The Big Show....

April was our big show of the year. It was in the land of Lost Wages, as it is every year. Don't get me wrong, I like Vegas - but there is a limit. Two or three days is perfect. Eight days is pushing it. After a while, the casinos, the bright lights, the stale smoke, and the constant activity really begin to take it's toll.

Overall, things went pretty smoothly. I had a few issues with our graphics that caused me an enormous amount of stress. What should take about 3 rounds of edits and should go to print about a month before the show, took nearly a dozen rounds of edits and I was finalizing them the day before I was to leave for the show. Luckily, I'm working with a company that is willing to bend over backwards to make it right before the show opens. That fact seems to keep me pretty happy with them. This was really the first time that I was let down by their performance. In the end, it's a reflection of me and my work if my colleagues arrive to see an empty booth. And this is DEFINITELY NOT the show for that to happen. This is the show where not only 30 people from my company attend, but all of the big wigs that belong to our corporate father. Talk about sweating bullets.

Here's my booth:

But of course it wasn't all work.....there was some time for a little fun! The thing I love most about my job is the people. They are fun, intellegent, and pretty laid back. Some people believe it's because the company's roots were founded in Rock n' Roll. I say it's because they know how to drink! One night we all went dancing at my favorite bar and I ended up not going to bed until 5:00am. Yes people, 5 in the morning. Do I hear you asking what time was I supposed to be at the booth the next day?? 8:00am. Did I make it? Ummmm..... NO! I ended up calling a co-worker to come pick up the booth keys so that I could sleep in a little. But then the hotel apparently had to be doing construction on the floor above me. I eventually gave up and decided to get an extremely large cup of coffee to keep me from sleeping at the reception desk. Man, what happened to the good old days where I only needed 3 or 4 hours of sleep to function? Oh, yeah. I forgot. I'm not in college anymore. Oh, and I turned 30 just 2 days after the show ended.

See? Who said all work and no play?: