Waiting for the rain

My niece took the above photo of me during a visit to the cottage this summer. A storm was coming, and I sat on the dock looking out across the lake at the gathering clouds. I love thunderstorms, as long as I know I can get inside somewhere warm and dry when I want to.



I've updated both My Life In A Nutshell and Will Write For Chocolate this past week. I've posted Nutshell above.

I'd Blather more, but Jeff and I are going out for a walk. Hope you're all having a great weekend!



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Sleep clinic results and power naps

I had my follow-up appointment at the Toronto Sleep Institute earlier this week, where Dr. Shaw discussed the results of my overnight sleep study visit.

Basic summary: There's no obvious physiological reason explaining why my sleep feels so fragmented.

Apparently it took me 14 minutes to fall asleep, which is normal. And surprising, really, considering I was wired up from head to foot.

I got more REM sleep and slow-wave sleep than is the norm but somewhat less total sleep time (5.7 hrs real sleep out of 7 hours). I don't have sleep apnea or unusual PLM (Periodic Limb Movements). I'm told that I sometimes snore when I'm on my back, but that it's intermittent and "mild in intensity."



These days, I generally cope with tiredness during the day by:

(1) Going outside and doing something active. Time-consuming if I've already been out earlier in the day and have tons of work, and doesn't always help with the tiredness.

(2) Taking a 20 minute power nap.

I used to feel immensely guilty doing the latter during my workday, especially since I know those with office jobs don't have this option, but I always find that it improves my productivity and alertness for the rest of the day.



In addition trying to get to bed earlier (I seem to wake up around 6:30 am no matter what), I'm also going to ramp up my exercise somewhat. Right now I go out and do some walking on hilly terrain (with an occasional run, depends on how my knees handle it) about five times a week. I need to aim for EVERY day again.

I've nearly made it to Cleveland, OH in my virtual walk, by the way! I'm sure I'd be going faster if I could accurately all the walking I do elsewhere (trails at the cottage, etc.), but right now I'm just recording the km/miles I walk specifically for exercise and when I remember to take my fancypants pedometer.

Though I recently bought a pedometer app for my iPhone which seems to do exactly the same thing as my fancypants pedometer, so I may eventually be selling the latter.



I also use my iPhone for waking me from my power naps; setting the clock alarm app to wake me with harp music. Have I mentioned how much I -love- my iPhone?

If you're interested in finding out more about power naps, here are some useful resources:

Power Nap Resources:

Lifehacker: A Guide To Power Napping

10 Benefits Of Power Napping

New Scientist: Power Naps Boost Work Performance

Dumb Little Man: How To Boost Your Afternoon Energy With A Power Nap

KnowHR: Power Naps Are Good For Your Employees

USAToday: Companies Try To Help Workers Sleep More





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Fan Expo 2008 (part 2)

I've heard people complain about the commercial-run sf conventions like Fan Expo, and I can sympathize. The first thing you see when you arrive is a huge room of things to buy; the room is strategically arranged so that in order to get to any of the programming areas, you have to make your way past aisles and aisles of vendors hawking their goods.



Yes, the emphasis is on making money rather than community, but the money they make at these events helps pay for big media names like Sean Astin and Brent Spiner (pictured above). And many other well-known names in sf, comics, gaming, horror and anime.

Fan Expo is really a bunch of conventions in one, with separate programming for each theme (comics, sf, etc.). And costumes...TONS of costumes. Sometimes it seemed as if more people had costumes than not.



At first I felt nervous asking costumed people if I could take photos of them, but quickly found that no one minded.



In fact, it was clear that they WANTED to be photographed. Some of the groups were already used to being asked by the time I got to them, and immediately fell into their "official" poses:



Fan Expo was a photographer's dream. :-)

I loved all the colours, the wild hair, the different looks. In terms of people-watching, it was ideal as well as tons of fun.



There were times that I felt a bit overwhelmed by all the crowds and the "BUY BUY BUY" message, but all I had to do was focus on a smaller community or make my own within the weekend, and I started having fun again.

Like playing some games in the boardgaming area, for example:



I played three games on Friday: Men and Martinis (wasn't crazy about this game), Cover Up (pictured above, really enjoyed this game) and Star Wars Miniatures (was too much of a straight 'kill the other guys' game for me). Also got to know some people from the Toronto boardgaming society as well as Polymancer Studios (the latter told me they sometimes need artists, so who knows?).



Enjoyed chatting with some of the creators in Artists' Alley, like BenjaminRivers.com. I bought and enjoyed his graphic novel, Snow.



I also had fun talking with other people in line-ups. I took the photo above on my iPhone (we were lining up for Brent Spiner's Q&A) and e-mailed it to Jeff with a "happy anniversary" message from everyone in the picture. :-D



And I enjoyed chatting with Kristen, one of my line mates while waiting for Sean Astin's Q&A.



By the way, I was only kidding when I said people mistook me for John Kalisz when I watched his table at the convention. :-)



My Fan Expo highlights:

- Dinner with John at Fresh (Spadina & Queen location). The more I get to know John, the more I like him. I also learned more about the comics industry and comic-making process from John during the weekend.

- Q&A session with Sean Astin. Seems like a really nice guy, very down-to-earth and a tad shy. I posted a bit more about his Q&A at Waiting For Bilbo.

- Q&A session with with Brent Spiner. Excellent speaker. He would be a great stand-up comedian! Hugely entertaining, and he does a great impression of Patrick Stewart. :-)



I mentioned yesterday that some of the guests were charging $60 an autograph. It seems that most of the guests charged $25-30, not $60. Buzz Aldrin charged $239 for an autograph and a seat at a special presentation.

A comment from Tanya Huff on charging money for autographs:

"About charging money for autographs; the thing is though, authors sort of do. If you're asking me to sign a hardcover, you've already paid the $30. Now you might have only paid $1 for a used copy of a paperback or you might just be asking me to sign a program book but in the end, I suspect it evens out. When I do a signing, I am, among other things, honouring the money that's already been spent on me that I've used, in turn, to pay my bills.

As actors only really have their image to sell and their image is how they make their living... Not that some of them need the extra money but I suspect it's more retaining control of product for the more successful than about the actual cash."


A table of free comics!



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Fan Expo 2008 (part 1)

Jeff and I were married exactly 17 years ago today! We're going out for a nice dinner tonight. :-)



Fun and busy weekend. I've been spending most of my time at Fan Expo 2008 at the Metro Convention Centre.

Our friend John Kalisz (pictured above, with Jeff) stayed at our place last night; he's one of the featured artists this year. I briefly manned his table for him yesterday; many passersby mistook me for John and I had to gently correct them.



Fan Expo is very different from the much smaller fun-run conventions I usually attend. For one thing, the guests don't tend to charge $30-60 an autograph or for a photo op at fan-run conventions.

I'll talk more about my first experience at Fan Expo soon (positive and negative), but I'm taking off in a few minutes to go back to the convention.



Looking forward to hearing Q&A sessions with Brent Spiner as well as Sean Astin this afternoon. You can see some of the photos I've been taking in my Flickr set.

Hope you're all having a great weekend!




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