Luckily, that was still plenty of time for me to shower, dress, select and print out two short pieces to read, and get my butt in a taxi and down to the event. And I had a great time -- it was a joint reading with the other Northwestern MA writing folks, so I got to meet some of the current students in the program (one of which apparently reads this blog sometimes, hi Kelly!), plus a few of the faculty, Miles Harvey, author of The Island of Lost Maps: A True Story of Cartographic Crime, and Michael McColly, author of The After-Death Room: Journey in Spiritual Activism. They were very nice and welcoming.
The reading itself went well, I think -- I read a cooking bit from "Monsoon Day" and the ocean scene from Arbitrary Passions, and afterwards I met a cool reader/writer, Rahnee Patrick, and we had an interesting conversation about AA issues (she's half-Thai) and disability issues as a performing writer. (Her husband's in a wheelchair, which means he can't attend her first Chicago reading, which is in a non-accessible bar. Sad!)
So, glad I didn't forget the event entirely -- clearly, I need a break soon to clear my mind! Jed got me a gift certificate to a spa for Mother's Day, and as soon as I'm doing with final grading this week, I'm heading off to enjoy it!