Mr. J. had discovered that Neil Gaiman would be signing in Berkeley, so we planned to go to get the second "333" on our copies of Good Omens. (We got Pratchett during the SF World Con in San Francisco in '93. Bernadette gave Rich The Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish for his birthday, so he planned to get it signed as well.

Rich was a bit puzzled why we were leaving so early, but since the signing was noon to 2, I planned to get to the store by 11. In point of fact, we were a bit earlier than that, which was fortunate, as I was 180 degrees turned around when we got out of the BART station and started following Mr. J. south, to Pegasus bookstore, thinking he was going to Other Change of Hobbit. I had remembered OCH as being almost across the street from the station, and was getting more and more confused about the blocks our friend was dashing. We finally caught up with him at the bookstore and asked what-the-heck, and it seems some crucial e-mail explaining this was gone. So then Rich and I went back to the station, with me still completely backwards as to where we were (give me a break, the sun was nowhere visible! Later Mr. J. was turned 90 degrees and thought we were walking parallel to Shattuck, and at that point the sun was shining and I knew exactly where we were!)

When we reached Other Change of Hobbit it was still 10 minutes before 11 and there was already a line. (In fact, we were numbers 14, 15, and 16 in line.) Immediately this LOUD female and her friends got in line behind us. I gather they design modules for Vampires. But mostly the first words we heard, as if we had any choice, were about how this other woman didn't like her because she'd been sleeping with the other woman's boyfriend. I concentrated on a t-shirt in the shop window we were next to, which said "and you're telling me this because?" They went on and on, getting louder and louder and more and more obnoxious. There was one quiet one, an Indian (east) woman, but the female and her male companion just went on and on. I suspect hearing damage from loud music, and also the "look at how cool I am, I sleep around and aren't you jealous?" thing. (She was hardly attractive: the ex-boyfriend sounds like an opportunistic loser.) When the guy bragged about asking for a Flaming Asshole at a bar, I muttered "Sweets to the sweet." Later, at the reading, he wanted Gaiman to say "wanker" because it sounds so funny in a British accent, and Gaiman did, I suspect calling him one.

They opened the store about 20 minutes early and the first 50 or so people crowded in, after checking in the books we'd brought with us. I also had a read-on-the-way mystery to check. I picked up another book because I could, and after the signing I snaffled up 4 mystery anthologies, since I'd been standing next to temptation for an hour. They didn't have any of the books I was looking for, but then I didn't expect them to.

Neil Gaiman came in and got people to budge up so there was more room. Then he thought maybe the chairs should be put away so more people could come sit on the floor. Fire marshall's nightmare! I clung to my between-stack vantage point because the view was so good. Then Gaiman read from Stardust, his new book. It sounds like great fun and I'll be sure to get it eventually. We had to shush the people at the front of the store often. After the short reading (there were over a hundred people and he had a plane to catch, Gaiman recited his FAQ list. The Sandman movie may or may not be working, the original draft script was a disaster. Death looks like it's coming together. He has hopes for a TV show, but is not holding his breath. Then they lined us up by ticket number and I got the books signed, as did Rich.

We didn't do it last August (mostly because of time constraints) but I have a pattern I like to follow when I go to Berkeley. First though, we had lunch. Then we walked to UCBerkeley and went to the Museum of Paleontology. Actually, the museum is mostly on-line, but the building has a cast of a T-Rex in the atrium, and I always need to see this. The original is at the Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman, but not up. We did see the actual skull while we were there. Berkeley put this one up in 1990.

From there, it's a short walk to the ASUC bookstore. There was a time, 4 years ago or so, that I was haunting this place looking for Poetry for Cats (silly me, I hadn't bought it when I first saw it and I was regretting it.) This visit, there was nothing I wanted too badly. (Even though Rich was carrying the bookbag, so I had no weight constraints!)

Then, of course, we were on Telegraph Avenue, so it's only a short walk (past the hair and the piercings and the panhandlers and the craft tables) to Moes which is four stories of lovely used books. It's the closest thing to Powell's near here. It was about here that Rich asked: "Is there a bookstore in the United States you AREN'T familiar with?" Well, there must be one or two. Again, I didn't find the books I was specifically looking for, but saw some lovely ones, like a photo book of Yellowstone 100 years ago and nowadays. Or a book on Polish military weaponry. Again, I restrained myself.

Then it's only across the street to Shakespeare and Company. The thing I really wanted there was a fur-trapper's journal. Again I restrained myself. Mr. J. actually came in, despite having sworn 4 years ago never to darken their door again. (They deface the covers on SF paperbacks.) He didn't find the book he really wanted, anyway, so his principles weren't called into question.

Then it was walk back to BART, back to the car, back home, a quick stop to feed Sailor and have a cuppa coffee and then to the Jesuit game. They were playing the real rival school, just down the street, so there was a huge crowd. I was appalled by the stereo blaring (really really loud: we could have stayed in Berkeley to hear them!). But the band did come and the Sixth Man was there, waving towels even, though they didn't all wear white. The game itself was fairly close the first quarter and then it was a blowout our way. Jesuit has a new group, apparently, the Spirit and Dance club, and at halftime they used the obnoxious stereo to perform with. They (about 20 of them) did a fantastic breakdance number. It made my shoulder hurt to watch them, but they were really good.

We stopped for a late burger and came home. Nice day!