I got back from Los Angeles on Sunday. It went well. Very well. I miss everyone already, all those brilliant, beautiful new writers. But I’m glad to be home.
The travel was the smoothest I’ve experienced in years. On the way there, a friend drove us to the airport. Virgin America had a wheelchair waiting at the drop-off point. Security was efficient and painless. (Have I ever told the story of how I came *this* close to getting into a fight with a security person at the Atlanta airport? Remind me sometime.) The plane left on time and arrived early. There were no shrieking children. The food (food!) was utterly delicious. We were met at the airport by a reader of this blog (thanks, Jill!) who wafted us to the campus, then drove Kelley to pick up a rental car. And the same in reverse. Not a hitch, not a glitch, not a bump. I’m not entirely sure I believe it.
Which is a good thing because I’m crushed-into-the-carpet tired. I was up at 6:45 every morning, and talking all day every day until 11pm, or later. (And subsisted on dorm food. And slept in single dorm beds.) Last night I slept seven hours straight through (haven’t done that for so long I can’t remember) woke up, beamed at Kelley, and slept another two.
Free of my repressive presence, the perbs ran absolutely wild. Perhaps it was the sunshine–ironically it’s much, much hotter here in Seattle than it was in Bel Air, where the weather was perfect–mid-70s every day, 61 at night. Here, it was 95 on Sunday, 91 yesterday, heading for 85 today. That, plus the smooth travel, the deep sleep, the tangle of perbs, makes me wonder if I’ve fallen into a dream or a fairytale.
Tomorrow, hopefully, I’ll figure it all out enough to set down the story of my week. For now, I’ll leave it at this: I’m glad–very, very glad–I went and happy to be home.
While you wait for me to catch up with myself, here’s something you might find interesting: an essay by Cheryl Morgan on the Changing Images of Trans People in Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature.
Nicola Griffith 
I'm glad you had such a good trip & that the airline was so accomodating :)! I think you should get hazard pay, though, when forced to subsist on dorm food. Less cheese this time I hope?
My client got a fancy new wheelchair, which has fancy new brakes which fail to unlock when you unlock them and are not easily fixable like the old ones. So we took her and her new chair (w/her in her old chair due to brake problem) to the wheelchair company. The lobby was pleasant & filled with framed pictures of people nearly rock-climbing with their wcs — once we managed to get into it. The wc company has a non-accessible front door. Ever wonder what people are thinking?
It's August and we're out of drought (mostly), so it's been raining for a few minutes in the afternoons. Two of my tomato plants are going hog-wild over the rain and the cooler temps. I can only imagine your perbs — but I'm sure we'll get pictures shortly :P.
Glad you are back! We missed you.
And yes, I think the Perbs growing to the wild side had more to do with the plentiful sunshine than your absence. :)
jennifer, no no no! It's *all* about me!
Jo, the access thing drives me bugfuck crazy. 'Thinking' is too generous a word. I'm glad your tomatoes are doing well. As for the perbs, I should have taken a pic before I hacked them back (esp. the dill) so savagely. Will try to remember later this week.
loved the post. Would you mind awfully if I stole “bugfuck?” Utterly perfect.Thanks so much,
wordsofbarrett, sure, steal away. I did :)
Well, I am certain that you are the exact opposite of a “repressive presence”, so I figured in this one instance, some (equally powerful) other force was at work.
:)
The riverwalk here has ramps that are way too steep in spots. Apparently when they were built, they met the specified figure for *average* slope. My friend & fellow ADA Advisory Committee member, K, has taken many city council & planning-type folks up and down the ramps w/the dignitaries using her manual wheelchair. We now have some believers in city management . . .
Glad you had a wondermous trip, and glad you're back. Missed your wit and insight while you were gone.
Thanks. Though as my wit quotient rises and falls in step with my sleeping hours, I suspect the world was better off without my intarwebly input the last week :)