in which all is revealed

Tonight was the night that this entire week (and, really, the last two months) has led up to. I managed to drag myself out to some workshops this morning/afternoon, but I was back in my room around 3pm so that I could relax (or rather, nerve myself up in private instead of public) before the ceremony. So, I talked to my parents, painted my nails, hung out with Terry, watched a couple of episodes of "How I Met Your Mother", and ate some pizza before getting all dolled up.

But, the nerves I've felt the past few days, which culminated in a serious case of nausea this afternoon akin to many of my past brain bowl performances, ended up being totally worth it -- I won my category!! This means that I got to go up on stage in front of two thousand people and give an acceptance speech while blinded by the stage lights. I was much shakier than I expected to be; while I didn't cry or shriek, I did have a lot of trouble catching my breath. Luckily, I had written notes out in advance, so I apparently thanked the appropriate people and thanked them coherently to boot.

I didn't really follow the rest of the 2hr ceremony well -- instead, I spent it texting, twittering, compulsively checking email, etc. while still shaking for a good twenty minutes after the announcement. Then, I had a couple of drinks and some lovely hors d'oeuvres with Terry and another Golden Heart winner, had a brief conversation with my agent (who was super psyched), and milled about before coming back upstairs. It was all totally exciting, wonderful, memorable (well, not memorable since I don't remember much of the walk up or anything, but you know what I mean), etc. Tomorrow I will focus on the future, the second book, and everything that I plan to achieve next, but for tonight, I'm happy.

One last thing -- thank you so much to all of you, whether you comment frequently or just lurk quietly, for all of your support. One of the things I said in my acceptance speech was that I'm truly lucky that my family and friends are not just supportive, but proud of my writing. Given how crazy the publishing world and my dreams are, this is truly a gift, and it's one that I'm immensely grateful for. So, thank you, and I hope to continue to do well so that I will have good news to share with you in the future!

Now, it's off to bed -- Terry and I intend to check out in the morning and sightsee a bit before going to the airport, so sleep is vital. Pics are below -- goodnight!