dingdingdingdingdingdingdingding

Ugh. Those bright lights designed to mask whether it's night or day. The constant stream of noise, whether it's the Wheel of Fortune theme or someone hitting the jackpot. If that's not enough to tell you how much I enjoy casinos, let me mention the smoke. Unfortunately, to get anywhere at the Nugget in Reno (meaning, to the meeting room of our Board, to get food, to the elevators to the room), you have to go through the casino. And that means, for me, burning itchy eyes, smelly clothes, a nauseous feeling, and a headache. Good thing the convention center was in a different area, so I could protect myself somewhat.

Other than that, the meeting went well. This was our first venue for our new project to reconnect with communities and see how we're doing. We had a good response to the surveys, and a lot of comments. The Director's session had some great dialog and feedback from some very engaged people. I thought it very encouraging. And we always learn. For instance, before the next venue, our intern is going to check to see if we'll be gouged on "handling" fees. Yes, between my colleague and myself, we paid $420 to the hotel for the courtesy of holding our packages from and for FedEx. UGH!



Flights were pretty good, just very long. I hadn't expected 5 hours from National to Phoenix, don't ask me why. And then two more hours to Reno. On the way back, we landed at National, then sat on the tarmac for nearly two hours because of the severe storms and the lightning. At Dulles, they'd had to clear all the planes off the grounds because of tornados, but we just had lightning at National. So I didn't get home until 11pm (Wednesday), and yesterday was a nutty day at work. I'm going to finish packing here, then go have lunch with Greg, and then I'm off to Dulles and off to Leiden. The presentation is Sunday, and we're not prepared yet. And I don't like public speaking either, as you know. So after Sunday afternoon, all will be good. I'll be able to enjoy the rest of the conference, then my free time in Amsterdam, our vacation in Belgium, and my free time and meeting in Paris. And hopefully catch a little rest too. A bientôt!