Bit of Ivory

I wanted to do this yesterday, but my family took an unexpected trip to the Vietnam Memorial Experience, which was stopping in Utah this week, and then to my grandma’s for dinner, so I didn’t have tons of time. So, without further ado:

Saturday started MUCH earlier than I would have liked it to. I awoke with a knot in my stomach and a gigantic headache. Contrary to what Lou said, I was up by 6:30, so she did not wake us up. I was rather confused to have her show up at my door at 7:00, however, and I was so incoherent because of the headache that I’m not even sure what I said to her. I hope I wasn’t too mean– I think I said “I’ll see you downstairs at 8:00.”

After I got dressed and dried my hair and begged some Advil off my roommates, I got all my stuff together for the debate. Mellie lent me a talisman that she’d taken with her to the CoS Press Junket for the debate, which was incredibly sweet of her, and which I clutched throughout the debate. After stacking all the t-shirts and making sure I had my laptop, my evidence, my OotP, and my statement for my second panel, Mellie and I made our way downstairs for the Saturday meeting of the Sugar Quill Breakfast Club.

We met up with everyone in the hallway, and I attempted to eat something. It didn’t work very well. I ended up just drinking a glass of orange juice, which I figured was better than nothing. We handed out the t-shirts, which were a huge hit. Lou had brought Dobby down with her, and we set him up in the hallway so everyone could see him as they were walking down to the conference. In the time remaining before the debate (it started at 9:30), we were highly amused by everyone wanting to take a picture with him. Mellie went off to a panel at 8:30, and I pulled out Ginny and finished writing my opening statement. Yes, I had put it off and put it off, and it was finished literally minutes before the debate. I also stressed out about my family, who were driving over from the condo and had no idea how to get to the hotel. By the time the debate was ready to begin, I was a gigantic ball of nerves.

Angua and I found out that the room we had hoped to be moved to was unavailable, and that we were going to be in the Quidditch room, so we and our opponents went in there and started setting up, only to be informed that we were actually in the game room. So we packed up and moved once again. There were no mikes and everyone had to sit on the floor, so it wasn’t really the ideal situation, but we had to make do. The place was packed, and even as I was pulling out Ginny and arranging my evidence and coordinating with Angua, I was trying not to shake. My family finally walked in, which helped, and seeing Mellie smiling up at me from the front wearing a t-shirt, and the big knot of R/H supporters wearing their t-shirts (including Dobby, who wore one proudly), and Lilac holding up her “Angua and Wahlee ROX my SOX” sign helped to calm me down.

The debate itself I’ve already commented on, so I won’t go over it again here, except to say that I had a really good time, and Angua was brilliant, and our opponents did a great job. Oh, and the R/H supporters were great. Because of the room fiasco, the debate went overtime, and I barely had enough time to pose for a pic with the debaters for TLC before I had to run, run run to my other panel. To my everlasting regret, this was the last time I saw Angua for the rest of the conference.

My co-presenters on my other panel, “Can Any Wisdom Come From Wizardry?” had kindly waited for me to arrive. It was the first time I had met most of them, so it was a little akward, but they were all very nice. The panel went really really well, and I once again appreciated the support of Lou and Leslie and Kirk and Dobby and my family smiling at me from the audience. After the panel was over, Ebony came up and apologized for not being at the debate, and for scheduling my two panels back-to-back. I had a nice conversation with her, and was once again pleased with how open and genuine she was.

After showing my family through the exhibitor’s hall, I went back upstairs to change my clothes, and we headed to the Magic Kingdom for the afternoon. It was hot, and crowded, but we had good luck with the lines and got on enough rides to make it worth our while. It rained in the afternoon, and so many people left that the evening was not crowded at all. I regret not going to the afternoon presentations at Nimbus, though. I really think that having the conference at Disney World was a mistake, as it caused conflicts between the conference and the parks. You were so close it almost seemed a crime not to go, but you also felt guilty about missing part of the conference. It was a no-win situation.

We left the park early enough for me to make it back for the showing of Chamber of Secrets that was part of the Double Double Feature, but after poking my head in I decided not to go in. Instead I met up with Sweeney and Leslie, and we went out on the patio and chatted till midnight. Leslie’s husband had bought me a copy of that day’s Orlando Sentinel, which had an article about Lilac and Nimbus, and included a picture of me that I didn’t know existed. Sweeney filled me in on Fandom Squares, which I had missed, and we chatted about all sorts of things. It was great fun. At midnight Sweeney wanted to see the art awards, and I was pretty well beat, so I went back to my room after making arrangements to meet everyone again at 9:30 for the last meeting of the SQ Breakfast Club. I tried to wait up for Mellie, who was hanging out in the Nimbus Staff room, but I gave up at 2:00. A good thing, as she informs me that she didn’t get in until 5:30. Yikes!

And that, my friends, was Saturday.