Today is Sunday, and for the first time in a week and a half I didn't have trouble getting out of bed because of my back. It's finally on the mend and I can do things like move all my spring plants out of the panhandle alongside the house into the open space of the back patio without hurting myself. My gosh, some of the daffodil leaves are almost a foot tall. My poor little mousetail plant was growing sideways and out of the bottom of its pot as it got knocked over on its side sometime during the winter and was forced to work hard at getting to the light. I hope being upright is enough to cure it. I don't want the roots to have shifted or anything dire. If they have I'll need to replant it.
It's been sunny and bitterly cold for a week. I have been enjoying it even though I freeze to pieces while waiting for my train morning and evening. I'm just so glad to see the sun! It also seems to be a lot lighter in the evening when I l leave the office, yet it was only a month ago that we celebrated the Winter Solstice. Though it's still wintery weather it feels like the spring can't be far away now that I've put my bulb pots and containers out in their spring positions.
Yesterday I went over to Lynn Peril's house to visit and hear about her experience with getting her book published. Since she is also doing Weight Watchers we talked about food and weight issues and great things to eat that aren't high in points. I told her lots of gossipy stories about people she doesn't know but heck, with great gossip you really don't have to know the participants. We laughed our heads off for a couple of hours, and I met her new cat Krebs. Krebs has a black chin, like a soul patch, so of course he got named after Maynard G. He's a love bug. Even Willie, the older cat, came out to see me for a few minutes. I was honored. He usually doesn't budge for me.
Afterwards I went to Karen and Par and Jeremiah's party in Berkeley. They're moving to Madison, and it was Jeremiah's first birthday. He is an adorable child, and I'm not wild about children normally. But he is chock full of personality like his parents. He enjoyed having lots of people wandering around eating, drinking, and playing with him. Karen made everyone take things home with them so they wouldn't have to move them to Wisconsin. She auctioned off some highly dubious material (Stephen Donaldson books, ewwww), but I scored two U.K. editions of Terry Pratchett books plus a Micki Roessner book I've never read. I had fun talking to Spinny and her partner, Susan and hers, Mo, Heather, and various interesting people who do not keep diaries. I am sorry Karen and family are leaving the Bay Area, but since I go to Madison fairly frequently I have hopes of keeping in touch.
Journalcon is coming to San Francisco this fall, and although I originally declined to be on the committee I've decided to stop being a curmudgeon about it and join up. I like and respect everyone on the committee, that was never the problem. It's just that I don't have a real sense of community with most other online journalers. There are a number of perfectly fine people with perfectly fine diaries around. My point is I don't feel an automatic sense of connection with 95% of them, and I don't especially want to spend a weekend with them. If I want to meet someone badly enough I arrange for it to happen.
But I caved in when the 5% I do hang out with told me I absolutely had to go or they were going to kick my ass. Man, peer pressure is hell. And if I am going to go I might as well work on the convention. It's in my back yard, so to speak. I'd really feel like a curmudgeon if I didn't do something to help make it a very cool, very San Francisco experience. The committee has big plans. Check the website in the next month to see how things are developing.
It's a strange experience to see another subculture reinventing the wheel.
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