02 March 2004

So the conference is over! It was a really good experience...I guess I went into it without any expectations so I can't really say if it's what I expected or not. I was certainly pushed to my emotional and physical limits but I can't say that my PMS wasn't partially to blame.

The very first day (last wednesday) was a bit stressful. I was to come into the office to "man the phones" until noon and then join my colleagues down at the convention center. It was a rush to the office, early, to finish up everything that had to be finished before I abandoned the office, my computer and my work and officially ended my pre-conference duties.

Well, it took me about til 12:30 to get it all done but I accomplished everything that I thought I needed to do. I could have used at least another couple of days to get EVERYTHING done that I wanted to do but oh well. I was pleased with what I finished and I felt confident that I had done "my part" and what was expected of me.

We worked until 11:15pm that night pretty much with only a 5 minute break for lunch and dinner. By that time I was about to snap. It took every professional inch in me to maintain my composure but I sincerely wanted to ball my eyes out and whine that I just couldn't do it anymore. I did so much envelope stuffing and box moving and opening, and registration and room checks and hauling boxes around, etc. But the day went well and for the most part quite smoothly.

So on and so on for the next few days. Each day felt *extremely* long and I couldn't believe I had to get up and do it all over again. I was getting up at 5am to be ready by 6, take my trek from the hotel to the convention/registration office by 6:15 and off I went putting out signage and passing out session evaluations, announcements and anything else. Then back to the registration desk.

I have never met a more customer-friendly group of people! I couldn't believe it--I didn't have one upset person in the lot. It didn't matter if we had lost their registration and they had to wait 15 minutes for a name badge or what the issue was. Everyone was very gracious and just seemed happy to be there. Weird.

I foolishly thought I would actually have time to work out so I had brought gym clothes with me. Of course, I usually had just barely enough time to read for 15 minutes or so before it was midnight and I had to put myself to sleep. By Saturday morning I was very pissy. I was so frustrated and annoyed by everything and my supervisor...argh, I just wanted to snap at her. I do see the difference in how I would act with friends/family versus the people I work with. I would have been the biggest, whiniest bitch had it been someone I didn't need to be professional with.

Even then I was still complaining about my feet (they had actually swelled to the point that my shoes had BRUISED them!). The shoes were well worn and comfortable but what can you do when it feels like you're wearing two sizes too small and your feet are beat to hell?

Anyway, overall, good conference and great experience. Plus, I'm very pleased with how I handled speaker management. I had numerous compliments from speakers who were all very appreciative of my constant communicationa and follow up and said I had put together an excellent program. (Thanks!) Plus, we had our best conference attendance...ever, in 120 years! I'm not sure how much I had to do with that personally, as much of the physical program had been put together by the time I joined the team but it still feels good to be a part of a successful first time conference.

Every speaker I spoke with also said s/he were excited to be there and hoped to be invited back (hint, hint). It was nice.

I had many nice emails waiting for me back in the office today as well. I'm happy with the job I did and the office seemed pleased with my work as well. It's weird to keep thinking that I'm not going to be here to go through another full conference again...I keep thinking any day now I will get the news that Jeff has received a job offer in another city and we'll be moving. Whether that day comes tomorrow or many weeks from now I will be happy. I like my job and I like the people. I have a very disappointed boyfriend who is tired of where he is and ready to step into the responsibilities and work he was trained to do, though, and that makes me sad. He is so talented and worthy of a job that respects his ability and allows his creative freedom to just do its thing. It will happen soon, I know it.

He's been talking with Adidas which is kind of exciting. They are very busy right now but he passed the first round of interviews and they should be in touch with him soon to talk more. He'd be on their team designing shoes!

I'm down to my lowest weight that I've been in awhile. It feels good to know that "eating right" and exercise can actually provide results. It's still a struggle everyday to watch what I eat. I could eat ice cream and cookies everyday and be a happy person but it really is an addiction to be around the sweet stuff "once it hits your lips, it's so good!"

I'm four pounds away from "goal weight." And once I reach that I will probably try to go four pounds less. That will hit my highschool weight. It may not be possible, we'll see. I'm a lot more muscular now than I've ever been, plus a girl's body changes and 126 may be a thing of the past. But, it's too easy to get ahead of myself. In the meantime I've got four pounds to lose. That could be gone in 3 weeks, 4 weeks or maybe more. One step at a time.