It is truly stunning the extent to which I will go sometimes to avoid writing. As of 11 this morning, all of my socks were paired, my winter tights brought out and inspected for holes and my t-shirts folded well enough to be a Gap display. Those of you who know me, know this type of organizing only occurs when I'm trying desperately to avoid something, and I am. I'm trying to avoid fixing all the holes in my screenplay. So far, so good. I'm on a roll, actually, when it comes to not following plans. Last week I was excited to see Sandra Cisneros when the combination of a nasty cold and a hot pot of soup convinced me to stay home rather than going to see one of my favorite authors speak. Yesterday, I headed to Borders at 11:45 or so for a 12:30 in-store performance and signing by Barenaked Ladies.
The crowds I had expected to see outside Borders were non-existent and once inside, I discovered why. All the smart people seemed to know that you had to show up way sooner and get yourself a special wristband to be admitted to the upstairs area, where the event was taking place. By the time I got there, of course, they weren't giving out anymore wristbands and a group of really sulky fans were lining up by the stairs anyway, pouting.
An employee assured me I'd still be able to hear the event from downstairs, and I hung around a few minutes, listening to the floorboards above us creak with a zillion fans poised to have Way More Fun than me. I decided sticking around and hoping the music flooded downwards was a bit like living next door to people having a party and pretending that you were invited. I left to drown my sorrows in a non-fat decaf latte (how's that for livin') at Espresso Royale.
Glad I did, too, because I ran into two of this year's Fellows - Challen Stephens and Baris Kuruku - and promptly horned my way in on their coffee date. Challen's an education reporter from the Huntsville Times and is here studying Images of the South while Baris is here from CNN Turk, where he's a sports editor and anchor. Had a really great time chatting with both of them and especially listening to Baris tell us, in perfect English, how bad his English is. This year's got some good Fellows, I tell you. It's no class of '06, but what is?