Another Storm

We had another storm this past weekend -- well, actually, this past Wednesday and Thursday --which dropped another foot or so of snow. The storm a week ago was respectable, but nothing special, except that every kind of winter weather has become special in the past few years. The storm Wednesday and Thursday was the real McCoy with impressive winds and driving, drifting snow. You could look down a city street and realize the buildings two blocks away were no longer visible. I-90 to South Dakota was closed, as was I-35 to Iowa. The police warned people not to travel anywhere in southern and western Minnesota, since there was no way of knowing if emergency vehicles could reach them, if anything happened. Up in Duluth, they had wind off Lake Superior and fifteen foot drifts. Schools closed. Government offices closed. The University of Minnesota main campus closed, which rarely happens.

It was mostly over by last Friday, when I went to the MarsCon, a local science fiction convention. I was there as the writer guest of honor. The con has a respectable literary track, but the real center of the convention – its heart – is media fandom and costuming and gaming and quite amazing music. I had not realized that Dr. Demento’s radio show had produced a whole school of music. The con had a track of weird, funny musicians performing weird, funny songs.

I enjoyed myself – especially discovering the weird music, but I was tired the whole weekend. I’m not sure why, though I have a cousin with health problems on the west coast, and I’m flying out to see her. Maybe the prospect of the trip was tiring.

I’m going out for a long weekend. The following week I fly to Fort Lauderdale for the International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts, where I plan to spend all my time relaxing by the pool