Day 5 At Fantasia Fair

The Tourists by Chaim Gross

Yesterday was another day that I didn’t do anything, the keynote talk was by Trace Peterson on poetry which was after lunch. Lunch at the fair is paid for and you have a choice of two or three restaurants and I like Bayside Betsy’s the best and that is where I had lunch.

I wish that I paid a little more attention to the schedule because in the morning they had a tour of the Pirate Museum that would have liked to attend and there wasn’t any other workshops that I was interested in. I ended up polishing up a presentation that I am giving next week and napping in the afternoon. One of the things that you do a lot at the Fair is walking, I have been to other conferences but they are in one hotel and you never leave the hotel, but here you end up walking all over town and if you are not used to walking it can take a lot out of you.

The first time I attended the Fair was way back in 2000, and I came up for just for the long weekend and didn’t register for the FF. Back then you could just buy tickets for the evening events and I only attended the Follies Friday night and the banquet Saturday night.  Back then I was like a deer caught in your headlights, it was the very first time that I was dressed as Diana out in public for more than a brief excursion.

But what I wanted to write about today was not that first time but what went on back home. I wasn’t “out” to anyone so at work I had to tell little white lies to explain my little trips up to Provincetown, however, I could say I was going to P’town because everyone knew that was where all the “gays” went for vacation. So I made up two stories one for work (I going up to my brother’s to help him paint.) and one for my family (I’m going to a computer conference in Boston)

So those little lies created another problem, my family wanted my contact information and the area code is different than Boston’s. A friend bailed me out, she told me to use her cell phone number and to say that the hotel charged too much for phone calls. When I got home I went out and bought my own cell phone.

Times have changed, I am out or as Miqqi Gilbert “I am OUT!”

Yesterday morning I submitted two workshop proposals, one for the True Colors conference and one for the NASW conference, and confirmed a presentation for the Norwich city employees.