This was a particularly bittersweet weekend, now that I look back on it.

Saturday was Montreal’s F/SF convention, and it was glorious to be back in the midst of adult geekdom. I saw people I hadn’t seen in years, talked SF talk I hadn’t heard from my own lips in ages. The main difference between working with the occult community is that people come into a store asking you to save their lives and solve their problems. In the SF book community, the worst thing that happens is they bore you with all the details of a story.

I met two wonderful authors whom I’d never met before, and spent time with two others I had met way back when I was still working at the F/SF bookshop. I met famous artists and other funky retailers (let’s face it, a convention is for networking as well as enjoying). And I counted at least six NaNo participants who ought to have been at home writing. Okay, three of us were working, but still. And there were probably more that I didn’t recognise on sight.

I had to field repeated eager queries regarding our defunct F/SF bookstore, which was the bitter part. It closed three and a half years ago due to loss of customer base to the big box stores like Indigo and Chapters. We resurrected the store sign to hang next to the author signing table for the duration of the convention, and while it was a terrific idea, it dredged up all sorts of cry-in-your-beer feelings among ex-staff and customers alike.

I’ve been struggling with that cold for about five days now, and medication made me foolishly think that my vivacious rosy-cheeked healthy appearance at the convention was a reflection of reality. To my deep disappointment I awoke on Sunday feeling like someone had pummeled me all night and poured sand into my mouth. I was stiff all over, and the sinus congestion, hoarse voice and runny nose were present once again.

If I’d been able to stay home on Sunday it would have been ideal. I had a rehearsal for one orchestra and a concert for the other, however, so off I went. We’ve lost yet another cello in my new orchestra, so they put me in the second chair next to the principal, which scared the hell out of me. I’ve had the music for two weeks and frankly, I suck. I was feeling dreadful as I packed up after rehearsal when one of the other cellists stopped me and said that if our mythical replacement cellist didn’t arrive for the dress rehearsal and concert, she’d sit in the second chair. I fell over myself thanking her. She proceeded to give me a lovely pep talk, telling me that I was doing just fine, that it was difficult to come into any group a couple of weeks before performance, and to do so when the piece was the Elgar was even more difficult. She was absolutely darling, and so genuine that I walked away feeling much better. On top of that, they’ve asked me if I’d be interested in playing Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with them in February, and of course I said yes.

My husband had baked peanut butter cookies and prepared a roast beef dinner for me, so I was fed and warmed for a bit before we dashed off to my LCO concert. I have to say that this was the unexpected highlight of the day, and definitely among the top three performances the orchestra has pulled off in the last couple of years. It was thrilling, absolutely thrilling, and it’s unfortunate that we had only a half house. My stand partner turned to me and said, “Seems like this will be one of those nights where the performers outnumber the audience.” “They call this intimate,” I told him with a grin. We blew them away, and it’s a pity that more people couldn’t be there for it. Heck, even I didn’t want to be there: I wanted a warm bath, candles, bed, and cats. I felt completely energised when we left, though, a switch from the dragging reluctance I’d experienced on the way in. Kudos to Ceri and my husband for making it out to support us. At least we have proof that the night was stunningly successful on the artistic front, if not the financial front.

So yes, my overall weekend was quite bittersweet. Good things; painful things. I haven’t added to my NaNo word count since last Tuesday. Ceri’s coming over for another round of dueling laptops today, and I’m hoping to double my current total. I’ve lost five days due to work and illness, although I’ve been writing in my notebook at bus stops and so forth. I have major catching up to do. It will be nice to sit and create as opposed to running about like a mad thing. Lots of tea, more peanut butter cookies, and a hot tasty supper will go a long way towards kicking this cold, too.