6:26 p.m. | 2003-10-07 It�s Gonna Get Hairy At JournalCon. Look out Austin, I�ll be headed your way in 10 days! I�m so totally STOKED! When my roomie and I aren�t busy being staring nervous geeks frantically trying to duct tape each others� drunken mouths shut, we�ll, apparently, be watching our hair fall out. My hair is always falling out. You can�t tell that by looking at me, but at some point, most people tend to notice that my hair ends up everywhere. My hair is long and straight, and according to hair stylists, it�s very fine, but I have A LOT of it. I�ve known for a long time that I could never commit a crime because I�d leave a trail of hair from the crime scene all the way to my home. Because, that�s probably where I�d go after I broke the law because� I don�t know � where else would I go? I could never be �the other woman� either because I�d leave a lovely collar of hair all over the cheating son of a bitch. When my hair isn�t in my face, it�s on furniture, countertops, floors, etc. However, it�s stealthy. I probably lose a fistful of hair a day, but not all at once. One by one, strands desert my head � probably trying to get away from my wacky mind � and leave evidence of my presence. With Trance and I both shedding, there�s no telling what our hotel room is gonna look like. Or what the maid will be thinking. As Dearest Sister is the only person who knows I have an online diary or that I even read online diaries, it�s been a little tough to explain the whole JournalCon thing. And, to subdue my excitement. Mostly I�m avoiding the topic or downplaying it. I did need to ask for a couple of days off though. This is that. (CI:) Hey Boss, is it okay if I take October 17 and 20 off? (Boss:) Sure. Why? (CI:) I�m going to Texas. (Boss:) Texas? Why in the world would you go there? (CI:) I�m going to a Writer�s Conference. (Boss:) Oh, okay. A couple of weeks later, I reminded her that I was taking those days off. At the time, Boss, Colleague and I were walking to lunch. Here�s that. (CI:) Boss, don�t forget that I�m taking a couple of days off this month. (Boss:) Oh yeah. (Colleague:) What? You�re taking time off? Are you going somewhere? (Boss:) Yeah, she�s going somewhere. Where are you going Cruel-Irony? Oklahoma? Arizona? (CI:) Texas. (Boss:) Oh, that�s right. She�s going to Texas. (Colleague:) What? That�s great! But why would you go to Texas? (CI:) Uh, I�m going to a Writer�s Conference. (Colleague:) What�d you do at a �Writer�s Conference�? And, don�t say �write�. (CI:) Um, well, you know� conference stuff. Like workshops and such. Listen to speakers. Talk to people about, uh, writing. Meet other writers. (Colleague:) People who write books? (CI:) Yes. And people who write other stuff. (Colleague:) What�s the purpose? (CI:) Uh, to learn to write better. Learn about different kinds of writing and such. (Boss:) You better not be going there to see someone you met online. (CI:) No, it�s not like that at all. No, indeed. Not like that at all. However, I know that she�s thinking I met some man online and I�m really going to Texas to see �him�. But, I�m not. I�m going to Texas to see some of you. In fact, I wish you were all going to JournalCon. And, I must say that it helps that I write for a living because no one has wondered why I�d go all the way to Texas for something that sounds as exciting as a writer�s conference. Personally, I�m thrilled out of my brain! I finally have somewhere to go and I don�t have a damn thing to wear. But, who cares? I�m going to JournalCon. Yay! your thoughts? seed flower