The alarm came way too early. I got up showered, and packed. I left the house, and halfway up Kent realized that I’d left the list of names of folks at the conference from Tivoli, and the Tivoli “sign” I had made to hold up at lunch time to gather us together. I turned around, got the papers, and another goodbye kiss from Robert. Sweet man.
I parked at Parking Lot 3 just in time to catch the bus coming through. The line at American wasn’t that long, but it was slow moving. Fortunately there were one or two cuties in line to keep it interesting. Once through check in, there was no line for security for a change.
Just inside the gate, I bought a bagel, and ended up eating it down by the gate waiting to board. I sat next to this couple of which the man was just my type. Such hairy legs (he had on jean shorts), and beautifully hairy arms. As luck would have it, when we boarded, I was in 5A, and they were in 5B and 5C, so I got to glance at him the whole way to Orlando. Nice, but frustrating as well. By the time we’d landed I’d decided that they were newlyweds going to Orlando for their honeymoon. He had on the shiniest wedding band, and he kept glancing at it.
I waited longer than I wanted to for the MEARS bus to take me to the hotel. After about 20 minutes, a taxi pulled up, and they called my ticket number, and pointed me to the taxi. I guess they must subcontract out when there’s not enough people to justify a trip to certain hotels. It turned out that the guy in the front seat was going to one place (the Doubltree close to Disney), and the other five people in the van were together, all going to the Port Orleans Riverside Resort, part of the Disney Resort System.
I was the last one to be dropped off, and the only one at the Caribe Royale. It was weird checking in. Mom and Dad’s anniversary was dejavuing me right and left — right up to entering my suite with the sitting room up front, where all the relatives “hid out” to surprise mom and dad.
I put my stuff down, and walked across the street to The Ponderosa, and had breakfast. It was a buffet, which I shouldn’t have done, but I didn’t eat as much as I would have had I not been dieting. I did overeat, though. It was $5.99. The buffet in the hotel restaurant was $12.95. Ridiculous.
Leaving there, I stopped in Eckerd’s and bought a (blank inside) card, and a little container of Certs mints. Back at the room, I unpacked, and then went and laid out by the pool for a couple of hours. I watched men, and finished Ellen’s book, My Point… and I Do Have One.
I went back up to the room at about noon, and then went to get a sandwich for lunch, which I ended up eating outside the Tower II entrance, while a parrot had occasional screeching outburts that scared the shit out of those sitting in the area, and those walking by. Pretty animal, but loud.
I logged into work a few times, and discovered some kind of virus on my machine, which seems to mainifest itself only when I connect in. I ran Norton, it discovered a virus, quarantined it, but it is still popping up. I don’t get it. Oh well, perhaps it will keep me from logging in so much. Must take care of it when I get home and can get conencted at a higher speed.
I went over to the convention center to check in at around 4:30. I got my welcome package, and sat to decide on which “Table Talk” session I was going to attend. I also decided right away on attending the “Development Track” (as opposed to the “Technical Track”) in the afternoons. The mornings, all three days, were plenary sessions.
I met Donald McCoy, who it turns out I know, and he showed me where the DNG spot was at the Information Booth. The only thing there was the Will & Ned poster, which was real nice of him to have brought, but there was nothing else, which was totally lame. There’s not even anything there to identify it as the DNG section. And, it’s just stupid to have only one thing there, from one DNG. Just lame. I’m not going to be too worried about “staffing it.”
Heavey hors d’oeuvres, and free wine and beer as a backgrop to the “poster sessions” ran from 6:00 to 9:00PM. The posters seem a bit lame to me. I was especially appalled at the one that used the wrong “it’s” in its title. And then, the poster owner tried to pin it on someone else. She said, “Someone else made up the sign.” However, on her poster, which she inDEED made up, the wrong “it’s” was there again.
It was really strange how things shaped up. There were, of course, many black, Asian, and Latino/Hispanic folks, a smithering of Native American foks, and then a handful of white guys. All the white guys turned out to be gay. Just weird.
I felt a little awkward and out of place there. I chatted with a couple of gay folks, and spent about 15 minutes with Garrett, Suzy and Philip, which was fun. Oh yeah, there was a straight, black lady named Hope there with us, too, who was also lots of fun.
I left there at about 8, went back to the room, fiddled with logging in again, caught Robert online for a nice, short AIM chat that warmed my heart, and then caught up this journal.
It’s been a long, long day. I’m ready for sleep now.