M. Giant's
Velcrometer
Throwing stuff at the internet to see what sticks


Wednesday, June 27, 2012  

About this time last year, I went to a thing called Renaissance Weekend. The easiest way to describe it was like a Dos Equis commercial times several hundred, because there were that many of the most interesting men and women in the world there. Don’t ask me how I got invited because I still don’t know.

A couple of weeks before last year’s event, I got an email listing my “assignments” for the weekend. The thing about it is that with so many eminent participants like astronauts, inventors, politicians, scientists, entrepreneurs, time travelers, and me, they don’t bring in speakers. The participants are the speakers. Or panelists, or moderators, or whatever. I figured they’d ease me in for my first one.

So imagine my shock last year when I got the email saying i’d be delivering a lecture. A lecture. I immediately sent Trash a text reading “ZOMG I HAVE TO DO A LECTURE!!!” And then freaked out for the next three weeks. In my defense this was before I knew that a) my “lecture” could be a laid-back, relaxed discussion with about ten other people in a small room, or that b) nobody texts “ZOMG” any more.

It ended up going really well, and I was not only invited back, I was given the opportunity to invite a couple of other people for next time. Knowing as many brilliant, accomplished people as I do (yes, I mean you), that was a tough decision, but one of them ended up being our old friend BuenaOnda, who will be joining us at the conference when we go back in a couple of weeks. I wish she were as nervous now as I was this time last year, but I fear it is not so.

But back to the assignments. I was hoping for more low-pressure gigs this year, and was glad to see that most of what I’m doing is panelisting, which even I was able to handle. Only one of my assignments is out of my comfort zone.

I’m a co-leader of a morning run/walk.

This was a bit of a curve ball, what with my sedentary writer’s life keeping me about as active as slime mold. But I was still hopeful. The fact that I’m a co-leader means that by definition there’s at least one other co-leader, right? I figured I would lead the walk and leave the other lucky individual, whoever it was, to lead the run.

You guessed it: my co-leader is BuenaOnda.

I’ll be the first to admit that she’s in much better shape than I am, but that said...well, we used to hang out a lot. She even lived with us for a while. And I’m pretty sure the most athletic thing we’ve ever done together was when we helped her move. As for any fitness habits she may or may not pursue alone, I’m not aware of them. Other than the fact that she recently quit smoking.

So I’ve rapidly taken up the habit of walking around the lake, daily when possible. I also suggested BuenaOnda brush up on her running so she could take the other half of the task. I won’t bore you with the details of our private correspondence, but her response read, in part, “HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!”

At least I've been adjusting my internal clock to prepare for the early start. It's scheduled to begin at 7:30, so I’ve been making sure to be up by that time very morning.

Pacific Time, that is. There’s no need to go crazy.

posted by M. Giant 6:43 PM 1 comments

1 Comments:

It was a delight to meet you at RW jeff and multi-talented you are way to modest... perhaps why you got invited... since so many there shared those attributers

By Blogger KareAnderson, at July 9, 2012 at 4:05 PM  

Post a Comment


Listed on BlogShares www.blogwise.com
ads!
buy my books!
professional representation
Follow me on Twitter
donate!
ads
Pictures
notify
links
loot
mobile
other stuff i
wrote
about
archives