AWARD-WINNING

Saturday, May 2, 1998

This afternoon, after completing the May designs, I decided to walk down to Broadway and see a movie, if there was one that appealed to me. I didn't bother looking up the listings before I went. It was a good afternoon for a walk, and I love the lilacs that are perfuming the neighborhood right now! There were two movies that seemed possible: Fireworks, which Randy and A.P. had seen last night, and I Think I Do, which was supposed to be a romantic comedy. I had some time, so I sat at a table and read the reviews in The Stranger, the local alternative weekly. Neither one sounded like what I wanted right then, and I Think I Do was absolutely panned!

So I bought a pair of tights at Fred Meyer, and walked across the street to investigate candles at the Scent Shop. Then I remembered: there's a plus-size consignment shop on Pike, at the other end of Broadway, but I'd never been there. Often it's been closed when I walked by. Today was my chance!

I walked to Pike, getting sidetracked a few times along the way. Purchased: a green-tea-scented candle from Bartells, and one of the new Berrybon rolls from Cinnabon. Down the alley stairs to Venus, the consignment store.

This place looked great! I glanced around and saw a number of things that I'd want to try on. But the proprietor came and spoke to me right away. "I'm sorry, we're closed early today! There's a sign on the door [which was still open] but I guess it isn't big enough."

What a shame! A woman started waving at me from across the room. I peered at her. "Mary? Is that you?" Mary is a friend of Ian Haggeman, and used to come to Vanguard, but I haven't seen her for a long time. She came over and we hugged. Meanwhile the store owner was still trying to give me the bum's rush out the door. They were getting ready to be in a fashion show tonight, part of the Washington "Miss Leather" competition. So I'll try to get back to Venus soon.

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I dressed myself for Vanguard in the black and white dress I cut off a while ago (it's still unhemmed.) I walked to where I thought I had parked, but my car wasn't there! I was shocked and alarmed, until I remembered that I had actually parked in a different place than usual.

After a stop for provisions (there's a new kind of NA beer: O'Douls Amber!) I pulled up in front of Jane, Luke, and Vonda's place. Luke and Sam (a young boy they help in the care of) were playing on the sidewalk. Sam was pretending to be a radio-controlled car, and Luke was controlling him by voice. "Turn around!" and Sam would turn around. "Forward!" and he'd run forward.

Jane suggested I might like to go into the house next door, where Vonda has her office. Tonight was the Nebula Awards banquet, and Vonda had been nominated for Best Novel, for The Moon and the Sun. She was so convinced that she wouldn't win that she had agreed to host a live online chat from the banquet, and the PC in her office was logged in to the chat room. Monica and I participated for a while, then I went back to the main house.

It was a fun Vanguard. David Bratman was there, visiting from out of town. Kate told us about her high-school reunion, which she enjoyed much more than she thought she would. When it was finally time for the best novel award at the Nebulas, a big crowd of us packed ourselves back next door into Vonda's office.

<VONDA>and the winner is...
<VONDA>y;ie

And we were all going wild! "Did she win?" "What's happening?!" finally someone (Vonda?) typed that The Moon and the Sun was the winner for best novel. We cheered and yelled. "Von-dah! Von-dah! Von-dah!" Her speech was brief, thanking her colleagues for being a family for thirty [!] years.

Later, the last remaining Vanguardites were in Luke and Jane's basement living room. Their part of the house is the smoking section for Vanguard, and I like to spend some time there even though I don't smoke. Topics: Leigh Brackett's hard-boiled mysteries, the difference between ska and reggae music and what mood-altering substances are appropriate for each, news about a web diva that we knew before she became famous. I gave Lesley Reece a ride home, since she lives two blocks from me, and we talked about what the fannish connection has done for each of us.