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capri0mni(Don't worry, Friday and Saturday, Sunday and Monday are coming)
Wednesday: Arrive in LA a day early. No, we cannot book into our hotel room a until tomorrow. Book into the Best Western nearby. Yay! They have a wheelchair accessible shower! That night (or in the early morning just before waking) have vivid dream about meeting my friends and giving them all hugs. A good dream, but there is some anxiety hanging overhead: will the friends I made online still want to be my friends after I meet them in person?
Thursday: Aide wants to drive to the ocean to collect seawater and sand (she tries to collect natural objects from places she visits. So we drive up Topanga Canyon Road -- it's a steep, windy, narrow mountain road -- like a little country village (very "hippy"). I'm impressed and heartened that in LA -- that ultimate embodiment of human artificiality -- Mother Nature still looms over all, and dwarfs us puny humans. We have to pull off to the side of the road often, though, while the impatient natives speed past us.
Later, I park myself in the lobby of the Airtel hotel, making eye contact with everyone who looks like they might be Who-ish, hoping that someone I knew would recognise my "CapriUni" shirt (with the same logo as the one I use here on LJ).
Then: Utter panic as I turn on my motorised wheelchair, and it shows no power (or very very little) coming from the battery. Flag down a hotel employee to manually push me back to the room.
Later, my aide pushes me back to the lobby in my manual chair (after taking me on a quick tour of the hotel I'm not really interested in). The crowds have now gathered (especially one in the middle of the lobby). I don't recognise anyone. But a few minutes later, a woman of medium / small build and long blonde hair says something to the effect of:
"Whee! Ann's here!" And comes over to give me a hug (so the shirt works!).
I respond along the lines of: "So glad to meet you! What screenname goes with your face?"
"WhiteQueen (![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
swiftangel)," says she, and goes off to meet others.
Soon, I have several people standing around me: Jack (SupremeDalek in #DWC), and a woman named Steph who, apparently, was a regular in #DWC before it switched to anime-chat (before my time).
The next thing I know,gordon_r_d is standing beside me, bending down to give me a one-armed hug around the shoulders, so I can't give him one of my powerhugs... but it's all good. Feels like we meeting for the dozenth time, instead of the first.
...Much later -- in the hotel bar, gathering before the traditional dinner at Denny's. But where isalryssa and mcganndoc? We can't leave without them... there is talk of organizing a S.W.A.T. team.
Then, they are sighted. Even if I hadn't seen pics of her face, I recognizealryssa by her manner, and the way she Squees. I get two hugs from her -- this is a woman who is clearly a hugging professional.
The trek to Dennys -- I'm being pushed in my manual chair (which has no seatbelt) bygordon_r_d, and the chair is also without its seat cushion, so I am down extra low -- my feet are only a few inches above the sidewalk... if my foot sags a little, I'll be thrown out of the chair... cars are whizzing by at highway speeds just inches to my left. ... I can't help thinking: *This* is walking distance?!!. But we get to the restaurant okay, and we share a table with whomiga and frobisher. I get to meet and hug judiang. I don't see theta_g arrive, but he surprises me with a hug from behind, and stays to chat with gordon_r_d for awhile.
Then, while others go to the discount store nearby for the wall-o-booze,gordon_r_d gets me back to the hotel (more white knuckles) and into my room, and gives me another one-armed hug.
Then, I get ready to collapse into bed, sure that my motor chair will be fully charged in the morning ... but will it? Stay tuned.
Wednesday: Arrive in LA a day early. No, we cannot book into our hotel room a until tomorrow. Book into the Best Western nearby. Yay! They have a wheelchair accessible shower! That night (or in the early morning just before waking) have vivid dream about meeting my friends and giving them all hugs. A good dream, but there is some anxiety hanging overhead: will the friends I made online still want to be my friends after I meet them in person?
Thursday: Aide wants to drive to the ocean to collect seawater and sand (she tries to collect natural objects from places she visits. So we drive up Topanga Canyon Road -- it's a steep, windy, narrow mountain road -- like a little country village (very "hippy"). I'm impressed and heartened that in LA -- that ultimate embodiment of human artificiality -- Mother Nature still looms over all, and dwarfs us puny humans. We have to pull off to the side of the road often, though, while the impatient natives speed past us.
Later, I park myself in the lobby of the Airtel hotel, making eye contact with everyone who looks like they might be Who-ish, hoping that someone I knew would recognise my "CapriUni" shirt (with the same logo as the one I use here on LJ).
Then: Utter panic as I turn on my motorised wheelchair, and it shows no power (or very very little) coming from the battery. Flag down a hotel employee to manually push me back to the room.
Later, my aide pushes me back to the lobby in my manual chair (after taking me on a quick tour of the hotel I'm not really interested in). The crowds have now gathered (especially one in the middle of the lobby). I don't recognise anyone. But a few minutes later, a woman of medium / small build and long blonde hair says something to the effect of:
"Whee! Ann's here!" And comes over to give me a hug (so the shirt works!).
I respond along the lines of: "So glad to meet you! What screenname goes with your face?"
"WhiteQueen (
swiftangel)," says she, and goes off to meet others.Soon, I have several people standing around me: Jack (SupremeDalek in #DWC), and a woman named Steph who, apparently, was a regular in #DWC before it switched to anime-chat (before my time).
The next thing I know,
gordon_r_d is standing beside me, bending down to give me a one-armed hug around the shoulders, so I can't give him one of my powerhugs... but it's all good. Feels like we meeting for the dozenth time, instead of the first....Much later -- in the hotel bar, gathering before the traditional dinner at Denny's. But where is
alryssa and mcganndoc? We can't leave without them... there is talk of organizing a S.W.A.T. team.Then, they are sighted. Even if I hadn't seen pics of her face, I recognize
alryssa by her manner, and the way she Squees. I get two hugs from her -- this is a woman who is clearly a hugging professional.The trek to Dennys -- I'm being pushed in my manual chair (which has no seatbelt) by
gordon_r_d, and the chair is also without its seat cushion, so I am down extra low -- my feet are only a few inches above the sidewalk... if my foot sags a little, I'll be thrown out of the chair... cars are whizzing by at highway speeds just inches to my left. ... I can't help thinking: *This* is walking distance?!!. But we get to the restaurant okay, and we share a table with whomiga and frobisher. I get to meet and hug judiang. I don't see theta_g arrive, but he surprises me with a hug from behind, and stays to chat with gordon_r_d for awhile.Then, while others go to the discount store nearby for the wall-o-booze,
gordon_r_d gets me back to the hotel (more white knuckles) and into my room, and gives me another one-armed hug.Then, I get ready to collapse into bed, sure that my motor chair will be fully charged in the morning ... but will it? Stay tuned.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2004-02-24 06:31 pm (UTC)Oh sure, keep us in suspsense!
"The suspense is terrible. I hope it will last." - Willy Wonka
no subject
Date: 2004-02-24 06:37 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-02-24 06:45 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-02-24 11:51 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-02-25 12:47 pm (UTC)Someone in #DWC the other night (I think it was Rich, but I'm not that sure of my memory) came up with a tee-shirt slogan for Ryssa: "Pounce Pending"... I think someone should make that for her... maybe I will... :-)
no subject
Date: 2004-02-29 02:59 pm (UTC)