Sunday, May 3, 2009

Living the vida loca in Edmonton

Well, I never thought I would say this, but going to Edmonton wasn't all that bad. It was a quick trip- landed Friday night and back on Sunday but the glimpse was enough to make me consider visiting again. When there are leaves on the trees- strange weather there. I mean it's May and you just got rid of the snow. And what is up with the WIND? Where does that come from?

I tried to play a game of tennis today and the wind ending up moving the ball four feet every time I tried to serve. It was pathetic. I felt pathetic, and I certainly didn't give my opponent a very fair game. Half of my serves didn't go over the net, so she really wasn't able to play that well. Hopefully the next time I grace the city, the wind won't cause such a problem and she'll get a better chance to really play tennis.

So in my short trip to the Capital City I ate at Deewhat restaurant, an east Indian establishment with seats that were comfy, but a little short to lean back on. It certainly improved my posture. The only thing I didn't like was the music, but the service was friendly and even when the saffron rice was being flicked at me by a person that shall go nameless, I enjoyed the evening. Of course the rice incident was in retaliation for some of my straw throwing earlier- so I suppose I deserved it. I walked down Whyte avenue at night and marveled at the amount of bars located on such a short street. Of course there is a church on every corner so there are plenty of places to repent after imbibing each night. One complaint I do have is Edmonton's strange aversion to serving Johnnie Walker's Red Label. They have black and gold, but no red. In 3 places I asked for it- no such luck. I'd love to know the reason for that, but then again at least they had scotch.

I also ate at OPM a kind of Asian fusion restaurant which serves seven flavoured beef and a decent wor wonton soup. The service was a bit slow, but we were in the lounge so that may explain it. Also the music kept going up and down in volume which was annoying but that was a small inconvenience in light of the good food. I had a snack at Hudson's and a breakfast at Denny's ( pricey and mediocre food), and then a small brunch at Moxie's, only because I didn't have time to wait in the line at Barb and Ernie's breakfast place-maybe next time.

I also got to walk in the lovely Buena Vista off leash park with three very cool dogs, watching them swim in the river and roll in a seagull carcass. Then we all stopped at the snack shack and they had treats. I would love to see what it looks like in the summer. The weather was spectacular until the wind kicked up.

So why was I in Edmonton you ask? Well I was a guest at the MacEwan Get Publishing Conference. They had asked me to participate in the Foot in the Door Queries and Pitch Camp as a literary agent- which luckily for them I am, so that worked out well.

I was please by all the interest the writers had in speaking with me and it was an excellent networking opportunity. I hope I was able to enlighten them somewhat about the job I do, and why it is so important to support traditional publishers. I look forward to attending another conference in the future.
While in Edmonton, I got a chance to meet some of my clients face to face, speak with some potential clients, and connect with someone whom I've always been intrigued by but have up until this point, only spoken to on the phone. It was great to meet the person behind the sultry voice and see that she really was everything I expected. And I'm sure I impressed her with my suavity and sense of humour.

Now that I'm back home in Vancouver it's back to reality. I was happy to have a short break and reclaim my weekend, because as an agent I tend to have to work every weekend so getting away from it all is certainly welcome. So I would like to thank the folks in Edmonton for having me, and especially to the exceptional woman who drove me to and from the airport. ( What on god's green earth possessed Edmonton to have one so far out of the city? That's insane!)

So until I visit Edmonton again, thank you and I raise my glass of Red Label to you all.

No comments:

Post a Comment