Diana's Diary

2003-01-17 - 7:19 p.m. EST

Dateline: Orlando, FL

I'm currently breaking a long-standing rule of mine and posting to Diaryland on my work computer. (Reasons for said rule: I'm paranoid about people reading over my shoulder--no privacy in my cubicle. Plus, work time is for working. Usually.) However, since I have been away from home for a week, and won't be back for another week, I figured what the hell. (I'm also logged on via the hotel's ISP, which makes me fret less about my online activites being monitored by the uber-powers at the office.)

I've spent the last week at a meeting here in Orlando, which actually went fairly well. I was dreading it, because my hotel contact gave the impression of being the biggest dingbat on the planet. And, well, she is, but the rest of the staff was excellent, so everything went off without a hitch, making me look fabulous in front of Ebie, our Board of Directors, and the membership at large. Fabulous.

Meetings are always interesting, socially. A lot of new faces this time around, which was cool. One of the new faces was an employee of My (Former) Engineer, who is less than a year older than I am. That was a very nice change, because at every other meeting I've been to, everyone has been at least ten years older than me--except, of course, for My (Former) Engineer, who is only five years older than me. But since he is an idiot, he hardly counts, does he? It's nice to be able to converse with at least one person without being able to see them thinking, "I have kids your age, little girl. I am vastly more important than you. Stop wasting my time with your small talk."

I'm pleased to say that I was mostly able to stick to my resolution of no more drinking alcohol. That's always hard at meetings, because people are constantly trying to stick a glass of wine in your hand. I had a sip of champagne when they gave the toast at the membership event, and that was pretty much it. When I checked in to the hotel, they had left a bottle of wine and a plate of cheese and crackers for me. (Gotta love having my ass kissed by the hotel staff.) The wine is still sitting there. I'm debating leaving it here, or taking it with me and giving it to Uncle Co or something. I certainly don't want it.

I spent today on my own, which was very nice. I slept in, since I'd only managed to get about 15 hours of sleep total between Sunday and Thursday. I also took a nice long walk down to Lake Eola, and then around the lake, which was very pretty. It was a beautiful day--sunny, warm, but with a chilly breeze that just felt lovely. On my way back to the hotel, I stopped in at Starbucks for a coffee and a muffin. I sat there playing games on my cell phone while I ate, because I wasn't in any rush to get back to the hotel. When I did return to my room, I had a nice nap. (See above comment re: lack of sleep during meetings. I'm only of those people who needs their 8 hours a night.) Then I popped on my laptop and did some work. I shouldn't feel obligated to work. Technically, today is my "travel day." And then, I'm on vacation (ha!) until next Tuesday. I leave Orlando on Sunday and head straight to Phoenix. (I had no desire to fly back across the country today, only to head 1/3 of the way back across 36 hours later. I like to minimize my airport/airplane time when I can.)

I need to find a bookstore. I thought I was being really smart when I booked my flights, because I scheduled my layovers in Dallas, thinking that I wouldn't have any weather problems. Ha! It snowed in Dallas on my way over, meaning that I was stuck at the airport for almost 3 extra hours. It doesn't usually snow in Dallas, but when it does, it really mucks things up. As a result, I managed to read two entire books and two whole magazines on my way to Orlando, completely exhausting the reading material that I brought with me. I was keeping my eyes open for a bookstore on my walk today, but no soap. (Lots of hotels and banks and fancy restaurants, though.

What else? Oh yeah! I got to see the space shuttle launch yesterday. The launch was at 10:39, which happened to fall right during our morning break. We all went out to the hotel pool, and were able to have a pretty good view. I've got pictures, which I'm sure my grandfather and uncle are going to die for when they see them on Sunday. I've got a progression--you can see the fireball and the plume of smoke going up, and then you can see the pinpoint when the shuttle separated, with the Orlando skyline below. It's pretty cool. And digital cameras are awesome.

Hmm...I think I'm going to go find something else to do now. Later!

-Diana

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2003-12-16 - Ow! My Nose!
2003-12-15 - 'Tis the Season...For Moving
2003-11-17 - Rush, Rush
2003-11-03 - Apartment Hunting Sucks
2003-10-22 - Apparently, "nauseated" is a good look for me.

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