nothing says i love you like half a muffin and a strawberry freddo

indeed. valentine's day this year started off weird, but thankfully it got a lot better as the day progressed. i have already spoken about the daylight-hours weirdness in my other blog, but this one is all about the evening. for ages before, i'd been looking forward to a special valentine's day dinner. it was planned for donovan's, a popular melbourne restaurant renowned for its bayside location and its winning ways with seafood. i got there just in time for the 7pm booking, and spotted the rest of my 'party' at the bar. as i walked up to meet them, i felt a little nervous - this was not your usual dinner. you see, my husband was all alone at home (albeit lovingly caressing his x-box controller)... and here i was, attending my very first publishing 'do'. there were some uk people down, and i had been invited to join publishing people from here and there, together with a bunch of other authors, for a bit of a meet-and-greet. surreal to be sitting at the same table as (among others) kaz cooke and stephanie alexander. tried to answer all questions about my first (and even possible second) novel, my background, and my obsession with identity, desperate housewives and the 'o.c.' without coming across as an ignorant wanker. in-depth discussions about helen garner, sharing my ideas about the book launch, hearing people say they couldn't wait to read my manuscript. hearing other writers share stories of their own writing, and realising that i am now one of 'them' - and 'author-type'. uk people asking me, 'are you agented?', then on my shaking my head no, asking 'are you insane?' made me laugh; having a cig outside with kaz cooke and party, i had nothing much to say - i was just happy to be there, listening. i eventually relaxed and just enjoyed it - everyone was just so damn nice. and, needless to say, all the way home in the cab i chewed the crap out of my bottom lip, thinking 'did i say anything stupid??... i hope i didn't make an idiot out of myself...'