Why me?

I'm not sure anyone is reading my blogs, so I'm just going to babble. I figure I'll want to remember what happened some day anyway.
Okay, Wednesday morning, we finish with the TV spot, which really was pretty cool, and I go upstairs to my room. Now there is no way I can get any sleep, so I shower and get dressed. I have not one speck of makeup on and my hair is in a bun. This is my normal appearance, but not my "Ari the author" appearance. My roommates and I head down to breakfast where we laugh and laugh and pretty much make idiots out of ourselves. One of the the women who was at the TV thingie with me comes over and says, "are you Arianna? You don't look the same." I laughed and said that this was the real me.

After we finished breakfast, I went upstairs and actually did my hair and make up-- for the second time that day! My skin and hair are beginning to mutiny at this point. I go downstairs and meet Jewell Mason (one of my roommies) and we go check on our promo items. While we are headed there, someone grabs us in the hallway asking if we'd be willing to speak on a panel about "the great what if" I said sure!
BIG MISTAKE
I'm wearing jeans, Jewell is in sweats, and we end up in this room full of aspiring authors.
Taking notes
Even using tape recorders.
Oh $%^&!
After sitting there in front of this room feeling like a complete idiot, the person running the panel asks us to talk. The rest of the folks I'm with are a little more shy than I am (scope!) so I get up first. Part of me is thinking, I know SQUAT what the heck am I going to teach these people? The other part of me is saying, hey, they need to know that you don't have to have all the answers to write.
Heck, I did almost everything backasswards and still got published, they probably can too!
So I say my thing, really hoping that I can impart something to the poor people listening to me. Meanwhile, I've only had two hours of sleep. I still have to go help stuff bags for the EC party. I get to the bag stuffing room, and it's utter chaos. People are putting out their promo items, and no bags are available. I am now so exhausted nothing is making any sense.
I was basically no help to anyone.
Off topic a bit, but I kind of did that a lot. I told everyone I'd help out, then when the time came, either I had conflicting duties or I ended up not doing all that much. It really bothers me that I was such a goober about things.

Anyway, I finally decide to give up eating and go to sleep so I'm not a complete mess at the EC What's Your Fantasy Party. I sleep like the dead for two hours.
It was a beautiful thing.
I wake up refreshed and ready to go. I dress up in my fairy costume and Kathy did my eye make up. It came out ROCKIN!!!
We had an awesome time at the party. I wish I had gotten more pictures of the costumes, because there were some really great ones. I'll post some pictures of the ones I did get, and if more come in later, I'll post those too.

My roommate Dorine dressed up like a cop and was seen handcuffing cover models. One particular one who wore nothing more than a pair of wings and a tiny sarong with a slit up the side. It made for a great bit of blackmail. Jewell dressed up like Medusa, complete with green snakes in her hair. Her line was hey, I turn men to stone, what more could you ask for? That had me laughing all night. Kathy Love was a goth fairy, and she looked great. Beth Ciotta was a school girl, and she had all the men chasing after her. Julia Templeton was a pirate, and the best costume was worn by Mary Stella. She had on jeans, a sweatshirt, and a telephone head set. On her shirt she had a sign that said. . .
1-900-SEX-4YOU or something to that effect. She was a phone sex operator, and it was a SCREAM!

There were a lot of belly dancers, one in particular, the fabulous author Morgan Hawke managed to wiggle her hips in ways I don't think mine could do without surgery. I have lots of ideas for next year. . .

The party is a smashing success, except that at 12:30, I suddenly hit the wall. Actually, I felt like the wall hit me. I stumbled to my room, still covered in glitter and fall asleep without a clue as to where my roommies are. I have to get up early to be in the Hospitality Suite for 8:30. What was I thinking?

You'll hear all about that next. . .