Brunch, Dodgeball, and Model Airplanes

The writing conference was amazing!  Over 150 people attended, and I met a lot of interesting and talented writers.  Two of the women I met already have books out, and if you’re interested you should check them out:  Judith Dickerman-Nelson’s book “Believe in Me: A Teen Mom’s Story” (available on Amazon) and A.M. Boyle’s sci-fi thriller “Sentry’s Past:  Veil of Darkness” (www.amboyle.com).  I am so excited to read them both, and will post reviews when I finish.

I won two prizes while I was at the conference:  one was this airplane for having traveled over 400 miles to get the conference, and the other was a book on handicapped animals with a picture on the front of a doggie on wheels. 

I hope this thing flies as good as it looks.

I also met with an agent to pitch my book.  I was absolutely terrified, but she was really nice and I calmed down pretty quickly.  There are definitely things I would change about my pitch if I could do it again, but it went well.  The agent said she is interested in seeing my complete manuscript and asked me to send it to her.  That was the best I could have hoped for, and I am excited for someone in the business to read my work.

After the conference was over, I drove to Philadelphia to meet up with Sara, my suitemate from college.  I love that moment when I first see the skyline of a new city, maybe because I am so used to seeing hills instead.  Sara and I went to Bobby Flay’s Burger Palace for dinner and it was AMAZING.  Seriously, the best burger I have ever eaten.  (I swear these places aren’t paying me for advertising and product placement).  This morning, Sara and her friend, Claire, whipped up an amazing brunch of french toast and butternut squash home fries.  

Gourmet.

Before brunch, Sara and I went to pick up some milk (for breakfast) and eardrops (for me) from a nearby CVS.  A seemingly well-put together man approached us, apparently to attempt at flirting, and immediately made a deadly mistake.  “Your teeth are too pretty for you to be from West Virginia,” he said with a laugh.  Maybe he thought this was some sort of funny and charming compliment, but the worst thing you can do to a girl from West Virginia is insult her home state.  He saw that we were not at all amused and left.

It has been great catching up with Sara.  She is a genetic counselor at a children’s hospital, and is one of the best people I know.  I asked her what she does in Philly outside of work, since she moved here fairly recently without knowing anyone.  Sara informed me that she joined a local running club and…….. wait for it…….. plays for an adult dodge ball league.  Sara was kind enough to let me post several pictures depicting her dodge ball experience.  Enjoy!

Smiling because she is the last warrior from her team on the battlefield.

Then she realized what this meant.

And shit got real.

Once more for emphasis.

Finally, I want to point out how much targeted advertising amuses me.  I allow Google to post one ad on the right-hand side of my blog, and it chooses what ads to place based on what I write about.  Here is the ad from yesterday:

See how Softcup fits into your... life.

Awesome.