Book Expo ADVENTURES!

Remember how I used to write here? Oh, those were the days!!

I'm planning to HOPEFULLY get back into that groove very, very soon. Very. But for the moment, I want to tell you about my travel adventures!

I attended Book Expo America in NYC this past week for work, and while I find flying to be one of my least favorite activities, I do have to say I did have an entertaining time.

My job was to tend to our booth, answer questions, direct people where they need to be directed and give/take business cards. Well, a gentleman sidled up to the booth looking for international distribution of his novel, but unfortunately, we do everything internally, and don't work with outside authors. Well, it was towards the end of the day, and I was curious so I asked him about his novel and learned that it is a western romance novel. And then? He gifted me with a copy.

AND THEN? I asked him to sign it, and he graciously complied.

So now, I am the proud owner of a signed copy of my very first western romance. And I'm gonna read the SHIT out of it.

Other than that the show was mostly uneventful. I enjoy attending trade shows and conferences, it makes life a little more interesting and I do end up learning a lot.

I was all set to fly home on Wednesday. My flight was at 10am (NYC time) and arrive home 2ish hours later, well I got to the airport WAY too early (which is fine, I prefer that) at 7:30am, and when I looked at the board a TON of flights to Chicago were delayed/cancelled, so I texted my mom and found out Chicago was being beaten on by terrible weather. At that time my flight was still on schedule.
Nervously, I kept checking, and it stayed on schedule. So I made myself comfortable.
20 minutes before boarding, I checked again. It was delayed an hour.
And then another hour.
And then another hour.
And then another 15 minutes
And then the fire alarm in the airport went up as I was dozing off. And then I had a heart attack, and died. Not really, but I might as well have.
And then I was delayed another half hour.
I finally got on the plane at 1:45pm NY time.
And then we sat on the tarmac.
Then we taxied to the runway.
And then we sat.
And sat.
And then the captain said that we were waiting for a reroute.
And THEN we took off, and the captain told us that we were going to have to go up through Canada (I waved!) and come to Chicago from the north. So the flight was (I THINK) an hour-ish longer than it should have been.
I landed, life was good, and I got on the monorail-y tram that takes me to my parking lot.
AND THEN the tram comes to a stop, in the middle of the tracks, and they make an announcement that we're having technical difficulties.
At this point I am just laughing and laughing, because this can't be real!
And we sat there for about a half hour waiting for a technician to board and fix it.
All the while, I'm stuck on this tram with a guy in real estate who is having a screaming match with his office.
AND THEN I got to my car at about 5pm, and had to drive home in rush hour traffic.

It was a ridiculous ending to a hilarious trip.

Upcoming San Diego Trip!

As usual, it's been many moons since I've last updated. But, like I said before, I've been totally entrenched in to-dos, git 'er dones, and, you know, things.

BUT! Here I am, on the home stretch. In 1 week Mike and I are traveling to San Diego to visit our longtime friend, Cam, and his awesome girlfriend Dawn.

A visit in October 2008

Chicago, October 2008

At a wedding in October 2010

After the October wedding

Cam and I have been friends since...7th grade? We met in band. So we've been friends for, LITERALLY 13 years? Oh, sweet lord.

Thanksgiving break 2006

After me and Mike's wedding ceremony, May 2009

Probably one of my favorite pictures. Ever.
Me and Mike's reception, May 2009

When Cam moved to San Diego in 2005, I promised I'd visit. I think I renewed that promise every year. But this year! This is the year. Plus, Cam is moving soon, so this is my last opportunity. They are opening their home to us for 5 nights, and I couldn't be more thrilled.

Cam and Mike from our wedding, May 2009

Mike and Cam after a wedding, October 2010

Gazing deeply at each other, Christmastime 2010

Embracing lovingly, Christmastime 2010

Friends, and warm weather (when we arrive on the 28th, it will be sunny and 69°!) and a trip to the beach and not working and food. I cannot wait!

This also means that I have 1 week to wrap up my massive lists. You see, at the end of March, I took a calendar and filled in the dates with all the tasks I needed to complete before this trip.
And it ended up being an insanely huge list. There are still many small things I need to check off - but in one short week, my list will have to be done.

And after San Diego? I have 3 days to prepare for a party. And after that? All my to-dos will be to-done, and then I can focus on enjoying my summer! And maybe blog more? I have so many house makeover related things to show you!

Already planned:
1 May birthday celebration
2 June cabin trips (one of which is a birthday celebration)
1 July cabin trip
1 Renaissance Faire Trip
HP and the Deathly Hallows FINAL MOVIE
HP tattoo?
1 trip to New Buffalo, Michigan for a birthday celebration

AND IT'S ONLY APRIL.

Business Trip to NYC

Hi!

I just got back from New York for work, and wow! I am tired. And my Google Reader is SO backed up.

Thankfully, Mike was awesome at keeping the house clean while I was gone. He did a phenomenal job.

New York was meh. I arrived around noon on Monday (after waking up at 3am in order to get to the airport on time), and departed last night at 6pm. We were there for customer meetings during a trade show, and I didn't have a whole lot to do. My job was to make sure that only people with appointments came to our office, take their coats, offer beverages, and make sure our products got put back on the shelves. It was a lovely break from actual work, but the lack of things to do made the day DRAG by.

I only had one night to myself, and I intended to make the most of it. I planned to take a walk down Fifth Ave, all the way to Central Park, stopping to see the Empire State Building, St. Patrick's Cathedral, Times Square and end up back at the hotel. Well, I took off speed walking and less than 1/3 of the way to Central Park I was like, "Holy Mother of GOD, my feet hurt, I'm so tired, so hungry and it's really goddamn cold."
So I detoured it straight to Times Square (it was the closest attraction) took a picture, texted it to Mike and bee-lined it back to the hotel to order room service and watch the Olympics (and The Bachelor - that Vienna! She's irritating, but I can see why Jake likes her)
I'm a terrible tourist.

The next night, my boss and I went out to eat with a customer, and we ended up writing $1.2 million in orders. I mean, I'm not all business-y or sales-y, but it's pretty cool to have been part of it. Though, it's not like there was haggling, or anything. Just products that he had tested in the past and had worked. And I ate mussels and they were delicious.

At present, I'm exxxxxxxxxxhausted. Traveling really strips me of everything, and sucks the life out of me. I'm an extremely anxious traveler (I get lost SO easily), and it takes a huge emotional toll. But I am home now, and I leave work in 1 hour and 40 minutes. I will go home, eat something (though I'm not sure what) and watch the Olympics. And I couldn't be more tickled about it.