made to the Vaudeville duo to get drinks. I was in line when I saw that Dana had arrived. |
Amanda! Hang ten! How about a musk mint? "This tastes like head shop!" |
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Dana, the elusive monkey |
Dana is one of the main reasons I decided to go to JournalCon. I e-mailed her a few
months ago and frantically asked her, "If I go, will you talk to me? Will you? WILL YOU AND I SIT IN DREAMY
DELIGHT and TALK TO EACH OTHER?" She assured me that we would become tender, gentle friends, and so I felt
a lot better about going. So Dana walked in and I hooted across the room, "DANA! TOUCH MY MONKEY! TOUCH IT!" She turned and looked at me with (dare I say?) revulsion. "Don't you know me?" I asked weakly. "I'm, um...Amy. Lester? Yah. Hi!" After that, she ran to give me a gigantic hug and I thought that it was happening, that we were becoming one, but she soon ran off to join Rob and peer nervously at the group sitting at the tables. I tried to get her to come mingle with me, but that wasn't going to happen, no it was not. And that's the last I saw of her for quite some time. We trudged off to dinner, and even though it was fun and I was having a great time, I was so tired I couldn't force myself to be cheerful any longer. Jen, Renee and I walked back to the hotel at about 9:30 p.m. and passed out in our respective rooms. We missed a lot of fun, apparently, but I just couldn't do it. Gads, I'm old. |
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The next morning, Jen and I made it downstairs at 8:00 a.m.for the breakfast that was listed in the program. After we sat there for awhile and nothing was happening, we decided to go to the bagel place in the hotel and eat right there in the lobby. That was pretty fun and festive, especially since there was a Starbucks in the lobby, too.
"I've never BEEN in a Starbucks!" gasped Renee, and I loved her all the more. |
 Caoimhe, the cutest little bunny, and Brian, writer of secret notes on his laptop. |
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Beth was totally sweet and I really enjoyed talking to her. From this picture, you can see that the feeling was mutual. "Hey!" I told her, eager to bond. "I lived in Citrus Heights [a city near her hometown of Sacramento] after college!" "I'm sorry," she said. |
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So then we went up to the mezzanine level where our two conference rooms were located to kick off JournalCon. It was really weird to be in a room with so many people who I knew, but didn't really know. I couldn't stop looking around at everyone and thinking "THAT is CORINA," or "LOOK AT RYAN!" It was hard to pay attention to the first session because I was so hyped up. (Could that bigass cafe mocha have had something to do with it? I think not.) |
Ryan calls his people to order. We do not recite the pledge. |
