I went to Maine and all I got was this lousy entry

[geoviki]

So I'm finally home. Some of you heard me say that I planned to spend a few extra days after TWH to take the train to Maine (in the rain). In one of those odd situations that I never plan for, I seemed to have missed a horrible travel day for countless fen who were travelling west. isiscolo has a particularly horrific one. Oh, and if you want to see Isis and me, and a lot of you, in our ball attire, go check this post. She's looking for permission to post LJ names, so if you don't mind, go see if you're in some of them.



I'm going to have more posts about TWH (my photos are not digital, so there'll be a bit of a delay), but I'm going to tell you about Maine first, so you don't feel too envious of me. I picked out a city on the rail line in Maine, which looked to be a small resort venue, and I booked a B&B sight unseen. Now I was feeling horribly morose and pitiful after Isis left, because the con was one of those mountaintop experiences that you hate to see end. And it was grey and bleak when I wound my way through the streets of Salem to the station with my one-wheeled suitcase (the other is somewhere else on the planet, I presume). I got on the train, had a peaceful ride through Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and southern Maine, and got off in the most empty, deserted town I'd ever seen. In the rain. Dragging my one-wheeled impedimenta. After settling in to the place (being not surprisingly the only guest), I set off to see the ocean. In the rain. Even the pier was closed off. Nothing was open (Monday was a holiday) and I managed to cover every single thing to see in about an hour. It was one of those "What have I done?" moments. I decided then and there, that nothing is as cringe-inducingly pitiful than an amusment park shut down for the season. In the rain. (I have photos).

If you've read "After the Flood" by Cassie Claire, Harry and Draco have a scene very much like this. Except instead of teddy bears in the room, I had a life-sized bust of Michelangelo's David, along with some truly ...creative ... Roman decor.

I found a store, bought some crackers, cheese, and wine, and proceeded to make the best of the day by rereading my own stories. I noticed all the mistakes this time, too.

Tuesday, I got out of Dodge by taking the train to Portland, which I probably should have done in the first place, and taking a harbor cruise, shopping, having about the worst fish-and-chips dinner ever, and chatting to tons of friendly folks. I even found a feminist erotica store, but I won't mention what I bought. So my trip to Maine was redeemed (like my favorite Slytherin).

I've been on the track/air/road for 11 hours, so I'm tired. I have drawings to scan and post, a ficlet written for me by rosesanguina that I need to type for you, and more details, but manana, baby.

Comments

[geoviki.livejournal.com]

Believe me, I could help but remember that scene as I trudged through the rain. Except I didn't get the pay-off that evening.

You know what made me sad? Apparently CC showed up at the con. I never saw her or even heard the rumors, and yet I was with the crowd she should have been hanging with all weekend. None of us was aware. To me, her 'fame' is an albatross if it means isolation like that.

God, I had a great time, though. I'm going through con withdrawl this weekend. Plus I have to catch up on all the laundry and housework I skived out of. Poor pitiful me, huh? Only not.

[shezan.livejournal.com]

I read somewhere (can't find the LJ reference now) that CC came to support a published author who's a friend of hers and was taking part in a panel (can't remember the name either, fantasy stuff, obviously well-regarded. I am a bit hopeless here.) The author, who was entitled to one, asked for a complimentary companion pass. When one of the organisers found out that this was for CC - who wasn't planning to attend anything besides her friend's panel - she started wanking in her LJ (I hate the term but I now see it's got its uses describing exactly this kind of petty spite) about how tacky of CC, etc. etc. I found this profoundly distasteful, as if people could not stand someone's success. It's the Princess Diana Wank - "she's successful (pretty, a princess?) She can't possibly be struggling to make ends meet (be bulimic, unhappy in Luv, etc.)" I rather disliked Diana, but I find that CC has talent and is obviously working at it since her original book is about to be published. No wonder she doesn't want to spread herself around at fandom events.