First and foremost, I learned that I do have some incredible friends who make me laugh, wipe my tears and will generally kick somebody in the A$$ if they mess with me or mine. Just a general warning to those who think they can take me, I've got some tougha$$ friends. 
Smack talk aside, I do have awesome friends and I didn't get to spend nearly enough time with them this past weekend as I slipped from panel to book signing to panel and occasionally to the ladies room. The post con blues hit me harder than usual because I didn't feel I had enough time with the people I cared for the most. My daughter observed how much happier I was surrounded by people who "get me" and support the insanity of my writing because they too are plagued with writer's brains complete with scandalous search histories.  Now, we are back to our separate corners of the universe relegated to internet-based communications as we attempt to find common time and space to reunite - a feat that grows increasingly difficult with families, work and about a dozen other time vacuums. 
Am I the only person wishing for a teleporter and another day in the week?
Anyway, I miss my friends, you all get that message loud and clear. Still, in the days since Imaginarium 2015 I have made a list of all the other lessons I learned. 
1. I am a bitch. No, not just a regular bitch, I am Pantser Bitch. I cause trouble wherever I go. Sadly, my cape and matching leotard did not arrive in time for me to wear them this weekend. I'm thinking something purple and black will arrive soon. 
2. Cosplay is acceptable (and in fact encouraged) even if you are one of two or three people participating. Trust me, Autumn and I had a blast this weekend and neither of us minded the weird looks. 
Steampunk TARDIS and the 4th Doctor :)
3. Some people should never be on a panel no matter how much experience they have in an industry. There is a difference between being frank and being blatantly rude. Also, if you start your panel with something along the lines of "I don't know why I'm on this panel" then you really should not do a panel - ever. Even if you don't know what you're talking about, wing it. You are a writer for crying out loud, make it up as you go! As a side note here, if you are looking for a stellar panel moderator,  the stunning Mysti Parker is your gal. She is AWESOME!!
4. Plan ahead and make sure your room has a fridge AND that you bring plenty of beer/wine with a tool to open your adult beverages. Not only are adult beverages tasty but they help you cope with unsavory encounters (and for those who struggle with public speaking they soothe your nerves). I would also suggest a cool mug of some sort to disguise what you are really drinking.... not like this....


5. There are two distinct types of writers. Seriously, we can argue genre, style (plotter/pantser for example), publishing platform and so on but in the end it comes down to whether you want to grow as a writer/author or whether you are happy with the status quo. This would be the old "big fish small pond" story. I am definitely looking to pond hop but guess what, not everybody is! 
6. As much as women are considered lesser writers in many speculative fiction genres we can see the tables turned on men who write romance and I find that disturbing. I am going to reiterate one of my favorite mantras - F#@& Genre! Once again, for all that is good in this world, write what comes to you. True writers will never purge every character/story from their heads before they die so just write what you can get out and worry about genre later. Yeesh. 
Perhaps I'd better stop there some of the other lessons are less than savory and some quite personal. Of course, I could do an entire blog on the panels I participated in. Maybe I will just for $h!t$ and giggles but not tonight. It's late and I have to work tomorrow...and attend a baseball game.....and factor in some real solid writing time.