My very second business trip, day -1
Sep. 2nd, 2012 06:12 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
eveglassSome of you might remember a mini-series I did around this time last year entitled, "My very first business trip." Now the time is upon us again. Tomorrow I will be leaving for Ottawa to run the registration desk at my work's Annual Meeting, and I yet again intend to be doing a daily blog post on the subject. Because that's the sort of thing I do.
I'm packed already, much more neatly than last time thanks to some Eagle Creek packing cubes and a packing folder (WAY nifty how much stuff can fit in that packing folder). Sadly, I'm using the same small suitcase, about the size of a large carry-on, which means that things got a little tight, despite the efficiency of my packing. I'm carrying my toiletry bag in my backpack. Oh, well. I'm just glad I managed to find 7 work-appropriate outfits without needing to go shopping. My poor little body, she isn't quite so little as she was when I bought most of my work clothes. :(
Speaking of body size and its ancillary, food, I'm worried about the food I'll be eating at the conference. Last year, breakfast was muffins and danish, which is fun as a novelty but really doesn't prepare me for a full day of work. Just too sugary. I think I'm going to wind up buying some breakfast groceries and keeping them in my room. Yes, I know my company is paying for me to have muffins and danish for breakfast (and if you think Starbucks is expensive, you haven't seen a hotel catering price list), but still. I need protein in the mornings. I'm also going to try -- probably in vain -- to avoid eating all the tasty desserts I know will be coming my way.
A girl can dream, right?
I've got slightly more responsibilities this year than last year. Not only am I running the registration desk and managing a couple of volunteers, but I'm also demoing our new website. Yes, the website that's caused me to tear my hair out for the last three weeks. Hopefully we're Real Close (tm) to the end of this whole damn project. I'm honestly sick of it, and we haven't even ported over the members list yet.
Another thing I'll be doing: taking minutes of our Board and Advisory Council meeting. The problem: I'll need to leave about three hours before the end to go man the reg desk. Keep in mind that this is a meeting of about 30 people, and all I'll have is audio recording, not video, and I worry that people won't say their names before speaking. Oh, well, I'll deal with that when I get to it.
Anyway, this week's schedule:
- Monday: Morning train to Ottawa, check into hotel, spend the day with a friend who's been living in Gatineau for three months
- Tuesday: Pre-con meeting with the hotel, tons and tons of prep
- Wednesday: Full-day Board and Advisory Council meeting, afternoon reg desk duties until 6:00
- Thursday: Reg desk duties from 7:30 (ideally 7:00) to 5:30, followed by opening lecture and reception
- Friday: Reg desk duties from 7:30 (ideally 7:00) to 4:30, poster presentation wine-and-cheese until 7:00
- Saturday: Reg desk duties from 7:30 to 4:00, taking minutes of Annual General Meeting until 5:00, poster presentation wine-and-cheese until 7:00, President's Dinner until bedtime
- Sunday: Reg desk duties from 7:30 to 12:30, tear-down and packing, evening train home to Montreal
At least I'm being smart this year and not trying to cram in a bunch of social activities in addition to all my work duties. I would like to do a little running away from zombies because the new iOS update came out recently and I discovered my submitted content is being featured in one of the episodes (SO COOL!), but we'll see what happens. If all I can manage at the end of the day is collapsing into bed, so be it. At least I'm not the event manager.
I'm packed already, much more neatly than last time thanks to some Eagle Creek packing cubes and a packing folder (WAY nifty how much stuff can fit in that packing folder). Sadly, I'm using the same small suitcase, about the size of a large carry-on, which means that things got a little tight, despite the efficiency of my packing. I'm carrying my toiletry bag in my backpack. Oh, well. I'm just glad I managed to find 7 work-appropriate outfits without needing to go shopping. My poor little body, she isn't quite so little as she was when I bought most of my work clothes. :(
Speaking of body size and its ancillary, food, I'm worried about the food I'll be eating at the conference. Last year, breakfast was muffins and danish, which is fun as a novelty but really doesn't prepare me for a full day of work. Just too sugary. I think I'm going to wind up buying some breakfast groceries and keeping them in my room. Yes, I know my company is paying for me to have muffins and danish for breakfast (and if you think Starbucks is expensive, you haven't seen a hotel catering price list), but still. I need protein in the mornings. I'm also going to try -- probably in vain -- to avoid eating all the tasty desserts I know will be coming my way.
A girl can dream, right?
I've got slightly more responsibilities this year than last year. Not only am I running the registration desk and managing a couple of volunteers, but I'm also demoing our new website. Yes, the website that's caused me to tear my hair out for the last three weeks. Hopefully we're Real Close (tm) to the end of this whole damn project. I'm honestly sick of it, and we haven't even ported over the members list yet.
Another thing I'll be doing: taking minutes of our Board and Advisory Council meeting. The problem: I'll need to leave about three hours before the end to go man the reg desk. Keep in mind that this is a meeting of about 30 people, and all I'll have is audio recording, not video, and I worry that people won't say their names before speaking. Oh, well, I'll deal with that when I get to it.
Anyway, this week's schedule:
- Monday: Morning train to Ottawa, check into hotel, spend the day with a friend who's been living in Gatineau for three months
- Tuesday: Pre-con meeting with the hotel, tons and tons of prep
- Wednesday: Full-day Board and Advisory Council meeting, afternoon reg desk duties until 6:00
- Thursday: Reg desk duties from 7:30 (ideally 7:00) to 5:30, followed by opening lecture and reception
- Friday: Reg desk duties from 7:30 (ideally 7:00) to 4:30, poster presentation wine-and-cheese until 7:00
- Saturday: Reg desk duties from 7:30 to 4:00, taking minutes of Annual General Meeting until 5:00, poster presentation wine-and-cheese until 7:00, President's Dinner until bedtime
- Sunday: Reg desk duties from 7:30 to 12:30, tear-down and packing, evening train home to Montreal
At least I'm being smart this year and not trying to cram in a bunch of social activities in addition to all my work duties. I would like to do a little running away from zombies because the new iOS update came out recently and I discovered my submitted content is being featured in one of the episodes (SO COOL!), but we'll see what happens. If all I can manage at the end of the day is collapsing into bed, so be it. At least I'm not the event manager.
