Washington D.C., It’s Paradise to Me
Today I take off for glorious Washington DC. I’ve the Magnetic Fields song of the same name playing on a perpetual loop in my brain (It’s not the way they put folks on the moon, no no no) and a schedule that could be called either hectic or undeniably insane. Oh, just a sec…. let me show you picture of it…

Doesn’t look too bad to you? Fine. Here’s the itinerary as I wrote it out today (with some alterations, of course):
Thursday 6/21
5:00 p.m. – Flee NYC
Friday 6/22
10:00 – Do the Convention Hall while I can.
3:00 – Dinner with Newberyites
7:00 – Join friends at gay cowboy bar (apparently this is the thing to do in D.C.)
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Saturday 6/23 –
10:00 – Get up.
12:30 – Lunch w/Scholastic
3:30-5 – Martin Luther King Library (D.C. Public Library) for Mitali Perkins book party. Kidlit Drink Night?
6:30 – Dinner with S&S
Sunday 6/24 –
9:30 – Breakfast with cool author.
12:00 – Lunch with Random House
7-10:30 p.m. – Newbery Banquet.
10:30 – 11:30 – Post dinner reception and receiving line.
Monday 6/25 –
9:00 (?) Breakfast with one editor.
11:30 – Meet with different editor.
2:00 – Do Convention Hall one last time.
Tuesday 6/26 –
Go home.
*pant pant pant*
You know, I’ve never been to DC before. I don’t think I’ll have a lot of time to sightsee, but hopefully a landmark or two will whizz past my window as I zip from place to place. Today will consist of running to Greenwich Village on a secret errand, throwing clothing that vaguely resemble dresses in my husband’s overlarge suitcase, and trying to make it to Vamoose. If you’re going to go to DC, why not find a bus system that advertises itself with a logo of a bus wearing moose horns? It’s just good common sense, it is.
Want to see something funny? Check out the weather forcast for DC. Unless this changes significantly between when I see it and when you see it, there’s some nasty stuff scheduled to land on Saturday and Sunday. And guess who can’t find her umbrella these days? Me! Me!
Here’s the good news: Unlike Blogger, the current blog program I’m using allows me to post messages from BEYOND THE GRAVE!!! If by "grave" we mean "while I’m in a foreign city". So I’ll still have stuff cropping up this week. Not a lot of stuff, mind you. Just enough to keep you on your toes. Everyone has noticed by now that the Atherton ad is gone, right? Well, if I don’t have at least a little confirmation that the RSS feed is in the works by the time I return, drastic steps will be taken. You have been warned.
Tomorrow: Quest for the Red Dress: The Final Chapter.
Stay tuned, gentle readers.
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About Betsy Bird
Betsy Bird is currently the Collection Development Manager of the Evanston Public Library system and a former Materials Specialist for New York Public Library. She has served on Newbery, written for Horn Book, and has done other lovely little things that she'd love to tell you about but that she's sure you'd find more interesting to hear of in person. Her opinions are her own and do not reflect those of EPL, SLJ, or any of the other acronyms you might be able to name. Follow her on Twitter: @fuseeight.
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Dinner at 3PM? What is that —- Dunch? Linner?
Are those gay cowboys’ poetic by any chance?
What, you don’t sup at 3:00 everyday? How on earth would you fit in that necessary fourth meal of the day then?
Yeah, it’s a tid bit early. Apparently there’s an award thingy thing that night so earlier is preferable. You can bet that by the time I hang out with the gay cowboys I’ll start hitting them up for anything slightly food related.
Alas, Fuse #8…. the exhibit hall doesn’t open until Saturday.
Here’s a reason to get up before 10 on Saturday: I’m signing books at the Abrams booth (1700) at 9:00 a.m. I’d love to see you, especially if you bring coffee! Also, I hear there will be a kidlit drinks nite… perhaps I’ll even know details by then.
Hey, Betsy, I am heading down to ALA to sign on Saturday. Stop by and say hello if you get a chance. BTW, where is this Gay Cowboy Bar? I am totally into anything Cowboy, gay or otherwise. After all, I just had a Hoedown…
Welcome to D.C., Betsy!!
If you don’t have a place scheduled for your Saturday night dinner, may I suggest Zaytinya, right across from the MLK library? It has fabulous food, mainly mezze with Turkish and Greek origins.
Hi Betsy! I just got word that your RSS feed will be up as soon as tomorrow. Will let you know ASAP. Have fun in DC!
RSS Feed up tomorrow!!!!! WOO-HOO!!!! Oh, I’m so very very very excited. That is great news, Dan. Thanks so much.
Thanks for the dinner suggestion, Genevieve, but I am booked indeed already for that time. Only now I’m hankering for some Greek. Mmmmm. Hummus.
Wish I knew what the gay cowboy bar was, Ms. Newman. It’s all a mystery to me. I’m just going to let my faithful native D.C. guide shuffle me about.
The exhibit hall doesn’t open until Saturday? Criminey. Just my luck. Guess I’ll have to see the sights or something. Hm.
Erica, I’ll try to stop by but 9:00 is mighty early. Still, it’ll probably be one of the few times I have a moment to get on the floor if it’s not open on Friday (growl grumble). We shall see…
Thanks a lot.. now I have the Magnetic Fields song stuck in my head, too. And thanks to the gay cowboy bar reference, I’ve also got “Papa Was a Rodeo” running on the same loop.
Hey, you are walking the STACKS Monday at 2:00? I’ll be signing then at the Albert Whitman Booth. Please wave as you rush by.
librarian/ writer
did you go to any programs?