Quick Austin report

It's been a madhouse, in part due to my failing brain, in part due to the general chaos. There was hotel drama that has finally been sorted out but had me running all over the first two days and last night after seeing Hannah Takes the Stairs I just went back and collapsed, surely missing umpteen parties, but I will make up for my lazy ways tonight. Have actually been trying to get a little writing time, the kind I can't seem to find at home.

Anything to distract me from checking whether Amazon has my books in or not (so far, not). If they are not waiting for me when I get back home I'll scream. Not really, it's just a very long, annoying process and I want them to be out, cause clearly people are buying them, but at the end of the day, that is something I cannot change and I have all these book deadlines overdue or impending that I need to focus on.

Saturday night I got to play Ms. Pacman (video TK) and met Rebecca Woolf, who is so awesome and cool and I found out her book (Rock the Cradle) comes out in January. I've been seeing and hearing about folks from home who I didn't know would be here, which is cool, and got to only briefly chat with Violet, must do more of that and give her some cupcakes. Just trying to chill and see how things go and not stress. I can feel it creeping in every time I open my laptop and see how much I've slacked in the past few weeks, but instead of just closing it and living in my own private hell of denial, I'm trying to face it so I don't wind up hating myself for slacking yet again. It'll happen, I can feel that with the freedom of not doing that subway commute every day and just being in the sun and outside of New York, the ideas are flowing, I just have to force myself to write them down a little more often.

Also, have discovered that Austin residence are so sweet! I am getting free homemade cupcakes delivered to Ritz Lounge tonight for Heather Gold's event - how awesome is that? The Babycakes were divine.

Have to get ready for my panel today, which I think is going to be fairly crowded. Did some prep work by getting interviewed for CBC radio by Cory Silverberg just now. After that, I will be better able to relax. So...that's about it. I love SXSW, and definitely want to return next year.