Summer Travel

[dr_pretentious]

I just booked my tickets for Writer's Weekend. If all goes according to plan, I should be landing at SeaTac around 5pm on Wednesday, 21 June. As of Thursday, early afternoonish, I start working my ass off as a conference volunteer, but from early Wednesday evening on June 21st, up through lunch on Thursday the 22nd, I'm free to hang out with folks in Seattle. seedmoon has dibs.

A while ago, I had this notion that I'd arrange an open-jaw itinerary and fly from the conference to Boston instead of directly home to Jersey, since I owe my many Bostonian friends a visit. Looks like it'll have to be in August, instead. The week before Solstice, I'm at festival. The week of/after Solstice, I'm in Seattle. On the 4th of July weekend, I'm in Forestport for the annual family reunion. If I spent a week in Boston in the middle, there wouldn't be a tutoring practice to come home to. The practice is going great guns right now, but if I'm away for four straight weeks, my students will get used to having that extra hour back in their schedules, and their parents will get used to having a little more money in their wallets. So, August.

Boston folks, what weekends in August are better and worse for my odds of catching up with you?

And Jersey locals--is anybody going to be around between mid-June and the 4th of July for intermittent catsitting/housesitting? (Karmic investments faithfully repaid.)

Comments

[wayzgoose.livejournal.com]

I'm looking forward to meeting you face2face when you are out here in Seattle. I am counting the pennies at the moment regarding whether or not I can enroll in the conference. It's still possible.

Also, I'm celebrating Litha a little late at the Unitarian Church on Sunday the 25th. If you are available I'd love to have you come and perhaps participate. I do a pretty free-wheeling ritual. LMK.

[dr-pretentious.livejournal.com]

My flight home leaves on Sunday, not long after the conference ends, so I think I'll have to miss Litha. But thanks for the invitation.

KJ was talking about offering discount conference registrations for people who just want to attend the panels (not the meals or pitch sessions). I think some of those slots are still left.

[sleepymaggie.livejournal.com]

Pat or I might be available to do the cat sitting (not during FSG but the weeks after that). When do you need to know by?

[dr-pretentious.livejournal.com]

If you could let us know by a week or so before FSG...::digs up calendar::...early in the second week in June? Thanks for considering it. I'd love to be able to spread the karmic debt around. My being gone for 15 days over a stretch of 23 would add up to a major inconvenience for somebody else, if one person covered the whole thing.

So now I can concentrate on finding someone to cover for us over the festival days, and worry a little later about the rest.

Yet another of the five million reasons to miss vgnwtch. She catsat for us a lot, and made many, many things possible.

[tigira.livejournal.com]

We'll be here just about any week but the first weekend. That is, if you include us in your "Boston folks."

[tigira.livejournal.com]

Oh, and we wanted to take you to Mt. Auburn Cemetery last time you were planning on coming up here...

[dr-pretentious.livejournal.com]

Very cool. Yes, you are among my Boston folks. Unless, of course, you pick up stakes and move someplace else, but since it's past time I congratulated you guys on becoming homeowners, I'm guessing you'll be up there for a while.

[shakti-lemaris.livejournal.com]

My weekends are when I work. I start on Friday at 2pm and end Monday at 9am.
During the week I can be mostly free if I have enough notice.
So, if you could manage a long weekend I may catch a glimpse of you on a Thursday or Monday. Pick the (long?) weekend and I'll make it happen.
Also, my ambition of getting to Writer's Weekend this year was a bit too...ambitious, what with traipsing all over creation in March, going to FSG and moving and all. Sigh. Maybe next year.

[dr-pretentious.livejournal.com]

Next year, it'll be in March, Ostara weekend, and in New Jersey. KJ wanted to start alternating which coast she held the conference on, and the Rutgers University Inn and Conference Center offered her the best rate within public transit range of NYC. So in 2007, you have no excuse. You'll just have to come crash at my house.

[shakti-lemaris.livejournal.com]

Excellent! That makes life much easier.

[newroticgirl.livejournal.com]

If you need a backup catsitter, I'll be glad to help out. :)

[dr-pretentious.livejournal.com]

That's a very kind offer, especially since I know it's a bit of a haul up here from your place. It looks like I may be able to cover all my dates with people who don't have as far to travel, but I'll check in with you if things fall through.

Maybe by the time I'm on the road, you'll have that sweet job in Iowa. Good luck!

Sonia-sitting

[jaime-sama.livejournal.com]

G and I will probably be able to help out with the catsitting duties. :) We are going to be moving to PA sometime in the summer, but don't know when yet, so I can't really commit to exact dates.

Re: Sonia-sitting

[dr-pretentious.livejournal.com]

The only dates currently not spoken for are June 13-18 and the weekend (narrowly defined) of July 1st. I'll keep asking around, but if you guys can take any of those days, that would be fabulous. Thanks for offering!

[citabria]

What's involved in catsitting? Just putting out food and water (which I can definitely handle) or something more involved (which, never having had a cat, I may or may not be able to handle)? If it's the former, I should be able to cover a lot of it for you. :)

I should be around most weekdays between FSG and July 4th, with the exception of the weekend of the 1st. So, essentially, consider me available from June 19th through June 29th (I may try to escape to NH early ... or stay late, who knows - maybe both!).

[dr-pretentious.livejournal.com]

I only have one cat these days, and Sonia's pretty low-maintenance. She needs food and fresh water every day, and really appreciates it when cat-sitters can hang out with her for a few minutes just to pet her or play with her toys with her. Fifteen or twenty minutes a day would be a wealth of help, if the dates work out for you.

Some cats are more high-maintenance. My dear old Othello needed multiple pills daily, and he was not gracious about getting them from anyone other than me or Dan. Karen and various of my grad school friends were game to try dosing him anyway, when Dan and I had to travel, but I hear there were a few occasions of bloodshed.

Thanks for the offer! It looks like, between you and Pat&Maggie, I can probably cover everything but FSG.

[leapfaith.livejournal.com]

So, any guesses on when you are coming to visit the Midwest?

[dr-pretentious.livejournal.com]

Hey there!

Just friended you. Was very glad to catch up with you on the phone, but you already knew that.

There's something kind of absurd about my never having been to the Twin Cities. So many of my friends have moved out there. What do they call it? The Sucking Vortex of Milk and Honey? I think that's what onyxtwilight calls it.

Anyhow, I'll get out there one of these days.