Arisia report, day 2

After not quite six hours of sleep--far less than I needed but more than I've been getting--I got up and immediately fell into work. A couple of hours later, I headed to the hotel gym for some treadmill time. It won't burn off all the calories from the great food I'm eating, but it will help.

Lunch was again at Trident, followed by very good ice cream at one of the local J.P. Licks ice cream shops. Our old friend, Marty Gear, joined us for lunch. It was great catching up with him.

After some time roaming a bit of the con, I spent most of the rest of the day working--not what I'd planned, but necessary. An hour prowling dealer's alley and a lot of time seeing the beautiful work of Angela Jones-Parker of Angelwear Creations ended when we had to rush to dinner.

A cab ride later, we arrived at No. 9 Park . As we did last night, tonight we opted for the chef's tasting menu--and every option on it. Unlike last night's meal, however, every dish in this one was spot on. Picking a single highlight is almost impossible, but I should give a special nod to their signature dish, prune-stuffed gnocchi, because the little potato pastries were perfect, better than perfect, better than I though gnocchi could be, little pillows of food love. The flourless chocolate torte that finished the meal was also amazing, moist and thick but in no way dry. I've never tasted a better flourless chocolate torte.

On the writing front, I remain frustrated with myself for not being farther along, but I keep finding problems in the Overthrowing Heaven plot I have to address. I now fear plotting will spread into February, though I very much hope not. Still, the book is benefiting from all this work, and that's what matters most.

Back to it.