I stayed a little late at work so I could go directly to the Cat Vacuum Society. My trusty directions from MapQuest really helped me out. Everything worked out great, except finding a parking spot was hard. I finally gave in and parked in the garage. I didn’t have any cash, but I figured I could find an ATM after the meeting.
I went into Barnes & Noble and was surprised to see it was two floors and seemed huge. It gave me the feeling of the upper-middle class. I looked around and didn’t see any rooms. I asked an employee where the event lounge was. She pointed to a group of people sitting in a circle near the windows.
I hadn’t been in a situation of meeting new people in a while. I felt a bit shy and uncomfortable. As I looked around, these people were different from the typical groups of people I met when starting a new job. The age range varied. A few looked like my stereotype impression of “artsy-cool”. I was sitting with mothers, grandmothers, and perhaps college students. Most were women. Since I get along best with women on a social level, I feel more at ease. And since I am not the only male, I am also feeling good about that.
Jennifer, with whom I talked on the nano forums, handed me some papers from last week. A speaker came last week and discussed something related to spiritual writing and experiences. The paper mainly provided information for a workshop on this to help write more detailed events, so that your readers will feel the same experiences you did.
Just before the meeting began, I noticed that half the members had small typewriters with LCD screens. I inquired about them, and they mentioned that they last about 25 hours on a charge and run on Palm OS. Hmm… I wonder if I could run SETI on one. The memory is simply a memory card you use in digital cameras. I’ll have to look into affordability sometime soon.
Listening to some of them speak about plot ideas and such, I could tell that some knew something about pagan-based religions and would tie them into their stories. Some would come right out and practically say it. Others were religious and not-so-religious. Either way, it’s cool, and it makes me feel a lot better about where I am.
Halfway through the meeting, I received a short story that they were critiquing. I read through it, but had a hard time since I was also trying to listen to people speak. I must say it was really funny and pretty good. There were a lot of people, and I couldn’t keep track of who said what – but that was probably because my mind was focused on two things. I would say more, but I would be shot. Actually, I don’t know what I can say about anything, so to play it safe, I’ll keep all the details to myself and give high-level reviews that don’t tell you anything. I finished by the end of the meeting.
I looked around afterwards and found a small dream book. I figured it might come in handy, so I purchased it. I got my garage ticket stamped by the cashier and then looked for an ATM. I walked in many directions, only to keep backtracking. I was looking around every corner for an ATM since the group mentioned that it was just around a corner. It was dark, and my glasses were still broken, so everything was pretty blurry.
After 20 minutes, I gave up and started walking back to the car, hoping that I had change. I found an ATM on the way back and got a crisp twenty-dollar bill out of my checking account. I pocketed the bill, took my card, and headed back to the garage. As I approached, I noticed another ATM on the floor above. This must have been the ATM they were talking about that was just around the corner. I did not realize that I had to go up some steps to get to it.
I got to my car and looked over the MapQuest maps. I spent some time memorizing the streets. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and turned the ignition. Arriving at the ticket booth, the guy asked for only one dollar. I looked at my dashboard, picked up some change, and handed it to him. “All of that walking for nothing”, I thought to myself. At least I was able to get some exercise in, but the night was really cold, and the rain mist didn’t help matters.
I would write more, but I’m going to vacuum the cat.
