Dragon*Con

I have packed for Dragcon*Con. Actually, I did it yesterday. I need to bring along an inflatable mattress, but I'm also going to have to haul all my luggage on Marta. So, I did a test pack to see if I could fit everything into my rolling backpack, or if I'd have to suck it up and use my daughter's very small--but also very girly pink--suitcase.

I did manage to fit it in, but it's a tight fit and I'm thinking that the girly pink suitcase is the better option. Still, I'm kind of impressed that an entire inflatable mattress + pump + usual crap for a four-night stay all fit into the backpack.

Yesterday I picked up all the miscellaneous crap I needed: power strips, band-aids, cash, power bars, hand wipes, etc. Today I cleaned out my car in anticipation of loading up extra luggage. This means that at 10:30am the day *before* I leave I am a) packed and b) actually prepared to leave.

I'm not sure what this all portends, except that I've probably ensured that I will forget at least sixteen really important things and that I will really, really need extra space in my luggage on the way home.

Oh Joy, Oh Bliss

Okay, so I'm way behind the news on this, but the other day I decided, on a whim, to re-read Elizabeth Peters' last Vicky Bliss novel, Night Train to Memphis which led me to think "Hey, it's been a while since her last book, let's check Amazon, see if there's a new Amelia Peabody book."

There wasn't a new Amelia Peabody book.

There was a new Vicky Bliss book.

The first new Vicky Bliss book in fourteen years.

Now, the Amelia Peabody books are awesome, but the Vicky Bliss books are freakin' rare from this woman. Well, okay, comaparatively rare, as in a mere five books (now six!) instead of eighteen Amelia Peabody books, not to mention the other gazillion books the woman has written.

The other good thing is that the book comes out the day after my mother's birthday, and the CD version *also* comes out the day after my mother's birthday, instead of later as used to be the case. This is good because my mother doesn't actually read books anymore. Instead, she listens to them. All the time. (Seriously, all the time. She has two iPods.) I have, therefore, ordered the audio CD for her. Unfortunately, she has an annoying habit of keeping up with this stuff herself and ordering things on her own, so I'll probably have to spill the beans to keep her from buying it.