CruiseTrek — Day 2

Day 2: Sunday June 1, 2003, 8:04 a.m. HST
Honolulu Hawaii
The convention yesterday was fantastic. It was small — about 300 people — but that seemed to be the perfect number of fans. I brought 20 copies of Dancing Barefoot with me, and sold them all!! Many people came over to me and told me that they read my site, and wanted to get my book. One guy told me that my site was “some of the best writing on the Internet.” 🙂
At most conventions, it’s always such a giant CF, and this was really different. When it was my turn to take the stage, rather than do the typical Q&A thing, I just read some of my stuff: The Trade, from Just A Geek, and a previously unpublished selection from SpongeBob Vegas Pants that’s in Dancing Barefoot. The audience seemed to enjoy themselves, despite the cellphone that kept ringing, and the guy who thought it was really entertaining to constantly shoot at me with the laser gun, complete with loud “zzzaaapp!” sound effects.
After the Con, Anne and I walked on the beach, (there’s a lot of that in Hawaii) and changed for a Bon Voyage Luau that Cruise Trek and Geek Cruises were throwing. I am not a big fan of luaus, but I had a nice time, and gorged myself on sweet potatoes and guava juice.
Thanks to jet lag, Anne I I fell asleep at 9:30 p.m., while the strains of “She Love You” exploded up from beneath our balcony, played by a Beatles cover band. Thankfully, 39 stories between us and Anne’s sleep cocoon (ear plugs and an eye mask) ensured a good night’s sleep.