I’m not sure how the hell I did it, but I managed to forget my laptop at home when I left for New Orleans last Thursday. Remember, I’m the Princess of Paranoia; I compulsively inspect my luggage, counting each item in the car to be sure I”m not leaving anything behind. Yet that day, my head was in some kind of fog; I didn’t notice the omission until after I had pickup up my rental car in Shreveport and was well on the way down the road. This, of course, will make me much more paranoid in the future; the rare occasion of my actually doing whatever it is I’m worried about doing acts to reinforce the paranoia. You can bet I will not be forgetting it when I leave for my Northwest tour a week from today!
Other than having to make do with online maintenance, though, it was a really good weekend. On Friday morning I met my little sister for breakfast, and we had a good long talk about family stuff. Then in the afternoon I went to the library to check my emails and Twitter, and I took my cousin Alan to dinner in the evening. Saturday was a long day, but a fruitful one; the Students for Liberty conference was excellent and the lineup of speakers very interesting. Some libertarian gatherings are dominated by people who seem more concerned with economic issues than anything else, but this was not one of them and the speaker lineup reflected that; the afternoon block was especially subversive, with my talk followed by Thaddeus Russell‘s and then Angela Keaton‘s a bit later. And I can assure you that whatever trees remained unshook when Thad Russell and I were done, were entirely cleared of loose branches and leaves by the time Angela put down the mike! After dinner there was a social, and then a house party at the organizers’ home; I borrowed Angela’s computer to finish Sunday’s “Links” column, then sat on the porch swing and fielded questions until after 1 AM.
It’s a good thing I don’t need a lot of sleep any more, because I had to get up early Sunday morning for breakfast with Thad Russell; we talked about future projects and then I took him on a short tour of the city before bringing him to the airport. After that, Denise was kind enough to allow me the use of her computer for several hours, during which time I was able to mostly catch up on my bookkeeping (though I was behind on my Twitter blog-promotion until this morning) and write the very column you’re reading. Then on Monday I drove home, and for the next week I’ll be busy trying to get as far ahead as I can in preparation for the next trip! Last but not least, my sincere thanks to the readers who sent me monetary gifts over the weekend; y’all covered my entire trip to New Orleans and left some for Chicago and Seattle! If anyone else would like to donate, just see the subscription box at right. Your donations not only help me in the practical sense, but also let me know that y’all appreciate my efforts and think my work is important enough to support; that moral support is every bit as vital as the financial.
