Androgynous Ceramics; Books, Books Galore!; and Free Swag

Today started early. Earlier than usual, and I've been really good at getting up at a decent hour recently for class. Today started at 6:15. (I began to wonder if the definition of being an adult is getting out of bed after only hitting the snooze button once.) Very important that I get up and go, so I made myself some coffee (nom nom nom) and made my way downstairs for a very expensive breakfast. (Yeah, tomorrow it'll be Starbucks for breakfast. I'm not paying $16 for coffee and oatmeal again!) 

At breakfast, I had coffee in a mug that was square at the bottom and round at the top. 

Is this the ceramic equivalent of androgyny? 

And oatmeal in dishes that were more sure of their orientation.

Square OR circle. Not square AND circle.

And then I made my way to the bookfair, where I registered and got my name tag. Our table was FULL of books.

You like books? WE'VE GOT BOOKS.

 We were tucked away on one side of the bookfair, which was absolutely MASSIVE. There was a whole other room (more pictures tomorrow!)

We rocked Row H.

Looks endless, doesn't it?

NO EDGE.

All day, I wandered around chatting with people, distributing my business cards and getting what I hope will be some good contacts and a good idea of the industry! It was exhausting, but I think I've managed to make an impression on some of them... at least so I hope.

Also, I got FREE STUFF.

Totes a free tote.

This was the collection of stuff (that doesn't include buttons.)

I paid for one thing here... it was a book.

The purpley thing is a USB stick that kind of turns into a bracelet! And what's better at a writers conference than writing utensils?

A sticker that says "You are beautiful" and TEA. Some of the tea was from real live British people.

M&Ms that I will munch on tomorrow when I need a good sugar rush.

Matches were also a popular giveaway. I like the ones on the left because it's a book cover!

A petite notepad that I like because the formula is totally accurate.

NANO Fiction has scavenger hunts for the whole conference! They give away prizes and things, but I just think the things to spot are hilarious. "Group of people in skinny jeans", "Younger writer hitting on somebody much too old for them", "Writer trying to haggle a dollar off of the price of a non-profit literary journal". 

Now I am off to have dinner with Pam (my boss) and Sherry (my other boss?) at Pizano's, which is apparently Oprah's favorite pizza restaurant.

Who's ready to get up and do it all over again?