It got worse before it got better...

So, after missing the first day of the conference, I thought that things would surely improve. They didn't. Turns out that the conference organizers had moved my panel to Friday afternoon instead of Saturday morning. I didn't find out until I went to register on Saturday morning, and the woman in charge mentioned that she had expected me yesterday. I thought it was unusual that she would notice my comings and goings until I checked the schedule and realized that I had completely MISSED the panel I'd asked to be on. AAAARRRRGGHHHH!!!! Way to look professional, Stacey. I kicked myself about this all day, but then I realized that I couldn't really have done anything differently. Snostorm needed to go to the vet. I didn't feel it should wait until Monday. Course, if I'd known the panel had been moved, I might have taken her in Saturday morning instead. But it might not have been good to even wait that long. So, what's done is done. Lesson learned. Always confirm with someone the final arrangements for your panel.

So, there I was all day Saturday, trapped in an uncomfortable outfit that I'd worn mainly because I thought I'd be up in front of other people. Other bad things? I dropped my registration materials in the dirty, slushy parking lot and had to carry these filthy things around with me all weekend -- yet another example of looking professional. The hotel was extremely warm, so I felt like a big, giant sweaty mess by the time the whole thing was over with. I also learned that even if the conference is close to your home, it is far better to stay in the hotel and have ready access to a bathroom, fresh set of clothes and a private place to lie down. Not to mention the benefit of not having to get up at 6:00 a.m. to allow for traffic to make sure you make it on time for a panel that's already done and over with.

Good things (and there were some):
-Met one of my very favorite authors in the whole world, Kelley Armstrong, who was so nice and fun.
-Met another author who has a day job in the same place I do. It was so reassuring and helpful to meet a kindred spirit who is struggling to juggle the same things (and sometimes the same people) I do.
-Loved hearing the guest speakers Anne Perry (who sounds like Mary Poppins, but sexier), Stephen Booth (he sounded like one of the Beatles) and J.A. Konrath, who never fails to both shock and amuse.

I also sat in on some very interesting panels. One of which was about the paranormal and raised this fascinating question: What is it about old structures that make them haunted? Yes, they are older and therefore have had more people living, and dying, within them. But if it's about the number of people dying within their confines, how come you don't hear about hospitals being haunted? If homes are haunted because people don't expect to die there (as opposed to hospitals), then how do you explain hotels? There are a number of haunted hotels. The one that comes to my mind first is the Hotel Del Coronado on Del Coronado Island in San Diego. A former manager of mine once tried to stay in their haunted room and couldn't make it through the night. But again, if you think about it, there are probably just as many deaths, tragic ones too, at your local Motel 6. So, why don't you ever hear about those being haunted? What is it about the passage of time that makes a building eminently more haunt-able? (By the way, if you now feel inspired to write a ghost story about the Motel 6 being haunted, that's cool. Just make sure to thank me in the acknowledgements *grin*)

I also walked out on a panel. First time I've ever done that. I'll share more about that in my next entry. I'm interested to hear what you all have to say about it.