Musings
an Online Journal of Sorts
By Alyce Wilson
February 1, 2005 - Meetings and Feasts
Saturday morning, The Gryphon and I got up about 9, put our swimsuits on and headed down to the hotel pool. We hit the hot tub, first, and then after we'd warmed up, we also did some laps.
Some other people had the same idea, and we talked to them about such things as how great it would be to take an Aqua Tae Bo course. One reason would be floating flying sidekicks.
When we started getting wrinkly, we went upstairs, took showers, and rinsed out our bathing suits, hanging them up to dry. We headed down to the hotel restaurant for some breakfast. They had a breakfast bar set up, and while I got more food than normal for breakfast, it was all pretty much healthy.
After breakfast, we had time to socialize with people before the big meeting of the day started. The primary topic of discussion at the meeting was passing this year's budget, which involved going through it line by line and seeing if there was any discussion.
I was reasonably comfortable for awhile, having brought warmer sweaters than I did this year. But in the tail end of the meeting, the cold air started to get to me. My hands were freezing. What's more, they were starting to dry out and crack.
Right about the time that someone mentioned an old friend of mine from college who currently lives in down south, the top of my head started hurting. This was a strange pain, and it wouldn't relent. I had to leave the room. Wouldn't you know it, there was that very friend. I gave him a big hug and told him my story.
Finally, the main business meeting was over, but then the department meetings began. This meant The Gryphon's work was just beginning. As head of Human Resources, he had to meet with several department heads.
We had about an hour before dinner, and The Gryphon promised he'd meet up with me so we could attend dinner together. I just needed a break, so even though I thought I was supposed to be meeting with the Publications Department, I went up to my room, put some stuff away, and changed my outfit.
I like to dress up on the weekends because I don't get to do it during the week. This time, I kept the outfit a little more casual. I wore my bright pink fitted jacket over a light pink Otakon T-shirt, with a pair of off-white pinstriped pants and black ankle boots.
It had been enough time that I was starting to get hungry again. In fact, I had split a Slimfast bar with The Gryphon near the end of the meeting to stave off hunger later.
The dinner was in a ballroom downstairs, and the buffet spread was great. Plenty of healthy food. I got a Caesar salad (sans Caesar dressing), some steamed vegetables, garlic mashed potatoes and salmon. Of course, the plates they served us on were so large that when I served myself a normal portion size, the plate looked nearly empty!
For dessert, I splurged and had some double chocolate cake. This is something I don't normally do, but it was the weekend and I've been very good lately.
We sat with primarily the Video Department. The Gryphon, as a former Video Department head, gave some pointers to this year's head, who will be taking over for the first time. The other staffers also gave him pointers, and they discussed how to run things efficiently. Even though I wasn't directly involved in the discussion, it was still interesting to listen.
After dinner, I had about an hour to kill before the Publications Department would be meeting at the hot tub for our meeting. The Book Lover had brought her laptop and treated me to a presentation of photos from the house she and her husband, the Martial Artist, are buying. She showed me pictures of the various rooms, plus details within them. I could tell she was very excited about it, and I hope that everything goes smoothly for them.
I only had a couple minutes left before the meeting, so I told The Gryphon I was headed up to the hot tub. He was conferring with the Chief of Staff on a couch nearby, discussing staffing and personnel. I told him he'd be welcome to join us in the hot tub when he was done, but he told me he'd probably be in another meeting.
On my way
upstairs, I popped my head into the pool area to see who was there. The
hot tub was overflowing with publications and non-publications staff.
I dashed back upstairs to put on my suit. This would be a great meeting,
I sensed.
(...
to be continued...)
More from ComCon 2005:
January 31, 2005 - Walking on Sunshine
Moral:
If your head hurts in weird places, it's time to leave the budget meeting.
Copyright
2005 by Alyce Wilson
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