Mission Accomplished

I finally got to hug Dr. E-Sharp: he was helping his company set up its booth for Siggraph, and it was just crazy. So while Professor Fractal complained that Scanmaster clearly wasn't attending Siggraph this year, Dr. E-Sharp was only a vague rumor to me. (I did see Scanmaster, and he showed me around like he always does. If you want to meet people it's a plus to hang out with eccentric, gregarious businessmen.)

E-Sharp and I trade voice mails, but can't seem to synch up. He's available, he tells me at one point. Of course, this is during the time I'm at the Siggraph Chapter party in the basement of that cool club on 6th and Broadway, chatting up people I haven't seen in 16 years—not since I stopped living with Martin G. Naturally, there's no cell phone reception in the basement.

So it goes. I start to open my voice mails with "this is your stalker. I'll be at thus-and-such around 3:00."

I stop by his company's booth and ask after him. "He's not working right now," the receptionist tells me. "Would you like to leave a business card?"

"That's okay," I reply. "Just let him know that his stalker dropped by."

She smiles. "Are you his wife?"

"Heavens, no," I tell her. "I don't have her class. Or her height."

Fifteen minutes later I run into Martin G., and we take another stroll by the good doctor's booth. Sure enough, the jinx has run its course. The E-Sharps are just standing there. We greet them, and escort 'em to the sandwich shop. Then they head out to the Electronic Theater while Marty and I take a turkey sandwich to Professor Fractal.

This is the most fun I've ever had at Siggraph: I knew I was there for social reasons, but I'd started to get an idea of what things were the most fun, and I no longer needed a tourguide to pick out the most interactive or interesting exhibits, or the coolest technology. So other than scoring a few hugs from the E-Sharps—and catching the Electronic Theatre—I went to San Diego without much of an agenda at all.

Just a hippie girl taking in the sights.