It’s Friday afternoon, so we’re almost halfway through the event. Yesterday was Melissa’s birthday. We went through registration easily, dropped off some books for the Book Depot, and mostly hung out. I’ll tell a story about going to a burger place in just a moment.

Today, I attended a career planning workshop, which was fine. I didn’t learn a ton, other than I just need to get off my butt and query my SciFi stories. I’m still not sure why I have such a difficult time writing and sending queries. I don’t think it’s purely fear of rejection at this point. I’ve received several rejections and it’s honestly not that bad. There’s something else going on in my head or my heart, and I need to work through it.

This afternoon, I was part of a lightly attended Author Meet and Greet. Again, it was fine. The whole event can be described as “lightly attended.” Some people I’ve talked to attribute the smaller size of the conference to the recent SFWA troubles, where all of the leadership quit. SFWA exploded, not quite as catastrophically as RWA, but some of the ripples can be felt this weekend.

The people running the conference are great, though. Friendly, on top of it, and really doing their best. I don’t think it’s their fault that there are so few attendees.

This is the second Nebulas I’ve attended, and it feels very different from the first time. I remember before feeling out of place. I remember having trouble meeting people and talking to them. Now? I’m making friends and chatting with people here easily. I feel like I belong here as much as the next person.

I actually paused writing this to see if I wrote something about my first Nebulas attendance. I did. I apparently didn’t have a very good time, and felt overwhelmed most of the time. I’m not feeling that now, and while I was afraid to talk about my stories back then, I have no problem in 2025. I’ve come a long way.

BRGR

In 2016, Melissa and I came to Worldcon in Kansas City. I remember us having a good time! One of the things that stands out in my memory is walking a short ways from the convention and eating the best burger I’d ever tasted.

It stood out in my memory as having blue cheese, but the flavor profile was perfectly balanced. It was soft and crunchy in just the right ways. I remember it being amazing, and I’ve been looking forward to finding that place and getting another taste of that burger ever since finding out we were coming to The Nebulas this year.

Melissa and I decided we would go to that burger place for lunch on her birthday. With some help from another person attending The Nebulas, we found the place online. I recognized the pictures of the interior and the menu. We found it! BRGR Kitchen + Bar, and the specific burger we wanted was called a Fast Cow.

We took an Uber to the place, which was about 4 or 5 miles away.

And…

It wasn’t that good.

The blue cheese was too strong, and the burger itself was too salty. I could eat it, but it didn’t delight me like it did 9 years ago. Very disappointing. The waiter said a lot has changed over the years, and that’s too bad.

Sometimes, you can’t go back. You can only go forward.

Today, we found an Irish “gastropub” that had a very tasty Reuban. Melissa tried the shepherd’s pie and said it was very good, too. The place is called O’Dowd’s, and maybe that’ll be the place I look forward to revisiting in another 9 years. Who knows?

Chances are, it won’t be the same. Nothing stays the same. Some things live best in our memories. Some conferences grow, or shrink. Some authors become better at talking to people. Everything changes.

It’s important to enjoy the ride.