Post-Con Exhaustion

Now I'm home from Tulsa and in my usual post-con exhaustion, which isn't helped by the extreme heat. After the mix-ups on Friday, things went pretty well. I did have a couple of people come to the early-morning autographing Saturday, then I signed more books throughout the day for people who didn't have psychic powers or who weren't early risers who happened to be walking by. I got a laugh or two from my reading, had another panel giggle fit about something I probably shouldn't post publicly, then had a full room for my workshop. That's such a fun workshop to do, and I enjoy it even more when the audience gets into it. (For those who were at the workshop and are looking for the handout online, I will get to that today.)

They did an "author speed dating" event where they had fans sitting at tables, and the authors rotated among the tables every four minutes for quick intros and chatting. I'm so glad I've never tried to do that for real dating, and I now know I never will. It generally took me the whole four minutes to get into enough of a comfort zone to talk, and then it was time to move on. I suspect in a dating environment, that would be a recipe for rejection. But it was kind of fun just doing it as a "meet the author" thing where no one would be filling out cards about whether or not they'd want to go out with me.

I had a great chat with some of the authors I've met online through various groups but have never met in person, like Sarah Rees Brennan, whose young adult fantasy novel will be coming out next year and who came all the way from Ireland, Jennifer Lynn Barnes (who's been a regular Girlfriends Cyber Circuit guest), Marie Brennan and a bunch of others. I also saw the solidarity of the Curly Mafia in action when agent Miriam Kress (a charter member) knew exactly what trauma the forgotten hair gel entailed and offered to let me use some of hers. But by then the con was almost over and a ponytail had become a viable option.

I've decided I'm definitely anti-Sleep Number. I never did get this bed to work properly, and I was able to work the one last year. It made sounds like it was doing something, but it didn't really change. Even if it did, all it is, really, is an air mattress. And air mattresses just aren't comfortable. If you like a softer bed, what you get is a partially deflated air mattress, which is really uncomfortable. Or maybe I'm just spoiled by my down-topped feather bed at home, which manages to combine softness and support. I guess this means I'll be avoiding Radisson hotels in the future, since they seem to think the Sleep Number beds are a plus. I may take it easy on the exercise today and just do some yoga because I'm still stiff.

Now I have just a little more than a week before I leave for WorldCon. I'm sure that will be quite the experience, but the short turnaround means I don't have time to indulge in post-con exhaustion.

And in a programming note, have y'all checked out The Middleman on ABC Family? If you liked the short-lived live-action version of The Tick, or you like the vibe of the Men in Black movies, you should check this series out. It's very much tongue-in-cheek and quite funny. You have to love a series in which a group of interstellar alien dictators gets banished to Earth -- and forms a boy band because the squeals of tween fangirls can provide the energy they need to get home. And, it turns out, the boy band was played by a real boy band. It's on at 9 p.m. Central Time on ABC Family.