I left New Hampshire yesterday at 6:30 AM. On the way out the door I noticed the roof of the small wooden garbage shack on the front porch had been torn off, rather cleanly, might I add. I woke Brendan and Kate, and we instantly decided it was the work of the mama bear we had seen with her two cubs the day before, frolicking down by the entrance to the path to the beaver pond. “You’ve got a bear,” I said. They agreed. I declared it The Summer of the Bear, and then I left.
Six and half hours later I was at Stefan’s house, where I had approximately two hours to further enjoy my vacation high before I went into the city to immerse myself in the tragedy that is BEA. I went to the Half King for a few hours, where I got to see Timmy Schaffert, in from Omaha. That was awesome because Timmy is awesome. I really like him so much. Jen Gilmore – so glamorous and funny, that lady – joined us. And then there were lots of publishing type of people showing up at the Half King all at once. There was a party in the back of the bar, but also a lot of people were going to the People party down the block, which is where we went, Jen taking me along as her date.
The party was fancy: you had to have your name on the list and it was in this amazing two-story apartment with a view of the Highline. Jane Lynch was there and it was hard not to look at her because she is tall and gorgeous and awesome, and is very obviously smart and also a chronic compliment-giver, not that I was eavesdropping in the elevator or anything. (I was eavesdropping in the elevator.) There was also this massive deck which I could not stand on for too long because the wind kept blowing up my dress. And handsome young waiters were serving the tiniest appetizers I have ever seen in my entire life. They were like dollhouse appetizers. (They kind of reminded me of this.) I kept trying to figure out the correlation between the size of the appetizers and the fanciness of the party. I was certain there was some sort of theorem, and it was being proved at that exact moment. Obviously, I was super focused on the appetizers.
I did meet some really nice people, but it was weird just to talk to anyone after not really saying very much out loud for a week. I discussed my book a little bit, which I am just learning how to talk about because I’ve only just finished it. (“It’s about Midwestern Jews.” Well, that’s true I guess.) I saw a bunch of people I liked last night, and only one person I didn’t, which is actually pretty good for a BEA night out on the town.
Gosh, I know some people are really working it at BEA, hustling at the convention center all day, party-hopping at night. I have a hard time with it. And I worry a little bit that my fixation on the appetizers (and all the other little things, as opposed to the big picture) will be the end of my career but really for real? They were for babies, these appetizers.
I did try the mini grilled cheese sandwiches though, and they were delicious.
