Recovery Time

Well, we got off to a shaky start there, but I think once we all realized that bickering wasn’t going to benefit any of us — and gave up on trying to track down the Common Grounds manager — we came to a compromise. The poetry folks would start a bit early, so they could finish before nine o’clock, and we’d just get started an hour late. The downside was that we lost about a half-hour of setup time, so we didn’t end up getting the speakers working. But we were able to hold the event, if slightly delayed, and we just kept going until they closed the place at midnight.

And I have to say that, at least from my perspective, the evening was an unqualified success. Oh, some of the stories ran a little long, but all were interesting. At some point we’ll have audio and video (CD, online audio and video downloads, maybe even a DVD) from the evening for distribution, but don’t hold your breath on it happening right away. Editing it together will be a tough job, since, as I mentioned, Final Cut Pro doesn’t handle three-camera recording (which we had last night).

I want to give a few shout-outs to last night’s speakers. I’ll cover just the “featured performers” (plus the one open mic orator whose info I’ve got); nothing against the other open mic performers, who gave us some of last night’s best stories, but I just don’t have the open mic list handy. I’ll catch them once I get the info from Geoff (I want to make sure I get it right). SarahScott Brett, rest assured that your stories will live on through all of us. David Thomas, I’ll never look at L.A. the same again. Kori Lusignan, I laughed like I haven’t in a long time — but what say I wait a few years before relating it to the kids, okay? Talon Beeson, I think we’d do well to expand the lobster’s travels... let’s talk. David Seitzinger, after your story, I think I’ll stick with air travel. Tom Bridge, you reminded me of the glorious feeling of being truly passionate about something. Michael Alex Wasylik, let’s hope we’ve all grown a little. And, of course, Geoffrey Long, thank for putting together such a fantastic evening, not to mention reminding us how much fun it is to dress up on occasion.

Of course, given that several of us popped over to the Silver Diner for a late dinner, Pam and I didn’t get home until around 2:30 a.m. So combine a pair of kids who woke up at their regular morning hour, plus three cats who decided to spend the entire night clamoring for attention in myriad ways (little Lily nibbles our four-year-old’s nose when she wants her to wake up — which last night was every hour or so), and my pace today’s a little... slow. I think I’ll see if I can go take a nap.

Addendum: I’ve added a photo of yours truly, courtesy of the aforementioned Mr. Seitzinger. I could have just stuck it in a brand new entry, but it seemed a little trivial to just post by itself.