Departing ~ Day 7 ... or: Dat's Great Subway Adventure

07/12/07 ~ Another early start, first session at 7:30a. This morning's sessions were pretty good, so at least I was not disappointed! Met up with Shahra about 8:30a and we went through the exhibits just a bit before joining up with Nick and Dat at the break. Went to the last couple of sessions and returned to the hotel to pack it all up.

We checked out and went to Lir for one last round and who should be walking down the sidewalk but Dat. So the three of us enjoyed one last chat and cold drink before gathering up our luggage at the bellman's desk and heading out. (hey, who are those people sitting at our table in that photo anyway?)

Dat thought our subway adventure sounded fun so the three of us decided to subway it to the airport. After all, it's not far and we only have one bag or so each, and it would be our last chance to feel the city ... easier said than done when you factor in the heat, oh, and don't forget the multiple flights of stairs at the subway stations. So, we got our bearings and boarded the proper train and all was good until about 200 more people hopped on our train at the first few stops making me wonder if we would even be able to get out when we needed to! Fortunatly, I stayed close to the door even through all the pushing and shoving, but Dat managed to end up quite a ways away from Jim and I at the transfer station. Well, we all made the transfer, but I can't say that we had ample time to do so, the bells were ringing and the doors were beginning to close just as Dat made it through the crowd, yay! That was brilliant.

We had no problem finding the shuttle bus once we exited; at least that's what we thought ... Would have been nice to know that were different shuttle busses destined for the various airport terminals, 'C' being what we needed. We came to 'A', then to 'B' and then to ... hey, wait we are heading right back to where we started! Oh, we need to be on 'that' shuttle bus up there?! Run, grab bags, run some more (did I mention that I had on heels through all this?). Finally, we're on our way to the proper terminal and with not much time to spare either. Of course, wouldn't you know they again pull Jim aside for additional security screening (they did the same to him in S.D. when we departed!). Boy, did Dat and I get a laugh out of that. Settled in for more Animal Planet and made our way back to the West Coast (I got to catch that movie I missed on the way over!). Ahhhh, we made it! Going home always feels soooo good!

Exhausted ~ Day 6

7/11/07 ~ Wow, moving very slow this morning ... and of course wouldn't you know that the keynote speaker was terrific. I must go to the web site and see if the address has been recorded and be sure to view it if so.

Mixed reviews on the sessions today (I wonder if it's just what I am selecting or if there are just more duds overall than last year?) anyway, at least there is the option to leave and go to something better if it's not riveting. Several times I've done this now, more today than yesterday, and have been pleased to find that at least my second choice is more worthwhile that my first was. The last session today was by far the best yet ~ 'Kick-Butt Online Courses' presented by a panel. All were excellent speakers/presenters and great information and notes from that one. This and the one pre-conference alone have been the most value to me personally. And, I have to admit, Nick has given 2nd Life every possible chance to convince him that is has some value for us ... So Nick, what is your final evaluation anyway?

Jim and I thought we would go get him a sandwich since I will be attending the Client Appreciation Party later in the evening, so we went across the street to Pour House and got an excellent sandwich and just as we were finishing up, in comes Dat and Shahra! They joined us and we had a nice relaxing unwind (and OMG the size of those Bloody Mary's!!). As it turned out, Shahra was going to be out with her niece that evening so Jim was able to go to the party in her place and go with me after all. The party was fun, very loud, and I think probably the biggest assembly of geeks for miles, lol ... Texas, by the way, really got the shaft on the user group trophy, they were far and away the most loved and cheered for group! The food was good though and there was plenty of it. We didn't stay too long, maybe just an hour and then walked over to Newbury Street in search of Raspberry Mocha Latte's, mmmmm, and turned in relatively early.

It was terribly hot and muggy even at 9:00p tonight. Now I can see why all the fuss about the humidity and heat here in the North East ... we have been very fortunate to have had so many nice days thus far I guess!

Early Start ~ Day 5

7/10/07 ~ First day of the main conference, and an early start at that, 7:30a. At least I was smart enough to set my alarm this time and be prepared! There seemed to be a lot of sessions that had not prepared well, or been screened properly, i.e. seemed like they accepted any paper that was submitted for presentation in some instances! All in all though, there were good bits to take away. Oh, the best thing I learned today was about Google Docs ... did you know that you can create a spreadsheet there with all your passwords in case you lose your PDA or something (unbelievable, lol ...)! Oh, and I really loved the series of tutorials that one university created for their faculty/students especially the one about Java: 'here's how to ascertain which version of Java you currently have installed. Here's how to uninstall. Here's how to install the correct and compatible version of Java.' That one got quite a few laughs from the crowd. You go Michael Chasen, keep those new products a'comin'! ... Note to self: compile all my session notes to see just how much valuable information I was able to gather in the end.

I stayed for the opening reception in the exhibit hall after sessions were done for the day and had time to spend with Nick and Sam, Shahra and Dat as well. After thoroughly investigating all the hors d'oeuvre and partaking of drink selections we decided to go as group to M.J. O'Connors for dinner. I tried to connect with Vinciullo to see if he could join us but our messages and timing just didn't seem to work out. Dinner was nice, just fish and chips, but it was really nice relaxing with my coworkers (Dat, Sam (Adams?) and Shahra ~ Nick spent the evening with his family) and just having a chance to unwind, and talk about things other than office related. At least for me it helped to get to know them a bit better. We had taken a taxi to the dinner venue (what did the driver mean, do we know where we want to go? Of course we don't!), but decided to walk it back to the hotel which was a wonderful idea, beautiful night and Newbury Street all lit up. What a great town for walking (except for the getting ditched part that is, ha ha funny guys! ...)! I think I would enjoy a summer place here, I love that it is filled with college students and history. Who would ever have thought that I would have ever shown an interest in history ...

Aclimated at last ~ Day 4

7/09/07 ~ Well we are on better mental time clock today and got up early enough to wander about in the rain to find a good breakfast spot. We ended up at Thornton's on Huntington Avenue, just a couple blocks away from the hotel. I had wanted to go over the Church of Christ, Scientist as the travel guides had shown some gorgeous photos of the architecture and the reflection pool, but with the rain we just sat on the restaurant patio under an umbrella and ate bagels and scrambled eggs and didn't venture off walking any further. The wait staff sure was not user friendly, but the food was good in the end.

Conference was GREAT today, was Web 2.0 all about social software and what's out there and how to use it. Good take aways and resources in a nice binder, much better than yesterday. Speakers were engaging and dynamic, hands on.

This was our afternoon to take an adventure so while it was still light out (4:30p) we began to head in the direction of Cheers (the original) over by the Commons on Beacon Street. When we arrived it looked just like in the TV show, wow, I could almost hear the music playing in my head! That was really fun, brought home the placemats to laminate, the first time I've found any good ones in quite a while! What was it I saw in the bathroom in Lir the other day a poster with a bunch of trivial information on it ... a person who collects beer coasters is known as a tegestologist ... so I guess I am one of those! I wonder what they call those who collect placemats ... maybe just 'weird'! ha ha ...

After our Blue Moons, potato skins and onion rings (which were huge BTW) we started out to walk the Freedom Trail (http://www.thefreedomtrail.org). Beginning in the Boston Commons you just follow the red brick (sometimes painted) walking trail that leads eventually over to Bunker Hill. This was an incredible 2.5mi walk (we didn't cross the Charles River to Bunker Hill as dark was setting in), sooo much history from the American Revolution era, to be able to walk the same streets, touch the same buildings and see the same sights as those who lived at that time really brings it to life for me. The Granary Burying Ground was amazing; Paul Revere, Samuel Adams and all 5 Boston Massacre victims graves are here. The Old North Church where the lanterns shone their signal the night of Paul Revere's midnight ride and so much more was just captivating. The streets are beautiful, sometimes narrow, weathered, and cobblestoned. Lots of Irish pubs to be found here! Having walked ourselves out, we succumbed to taking the subway back to the hotel, after all you have not fully immersed yourself in a city until you have taken its subway. This one falls somewhere between New York nasty and D.C. pristine, not bad. We stopped at Lir for a pint before heading in for the evening very tired. Was happy that the rain had subsided and that the day was accommodating for our little walkabout, not one I will soon forget!

Getting Started ~ Day 3

7/8/07 ~ Oh my gosh ... conference starts at 1:00p that gives me exactly 4 minutes to get there and I've just woken up!! Ok, so I'm a few minutes late, no need to panic ... haven't gotten ready so quickly in ages! Well, session ended up being pretty very good and I got a lot of take aways that will be very helpful, mostly with using Audacity and multiple recording tracks for podcasting, adding background music, intros, etc. I wish it had focused more on distribution, RSS, etc. but maybe I will come across more of that over the next few days.

After enjoying an HBO movie (Rumor Has It ~ Costner, Aniston, McLaine), Jim and I dashed out for a quick dinner and darn if it wasn't raining (sorry babe, I really didn't notice that the sidewalk was wet! What's with that anyway, it's July for goodness sake!!) So we kept it close by and went to Whiskey's across the street for a steak dinner. Ok, now brace yourself, can you imagine a steak house NOT having horseradish? Well, sadly, it's true ... so, that being said, the meal was good (but not great), and we turned in early and sent our latest pics to the family, checked in with the kids, and did some reading ('To Be Someone' ~ Louise Voss, mostly meant to distract me on the plane, but a good read! ...).

Getting there ~ Day 1 ... & 2 ... or: Are we there yet?

Ok, New Blog! very cool, I was really wanting to do this for the Boston trip and photos anyway, nice to have a workshop that is requiring us to do this! ... v fun ... ok, got it set up and will post more later.

7/6/07 ~ Well here we are all on the same flight, Nick and his family, Dat, and Jim and myself. Lonnngggg flight, no sleep (how do you guys do that anyway? Dat to the right, Jim to the left ... geezzzz) but lots of Animal Planet (and not many snacks!) on the way to the Boston. Looking forward to the conference and the Nor-Eastern history as well!

7/7/07 - arrived spot on time, 6:10a, shocking since 40 minutes late taking off. Taxi ride was interesting (x7 of us, I will never know how we all, along with the luggage, got into that van!) and was that not the longest 4 miles of your life? I mean, did we just go in circles underground until the fare suited the driver you think!? And Nick, were you really thinking you could get all that luggage up to your room without a bellman's cart? It was very nice to have the early check-in made available at the hotel (I think we were close to becoming loopy), so by 7:00a we were flopped and ready to nap (much needed). Slept until 2:00p and were then ready for a walk about town. Very nice weather very similar to home, warm, just a little humidity, but not at all bad. We walked as far up as the Public Garden by the Commons (have you ever seen a wedding party with 14 bridesmaids before?) spending a little time at Trinity Church along the way, and then back down Newbury Street, our hotel is just one block off Newbury -- should make for some good shopping! I find the town initially to be very quaint and friendly, the English/Irish influence very visible and the architecture very appealing. Went to a little eatery on Boyleston across from the hotel called Lir, an English pub (except that they serve their beer properly cold!), lots of Irish pubs here as well, but they had excellent sandwiches and 'ale' so it fit the bill very well. Went back to the hotel (oh, staying at the Boston Sheraton) and took a quick side trip to the attached mall (shocking, I know, that I would find that so quickly!) Later in the evening we went out again for coffee and dessert at a place (also on Boyleston) called Abe-Louie's and had the best coffee, key lime pie and onion rings EVER (I know, very weird combination, but it was exactly what I was craving!). Really nice, although loud, atmosphere. This little strip of town is full of night life and music and good food from what I can tell so far! Anyway, better get some rest, I don't have to be up early but I know the jet lag will get me anyway, and unfortunately I'm one that really needs my beauty rest! Ran into Shahra in the lobby upon our return, glad she is finally in after a 4 hour layover in Houston. Guess I should have been better with introductions though ... Sorry about that Shahra, he really is my husband, not just some guy I picked up on the street!