Here she comes to save the day...!

...well, not really. Have you ever tried to save the day in heels? Yeah...good luck with that.

I'm off to one of the best indie conferences in the NY area--I can't help but have a soft spot in my Gatekeeper heart for them as, two years ago, they were my first conference gig--to speak on an early-morning (9 am on a Saturday--and 45 mins travel time! Geez! Don't they know we're writers?!) "What it's like to work with an agent" panel. Last year, there was a panelist who said, "There's no point in having an agent, no point in traditional publishers--they don't want your work anyway/just want to steal all your money/are only interested in celebrity books," so we got a lot of follow-up questions in our panel. Today, we're top of the bill, first thing after the bagels and welcome, so I'm hoping we can set them on a good path for the rest of the day.

Here's my Saturday:

6:37 am: wake up in a panic: is that my special alarm or my normal alarm, which would mean the panel's already started?! Yikes!

7:30 am: hop on subway, hope for the best.

9:00 am: agent panel

10:00-10:30: chat with writers post-panel

10:45-2:30: frantically shop for birthday present (see below) or, at the very least, easiest-sangria-in-the-world recipe (red wine + orange juice + sugar/simple syrup if you have it + very fizzy seltzer + slices of pretty fruit + clear glass carafe that can survive a subway ride). I do hope I'll have enough time/presence of mind, so that I don't end up slicing  fruit on the subway. That would be awkward.

3:30: birthday party #1 in Prospect Park--a picnic for my new friend from Prague

6:00: cocktail reception at the indie conference.

6:30/7: birthday #2, for the same friend who had us making the fancy wedding invite envelopes with liners (see several posts down). Do I have a present yet? Why, no. I kept waiting to see if inspiration would strike and I'd know just what to get her. Here's hopin.'

Happy Saturday, everyone!