I got back from Connotations last night :( It was more than lovely to see scribblemoose & Mr. Moose, louiselux (thank you for being my roomie!), new_kate and others again, and to meet dark_squall and this_is_my_name (the teapot cowboy; not the previous penguin man). I realised several things:

I have got used to northern temperatures (being too warm in a long sleeved t-shirt on the beach, in Tynemouth, in October?).

I miss soft water.

The sky does not fall if I eat beef.

Other people can do the serious analysis of Why We Do It, and What It Means, and Where It's Going; I am most defintely in fandom for the squee. And the hugs. And the silliness, and the games of Consequences, and the smut, and spending almost all day in the bar talking rubbish.

When I win the lottery, I intend to buy a large house somewhere central, and have all my friends come & visit me all the time. The squee shall never end.