Bob the Mole

"If Peter Pettigrew managed to become an animagus, why can't I...oh."

Mom and Brother got back from TX yesterday. They'd purportedly gone to find an apartment for him, but found the time to pop into not one but TWO HP7 release parties. And here my Dad thought I was certifiably insane for wanting to get the book at midnight...

Mom: "So first we went to Books-A-Million, and they were handing out badges to sort people into houses. I asked for one and the guy handing them out said they were only for kids, and asked me if I had a little boy or girl. I told him I had a five year old girl, and he gave me a Gryffindor badge. And I didn't actually lie because I AM five years old inside"

Me: "Wow. Good job Mom."

Mom: "So I was Hufflepuff at the last book release and Gryffindor this time."

Me: "I got sorted into Ravenclaw"

Mom (with genuine relief): "Good. We've never had a Slytherin in this family."

Defended my master's thesis
Went to harry potter release party
Read book by 12:40 pm saturday.
Got actual sleep in the middle of reading the book (damn I'm good)

( Thoughts on HP7 )

I must say, reading HP6 and attending the release party are almost independent of each other in my mind. Amazing how one ended just in time for the other :)

Mom and I went to the Books-a-million release party at around 10. I wore a cloak, she didn't. My brother refused to go because he was "busy", and my dad had been smirking at us ever since my mom decided to go with me. But I didn't realize what a Muggle he really was until just before we left.

On the way out I said, "See you tomorrow."

My dad, the patron saint of Overreacting-at-the-drop-of-a-hat, immediately went into panic mode: "What do you mean, tomorrow. Where are you going?"

"To the Harry Potter release party.The book comes out at 12:01."

"You're going to a party? I thought you were going to a movie."

"No. We're going to the release party at the bookstore. To get the book."

He responded with a Dursleyish grunt as we left. Honestly. Muggles.

At the store, I was happy to find I wasn't the tallest person in costume. There was actually a guy wearing his PhD gown, with a pre-literate child in tow. The store had a sorting hat that you drew a badge out of (Gryffindor!) and then we went to our "houses" for activities. For the costume contest I claimed to be J R Witch, a potions-engineer who was developing treatments for St. Mungo's. But the prize went to someone in a wolf costume dressed as Lupin.

Then I did the word search and crossword puzzle they seem to have had at every party.

Then we got to do crafts. I made a blue hat from construction paper, and a yellow wand out of a straw, pipe-cleaner and a fuzzy yarn thing.

I'd bought a ticket for the book earlier that day. Then we lined up at midnight, and they took each persons ticket, handed back a book and then sent us out of the shop. I was back home within the hour. Much fun

I have the book I have the book I have the book I have the book I have the book I have the book I have the book I have the book I have the book I have the book I have the book I have the book I have the book I have the book I have the book I have the book I have the book I have the book I have the book I have the book I have the book I have the book I have the book I have the book I have the book I have the book I have the book I have the book I have the book I have the book I have the book I have the book I have the book I have the book I have the book I have the book I have the book I have the book I have the book I have the book I have the book I have the book I have the book I have the book I have the book I have the book I have the book I have the book I have the book I have the book I have the book I have the book I have the book I have the book I have the book I have the book I have the book I have the book I have the book I have the book I have the book I have the book I have the book I have the book I have the book I have the book I have the book.

Suckers :)

Bob - glad to be 2 time zones ahead of California for the first time ever.