So, where was I? Ah yes, sleeping in my hotel room.

I woke up around 4p or so, after sleeping for a couple of well-needed hours. I probably should have gone out and Seen Chicago, but people can only do that if they are normal and don't have to stay up all night before a morning flight like a freak. I only don't do that when I'm home, because I know my Mom won't let me oversleep--and besides, she usually stays up all night before I have a morning flight, doing my mending or something.

So I'm sitting around in the hotel room, realizing that I don't have a clue as to what we are doing this weekend--I mean, I'm the one who emailed Jette at 5.30a telling her to call my machine because the reservation was in her name and I had no idea what that was! Her surname, at any rate. I think this isn't something that often happens with people spending the weekend in a hotel room together! Or possibly not.

Anyway, this is just to show exactly how disorganized I was. Fortunately, only a bit after waking, Jette came in, a couple of hours later than expected. I was so glad to have finally met her! I was supposed to have a few years ago, when she went to Boston for Thanksgiving, but I was in rehearsal for two shows at the time and had to cancel my trip. So, it was a meeting long delayed.

She told me that we were all meeting in the conference room right that very little minute, so down we went. In the lobby, there were Emily, Josh, Cindy and Claire, finally checking in, and then this girl I didn't know ran up and stuck her hand out, saying, "Hi, I'm, Dana!" She had just Manic Panic-ed her hair, which looked great, and I recommended Special Effects at her, as something that would last longer than 45 seconds.

Then we went into the room and I started meeting people, and it's all starting to go blank as to whom I met when and who was who and who said what. I have a terrible memory at times, and meeting 25 people all at once is one of those times--so there are people that I ended up being very chummy with during the weekend, but I cannot remember how we met in the first place.

Everybody had these great nametags that Dana made hanging on cords around their necks with their names and journal logos on them, which meant that not only did we all know who we were, we could look several times when we kept forgetting, (and by we, I mean me), and this all led to a huge amount of boob jokes, because it kept looking as though we were eying each other's chests.

It was at this moment that I got an unearned reputation for being breast-obsessed, because I kept talking about them, but that was mostly because someone else would bring it up again and I'd start riffing. I didn't want to keep talking about tits, I was forced to!

I met, let's see, Jessamyn (who swears that I'll get that mix cd from her real soon) and Ivee (who was the real breast-obsessed one) and Anna Beth, who was just about the smallest adult woman I have ever seen who wasn't actually a dwarf. I think she's Thumbelina. I mean, Jen Wade towers over her, and Jen Wade is about as big as a button. Anyway, Anna Beth is not only beensy, but she's cute and has fluffy/spiky hair and a high voice--she sounds like Alvin and the Chipmunks, only with a hillbilly accent. She was such a trip, I totally want to be her.

Melissa and Kate and Elizabeth were there, along with Athena, whose journal I cannot believe I have never read, as she was just so great, I don't know what I was thinking! Actually, I know exactly what I was thinking, I was thinking that she was someone else, from her URL, and so I never read her site, even though there were all of these links to her, I just was firm in my opinion that she was someone that I used to read and don't anymore and nothing could sway me! Except for, you know, meeting her and realizing I was entirely wrong.

I met The Other Cindy (sorry, Cindy, I met the first Cindy first, so she gets to be the first Cindy and you have to be the Adjunct Cindy--perhaps the first Cindy and I will have a big fight and you can be elevated to First Among Cindys, but until then you must be Cindy 2, though your swag was great and Cindy Primus brought not a thing...I might have to rethink this who thing), and Plum, who had written her name on her nametag, because she's not anonymous, though I cannot find her name on her site, and I've forgotten it anyway because I have a memory like an old sieve, so she will have to be Plum. At least she's the Only Plum, if that's any consolation.

And now I'm tired of all the links and the blurbs, I'll get to everyone else later.

Anyway, we all talked and laughed and bonded and shit, and it was totally fun, though I did wonder who that Marine was across the room. He ended up being Doogie, who doesn't have a journal, but is mister active-on-threewayaction-guy, so everyone knew who he was but me. He was cute as a button, I'll certainly say that.

After a bit, Jette asked me if I needed anything from the room, and I thought I'd go up with her, and while I was there, I wondered what I was carrying my purse like a dink, and dumped it, grabbing my camera instead. Then we went back downstairs and we all went to dinner. I didn't feel like going back up and getting my purse, so instead I just decided to bum off of others, which led to one of the themes of the weekend, me borrowing money and paying it back in an hour or two, or the next day, or in the case of Emily, totally forgetting that I owed her two bucks. Sorry, babe!

So we started walking to the restaurant, which was only a couple of blocks away, or so we were told. This turned out to be a giant lie, because it was about a million miles away. I felt like Patrick and Mary Ellen and Lee when I was dragging them all over NY the other weekend. Plus it was mother-fucking cold, and I was whining and being a baby, until Molly Zero gave me her jacket like the nice person she is. Either that, or she was sick of listening to me bitch about how I was cold and things.

An aside. I have a story about Molly Zero.

Now, let me start out by saying that I can hold a grudge literally forever--I am my mother's daughter in that respect, my mother who still loathes Jimmy Stewart after he was very rude to her in public 50 years ago. Anyway, back in '99 we had the NY Journaller's reading, and Molly and I met briefly there, really only exchanging a couple of words. Now, this was the event where this girl afterwards wrote about what a bitch I was, which is what makes me slightly paranoid about meeting large groups of journallers ever since, and Molly, in her entry for the reading, wrote the following:

"And Kymmm was there, and I don't want to say anything about her, but suffice it to say that Francesca and I have the same opinion."

Francesca being the one who called me a bitch, see.

So I have spent the last two years saying, whenever anyone mentions Molly Zero to me, "She thinks I'm a bitch, Molly Zero thinks I am a big ol' bitch. Bitch! Bitch is what Molly Zero thinks I am! And have I mentioned that Molly Zero thinks I'm a bitch? 'Cause she does!" Not that I'm all hung up on it or anything, ahem, it was just that she is friends with friends of mine, and I was always sorry that she didn't like me. Francesca is so not in my immediate circle that I couldn't remember her name until looking it up to tell this story.

And then, we were chosen to do a panel together! Me and Molly Zero! You know, the one who thinks I'm a bitch! What would I do? Of course, I realized that she probably didn't remember the incident at all, that I am the one that digs my claws into things and never lets go, she probably didn't even think of me once since typing that entry where she called me a bitch, so ther probably wouldn't be a problem. I thought that I'd be cordial and not make a thing out of it.

Then I met her, and she greeted me with a big smile and lent me her jacket on the Bataan Death March to the restaurant, and all was forgiven. This is another thing about me, I can hold a grudge forever, but if someone is really nice to me, all slights are immediately forgiven, which is why the same people can screw me over and over again, because I'm like a big dumb mutt, forgetting about getting kicked after being petted a little.

Later in the evening, Molly Zero and I had been talking a while, and I decided that not only did I forgive the bitch thing, but I really liked her, and she seemed to have a good temper and sense of humour, so I just decided to dive in...

"You know, you called me a bitch in your journal after we met in NY."
"I did not!"
"You did, you totally did!"
"I may have said that you were bitchy, but not a bitch."
"Well, you agreed with whatshername, who called me a bitch flat out, so I'll concede that you may have just implied that I was a bitch, but the message was clear!"
"Okay, I'm sorry!"

And all was forgiven and forgotten and suddenly, we were friends! You know, except for the fact that I teased her about it every ten minutes over the course of the weekend, but that's to be expected from me.

Do you hold a grudge?

Today's horoscope:
Sensual gratification is more important today. Reach out and touch someone. Food, drink and material pleasures taste extra sweet.

One year ago today:
I'd say that she looks like she could be my mother, but for the fact that my real mother has a great deal fewer lines on her face.

* Yesterday / Index / This Month / Tomorrow *

E-Mail

Graphics by the peg-legged Saundra!

This page was written by hand. My hand. Only pussies use HTML editors.
Last Updated Wed 17 October 20:06:09 2001