Monday, July 14, 2014

On Disappointment...

Mission: Success
Laurie's Journal

My big, sad news for the week? RWA Fail.

Let me clarify that does not in any way describe a failure on RWA's part.

The "fail" part is all mine...

A year ago, I made plans to attend Nationals in San Antonio after having to skip the conference in Atlanta due to demands of my day job. So for 2014, I ensured my leave time was slotted, my registration paid, our Golden Heart/RITA ceremony tickets bought (x2), The Golden Network Retreat registration booked, hotel reservations made, and my suitcase nearly packed, but...

Yeah, *sob* not going to happen.

It's dueling careers again, but this time it's not my day job that wrecked havoc on my plans, but my other job...raising Thoroughbreds.

Two days ago our barn managers (unexpectedly) resigned. And while we'd had a lot of issues with the level of care they were providing and so not a big problem to see them go as far as that aspect, the timing of their decision without the courtesy of giving us fair notice meant we're left with only one option...trying to find knowledgeable backup care at the height of vacation season. (And mainly feeling very uncomfortable about leaving the ranch for a week under these circumstances.)

This was a tough, gut-wrenching decision, but ultimately we had to recognize that RWA Nationals is just not in cards for us this year.

The writing is on the wall. It says: "You need to give this a pass."

Now comes the sad task of notifying my close peers and fellow Firebirds and Starcatchers who I had so looked forward to seeing again (including my co-blogger, Donna) that I'll be an absentee.

With all things writing, life just sometimes happens. (As my hero in The Outer Planets says in quoting John Lennon, "Life is what happens to us while we're busy making other plans.")

As writers, we learn to roll with the punches a lot, to accept disappointments and find a new path.

So it's sayonara, RWA, for 2014. I'll truly miss the experience and the camaraderie I was so looking forward to.

But it's time to pick myself up, dust myself off, and look ahead once more.

I may be scouting some other writers' or SF/R conferences this coming year, or possibly organizing a writer's retreat with a few close peers. To quote my favorite Vulcan, "There are always...possibilities."

Time to move on.

I just may have a very exciting announcement to make around the September 1st timeframe.

And it's looking to be a very busy fall and winter on the writing front.

Have a great week.

~~~ * ~~~


7 comments:

  1. So sorry to hear, Laurie! :( I hope you're able to recover some of the costs of the conference. AND I hope you're able to sort out your barn situation very soon.

    ReplyDelete
  2. That's really frustrating, was looking forward to connecting with you in real life, but I totally understand why you can't leave the horses just right now! Best wishes on finding the right person or persons to be the managers going forward.

    ReplyDelete
  3. That is the pits. Hope you get to a conference this year and connect with friends. I'm still plotting how to attend my first with my conflicts at the day job. Good luck to you :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks Sharon. I hope so too.

    Jean, sorry I won't get a chance to meet and chat with you in San Antonio. I was really looking forward to it.

    ReplyDelete
  5. So disappointed to not see you in San Antonio, Laurie, but just glad it's only an admin issue - as opposed to illness, accidents, floods, barn disasters, or any number of real problems. (Real problems are things money can't fix.) This is an "inconvenience" as opposed to a "problem." And speaking of money, I hope you can get reimbursed for some of the venues (I've heard waiting lists for all of them, so fingers crossed.)

    Okay, so you dust yourself off and treat the time off as a WRITERS' RETREAT and you write your brains out - guilt free - when you're not mucking out stalls, of course. All will be well.

    I am SO excited to hear your news "around September 1st." :-) Which means you will HAVE to come to New York in 2015, because big things will be a-foot. Good luck with your other conferences - YES, check them out.

    Sending a BIG cyber hug!!! And hope you get some good writing done next week!

    Hugs, Heather

    ReplyDelete
  6. I'm so sorry. Having had to give up on attending LonCon3 and so miss the highest international SciFi con when it's in my own home country, I can imagine how it feels. But like you say, we just have to pull up our big girl panties and move on. Hoping your September news will ease your disappointment!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Thanks for your thoughts, Michelle.

    Heather, so sorry we won't be able to catch up face-to-face, but at least we can still keep in touch via email and the loop!

    Thanks, Pippa. I know you've been there, too.

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for chiming in! We love to see your comments. (All comments are moderated so spam can be terminated!)