vegas...again

finally, a trip to vegas i actually enjoyed!  every year i attend the exhibitor show, where thousands of exhibitors in various industries descend upon sin city, to be educated and to get up to date with current and future trends.

at least that's what the show is supposed to be about.  however, having attended the last three years, i was all set NOT to go - feeling like the classes were basic, the exhibit hall was not representative of those current and future trends, and because really, i'm so over vegas. but, when another exhibitor friend, who is no longer on my same trade show schedule, asked if i was attending, i reviewed the class list and discovered a couple of new, potentially interesting options, and decided i would swing in for a couple of days.

one thing i have always enjoyed about this event, aside from the fact that it's the one annual event where my only responsibilities are to myself, attending classes and the like, is the opportunity to be around other people who do what i do.  even though i loathe traditional networking (the receptions, parties, round tables, dinner groups, etc.), i do appreciate the more organic opportunities to meet new people and to develop existing relationships, and this event provides a low stress environment to do that.

when i got in to vegas, i met up with my friend terry.  his former role had him exhibiting at many of the human resource shows we participated, and after spending 45 minutes in a lead retrieval line thanks to the utter incompetence of the staff, we began a great friendship, which, most recently involved him getting me on stage with keith urban last june!  i picked him up from his hotel and took him to my all time favorite breakfast place, hash house a go-go.  my first experience with hash house was in san diego, but as it turns out, it's only other locations are a couple scattered around nevada.

since it was after 1pm when we finally arrived and were seated, terry opted to try one of the stuffed burgers.  since i had never considered this anything but a breakfast place, i was extremely torn, and went with my good 'ol 'bigger than your head' pancake combo.  i don't regret my choice, but i am going to have to try one of those burgers!  we enjoyed our food, and each other as we got caught up on the last few months.

after brunch, i dropped him off at his hotel, checked in at mine, and spent the rest of the day doing nothing, other than waiting for the army wives season premiere (so happy it's back!).

the following morning i was up early for classes, after which, i met up with terry and mike, my exhibit house account director.  we switched exhibit houses at the end of 2010 and i couldn't be happier.  not only have they been absolutely professional in providing exactly the kind of support our program needs, but i genuinely enjoy the group that i work with.  i get excited about seeing my 'friends' at show sites, and especially enjoy opportunities to get to know them better socially, as well as professionally.  terry and mike had never met, so i was happy that the dynamic was natural and fun!

after lunch, mike and i walked the exhibit hall together, trying to discover new and interesting ideas.  i won't say that we were successful, however we did run into several colleagues, past and present, and enjoyed the brief catch up time.  though i had only intended to spend an hour in the hall, after four hours, we shut the room down and i headed back to my hotel to power nap and get ready for the evening's activities.

i had passively aggressively encouraged mike to "whine" and dine me, and he obliged, getting us tickets to see cirque du soleil's 'mystere'.  based on the timing (o and ka are dark that day), and the fact that mike had never seen a cirque show, and the ones i have seen were 'love' and 'elvis', it seemed like a good introduction to 'traditional' cirque.  i was uber-excited, and, while i found that there were some elements of the show that were strange and confusing, i absolutely loved the aerialists and acrobatics.  i was ultimately completely satisfied!

we enjoyed a quick bite after the show before calling it a night, but the 6am wake up call the following morning was still too early, and i skipped my first class.  i made it out of bed in time to hit my second class - a session devoted to new technologies and potential trade show applications - and was glad i did! it was the most fun i've had in a class since i started attending the conference, and it allowed me to fully confirm and explore my geekiness.

after class i briefly met up with terry to discuss our timing for the evening before heading to the exhibit house's las vegas warehouse.  since they are based in massachusetts, i hadn't had the opportunity to see the vegas location, and since i also needed access to our exhibit properties, it seemed like the perfect opportunity.  since many of the company's senior staff (including the president) were in town, they had ordered lunch in, and i appreciated the casual camaraderie before getting down to business.

we finished up at the warehouse and i headed back to the hotel to take another power-nap before heading out for the evening, which started with dinner at new york new york with terry before heading to the hard rock for one of the exhibitor parties.  mike was in attendance, as was dana, who designed our booth but is no longer with their company, and who, i was extremely happy to see.  i also ran into my friend david, an exhibitor with bank of america, who gave me one of my favorite moments of the night.

i'll admit that i tend to 'slum it' at conferences - t-shirts and jeans are the daily wardrobe, and even when we 'go out'  i usually play it pretty casual.  it's simply an exhausting process, and by the time my co-workers arrive, i've already been there for two or three days working very long very tedious hours.  i simply don't have the energy to 'party like a rock star',  so, my friend david, has really only seen me in 'slumming it' mode.  in this case, i had made an effort, so when he saw me, the first thing out of his mouth was 'you look beautiful!'  i thanked him and he followed with 'i like your hair like that.'  um, thank you.  'i mean you really ARE beautiful!'

what i so appreciated, was not the compliment itself, but the fact that he was so surprised that i might clean up okay.  maybe i need to make a little more effort :D

some of the other highlights came from being around so many men!  i know it sounds strange, but i think, because i work with so many women, i've forgotten how much i genuinely appreciate the low drama fun and playful company of men!  i also love to dance, and the men came in really handy for that;)

all in all, it was a thoroughly enjoyable event.  i can't say that i learned as much as i had hoped to, but i did take advantage of the opportunity to really work that 'organic' networking:)

some of you know that there was a period of time where i really hated my current job.  during that time, the only reason i stayed is because i so genuinely enjoyed the people i work with, both at my company, and those i've met outside of the company through partnerships and other working relationships.  i have never at any previous job developed so many, what i consider to be, true friendships, which i'm certain will last beyond this job.

and, while those relationships pulled me through a tough time, they remain large contributors to my current general sense of satisfaction and contentment.  add to that a new support person (starting tomorrow!), and the ability to see the light at the end of the tunnel when it comes to getting some balance back in my life, and i'm feeling pretty good about things these days.