Wardrobe of Conference

Resuming my neglected blog. 

An uh-oh moment, not quite panic but definitely not serenity, seized me.  What do you wear to a  Christian writing conference? 

Was this some hidden aspect of vanity?  Probably not.  It's a practical quasi-panic.  I looked at online pictures from other conferences.  The people are decked out as if they're going to a wedding, to a New Year's Eve party, to the Oscars.  Yikes! 

The conference is the Heart of America Christian Writers Network Fall Conference, November  10-12, held in Overland Park, Kansas.  I'm not just attending.  I'm teaching in three workshops.  At one time, just the thought of public speaking would've been enough to make me physically ill; but that was decades ago.  I know the material well—it's part of my writing passion.  I've worked on the job with the public long enough that speaking in front of strangers isn't the terror it once was.  That plus age has produced plenty of confidence so I won't wad up like a roly-poly bug.

"Office attire" several websites advise.  My office attire is veterinary scrubs.  On any given day, when I'm not answering the phone or checking patients in/out, my attire may acquire additional decorations of blood, cat urine, doggy diarrhea (few experiences quite like a puppy loosing its bowels in your shirt pocket), and the occasional splatter of ferret barf.  No, this is not suitable for a conference.

But before working in a vet office, I worked in electronics and in machining.  Electronics was clean, but t-shirts/sweat-shirts and jeans were perfectly acceptable.  Same for machining, although my last machining job was in a shop that worked a lot of cast iron — dirty machining, you couldn't touch a surface anywhere without picking up smears of greasy, black dust.  Most of my clothes from those days had interesting scorches & burn holes from glowing hot metal chips, frays from abrasives and compressed air blasts,  and an overall aroma of industrial cleaners & coolants no amount of laundry time could banish.  Nope — not conference attire.

Hence, an email to the conference coordinator.  A nice guy — and a quick reply.

"Casual."

Sweet!  Slacks & sweater will work.  I won't have to worry about falling off high heels (which I've only worn twice in my life).  I can concentrate on the workshop topics. Poetry.  Experimental Fiction, Science Fiction and Fantasy: Fiction Outside the Boxes.  Symbolism:  Understanding and Using It for Christian Writers.

Looking forward to this conference! 

And totally aside, I glanced at my first blog entry on that hot August day.  I was ready for fall then— and so thankful it's here now.   Love the colorful leaves, cool winds, and crisp days.  Love October!