Friday Dinner

Once the bank transaction had been completed and we got to the Chinese restaurant where Oakmouse and friend M always eat while at P-Con, M's stress went down, his blood sugar stabilized, and he became a delightful companion. He told wonderful stories of encounters with bears in the wild and anecdotes from his time serving on a submarine -- all without any profanity. He also insisted on paying for dinner for everyone. I need to ask Oakmouse what I can do to show my gratitude besides offering the sincere thanks I've already expressed.

The food was excellent, as were the libations -- all of which helped my blood sugar to stabilize. Of course there were fortune cookies. I was particularly delighted with mine:

Your work interests will capture the highest status or prestige.

(Go me!)

What started out as an extremely stressful afternoon became a lovely evening.

A Moment

I attended the Weisser author panel this afternoon with Oakmouse.

To my right, not ten feet away, stood Thorn Coyle. The focused intensity of her presence is amazing: contained, but ready to move and to manifest at whatever moment she wills.

The first author to speak was Z Budapest. Twenty years and two weeks ago, I bought my first books about goddess worship. One of them was Z's The Holy Book of Women's Mysteries, volume 1.

As Z spoke, I was intensely aware of Thorn watching her, and of myself sitting at a right angle to these two powerful, influential women, one older than me, one younger. I saw in the two of them and their disparate styles the growth and development of the path we shared (each in her own way), and felt incredibly privileged to be part of it.

Ready!

I didn't do any work on my P-Con presentation last week, and I was unprepared for the sheer intensity of this environment and the experiences, so my pleasure in the activities and socializing has been somewhat undercut by anxiety. This evening I had dinner with Oakmouse and M, then skipped the Kali Puja ritual I'd wanted to attend in favor of heading back to my room and my class outline.

I definitely needed to do some more work on it, but it was 95% finished, and now all I have to do is sit with it some more to be sure everything will flow smoothly. It's a huge relief to know I'll be able to enjoy the next two days without stressing out about being ready.