Seldom have I ever been this tired. After getting to bed last night at about 3 a.m., we got up at 7:45 this morning and went to grab some breakfast. We spent a couple of hours walking around D.C. before picking up our registration packets a little past noon.
At 2:00, I went to a fantastic writing workshop with writing coach Jim Stasiowski. In the class were several great writers, many of whom I met during the break and during the meet and greet afterwards. Chris Shott from the Washington City Paper, Tom Robotham from the Port Folio Weekly and Jim Phillips from the Athens News were among several writers whose stellar work was mentioned and whom had great tips, insights and comments to share with the group. Stasiowski's tips were unbelieveably helpful, and it was somewhat hilarious to watch some of the younger writers try to wrap their heads around the concept of a "central conflict."
After the meeting, I met the managing editor of the New Haven Advocate, the Alt Weekly from my home turf that I've been reading since I was ten years old. Nice guy.
Later on, I had a lenghty discussion with the associate publisher of the Portland Phoenix. He relayed some hilarious stories about his paper, and talked at length about his paper's purchase of one of its rivals. He was also a fellow Red Sox fan, which was swell...
Had a nice discussion on blogging with a couple writers from the Independent Weekly and Seven Days.
After going for a walk for a while by myself, we trekked at least two miles across town in the cold with staffers from the Baltimore Weekly, as they took us out to (a great) dinner at Mama Ayesha's. The restaurant is a favorite of Madeline Albright and legendary White House reporter Helen Thomas. A chilling note: On the way to the restaurant, we passed by the spot where Chandra Levy's body was found.
One final note: We took a cab back to the hotel, which was driven by an oriental cabbie who didn't talk to us at all, but who made motorcycle noises when navigating around every tight corner and every crowded lane of traffic. It was quite hilarious.
Posted by colrus at February 19, 2005 01:34 AM | TrackBack