I'm in New England now, enjoying a little family time before I start my first VCFA rez. You know, since I've been here, I've noticed a couple of differences between Rhode Island and California. First, the drivers. Folks here don't seem to honor traffic lights and signs as much as those do on the west coast, so I've found that I have to watch carefully before crossing any streets! (yep, hold hands and look both ways).
Second, people here don't use Bluetooths or other hands-free cell phone devices. This morning I strolled down to a local coffee house and bought a drink, some freshly ground coffee for home use, and a muffin. I was talking to my husband on my cell phone and realized that I didn't have enough hands to carry everything plus the cell phone, so I put on my Bluetooth. As I was sitting in the park chatting with him, and later walking home while continuing our conversation, I received many a raised eyebrow from passers by. They must have thought I was talking to myself. One person even purposefully avoided me, giving me a wide berth as he walked past, staring at me like I was crazy!
I also received the schedule for the residency, which begins in four days. My initial reaction was, "Holy cow, don't those people EVER sleep?" It's a ten-day packed schedule of interesting lectures, activities, workshops and social events. Kind of like an SCBWI national conference on steroids--but longer! Today I'm going to sit down with the schedule and prioritize the "must-see" events, the "really want to see" events, and the "if I have any energy left" events. And I still need to re-read all of the mss from my workshop group to refresh my memory, and finish one book from the recommended reading lecture list.
Phew!
