JournalCon is OVER! How'd that happen so fast? It was such a crazy and fun time that I have absolutely no idea how to write about it. I mean, damn it, how many times am I going to start this entry, decide not to write, and then remember how discombobulated I feel when I don't write, and start over again? I'm making myself cray-zay! So yeah, I'm just going to go ahead and write, and not overthink it all.

First of all, I had an enormously fun time. It was great! I was so freakin' nervous on Friday. I'm not quite sure what got into me, but whatever it was horribly damaged my memory, apparently. My sister-in-law, Heather, whose wrist is in a cast by the way, was going to drive me to the hotel in their car, which is a stick-shift. So it's not exactly super easy for her to drive me around, is what I'm saying, having only one properly working arm and all. And dude. We had to return to the house twice because I forgot stuff!! We went to take care of her friends' kitties first, and headed back to the house because I'd forgotten my cell phone and my wedding ring. Then we went to the ATM except I'd forgotten my ATM card! Oh my god! Why did my brain suddenly stop working? We went back and got it, stopped at the ATM machine (again) and got to the hotel just fine. Heather is my hero for putting up with my temporary insanity.

The temporary insanity also extended into the evening, apparently, because I found myself completely freaked out and afraid to talk to anyone I didn't know. I also found myself assuming that there was no possible way anyone from last year's JournalCon would remember me. I guess my self esteem ran off with my brain. I hope they had fun while they were away, those bastards.

Anyway! I was so relieved when I saw Mo Pie right away. I chatted with her a bit as well as Mare and Jake, who Mo had been chatting with before I arrived. Then Mare bought us drinks! She got me a rum and Coke. She is the coolest!

The alcohol certainly helped to relax my nerves, but even more reassuring was KarenD, who came over to say hi. Amanda Page said hi to me, too, and both of them could not have made me feel more awesome. They both asked how I was doing, and mentioned the last time we saw each other, and actually referred to it as The Great Chocolate Walk of Death. I love them! I honestly thought I was practically the only one who had trouble with that walk! Beth had had trouble with it, I know, since she carried Victor in her arms all that way. But I didn't think anyone besides the two of us found it to be so bad. So when these wonderful women called it such a fitting name, I realized that we must have all been exhausted and aching after that harrowing walk to Ghirardelli Square! Suddenly, I didn't feel so pitiful anymore, which is always nice! But I'm trying to talk about this year's JournalCon, so... back to that!

I said hi to and hugged Emily, Pineapple Girl, and AB Chao, all of whom I hadn't seen for a year! They were all super sweet, which made me feel so happy and excited to be there!

I said hi to Elizabeth for the first time, which was awesome, since I've been reading her site for quite some time. Then I met Invinciblegirl, who is really cool and immediately told a very funny story. If there's one thing to say about JournalCon, it's that there are swarms of friendly, charismatic people. It's pretty fucking cool.

I made about a thousand revised dinner plans before I finally decided to set off to 6th Street and grab something fast. See, I was meeting my family in front of the hotel at a quarter past eight so that we could go to a movie together, which meant that I didn't have a lot of time. As I was heading for the doors, I saw another group also getting ready to leave, so I walked with them to this cool barbeque place. Thinking myself clever, I ordered my meal to go. It was ready AFTER the rest of the group received their meals. A group of like ten people, mind you! I'm just one girl, trying to get some chicken and yams, for crying out loud. But it was ready eventually, and then David Nunez walked me back to the hotel, because he is super cool. I'd eaten one bite of my sandwich before Derek (my brother) and Heather pulled up, but luckily, we found parking really quick, and there was more than enough time to eat my meal while waiting in line for the movie. And oh my god, was it delicious!

We saw The Lost Boys, with the comedy troupe, Mister Sinus Theater 3000, talking over it. It was really funny! I loved it! Also funny, Heather and I had both apparently never seen The Lost Boys before. We had both, however, seen another Keifer Sutherland movie (the same one!) at different times in our lives and believed it to be The Lost Boys.

"Did the one you see have trench coats and desert scenes?"

"Yes!"

I have no idea what movie the two of us had seen, but it sure wasn't The Lost Boys!

It was pretty late when we got home, so we all headed off to bed. As I laid back against my pillows that night, staring at the ceiling, visions of JournalCon danced through my head, and I thought, "Damn. I need some sleep!"

* * *

I did manage to get some sleep, luckily, and woke up without a problem at 7am sharp, when the alarm went off. I don't know what's up with my internal clock, but I have been a super duper morning person ever since I arrived in Austin. Very odd.

Derek got me breakfast tacos on the way to the hotel Saturday morning. Mmm, breakfast tacos. How I've missed them so! When I grew up in San Antonio, we got breakfast tacos all the time. Sometimes we'd go to Taco Cabana and get breakfast tacos for dinner! God, they're so amazing, and my favorite part is the extra thick tortillas they use here in Texas. You can't by those in the grocery store, man! It just doesn't happen. I'm going to have to start making tortillas at home now.

The funny thing is, I didn't realize that breakfast tacos are not a widespread thing. Someone asked me what they are and what's in them, and I thought that was kind of funny. So for anyone who is reading and doesn't know, they are tortillas filled with egg, potato and cheese, or egg and sausage, or egg and cheese. The eggs are scrambled, by the way. And there are all sorts of variations. They're very good. And no, McDonald's breakfast burritos don't count, because they're nowhere near as delicious.

Anyway, it was nice to see some familiar faces from the night before in the Chambers room. The swag table was piled high with all kinds of goodies, and I carefully loaded up my swag bag with all the interesting items people had chosen to share with us. Thank you, swag bringers! Very cool stuff! I got a bunch of CDs, a BookCrossing book, some cookies, bookmarks, stickers, and a lovely quilted magnet made by KarenD, which is made of bluebonnet fabric as well as white, red, and blue fabric with stars. So cute!

I went to a bunch of great panels, including Emily's Icebreaker panel, which was the first one that morning. They drew names and gave out prizes, and I won the first one, which was a set of lavendar bath products made by Slick Chick Luxuries. I can't wait to use them!

The next panel was led by AB, Omar, and PG, who were all incredibly funny and informative. Also, AB's man, Master V, had prepared a special surprise for us... a little bar! Annabeth mixed the Bloody Marys and Screwdrivers. But, there was a catch. We'd only get a drink if we wrote down a question for the panel, which was Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Having a Successful Journal/Blog but Were Afraid to Ask. It was awesome. I got a Screwdriver, and it was damn tasty! At ten in the morning, to boot! Good times, good times.

I also went to the What Not To Wear Panel, which totally rocked! I got a bunch of good website references that I'll have to check out. I also learned a bit about color combinations, and the importance of contrast. And yes, I'm toying with the idea of a redesign soon.

Sometime during the morning, I spoke briefly with Sher and Fredlet, whose journals I recently came across while browsing the attendees page. Turns out Fredlet often visits my little city, so I might get to see her in person again in the near future. Awesome!

Then it was time for lunch. I went to Schlotzky's with a few awesome folks and got to chat with Brian and Pat, as well as Rachel. I talked to mnvnjnsn, also known as Emily, about California life. She actually lived in the little city I now live in. How 'bout that? I didn't think anyone knew where that was, but about three different people did! Sheila was one of them. She is another super cool journaller. Wow, it's so fun to be able to say that about so many different people! Anyway, lunch was great fun. We took group pictures afterwards, on the way back to the hotel. I hope they turn out well!

Writing For Your Readers was another awesome panel. It was great seeing Rob and Allison talk in person. I'd met Allison very briefly the night before when she told me a little story, 'cause she's cool like that. But it was nice to hear them both talk a little more at length, because those two are two of my newest regular reads, and I really enjoy their sites. They seem like cool people.

Gwen and Heather Corrina were really cool, as was Christine. While watching Christine speak, I had the sneaking suspicion I may have met her before. Her face was so familiar. It was freaking me out. Who did she remind me of?? Then I realized -- She looks a lot like "Molly," the character on The Joe Schmo Show, which is my favorite show right now. At least, I think she does, a little bit. Or maybe I just watch too much t.v!

I had been planning on reading an entry for the Open Readings, but when the panel was about to start, there were only ten of us or so in there. Basically, only the people who had planned to read had shown up. Everyone else was in the For Better or Worse panel, which sounded so awesome that all the Open Readings folks decided to reschedule and see the other panel instead (as far as I know, it never got rescheduled, but that's okay).

I think all the attendees must have been in that room! It was so crowded! The topics were really interesting, ranging from job risks, firings and hirings, to whether or not to put stories and pictures about your kids up on your site. Real names and pseuodonyms were discussed, and what to consider with each. It was a really fascinating conversation! I loved that the "For Better" side was covered, as well. I love hearing how helpful and nice readers can be. It makes me think there really are a lot of caring people out there in the world, and that makes me feel all squishy inside. Maybe that's cheesey, but hey, that's me. Full of cheese.

Afterwards, we headed out to dinner, and the group I was with went to The Jazz, which was great! Neon saxophones on the walls, a live band, some weird magician. He was good, though. Cool stuff!

I talked a lot with Sheila, Abbycat, Kathryn, and David during dinner. I am likely forgetting someone, which sucks. But I had a great time. We talked about job stuff, and I think I may have talked too much. But no one told me to put a sock in it, so I hope they were at least relatively entertained by my anecdotes. Heh.

We had a special event at The Hideout after dinner. Ladee Leeroy and Kim performed for us. They both did portions of their one-woman shows, after which we got to see "home movies" for a character Omar invented. The entire thing had me rolling. I was laughing so hard I was tearing up. And during Kim's performance, a few moments were so touching I got teary-eyed then, too! It was unbelievable. I could not have guessed what it would be like, but it was fabulous, and I'm so happy I got to see it all!

After that, we went back to the hotel for a bit, and Kymm said hi to me. She said she didn't realize who I was at first, but then remembered me from last year's JCon. Cool! Kymm is fun!

Next stop: Forbidden Fruit, a tattoo and piercing parlor. No, I didn't get anything done. If I'd had the money at the moment, my eyebrow would be pierced right now. As it is, I'll have to wait until I get paid.

The cool news is that Emily did get tattooed, and Shannon got a henna tattoo. Both came out really well! Very nice work and very cute.

The group of us then joined the rest of the JournalConners for karaoke. I mostly hung out with Emily, Shannon, and David Nunez. You know, 'cause they rock. We sat on the two-person swings by the stage. Then one of them bought me a beer, and after I drank half, a dude walking by (I think he worked there?) accidentally kicked it over, and got me a replacement beer! In all last night, I think I had a total of two beers. It was the first time I've ever even had one beer, much less two. So that was kind of cool. Never been much of a beer drinker, I guess, but these beers were tasty! A Harp Lager, and a Shiner. Good stuff!

Somewhere in the midst of drinking, Shannon and I danced a whole lot and even sang Bare Naked Ladies' "If I Had a Million Dollars" together. It was SO fun! One part was so funny, I thought: While we were dancing, a girl asked if she could take a picture of us, so we said yes, and she did, with her cell phone cam. Afterwards, we looked at each other and said, "Wait, was she from JournalCon??" I don't think she was. Some random girl just wanted to take our picture, apparently. Maybe she thought we were a cute couple or something?? I don't know; it was so weird!

Also? A big group of us JCon girls danced so hot, the karaoke machine broke down during Sir Mix-a-Lot's "Baby Got Back." Aw, yeah. We rock. Luckily, the machine was fixable, and soon we were all groovin' again, and we were able to finish out the song that time.

We hung around until the last call, and then headed back towards the hotel. I was tipsy and sleepy and it was hella late (did I just say hella?), so I took Shannon and Emily up on their offer to crash in their room (after calling my brother to inform him of my newly revised plan, of course). Those chicks are the best.

* * *

I woke up at 8am this morning all by myself, and was pretty wide awake, too. I don't know what that was about! I got dressed and made my hair as presentable as possible before heading downstairs for breakfast. Guess what was there? Breakfast tacos! Oh, beautiful JournalCon. How I love thee...

Anyway, so I actually made it to the first panel of the morning, which I was very glad about! One, it was a really cool, funny, thoughtful panel. Two, Pamie was "there" via email (as opposed to via satellite). She had written something to be read to us, and one of the things she told us is that she just sold the movie rights to her awesome book! So cool! I'm really happy for her!

I caught the last two panels as well -- the Texas readings and the Blogs vs. Journals panel. Awesome stuff. I love hearing people read their own writing out loud. And I love that so much of it was so funny! I was surprised when I realized that this one very funny, awesome lady was the writer of Fly in the Honey. I hadn't connected the person to the site before that panel, and I felt so excited! I love Fly in the Honey! And now, reading that site will be all the more fun, as I'll get to hear her voice and energy in my head as I read her entries. Mary is one funny lady!

More prizes were given away, we were instructed to raid the swag table, and then JournalCon had officially come to a close. Wow. What a whirlwind weekend!

I spent some time chatting with folks before I had to go, and then hugged a bunch of fabulous people good-bye once my family was ready to pick me up. I love y'all! And I love JournalCon! Thanks to you ALL for an amazing, fabulous weekend!