It's good to be home

Long Beach was an interesting experience, but I am glad it's over. I can't say I had fun, but I worked hard and learned even more about putting together a large-scale event. It was different from Portland in a number of ways. For one, we had only 5 people going down; Melinda was the only person who was in Portland too. So, it was nice to interact with a different crew, and I got along well with all of them. Plus, I was exposed to more aspects of the event since I had to wear more hats.

I worked the interactive events all day instead of just half, which was really draining: standing up and engaging an audience for 8 hours is exhausting, particularly when you're tired and your blood sugar is low. Plus, there were a few bad apples (like the random guy who came up from behind and yanked me away from the green because my shadow was covering the contestant's ball) that made me overlook all the genuinely nice people I served. I have learned over the years that I am not a people person. I like people on an individual and personal level, but I am not the type of person who can just schmooze- I envy folks who can do that.

We pretty much worked the entire time. We went from the hotel to the convention center and back without really spending much time outdoors. The restaurants we ate at (except for the last night) we all chains. I wish that we could have got a better taste of the area, but we didn't have any time. I shouldn't complain, since the food was consistently delicious and we were down there to work anyhow. I am proud of the work I did, and I think that everyone was pleased by the show's outcome: attendance was up from last year.

I'm still not sold on golf. It seems pretty sexist- old men calling each other women's names (Alice?) and asking where their husbands are every time they make a weak shot. Women do play, but the majority of our attendees seemed to be men. As my mom said, golf is what old men do to get away from their wives, so I guess there is some sexism that develops on the course just from male interaction. Still, if I hear "put down your purse, Alice!" one more time I am going to slap someone.

I am really looking forward to next week: Hawaii! We went shopping after David got off from work this evening; he got some shorts and I got some sandals. Actually, I went shopping at Value Village earlier today too and bought a pair of jeans. I walked a lot today and am still recovering from SoCal, so I am exhausted even though it is not even 9.