Behind the Scenes in Dallas

Summer Blahs

So I was in the middle of writing a new blog entry yesterday when my laptop crashed. Just like that. One minute I was typing away about the rest of my week in Dallas, and the next I was staring at a blank, black screen. Okay, maybe it wasn't quite that sudden. I'd been fighting issues with my power cord for a couple of weeks, but I'd invested in a new one and the laptop had fairly hummed along the entire time I was in Dallas. The minute I got home, however, the troubles returned. Must be the "dry" heat. Anyhoo . . . I called a Very Helpful Tech at CompUSA, told him what the computer had been doing, and waited for him to tell me that there was a very simple fix -- one that would take less than 30 seconds and cost me less than $20. Instead, he told me that the trouble appeared to be centered in the Whoojiggythingamajog on the Mother Board, and that I might as well just buy a new computer because that would be cheaper than fixing the one I had. That was SO not what I wanted to hear yesterday. It's too hot to hear news like that, y'know? And I don't do well in the heat. I am a completely unapologetic creature of artificial comfort. Give me heat in the winter and A/C in the summer, and I'll muddle through, but I'm happiest when it's about 65 degrees out, with a slight breeze. I live in a desert, where a large percentage of the population still gets through the summer months with the aid of a thing called an evaporative cooler -- at least that's what it's called if you're searching for parts online. In the real world, it's known as a "Swamp Cooler", with "swamp" being the key word in that phrase. Swamp coolers operate by blowing air across water-soaked pads, and they only work when the humidity is very low. They also only work when the temperature is below 90 outside, and when the pads are clean -- all of which should help explain why, once again, I'm sweltering inside the place where I live, breathe, work, clean, and sleep. The particlates in the air from all the wild fires have made the air so dirty, swamp coolers can't work well. Even if they could, they wouldn't because it's been 100 or more for a couple of weeks now, and there's no end of the heatwave in sight. The poor thing on top of our roof grinds away all day and maybe -- maybe -- keeps the house at 85. CoolER, but not cool. Which might not be SO bad if I could "glisten" like a lady, producing little more than a delicate sheen of dampness, even on the hottest of days. Unfortunately, I don't glisten. I don't glow. I don't even perspire. Thanks, Dad Luckily, I've learned that keeping a glass filled with ice at my side helps a lot. Even though the temperature outside is clocking in at 108 today, I'll confess that I've hardly noticed the heat as I play with my new computer and try to figure out its new bells and whistles. Tonight, my daughters and I are going out to dinner at my favorite Thai restaurant, so we'll escape into actual air conditioning for a little while. The grandbaby too, even though she's still a little young for stir-fried beef and their one-of-a-kind egg roll. My son-in-law has been on TDY in Mississippi for the past 10 days, and they're picking him up at the airport around midnight, when the temperature has dropped to a cool 95 or so. Brrrrrr. Summer. Blah.

Live! From Dallas it's . . . Wednesday Night!

I'm writing this from my hotel room at the Hyatt Regency Reunion in Dallas, where I've been since last Saturday. Because I'm currently serving on the Board of Directors of Romance Writers of America, I spent the weekend in meetings. I'm not going to whine about how long the meetings ran because we had some very important issues to take care of, but I will say that I don't do 3 am as well as I used to. Not nearly as well. Lunch today was with Presidents of various RWA Chapters, and the Literacy Autographing (450 authors strong, with proceeds going to benefit literacy efforts) is about to wind up any minute. I'm toddling off to make an appearance at the First-Timers Orientation, where those who've never been to an RWA Conference before can get a few tips on how to make it through the weekend. After that, I'm free of "official" obligations for the rest of the evening, so I'm planning to drop by Parrino's Oven for a quick get-together with members from my local RWA chapter, and then, assuming I'm still on my feet, it's off to the annual Superromance Authors chocolate and wine party. I can't wait to see everyone again. We keep in touch online during the year, but nothing beats getting together face-to-face. The Assocation's Annual General Meeting is tomorrow, and after that most of the hard work will be over. Well . . . most of it, anyway. There are a couple of workshops I'm hoping to find time to catch this year, but whether or not I'll actually make it remains to be seen. Not that I'm complaining. I've enjoyed being on the Board, and I've made some great friends in the process. And there are always the recorded sessions of the conference workshops . . . right?