Goodbye Townhouse

Woodstock

Now that it's over, my feelings are not nostalgia for the Townhouse, but giddy affection for my fellow librarian nerds. I thought I'd do one last post about the looming chandeliers and mirrored walls, the tacky fake columns and the Romanesque bathrooms (the smell did not disappoint!), but instead I realized the Conference isn't about the place but about the people. The quick hellos in passing, the heart-to-hearts at the buffet, the professional banter and the joking exchanges - I've got nothing but admiration for the Long Island library people. Best parts: sitting with Carolyn who had the cool job of holding up time signs for the presenters, Edana saying she read this blog, having a seat saved for me at lunch, taking laps around the exhibit hall, free mints, free pens (cheap date!), and occasionally thinking about things related to libraries.

Goodbye Townhouse, hello next year, where ever you are. I'm ready to do it all again!

La Brea Tar Pits

I knew it. Five minutes earlier and I would have been parking pretty in the asphalt lot on the side of the Townhouse like all the smart people, but I got caught in a traffic snarl by the Northern State and it slowed me down. Sure enough, the lowlife parking attendant directed me into the field of dread: the pit-filled, rock encrusted overflow lot.

On the way out, at the end of the big day, I saw my friend Edna's van get stuck on top of a huge boulder as she tried to escape, a conglomerate blob of mud and sand and stones and parking lot detritus. Nothing helped, she was locked in place completely. Thank goodness for cell phones, but yeah, I felt bad leaving her and her vehicle to sink like a dinosaur in the melted earth.

It felt like a giant metaphor for the Townhouse - a lifestyle that's being sucked down and built over by evolution.

This is it

Ah crap! Rain! More later...

The Lonely Only

Looks like the weather will be ok - no worries about wet shoes this year. I forgot the conference starts so early, though. I'll have to get there in time for the first round of programs and learn about RSS :-) This year I've pre-planned a lunch buddy, so I can avoid the awkward table swoop/search looking for a place to sit in a gaggle of people who all know each other and don't want to know me. A big part of conferencing is networking, but I always want to duck into a corner when it comes to buffet lunches.

See you there!

The Weather

Let's hope for no rain. There's nothing worse than dragging yourself out of the car - parked in that soggy mudfield, naturally - and slogging your way into the giant palace with squishy shoes. And don't forget the hike back in the slag while you tote your giant B&T bag filled with throw-aways and post-its. Ah yes, Conference, you are a cruel taskmaster in the rain.

Hole in the Head

The first LILC experience is the parking. I've learned if you want to park in the coveted area near the Townhouse, you have to get there EARLY. Which then means you have to stand around the place slurping coffee with nothing to do but juggle your admission pack. If you arrive with the masses, you often are relegated to the secondary parking area - a bumpy plot across the street - filled with holes and scrub bushes and other cars who got there before you. Last year when I scrounged around for a spot even there, I got trapped between two parked cars with no way out except to go backwards around a tight curve with no visibility. By the time I managed to maneuver the car into a spot I was already running late. This year I swear it's back to arriving early.

Dip in the Road

Debbie says it may NOT be the end of the Townhouse. I thought construction was slated to go ahead, but I might have the timeline wrong. I'm going to procede in my nostalgia induced haze anyway....