I’m busy trying to write this blog from the slowest connection known to man! The WiFi is free though, so who am I to complain? Yesterday, I left home at 4 AM and flew to Indianapolis, Indiana. On my way from home to Atlanta, I sat next to a guy who works for the Sister Schubert people–you know those little rolls with the sausages in them. Yum. He talked to me all about Disney and his life, and now I know how to plan my vacation next year. The next stint of the trip, the guy sitting next to me put in earphones and read. He looked like a pilot, or definitely someone who worked for an airplane company, but he looked concerned when the plane landed and it felt like the wheel was coming off too!

All and all, my flights were great. Then I had to pick up my rental car from Hertz. I had called the week before trying to confirm my pickup, and they told us, “Just come here and do it. You can’t check-in online with this type of pickup.” Okie dokie. So I catch a cab (my plan) to the Hertz place. And it’s closed. And I call Hertz from said-cab, and they tell me to come back to the airport. I come back, and they tell me they don’t have a car for me there so I need to go to the Brownsboro Hertz. The guy at Hertz said Brownsboro was 15 minutes away–try 20! I was upset by this time, but Mike at Brownsboro made it all okay. He comped my car $75 (I spent $130 on taxis yesterday). Then when I told him my phone was dying he gave me a car-charger some poor schmuck had left in his rental car. He upgraded me–to a Corolla (I wonder what I would have been driving if that’s an upgrade?). And then I drove to Muncie which is pretty damn far from Brownsboro. I have to say, I kept my cool the whole time. I wanted to cry several times, but I just pushed forward. A few years back, I would have had a major meltdown, but there’s no use wasting energy on something I can’t change.

Last night I met a fellow writer friend, Michael Simko, and his lovely family for dinner at an Egyptian restaurant. They tried new things. I had the gyro platter. Then I came back to the hotel to get ready for this lovely day to begin. I’m beyond excited about meeting new writers, learning new tidbits, and generally having a great time at this conference. Maybe these mid-westerners can learn a thing or two from this Southern Gal too.