Famous authors, indecision.

So, the Science Fiction Museum is throwing an awards shindig, hosted by Neil Gaiman, featuring Connie Willis, and honoring Anne McCaffrey.

Gaiman: Seen him. Signed stuff. Rubbed his shoulders. Feel bad for the amount of attention hounding he gets. Promise not to pester him this time.

Willis: Haven't read very much of her, overall, but everything I read of her is BRILLIANT and her writing implies an interesting personality that I would like to meet.

McCaffrey: Idol of my pre- to mid-pubescent reading shrine. Seriously. Dude. And she's turning 80 this year.

Tickets to the awards thing (which appears mostly to be for the "let us feed you snobby things") are $45. I can't figure out how other parts of it work - I'd really rather go to some of the more informal day bits.

[Poll #747509]
Leave a comment if you can figure out more about how I could get into the non-swank parts of the weekend extravaganza.

What I Want For My Birthday

I'm writing my birthday-ish post about two weeks late this year, partly because of all the deadwood in my head of little posts I'd like to make every day,* and partly because as soon as I was done sleeping off the quarter I got a 5-day cold.

So, the quick version:

1) I'd like people to come see me. In party form or just dropping by (call in advance) between now and the 26th when I start a new job.

2) I'd like people to offer moral support and a little bit of arm strength in getting my room put together, because when the lease rolls around September 1, if my clothes are STILL in rubbermaid bins I am going to be one depressed ferret. My family has a tradition of taking turns: You watch me weed my closet and put up shelving, I help you file your taxes and deal with the scary cupboard, that sort of thing. Some jobs are just easier with company. I'd like to get more of these trades going in my life right now.

3) I'm considering biking and Flexcar. Specifically, I'd like to consult with one or more of you biking freaks about sizing myself for a bike and see if anyone has an appropriately sized one that I could borrow** to try this idea out. I'd like opinions from Flexcar users about whether it's an effective option.

I'll try to expand these over the next few days so y'all have something more specific to respond to, but I know every time I say that it doesn't happen, so feel free to start responding to this sketchy version and I'll be more likely to elaborate as I go along!


* Example: "Squeeeee! Someone who saw my knotwork in the art show has put me in touch with a friend of theirs who's looking for a tattoo designer! Someone thought I was good enough to consider putting one of my designs ON SKINNNN!"

** I'm wary of buying a bike immediately because I'm kind of terrified of riding them and if I can't overcome that it will be a very poor investment.