Spend it!

I'm so glad I went to Bristolcon. It was fun, and also gave me a jolt because I was forced to confront the utter lack of 'what the hell, why not' in my forty-something responsibility-laden life. I really need to make an effort to inject a little more goofy into my weeks and months.

Bristolcon was small, which is a plus for me because I didn't get lost (much) and got to actually talk to people. I talked withfredawritesand her husband, met historical novelist Harriet Castor, briefly saw Joanne Hall, Shana and Cheryl, chatted with jmck and maeve_the_red(and found out that Jaine and I have THE SAME BRAIN when it comes to certain things about the writing business) and hung out in the bar giving John Meaney a hard time about his Shotokan.

The highlight of the day was listening to an interview of justinar in which stephanieburgis asked a cogent series of questions and Justina's wit was employed to good effect in answering . At the end Justina gave a reading from a work in progress that had a complex description--think elevator pitch that would only work if the lift were stuck between floors for a while.  But fascinating.  There is an electricity in listening to such a good writer read work in progress hot off her laptop. I could almost see the pages in my mindseye. Want book!

Of course, spending time with Steph and psamphire was great. And there were no kids, which makes the flow of conversation considerably less interruption-y.

Up until now I've been of two minds about Eastercon. I had mentioned to Rhiannon that there was a con in London at Easter and that we might go and see London. Then I regretted it, because the very thought of all the expense and hoo-ha made me tired. I think, though, that things are moving past the babies/small children stage when going out really was hard with my kids.  It's changing.

I need to fight this tendency to maintain my discipline and conserve energy. Sometimes you've got to spend it to make it.