Life Is Good

[kate_schaefer]

I'm having a terrific time at Wiscon this weekend. The highlight of the weekend, so far, was singing with a bunch of women last night. We mostly sang old British folk songs and silly camp songs, the kinds of songs you learned when you were twelve, if you were lucky, and continue to sing in the shower many many years later. The highlights of that highlight, for me, were singing "Rolling of the Stones" with Ellen Kushner, and hearing Rachel Holmen sing "The Five Constipated Men of the Bible." When I go home, I must get out some of those old folkie LPs and figure out whether and how to replace them.

Another highlight was piling into a car that was almost large enough for five people and going to Ichiban with Kate Yule, David Levine, and Vicki Rosenzweig. Despite its name, Ichiban is a Szechuan restaurant. Kate found the restaurant through application of her awesome superpower and Yelp fu. Our party's combination of foods to avoid meant that we ended up eating intensely flavorful but mild foods, the most interesting Szechuan eating experience I can remember ever having.

As usual, Wiscon is far too full of people I want to see, most of whom are also trying to see far too many people, and many o f whom are hanging out in places other than where I'm hanging out. As complaints go, this one does not rate high on the pain scale.

Comments

[fantasyecho.livejournal.com]

I have not seen you! When do you leave? I am aiming to be at the SignOut tomorrow, and will leave Tuesday. (Tonight, hoping to hit the Genderfloomp party at some point.)

[kate-schaefer.livejournal.com]

I have done the classic thing of mistaking someone else (Annie) for you, but once I put on my glasses, she was much less blurry. Now I sound like I think you're blurry in real life, which in fact you will be if I'm not wearing the correct pair of glasses

We leave tomorrow. I'll find you at the sign-out.

[nellorat.livejournal.com]

Hmmm.... Last night I dreamed I was at an sf convention, and one highlight was when (at my suggestion) everyone sang Blake's "Jerusalem," and I adored really belting it out. My voice was realistically not-soloist quality but OK in a crowd, too! The location was a combination of where I went to college & where I went to grad school, not Wisconsin, but now I'd like to think maybe I tapped into the fannish singing energy there somehow.

I love my job so much, even though it prevents me from going to most cons. Still--

[kate-schaefer.livejournal.com]

I hope you can all three make it to Wiscon one of these years. I can see that your job would make it particularly hard to get away just when everyone else has a holiday.

[nellorat.livejournal.com]

Would be wonderful. *sigh* Every year, I get the flyer, and every year, I put it in my "to do or answer" pile of papers & it stays there until I force myself to be realistic and discard it.

But yeah, I booked just under 40 real teaching/paid hours this past Friday-Monday, and that's a big chunk of work and income. Especially, Memorial Day is a very heavy weekend due to the combo of students needing help for regular-school finals or June SATs and students already starting for Fall SATs because their school is over (yes, really, they work that hard and consistently).

I have a pipe dream of one year having sufficient money to take 6 months off teaching altogether and just write. That wouldn't be fewer hours working, but it would be nigh-infinitely more flexible. And then, yes, Wiscon!!! But a pipe dream so far. I don't see myself retiring, really, unless I'd be too sick or weak to travel also.

[scarlettina.livejournal.com]

Wow, I haven't heard anyone sing "Constipated Men" in more than a decade. Wish I'd been there. Well, I wish I' were there for more than that reason, surely, but sounds like it was a highlight.

[kate-schaefer.livejournal.com]

As a con, Wiscon is definitely up your alley in a lot of ways. That particular group of women sitting around singing late at night? Would have been good for you, and you would have been good for us.

[holyoutlaw.livejournal.com]

Well, that's a song we never sang in church.

[kate-schaefer.livejournal.com]

Never sang it in my churches, either, but it hadn't been written yet by the time I stopped going to church. I'd bet that it shows up at a lot of campfire sing-a-longs at church camp by now. It's irreverent, but it's not actually sacrilegious (boy, is that ever a word that looks wrong when it's spelled right).

[vgqn.livejournal.com]

Dang, I'm sorry I missed that singing! Wonder what I was doing instead. Oh well, too many good things all happening at once.

[kate-schaefer.livejournal.com]

It was Saturday night, after the auction, and yes. I'm in awe of how much voice control Ellen has that late at night. I'm all over the map, wondering where that nice voice I used to have has gone. It visits for a song or two every once in a while, but I can't rely on it at all any more.

[lcohen]

it was so good to get a chance to see you! i was wondering how i missed singing and then i realized that i didn't--i saw y'all but i was doing a safety shift. however, i don't know the songs you mention or really any church camp songs, so i am soothed!

[kate-schaefer.livejournal.com]

Likewise! We almost had lunch with you, Matt, and Ann on Sunday, but a) missed the connection and b) Ann told me the group did that one more cool person, no, two, oh, suddenly it's a great big mass-o-people thing, so it would have been too big a group for us.

[onyxlynx (from livejournal.com)]

That sounded like fun (I think it's been at least 20 years since "5 Constipated Men of the Bible" and Heather (I've forgotten her last name) made such a face when I requested it) and I never even went to church camp.