Orlando report, day one

Wow, that sounds like things have been eventful. Nothing of the sort. Flight was fine, hotel and conference check-in were fine. This is one of the nicest hotels I've ever stayed in. Aside from a king-sized bed that's super comfy, there's a laptop safe (yes, a safe with a plug in it to store my computer), every amenity (from bathrobes to four different soaps), three phones (with two lines), a CD clock/alarm, a snooze feature on wake-up calls (yay!), high-speed access. Gotta love it. And the hotel has a sushi bar and a Starbucks. Plus really good onion soup from room service (which is what I had last night, since I didn't feel like leaving the room again). Soup with a nice dry Jack, Romano, Swiss, and Gruyére. Yummy.

I watched Gilmore last night, and it was fun. Also finished Seven Wild Sisters on the trip down here, finished the variety Cryptic in the latest Games, and read about half of an Elmore Leonard book. Excitement city!

Anyway, I'll be away from email and the web most of the day, so I'll warn folks now that if you want me to see something, email me, as I'll never have time to fully catch up on LJ.

A Slut in Orlando

A Bookslut, that is. New issue is up, and I'm in it twice. First, there's my regular column, in which I bitch about horror adaptations (something I bitched about here a few weeks ago). That's followed by a decidedly mixed review of a new anthology edited by Kelly Link, whose editing skills, alas, don't compare to her writing skills (this book has two of the worst stories I've ever read in it, and that's including fanfic).

Of course, you should also read the rest of the issue, which includes an interview with divalea.

Orlando report, day 2

I've completed one of those quests that single guys on business trips always dream of: I got two hot women to come up to my hotel room.

Funny how one completely true sentence can still manage to obscure the facts. :-) Let me actually describe the day:

After waking up, I decided to skip the conference breakfast and eat at the hotel restaurant. The waitress informed me that the buffet was the best in town. At $15, I figured it had better me. Turned out she was right.

Folks, this place had a fucking gravlax bar as a part of the breakfast buffet. Along with regular smoked salmon. Lots of capers and onions to toss on it. I ate my money's worth in salmon alone. And then there was the perfect omelet (nice and fluffy, not burnt at all), the chocolate chip waffle, the bacon, the prosciutto, the fresh fruit, the unlimited coffee and fresh-squeezed OJ. Yum. Suffice to say, I ate enough to not eat lunch. :-)

I then hit the keynote (given by TV's Lou Dobbs!), and attended the conference. Went well -- the roadmap for FirstClass 8 looks amazing (although at least a year too late), and we had a two-hour bitch session with the developers. They're on the right track. I just hope they stay on target.

I then hit my room and caught an episode of Angel that I hadn't caught (the one where Wes pretends to be Angel, and nabs the hot redhead, from Season 2, I think), then let my brain really rot and watched a full episode of Charmed.

After lounging around for a bit, sunyata__ called, and told me that she and raptorgirl were en route. Half an hour later, I was downstairs, where I witnessed a savage near-attack on Sunyata__ by a revolving door. Once that was resolved, we headed to the hotel sushi bar (really the hotel lounge, so we got to eat while sitting on couches and comfy chairs), where they served us complimentary wasabi peas. Neither of the ladies had tried them before. I believe that sunyata__ handled the experience better than raptorgirl. We then ordered sushi, and quite enjoyed it. The food at this hotel, as you may have gathered, is way better than it has a right to be.

After a fun dinner (fun because of good conversation, of course -- sushi, no matter how good, is always better when eaten with friends), we headed downstairs, where sunyata__ got herself some ice cream, and I then took them up to my room, where they were both blown away by the view. And the bed. Yes, two of the sexiest women of Livejournal were on my bed tonight. I'm a lucky guy. :-)

After more fun conversation (what? I'm not that lucky!), they had to head back, so I walked down with them and we said our goodbyes.

After which I watched Karen Sisco. mmm, Carla Gugino.

Tomorrow, dinner with ijk and stronae. Friday, St. Petersburg with morenasangre and and farren. Yeah, if I've got to travel for business, this is the way to do it.

Bed now. Tired.