I've Got The LTUE Blues...

So today is the first day of Life, The Universe, and Everything.. (LTUE), one of the best writing conferences in the Western US, and conveniently located within driving distance of where I was living a year ago, Springville, Utah.

Now, however, I'm 2200 miles to the right.. which makes driving there a little more inconvenient.  So as we've resumed the life of a Struggling Student and Co., I'm not attending.

That hasn't really been a big deal because I am going to LDStorymakers in May.. and it's just as good as LTUE, if not a little better imho, but today.. all my writerly friends are happily blogging about what classes they'll be attending, or where they'll be hanging out for lunch, or when they'll be doing book signings.. and it's really got me wishing I could be there.

I still remember last year's conference.. it was the first real truly writing conference I'd been to, (I did go to CONduit before LTUE, but it was a lot more sci-fi than just merely writing.)

Anyway.. today is the day that I'm supposed to be getting ready for my writing retreat this weekend.. and I'm getting there.. nearly got all my papers graded for my Online Business Law class, and I've been racking my brain trying to nail down the last bits of my outline for the story I'm going to write, in full, this weekend.  (Don't care if I dont' sleep, don't care what news I miss out on unless it's family stuff obviously.. this is just me and my computer and 3 days of killing it!)

But in the back of my mind I can't help but just have a jealous ache over not being at LTUE. The atmosphere is so conducive to writing.. it's like an oasis in the regular day to day grind of trying to convince myself that I'm not wasting time and thoughts over this obsession that's really only gotten stronger over the past 4-5 years.

So.. while I am happy that it's Valentine's Day.. and for all that means with my lovely wife.. (we sorta celebrated it last night by watching a movie that turned out to be not so much romantic as odd, The Words.. and by spending a romantic evening apart as she went to help our 2 year old fall asleep and ended up falling asleep herself and sleeping until 5am in his bed... ahh parenthood.)... a small part of me can't help but feel sort of bummed over not being able to submerse myself in the LTUE environment.

I'm hoping to recreate a little of the atmosphere this weekend.

Wish me luck.