Spur of the moment on Monday, I was asked to represent Standard at the MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers http://www.mops.org/) Convention on Wednesday. Yes, I did say Wednesday. We have one booth, tons of discontinued product to sell at great prices, and me. So: the adventure begins on Monday.
Accepting the chaos of the challenge, I tore through my regularly scheduled plans for the week on Monday and Tuesday only. I was able to get a fairly reasonable flight thanks to the ever so nice Diane in Editorial. The week's schedule was full of deadlines here, emails there, and mucho work throughout. It always happens that when I'm planning a good week of "get-it-done," something pops into the week that I never expected!
Tuesday is a little more "hairy" because I have to finish up all the details, fix my out of office, change my voicemail, forward my phone calls, find people to cover for me. Yeh. I'm getting calls for the upcoming ESCN conferences and the VBS preview shows.....which by the way, if you're looking for 2009 vacation bible school curriculum, look no further! STUDIO GO! Game Show is the way to go! And you can visit the site on http://www.vacationbibleschool.com/! Even if you're not a VBS person, go to the site anyway to see what all the excitement is about! It's AWESOME! If you can get to a VBS preview, do it! You'll win fabulous prizes and have a great time!
Tuesday night was an adventure trying to figure out what to wear to Dallas....I'm assuming it's hot down there....and also to fit it into a smaller bag, one that rolls, just so it's easier. It was not "so easier" and thus I was unable to bring along additional shirts as originally planned. More to come on that one.
Anyway. Let's move to Wednesday. I put Ele on the bus, dropped Ethan off to school, and drove real quick to work. Had to finish up a few things and drop off a huge hymnal/piano thing to Mark. Then on to the Dayton airport. I've been there 3 times so far. Didn't even need directions....which will impress those closest to me. Though once into Dayton, it seemed like forever until the sign said "airport this way" or whatever it says. I shouldn't have doubted my sense of direction.....uh.....do I even have a sense of direction?
I'm a little rushed. And I do not work that way, though some would disagree given the nature of my maternal side of the family. I'd rather be at the airport early and have to wait, than be late and running to my flight. So I arrive, get my ticket, go through security, find my terminal, go to the bathroom (gosh I had to poop!), and finally think about lunch. It's 11am. My flight leaves at 12:20pm. Since I'm connecting in Charlotte NC, I decide to eat lunch early so I'm okay on the flight and don't have to hit the airplane potty - I hate those things! My friend Bob tells me that Max & Erma's inside the airport is quick so I sit down to eat.
I'm back on a diet.....not as strict as Weight Watchers. I started out on the South Beach and now I'm just "watching" and making better decisions. It's not bad. I hope to take off about 10 pounds at least. So I order a burger (no bun) and a side of broccoli instead of fries. And wow, the service is great. Comes out in just 20 minutes. Yummy. Then I'm waiting. And waiting. the guy next to me is also waiting. No sign of the waitress...pardon me, "server." It's almost 12pm. Crap. I have to get ON the plane in order for it to leave at 12:20pm! I grab my stuff and head to the kitchen, where I bump into the nice lady who sat me. Hey...need the check. Who's your server? don't remember her name. I'll find her. Okay. Thanks - gotta go! Waiting. Waiting. Waiting. Here she comes! Quick, do it, let's go!
And I'm off.......literally running out of the restaurant like a horse race from the gunshot.......run all the way to the terminal......and you guessed it, running right onto the plane. I was apparently the next name to be called on the overhead speaker! To say the least, my day had not started out well. Flight was nice. small plane. cramped legs. no more free snacks....oh well, they'd make me need to use the airport potty. not an option. time to sleep........oops. time to wake up. that went fast. hate the landing part. My connecting flight to Dallas was to leave at 2:40. We arrived in Charlotte at 1:45. Plenty of time............until the nice lady on the plane told us that we would be entering E21 and should check the back of the US Airways magazine to see where the other gates were. This was the first time when I got off the plane, I actually walked down the steps of the plane onto the pavement! Weird. I felt like pausing at the top step and waving to the crowd below.....I should have......but the introverted side of me took over and I just did the boring do-what-everyone-else-is-doing and just get off the steps.
Just take a wild guess as to where my connecting flight was located on the map!!!!!
My gate was B11.......100 million miles away.........
Got off the plane, and you guessed it! RAN as fast as my feet would run, with my backpack on and my bulging stomach basically slapping me in the face! Geesh.....I might need to lose more than just those 10 pounds! And oh my goodness, I have to stop at a restroom.......not yet......gotta move and make this flight! After what seemed like FOREVER, I finally made it to the terminal. Had just a moment to pee and then my zone was called to board. much bigger plane this time and a little roomier. I was POOPED.....so it was time for another long nap since this flight was longer......and because I didn't want to talk to the chatty guy next to me.
FINALLY made it to Dallas. Took a taxi to the hotel and arrived. finally.
The hotel is GORGEOUS! Gaylord Texan Resort - has a river inside the hotel with little restaurants, walkways, bridges, greenery, shops, and all sorts of stuff to keep you here and spend money. It's actually amazing.
Though I had missed the "exhibitor check-in times" I was able to get into the exhibit hall and begin the setup process. I'm so glad I did because we had 3 skids of product and just one table to fit it all on. So I was able to creatively display ontop of boxes and tables and different heights the product to sell. It was a very creative and fun method - - and it helped me relax a little from my 3 day stress sessions of just getting everything done and getting here in one piece. After basically getting kicked out :), I went back to the room and crashed. Since I'd gained an hour, I slept a LONG time that night! It was great!
I must interject here and describe a bit about the show. There are 4500+ women here! How much estrogen can one man take????? And let's be honest, I am only able to give out so much testosterone! LOL!! Anyway...I have one booth - 10x10. And all of my stuff is discounted. I'm expecting mobs. I'm also expecting to transform myself into a very outgoing, fun guy for the week. This I can do - - good grief, I was a bookstore manager for 11 years - I know what it takes to sell and serve customers.
But after this week......I just might go into solitary confinement.
