Monday was fairly laid-back, with attendees registering, picking up their badges, and wandering around the vendor hall. An impressive variety of industry vendors were in attendance, including Amazon, where Miss D. and I publish our books. Their representative promised to help sort out a technical glitch still affecting Miss D.'s first book, and we look forward to results soon. Also, one of the developers of the Vellum publishing software was in attendance, and had lots of news on new upgrades and tools. As an enthusiastic Vellum customer, I'm very interested to see how they're constantly improving the package.
There were a few workshops during the afternoon, but nothing that particularly interested me. I've bookmarked several panels and presentations later in the week. Some are here for advice on creative input, preparation for publication, etc., but I'm mainly interested in how to use my time better and improve my output. As regular readers will know, my physical condition isn't great, and I lose a lot of time to pain and other factors. That has a very serious impact on my ability to write without interruption and produce output timeously. I want to talk to other authors (particularly those with similar health issues) and listen to presentations on how to organize my time effectively around such problems. If I can get that right, I may be able to produce books much more consistently and regularly, which all helps with keeping food on the table and a roof over our heads. Here's hoping!
My mobility limitations and pain issues will almost certainly prevent me seeing much of Las Vegas. I'll hang out at the hotel and conference center, and walk (slowly, with a stick!) around a couple of neighboring malls, but that's about it. I thought about renting a mobility scooter for the duration, but they're very expensive in a tourist trap like Vegas, and I doubt I'll get enough use from one to cost-justify hiring it. (On the other hand, if my wife and I got a matched pair of scooters, disconnected the speed governors, and drove madly up and down the shopping malls side by side, I daresay we might build up an impressive casualty list! Being Vegas, we might even be able to charge admission... However, given how mean she was about another of my suggestions on an earlier vacation to the Gulf shore, she may not take kindly to this one, either.) I may take the monorail that runs around the city, just to see the sights from the track, but I won't be more adventurous on this trip. Miss D. has her own physical limitations, so for both of us, the availability of pain-killers is likely to be a critical factor in the success (for us) of this conference.
We had to smile at the presence of not just one, but two "oxygen bars" in the hotel. I'd heard of them, but never before run into one. After our experience driving at altitude through parts of New Mexico and Arizona, we might just give one a try, to see if it helps us acclimatize faster. Have any readers used them? Any advice or opinions to offer? Please let us know in Comments. (Remember, thanks to spammers, comment moderation is in effect, so it may be a while before your comment appears on the blog.)
Finally, a word about my alternative blog site. It's almost ready, apart from copying over the last couple of weeks' posts. If you want to take a look at it, go to https://bayourenaissanceman.com , but keep this site bookmarked as my primary site until I advise that I'm finally making the change. I won't be finished with all the format tweaking and behind-the-scenes setup for a few weeks, but I can already switch over there if this site is blocked for another violation of Google's "community standards" (a.k.a. politically-correct propaganda). You might want to bookmark that URL as an alternate address for me, just in case.
More tomorrow, God willing.
Peter
6 comments:
I use a walker that looks very similar to this one pictured on eBay:
Heavy Duty Extra Wide Bariatric Rollator Rolling Walker with Padded Seat.
I'm planning on getting another and modifying it with "keeled sand floats" so I can walk on the beach.
I had been planning on using a stick, but my doc forbid it; he said I needed the lateral stability a walker provides. I argued at first, now I realize he'a absolutely correct.
An oxygen bars' main purpose is to mitigate hangovers. It can also help with regular headaches. Las Vegas is at 2200 feet, so you should not need an altitude adjustment.
If you overindulge at a regular bar, drinking water and breathing oxygen will help. I wouldn't bother otherwise.
"After our experience driving at altitude through parts of New Mexico and Arizona, we might just give one a try, to see if it helps us acclimatize faster. Have any readers used them? Any advice or opinions to offer?"
Save your money for a real bar. Las Vegas, NV is at 2,000' elevation. Is you survived the higher elevations getting there you don't need to do any acclimatizing now that you are there.
Son sent hubby and I to Vegas as a Christmas present. Couple days in we were so tired but put it down to 'travel fatigue'. Water and more Water. Drink twice the amount you normally do. Son who loves heat, will play golf in Vegas 100 heat and thinks it's great. But he said he always increases the amount of water he drinks.
Yep, hydrate, hydrate, and hydrate!!! Enjoy what you can.
If you can, try and meet author Kris Rusch. Her “Writing With Chronic Illness” has been helpful. She and her hubby Dean Wesley Smith live in Las Vegas.
Post a Comment