Mississauga Write-Off Day Four (evening)

And the first-ever Mississauga Write-Off is officially over. Herb and Al drove back to Buffalo around 5:00 p.m., and Randy and Val took Carolyn and me out to dinner this evening, then took a 9:00 p.m. flight back to Calgary.

Although the company for dinner was fabulous, I have to say the food was not. We went to a steakhouse near the airport, and my filet mignon arrived severely overdone (I'd ordered it medium-rare, and it came well done). I would have sent it back -- something I almost never do -- but we had time constraints, since we had to get Randy and Val to the airport in time for their flight. Ah, well -- at least I know one restaurant I don't ever have to eat at again. And, anyway, the conversation and the companionship were terrific.

My day wasn't as productive as I'd hoped -- rule number one for future Write-Offs: don't check email! -- but I went back to the keyboard after Carolyn and I got back from the airport, and did manage to finally finish my 2,000 words by just after midnight.

It was a very productive long weekend for all of us. In descending order, our word counts of new material:

Randy: 17,000
Val: 10,300
Herb: 9,000
Hayden: 8,700
Rob: 8,300
Al: 6,300
Liz: 5,300
Carolyn: 500 (but of poetry!)

Total: 65,400 words!

By the way, my fleet of laptops was put to good use: although Val, Herb, and Al brought their own computers (well, Al brought a borrowed one), Hayden, Liz, and Randy all used various laptops I had lying around the house (and Carolyn and I used our usual computers). For those who flew in, it was much easier for them not to have to lug computers here.

Everyone got along really well (Val and Randy had never met Herb and Al before), and eight people seemed like the perfect number: enough to keep the energy level high, but not so many that we were getting in each other's way, or on each other's nerves.

I'd very much like to do this again at some point; it was truly a wonderful, and very useful, event.

Anyway, Carolyn and I are both exhausted -- not just from the four consecutive late nights, but still from Worldcon last weekend, and all the travel before that -- so it's off to bed, with the telephone ringers turned down and no alarm clocks set ...