This year, I will not be home for Halloween. I can’t remember that ever happening before so I’m not sure how to anticipate it. I will be at a convention in Vancouver, heading over on Saturday, returning the following Friday. Mike and Kiddo will be staying here so she won’t miss out on Trick-or-Treating, especially as she only has a few years left before it becomes “kid stuff.”
At least I was able to make sure she had everything set for her costume (a “dark angel” — her best friend is going as the all-in-white counterpart) although this year that was very easy — I just had to track down the wings since she’d already found the halo and a black rose.
I’ve been doing my best to hold it together because really, I’m the one who allowed my name to stand for election as a delegate — I failed to grasp in the moment that October 29-November 4 included October 31st. Sigh. So instead of decorating the house with fake cobwebs and garlands that look like intestines, and baking witches’ fingers cookies, I am making checklists for packing and trying to sort out my schedule for the week. Oh, and really wishing I had a tablet instead of my heavier, larger albeit lovely laptop.
I’m also trying to work out where to eat — so I posted on Twitter last night,
“Hey, #yvr folk, I will be in Vancouver next week: where should I eat that’s not too far from the convention centre?”
A few minutes later I got this reply from Bronwyn, someone I’ve never met,
“This is weird, but the foodie/librarian in me is totally making you a Google Map with the best places plotted. Stand by!”
I immediately followed her and waited for the map. I was not disappointed, as it includes annotations like, “Best gelato and sorbeto in the city. Full stop.” and “Best for a classy dinner with colleagues.” and links to her full reviews on Yelp. Since she used Google maps, I just saved it to “my places” so I can have it handy as I make decisions day to day. When people ask me why I love Twitter, this is a perfect example.
Next week, expect me to either blog a LOT or not at all — I should resist the siren call of the internet and instead focus on writing (it is NaNoWriMo time, after all, though I am not signing up). Who knows? It will probably depend on how exhausted I am after each day of the convention and/or which after-hours events & forums I’m expected to attend. No matter what, it’ll be over at 6:00 on Friday and Mike and Kiddo are going to make a day trip Friday to come pick me up so I won’t have to travel home solo.
BTW, if you have a Vancouver “must dine” recommendation for me let me know. I won’t get to everything but I hope to try a few new places. Lunch will be near the Convention Centre but other meals should be more flexible.