decision & insomnia cures

So I've decided to move back to Toronto sooner than later. The original plan was for me to stay in Philadelphia until March. Circumstances are somewhat different at work than I expected, however. That plus missing family and friends (and husband!) has convinced me that it's time to do something proactive to remedy the situation.

The thought of all the loose ends that need tying up or adjust before I move home is daunting, but this is overshadowed by sheer joy at the thought of going back home. :-)

Had lunch with my friend Josh, a part-time freelancer for Inkspot. When -does- a work associate become a friend rather than just "someone from work"? I'm sure someone has written down rules about this somewhere. Anyway, do check out his Web site, which is very cool.

Jeff is coming to visit tomorrow! We're going to New York for the weekend to visit with friends.

Follow-up: insomnia cures

Thanks to all of you who posted suggestions for curing insomnia in Blatherchat. I realize there are books out there on the topic, but I was mainly interested in getting ideas from people who have actually successfully used these ideas. :-) Here's a summary, for the record:

Celestial Seasonings' Tension Tamer tea - Jim

Sleeping tablets that contain valerian (my favorite brand is Paxs, available at health food stores) - Jim

A whole Actifed - Jim

over-the-counter sleeping pills. (e.g. Tylenol PM) - Cosmo

"My best cure for insomnia is to start studying my notes from English class. I find that 'Heart of Darkness' works especially well for this. If only I could find a way to keep this from working during class, I'd be set." - Lyanne

work on the computer (it may not work for everyone, though) - Beckett

journal writing - Beckett

valerian root tablet just before bedtime - Teddy

"My tactics are 1) drink a mug of warm milk 3) avoid seeing the time to avoid frustrating myself even more 4) read something _really_ boring 5) And if I am mentally fussing about something, writing it down in my journal." - Andrea

Thanks, everyone!

harp name

Okay, you've all convinced me. My harp's name is now officially Gwyneth Paltrow. If anyone hassles me about it, I'll blame you lot. :-)

ovff flashback

MY CAKE

Diana Huey made me an absolutely delicious chocolate cake with chocolate mint icing. She asked Corwin what she should write on top, and he suggested "Hi!!" So that's exactly what she wrote. :-) Jodi, Allison and I all shared pieces of the cake during the weekend, and I had two pieces for breakfast one morning (I am so bad).

BOB KANEFSKY

The person I spent the most one-on-one time with was Bob Kanefsky. When did we do this? He and I shared a shuttle ride back to the airport after the convention and also had dinner together at the airport. I never had much of a chance to get to know Bob, and felt a bit awkward at first, not really sure how the conversation would go. I needn't have worried; we had a lot of fun. He's a fascinating guy, and fun to talk to. Sometimes it's easy to forget that people at filk cons have lives OUTSIDE of the convention. :-) I'm sure some people think I spend all my regular time eating chocolate and talking to the food in my fridge. :-) Anyway, I found out lots more about Bob's work at NASA. Very cool-sounding job!!! Bob won a Pegasus award for Best Songwriter/Composer, by the way.

Speaking of which, I still haven't had a chance to update the OVFF Web site with the Pegasus winners (Steve Macdonald has very kindly offered to help me maintain the OVFF site from now on...thanks, Steve!). FYI, the winners this year were:

Best Filk Song: Sam's Song, by Zander and Soren Nyrond

Best Writer/Composer: Bob Kanefsky

Best Performer: Ookla the Mok

Best End of the World Song: Out of the Clear Blue Sky, by Jane Robinson

Best Food/Drink Song: tie between 307 Ale by Tom Smith, and My Jalapeno Man by me

Today's Blatherpic:
Simon performing "Sam's Song" in the Pegasus concert, with Diana accompanying. The song ended up winning in the Best Filk Song category.

Have a good weekend, everyone.