I’m just back from TLA in my home state of Texas. (Well, natch, since TLA stands for Texas Librarians’ Association.) It was a whirlwind two days in San Antonio, full of fun, frivolity, and free books. Whoo-hoo.
I got up at 4:30 a.m. on Friday morning so I could make a 7:05 flight out of Laguardia. We were delayed while they de-iced the plane (always a confidence builder in somebody like me who thinks there should be complimentary valium drips on all flights. Hmmm, metal sausage hurling through the air at 500 mph atop tons of fuel…oooh, sign me up!) The flight was uneventful, which is my favorite adjective where air travel is concerned.
But hey…San Antonio was 80 degrees. There were enchiladas and free iced tea refills and biscuits that size of my head. There was a cocktail party where I met the supremely delightful and talented Cynthia Leitich Smith (http://www.cynthialeitichsmith.com) and her also delightful and talented husband, Greg (http://www.gregleitichsmith.com). That was a big highlight of the conference for me, since I’d wanted to meet Cyn in person for some time. My mom came drove down from Denton, and we made our way around the convention floor, snagging free stuff, bartering for non-free stuff. (I am anxiously awaiting the arrival of my new “Got Books?” t-shirt from Vaughn at Scholastic Book Fairs in S.A.)
I got to hear some amazing Y.A. and picture book writers speak–the kind of stuff that makes you feel thrilled to know those authors are out there and immediately makes you want to raise your game. So many books to read, so little time. Screw it–I’ll make the time.
There were a hilarious couple of flights home with Adrienne Waintraub and Tracy Bloom of Random House. I don’t know what United puts in the pretzel mix, but we were giddy. (Two nights of four hours’ sleep and delays at O’Hare will do that to a person.) Anyway, we made it into Newark at about 1:00 a.m. and I was home by 2:00 and up around 6:30 to give Josh his official Texas Tornado in a Tube and Scooby Doo glow-in-the-dark coloring book.
Now, I think if I don’t crash immediately, I’m in danger of becoming a drooling mess tomorrow at work. Oh wait, how would that be different from every other day at work?