24: Smalltown Rock

Me and Donn we got on our bikes and rode downtown to the corner store
Bought us some sodas some junkfood and rode around town, joking and laughing
Hung around the wall at the YMCA, saw everyone we knew
Took the dusty and root-studded paths through the woods
Nearly fell, deliberately jumped, crashed a few times
Summers in the small town, listening to the wonders of MTV and classic rock

And in the winters he and I broke out our long red plastic sleds
And hit the trails running like the olympians we pretended to be
Rode the slalom of Radcliffe Street and the halfpipe of Zigzag
Hit Suicide Hill, where we knew how to avoid all the trees
And stayed out all those hours, no matter how cold we got
Winters in the small town, listening to the wonders of MTV and classic rock

The times we all walked at night, knocking on windows of friends we knew
The football games in our backyards, the hockey games on the ice
The red rover games and the parties in our parents' garages
Our soundtrack supplied by local radio stations and our tape players
The sound of small town rock making those fun days last forever



(Inspired by VH1 Classic's 80s A-Z special from this weekend)

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[Writing] I suppose I should start somewhere...

I've just registered emmalyon and myself for FOGcon here in San Francisco, a smallish science fiction convention that aims to be on par with Wiscon or Readercon--not nearly as big as Worldcon, but decently sized and local...which is cool, since there really hasn't been any science fiction conventions in the area in awhile. They have a rough list of panels at the site that look to be filled with a lot of fun stuff, so I'm looking forward to it. And the fact that it's the easiest commute to get there doesn't hurt (1. leave apartment 2. take #1 bus to Van Ness Ave). It being a completely new con, I'm dearly hoping that, though it may not be a huge turnout, it won't be a complete failure. I like what I've read and seen about this one and am hoping the best for it.

That said, I've got a strong urge to actually sit in on a few panels. I don't mean sit in the audience quietly, but to take part in them. I've never done so before...when I first started going to Readercon in 2001 I wouldn't have entertained the thought, as I thought I was still a writer n00b at the time. Well, ten years down the line, four novels and plenty of projects later, I'd like to think I've improved significantly since then, even if I haven't had any novels professionally published yet (sure, I got paid for some articles for Vision and had an accidental sale to ZYZZYVA, but I mean aside from that). I'm thisclose from that last step, or at least I'd like to think that.

So...what do you think? Should I make that step and offer my services on some of these panels? I did see a few that sound like something up my alley that I think I could participate in, offer my own ideas and thoughts. Am I crazy to make this jump before I'm a full-fledged professional, or should I stop thinking things out so much and just shut up and do it?