Vacation
First, I hope everyone at Nationals is having a great time. I’m not there again this year but I hope Nashville is for me next year.
There are a bunch of reasons I had skip Nationals this year. I don’t have a babysitter and it was a little cost prohibitive. I’m sad. I wanted to go, it sounds like so much fun. I loved the conference I went to last year. Just being around all that creative energy and all those people who share similar goals/difficulties. It was great. I’m planning on going to the NJ RWA Conference in Oct though. Anyone else want to join me?
Since I couldn’t get myself to DC this year, I treated myself to the shore yesterday. I took the DS down to Ocean City, NJ and I laid on the beach (covered in 45 SPF). DS played in the sand and ran around in front of him and it was heavenly. It’s only an hour or so drive, but we don’t get down there as often as I’d like.
The beach turned out to be a great place to people watch. It’s like the mall with less clothes. I checked out the lifeguards and the menagerie of people lying out. The group of girls behind me who flirted with my son mercilessly. He flirted back too, I admit. The guy in the speedo (there’s always that guy in the speedo, ya know?) The young, the old. The couples, the singles. The runners.
My family has a few other vacations and mini-vacations that I’m looking forward to this year. After yesterday, I’m looking forward not only to getting away but to the kick to the creative juices I got. When I was at the NJ conference last year, I remember coming home and just feeling like I was on a high, like having all those like-minded folks around got me revved up. But I think it might be a change in my routine too.
So are you going anywhere fun this year? Do you feel like vacations get your creativity going? Are you attending any conferences this year?
Books by the Crew
32 comments:
I'm home too, and not going to the beach because it's mostly rained for weeks and so cold we've had the heat on at night. In the middle of July! But it's been good for the writing. My husband and I are going to Las Vegas again the first week of August, where it will be sunny and 110 degrees so I'll get to see semi-naked people with lots of tattoos. I'm bringing my laptop and will sit at the pool, read and try to plot in the sun.
Maggie - It rained here for weeks and weeks too. We've finally been dry for the past few weeks so it's getting a little better. I thought I'd be prune-y for the rest of my life.
I've never been to Las Vegas, but I bet it's a gold mine of people watching. :) Have fun and glad the writing's going well!
I'm home and having a good time. There really is a cool croup of kids staying home this year-which Elyssa Papa so accurately pointed out. It's been great to chat with everyone. Though certain people are not Twittering.I need say name no names. YOU know who you are...lol. I have no plans to go next year. I would like to but I'm good if I can't.
Have fun in NJ! I know you'll love it.:) Heck, you'll prolly win some awards for something.lol.
Hi Kelly gal! :)
There are a cool crop of gals home this year if I do say so myself. LOL! :)
*sheepishly shuffling my feet* I'm not a very good tweeter. I love keeping up with everyone else and I root for you all, but I can barely get my teeth brushed some days.... And that whole keeping comments so short? It's like work!! LOL!!
"you'll prolly win some awards for something" LOL! This has to be the sweetest thing. I didn't enter the contest this year. But I'll pitch, at least that's my goal. I want to have this story ready to pitch by then.
I hope there are other of you that will come to NJ. It's not as expensive and it's a really good conference. If you're on the east coast and can drive, even better. I think it's only 200 bucks for registration and the hotel rooms are reasonable. :)
Conferences: Probably none this year, definitely Spring Fling next year and hopefully *fingers crossed* I'm going to be Nationals bound.
Morning dear.
I'd like to say I'm going somewhere great this year, but it's doubtful :( Maybe next year. And maybe next year for Nationals for me too. How great will it be if we can ALL get there next year?
I'm so glad you and the DS went to the shore yesterday!
I went to the RT Convention in April (where I met the fabulous 2nd Chance and infamous Jane!)
I also felt that the conference revved me up to write but I agree - I think sometimes its any break from your normal routine.
The hubby took me to Las Vegas for my 30th b-day earlier this year and the poeple watching could have inspired unlimited characters for me.
Our next trip is in 12 days- IRELAND! We are goign for a week and I'm insanely excited. Taking the netbook and hoping inspiration hits hard!
Sin - I think it'd be awesome for all of us to be in Nashville next year. We'll see for me. These conferences are pricey. :(
I've heard Spring Fling is a lot of fun too. That's not a far drive for you, right?
7 Hours. It's two hours to STL airport and then an hour flight. I think if Hellie's going (Hellie, are you planning on SF 2010?) then maybe I'll drive. Or I guess we could take the bus. I don't know what we'll do. It's fairly inexpensive and it was an AWESOME conference.
Wow, Sabrina! Ireland sounds like so much fun. And I think Las Vegas would be awesome, but I've never been. I love Atlantic City. At least the parts where people don't usually get shot....
I've heard Chicago's a cool city too. I'd like to visit just to see it sometime. Hopefully in the future. :)
7 hours is doable in the car with someone else. Alone, that's a little rough.
I could do it. I just don't want to. LOL. I love to drive and from here to Chicago is a lot of back roads and open fields. It's really pretty.
HELLO!!! I'm sorry I don't have time to read anything (though I can say I consider this my yearly vacation) but I wanted to check in and say I'm still alive. I'm fighting to get internet in my room but this hotel SUCKS!!! I'm so freaking irritated. But I met Hal last night (she's AWESOME!!) and Chance and I sat and talked for 2 hours last night when I gave up at midnight.
I'm having a good time (outside of dealing with the sucky service here) and I've seen lots of fiends. I'm slacking on the picture taking but PJ has taken lots so I'll finagle some out of her. :)
I'll check in again when I can and I want to remind you, Marn, and you others, that next year is the Year of the Pirates. We will ALL be in Nashville! (That's my positive thinking I'm sending out to the Universe anyway.)
Alright, now I read a couple comments. Seven hours in a car is NOTHING. LOL! Y'all would be surprised how far you can drive by yourself.
I'm shutting up now. Really, I'm going.
Oh, wait, I talked to Renee a little while ago and I should meet her during the luncheon. Can't wait!
Now I'm going. For real.
Wait, Leslie Langtry said last night she wants to run away with us pirates. Is that not cool? And then Christie Craig told her friends we have the best blog on the net. Whoot!
Okay, now I'm going. I've only paid for 20 minutes on this computer (no free internet ANYWHERE IN HOTEL. Did I mention this place sucks?!)
Under 2 mins. I'm gone. Miss y'all.
Hey Marn, the shore sounds nice. We were actually thinking about staying in Ocean City in August for a day or two. We're doing a road trip. The hubby has a few weeks off and we're hitting NYC and Washington DC (yeah, I know - just a few weeks too late). It should be fun. I've never been to New York. I have been to DC, though, and can't wait to go back. I'm a huge history nut.
Chicago is fun, especially in the summer time. Las Vegas is cool but I'm not a gambler. Years ago it was a fun, cheap place to getaway for a few days. It's gotten really expensive over the years, though. Now I'll just tag along if the DH has a conference or something. Both places are great to people watch!
Leslie!! Let's run away and find some cabana boys with lots of alcohol!
I'm sorry Ter that the hotel sucks but have a great time regardless!!
Awwww, Ter. Sorry about the awful hotel room! Sounds like you're enjoying anyway! Hang in there and get more pictures!!!!!!
What I'd really like to do, though, is join Sabrina. IRELAND! Wow! That would be nice. Maybe shoot over the England and head on up to Scotland. I can handle that!
Sin - I'm with you. (Sorry Ter) But I can drive for longer, I just prefer not to. My tolerance level is usually like 5-6 hours. Anything beyond that and I get super antsy and irritable. (I think I have ADD.)
Ter - Yay HI! I'm glad you're having fun and I'm glad you got to meet Hal! And that is totally cool about Leslie Langtry and Christie Craig.
It's true of course; we do rock. LOL!!
No internet in the hotel? Isn't that like blasphemy? A bunch of writer's without internet access? The world might stop spinning.
Irish - Your road trip sounds awesome! I like Ocean City a lot. I think it got voted the best beach in the US this past year. Or something like that, most family friendly maybe? I dunno. It's a lot of fun there though. :)
And I wanna tag along with Sabrina too. I want to go to Ireland. Someday, I'm sure of it!
Marn, I think small breaks can work wonders. I love to people watch. I can go to the mall, the library, or even the doctor's office and come away with lots of mini-character sketches that go in the button box. I'm sure I'll use most of them some day.
Ireland sounds wonderful, Sabrina.
I'm going somewhere fun in two weeks exactly: CHICAGO. I'm going to see Island Girl and her brood; and I'm bringing two of my friends--and we're going to see the Harry Potter exhibit. I'm way, way, way excited. I need to rest up because I don't think we're going to be allowed to sleep with all the stuff we want to do on this vacation. *LOL*
I'd consider SF2010 because I enjoyed hte last one so much. We could take the MegaBus. If they're still doing what they're doing and we do it right, we could get a roundtrip ticket for $2.50 like I'm doing in two weeks.
Aw, Ter, I *heart* you and miss you boat loads...Pirate Ship loads?LOL!
The beach is "like the mall but with less clothes." I love it! :)
I have no plans to go anywhere this year except in a move--and I'm not sure where that will be yet.
On your other question, when I'm on vacation, I'm really on vacation. Jack and I may brainstorm but I don't take the AlphaSmart or plan to write. But who can stop ideas from cropping up no matter where or what you're doing? Well, maybe in the middle of sex I might not have an idea for a book...but that's about it.
Janga - Mini-character sketches in the button box, huh? LOL! That's cute.
Hellie - That sounds like fun. What HP exhibit is this? Am I missing something? How was the movie yesterday?
Dee - In the middle of sex. :) LOL! That's hilarious. And you have the AlphaSmart? I think that's the one Haleigh has. Do you like it?
I agree about not being able to stop the ideas though. You're right. We're writers, that's what we do. :)
That's what I wanna know, Hellie! How was HP?!!! I believe my niece went to the midnight showing but haven't spoken with her yet.
And like I said Chicago in the summer is awesome. Can be very, very hot, but awesome just the same, especially down by the lake. We're toying with going to the exhibit Hellie. We've heard nothing but good things about it. We're just kind of on overload at the moment.
http://www.harrypotterexhibition.com/
It's in Chicago at the Science & Industry museum. I'm way excited. I have a digital camera and everything to take photos...and will probably have to ship all my souviners home (since the bus will only allow us so much stuff.)
Ideas are EVERYWHERE. Lord, I had to entertain myself for 15 minutes before lunch yesterday and was digging through my purse for paper just to start jotting down dialogue. Couldn't find paper. I mean, Sin must give me a notebook every 2 months just to make sure THIS IS NOT AN ISSUE. Gah.
Today, I'm at my desk and hear my boss tell the Chair he's ready for lunch--and where they were going. Chair says, "Chinese." Man, I think, I would LOVE some Chinese food. My boss is so lucky. And the chair pops his head in and says, "Do you want to go?" And I was out of my chair and had thrown down my mouse before the words "Hell, yes!" had left my lips. I didn't even go to the bathroom before I left because I didn't want to take the chance they might go without me.
The food was good too.
Harry Potter was WONDERFUL! They really played up the relationships/friendships dynamics in this one. So, so good. So there were some "uncannon" moments they created that were really funny and really sweet that I REALLY ENJOYED. The scene where Ron is asking what Dean sees in Ginny; and Harry is trying to speculate without giving himself away. The "She's attractive" line and then Ron sputtering...and Harry tries to save himself--but the line he says to save himself is just SUCH A GUY THING TO SAY. I'm trying to be mysterious but encourage you to go...I don't know if the humor would be lost if I started directly quoting the scene.
The scene where Hermione is upset that Ron is dating Lavender--BRILLIANT, wonderful, and sweet. And her trying to get back at him by dating Cormac, who is played by a good looking guy, who clearly has a talent for comedy. He's HILARIOUS...and the scene where he eats the dragon balls. OMG!
Ron has a moment in the movie where HE'S THE HERO and totally shines...and it's really good to see him as a star for a bit instead of Harry.
Dumbledore deadpans as usual. When Ron and Lavender break up, Lavender leaving the room in sobs, Dumbledore's comment made everyone in the theater roar with laughter.
One very uncannon moment in the middle that I didn't understand, so I couldn't wholly approve of it. Otherwise the other stuff they did that was uncannon--including how the Tower Scene was dealt with--was okay. It was believable to how the characters are portrayed in the movie context (though not to book context.) If that makes sense.
Harry is rather different on screen than he behaves in the book. In the movie, he's much more willing to take Dumbledore's word; he's not constantly trying to look for trouble like he's done before--at least that's how it felt. The book Harry is VERY STUBBORN and VERY CONVINCED HE'S RIGHT--basically looking for evidence to prove his theories; and movie Harry seems a bit more willing to go with things until proven otherwise. But that could be my speculation.
If you haven't read the books though, you won't think Harry's acting differently, really; I think you'd just assume he's more mature. He just seems more mature.
I'm late today - mostly because I ended up on the wrong freakin train on the way home from the signing last night, and spent 2 and half hours riding the metro around until I got to the right stop. And since it was already 1am by then, I just crashed at my in-laws and drove home today.
I wish I was at all of nationals, but just going to the signing last night was awesome. Tons of cool writers and great energy. And Kelly - I met Stephanie and Mary, who were so much fun! And of course, I attached myself to Terri, since she knows everyone, and followed her around :)
I love little short breaks, esp to the beach. It's a good break. I'm excited for the Jersey conference in the fall, and I'm taking a quick trip to Chicago to visit friends, and a quick trip to St. Louis for a wedding.
Marn - I just realized! We should to to the beach in Cape May together! How much fun would that be? LOL!
Hellie - I'm so glad you loved HP! :) I can't wait to go. DH and I are going on Saturday. (Date night). It should be so much fun. I feel like I'm going to love it. I really loved the book, so this should be great.
And I always try to keep paper on me to jot down ideas, but I usually have to do it while I'm driving, which is dangerous. I pull off to write, but then my DS gets annoyed. Now that he kinda knows where we're going it's worse. I'll pull into a gas station and he'll be all, "No MA! No gas, Ma! No Ma!!" *sigh* I'll be like, dude, let me just get this down on paper. "NO MA!! No Paper MA!!"
:)
Hal - I'm so glad you guys had fun last night! It sounds like so much fun. And I would love to get together at the Jersey Shore. :) You just let me know when and where. (well, I'll have to arrange around nap time, sorta, but I can do that.)
That sucks about the train, though. I'm glad you made it home alright.
Marnee, love the AlphaSmart! I highly recommend it.
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