My very first business trip, day 7
Sep. 24th, 2011 11:34 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
eveglassThe short version: Wrapping up the conference, followed by far too much food and an impromptu music lesson.
Today was the last day of the CFAS annual meeting. We were going for a half-day and really weren't expecting too many people to check in, which meant I got to sleep in for an hour.
When I got downstairs, I realized I had a minor conundrum: where to put the registration desk? For the last few days, we've had the reg desk set up near the boardroom, on the mezzanine level (one above the lobby) in the middle of the hotel. And that was great, because it was both near our base of operations and close to all the lectures that were going on. Today, however, everything was happening in the Imperial Room, which is on the lobby level on the far west side of the hotel. In other words, nowhere near the boardroom. When I asked Agneta the Boss where I should set up the reg desk, she told me to set it up outside the boardroom as we had the last few days.
Now, I might have accepted this instruction if her rationale had been along the lines of "it's more efficient" or "people will come anyway" or something. (I wouldn't have agreed with it, but I would have accepted it because she's the boss.) But it wasn't. Her reasoning was, "I don't want you to carry heavy things all the way across the hotel." This, my friends, was a stupid reason. So I did what any loyal subordinate would do: I decided to go behind her back. I found Abdul the Hotel Liaison (a truly, truly helpful man; I could not have gotten through the week without him) and asked him if he could set up a table for us in the Imperial Room foyer and get us a hand truck. Then I told Agneta that we were setting up in the Imperial Room, and I wasn't carrying anything, so she didn't need to worry. She didn't argue with me, which I took as a sign that she agreed with this plan.
It was, indeed, the right decision. While we only had two people check in (both of them speakers at today's sessions), I was nonetheless in the thick of the action during the coffee break and right where people could find me. Which was useful when one of the speakers needed to revise the slides on her presentation and I happened to have a conveniently-located laptop.
I also discovered the CBC had done a video segment of us (scroll to about 17:55) and got to show it to a few people. I like seeing media of us, even if I'm not in any of the shots.
Everything wrapped up just before noon, and I got to work packing up with Christian the Event Planning Coworker and Agneta the Boss. It actually didn't take that long because Agneta and Shruti had put most of the stuff in boxes yesterday. We only had to take in a few things and tape and label the eight boxes that are going back to Montreal. We were done in an hour.
Then Olivia, our main contact at the hotel, took the three of us staff out for a "debriefing" lunch. This mostly involved talking for a while about how we thought things had gone, and then talking a lot about random other stuff. It was a long lunch; our food didn't arrive for nearly an hour, though Olivia kindly went into the back to get Agneta some orange juice (she was having a diabetic sugar low, which is very bad).
We ended lunch around 3:00, and Christian and Agneta went off to catch their train. I, meanwhile, came back to my room for a few hours of downtime. After playing around on my computer for a while, I realized I should get a hostess gift for my aunt (who was cooking dinner) and went downstairs to where I'd seen a Godiva store yesterday. Problem: the store was closed today. So I asked the concierge where I could go instead, and she recommended a place called Purdy's in Union Station that also sold chocolates. Even though I'd never heard of them, I picked up a box of assorted chocolates anyway. Hopefully they're palatable.
Then it was up to Downsview Station, where my uncle picked me up and brought me back to his place. I had an absolutely lovely home-cooked supper, with bruschetta, lamb chops and chicken, polenta pie and potatoes, and a dessert of apple crumb with ice cream. Tasty food, but so full at the end of it!
My uncle showed me the recording studio he's building. It's very impressive. Any Toronto artists out there who need a recording studio, get in touch with me and I'll give you his contact information.
Afterwards, he drove me all the way back to the hotel and gave me an impromptu lesson on harmonizing along the way. Thanks, Uncle Steve! I got back to the hotel around 11:15, with just enough time to call Marc and write up my daily entry. Thank goodness I don't have to get up early tomorrow! I'm having brunch at 11 about a ten-minute walk away, and need to be checked out before then and pack before that, so I figure I'll set my alarm for 9:00 and see if I'm up before that or not. Yay, sleeping in!
For now, though, sleep. G'night all.
Today was the last day of the CFAS annual meeting. We were going for a half-day and really weren't expecting too many people to check in, which meant I got to sleep in for an hour.
When I got downstairs, I realized I had a minor conundrum: where to put the registration desk? For the last few days, we've had the reg desk set up near the boardroom, on the mezzanine level (one above the lobby) in the middle of the hotel. And that was great, because it was both near our base of operations and close to all the lectures that were going on. Today, however, everything was happening in the Imperial Room, which is on the lobby level on the far west side of the hotel. In other words, nowhere near the boardroom. When I asked Agneta the Boss where I should set up the reg desk, she told me to set it up outside the boardroom as we had the last few days.
Now, I might have accepted this instruction if her rationale had been along the lines of "it's more efficient" or "people will come anyway" or something. (I wouldn't have agreed with it, but I would have accepted it because she's the boss.) But it wasn't. Her reasoning was, "I don't want you to carry heavy things all the way across the hotel." This, my friends, was a stupid reason. So I did what any loyal subordinate would do: I decided to go behind her back. I found Abdul the Hotel Liaison (a truly, truly helpful man; I could not have gotten through the week without him) and asked him if he could set up a table for us in the Imperial Room foyer and get us a hand truck. Then I told Agneta that we were setting up in the Imperial Room, and I wasn't carrying anything, so she didn't need to worry. She didn't argue with me, which I took as a sign that she agreed with this plan.
It was, indeed, the right decision. While we only had two people check in (both of them speakers at today's sessions), I was nonetheless in the thick of the action during the coffee break and right where people could find me. Which was useful when one of the speakers needed to revise the slides on her presentation and I happened to have a conveniently-located laptop.
I also discovered the CBC had done a video segment of us (scroll to about 17:55) and got to show it to a few people. I like seeing media of us, even if I'm not in any of the shots.
Everything wrapped up just before noon, and I got to work packing up with Christian the Event Planning Coworker and Agneta the Boss. It actually didn't take that long because Agneta and Shruti had put most of the stuff in boxes yesterday. We only had to take in a few things and tape and label the eight boxes that are going back to Montreal. We were done in an hour.
Then Olivia, our main contact at the hotel, took the three of us staff out for a "debriefing" lunch. This mostly involved talking for a while about how we thought things had gone, and then talking a lot about random other stuff. It was a long lunch; our food didn't arrive for nearly an hour, though Olivia kindly went into the back to get Agneta some orange juice (she was having a diabetic sugar low, which is very bad).
We ended lunch around 3:00, and Christian and Agneta went off to catch their train. I, meanwhile, came back to my room for a few hours of downtime. After playing around on my computer for a while, I realized I should get a hostess gift for my aunt (who was cooking dinner) and went downstairs to where I'd seen a Godiva store yesterday. Problem: the store was closed today. So I asked the concierge where I could go instead, and she recommended a place called Purdy's in Union Station that also sold chocolates. Even though I'd never heard of them, I picked up a box of assorted chocolates anyway. Hopefully they're palatable.
Then it was up to Downsview Station, where my uncle picked me up and brought me back to his place. I had an absolutely lovely home-cooked supper, with bruschetta, lamb chops and chicken, polenta pie and potatoes, and a dessert of apple crumb with ice cream. Tasty food, but so full at the end of it!
My uncle showed me the recording studio he's building. It's very impressive. Any Toronto artists out there who need a recording studio, get in touch with me and I'll give you his contact information.
Afterwards, he drove me all the way back to the hotel and gave me an impromptu lesson on harmonizing along the way. Thanks, Uncle Steve! I got back to the hotel around 11:15, with just enough time to call Marc and write up my daily entry. Thank goodness I don't have to get up early tomorrow! I'm having brunch at 11 about a ten-minute walk away, and need to be checked out before then and pack before that, so I figure I'll set my alarm for 9:00 and see if I'm up before that or not. Yay, sleeping in!
For now, though, sleep. G'night all.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2011-09-25 05:12 am (UTC)safe home.