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National ERG Conference Dallas - 1 of 5
Sep. 14th, 2017 11:59 pmLeft home at 4 AM with Gary driving the Vue. When we parked we were greeted by a bearish black parking attendant who ran Gary's credit card through the machine and called for the shuttle. Once we had our bags checked in, we were directed to the central checkpoint; on our way, a cubbish, probably Hispanic dude who was in a hurry ran past us with bag in tow. We had our IDs checked by a tall, dark, and handsome dude with a trim beard, and got through security without incident.
Breakfast was from the Japanese place in the food court: Gary had a breakfast sandwich and I had an omelet with a biscuit and home fries. I think next time I will stick with the udon soup I had last time. As we sat down to eat, I noticed an extraordinarily tall young dude (at least seven feet) with black hair and beard in a T-shirt and long, loose basketball shorts in line at Wendy's; he and his female companion sat off to my right and behind Gary. As we stood in the hall opposite the gate waiting to board, in the stream of passersby I noticed a shortish dude with both arms covered in colorful webs of ink and a stouter dude with a bushy beard in camo outerwear and a ball cap advertising a tree service. Gary said the latter bear could have been Jack (from Federal Way).
After we'd scanned our boarding passes and were waiting in the jetway, one of the gate agents squeezed by us on the left to deliver some paperwork, which completely halted the boarding process for a minute or two. When we reached our seats we were joined by a young and thin dude on the aisle whose girlfriend sat in front of me. As it turns out, the lady on the aisle next to her and in front of her boyfriend was separated from her husband across the aisle. In the re-shuffling of seats which followed, the dude next to me took the vacant middle seat beside the husband, who swapped seats with the girlfriend, leaving the aisle seat beside me vacant and leaving behind his cherry Coke, which I passed to his girlfriend. Once the aircraft door closed, I moved to the aisle seat, remarking to Gary that while flying squished against one another may be romantic, it isn't very comfortable. The flight was a bit bumpy and the fasten seat belt sign was lit up more than usual. About mid-flight, the line for the bathroom got a bit long and a cute balding bear with a trim black goatee had to do a little dance in the aisle right in front of me to allow an older turbaned dude to return to his seat.
Once we landed, we grabbed our bags and took the Terminal Link shuttle to the train station. We got off the train at Medical District station and I called for an Uber to the hotel. We got an upgrade to the Executive Level (26th floor) which was a nice anniversary gift. Once we'd unpacked, we had a late lunch at Counter Offer in the atrium: a Cobb salad for me, a croissant sandwich for Gary, and a fruit cup for each. Next I got my registration and my volunteer T-shirt, and we returned to our room for a little Netflix and chill (minus the Netflix).
After that there was just enough time to freshen up before the LAAD Awards dinner. Met Brad from the San Francisco Bay area, chatted with Ginger and Patrick, and generally schmoozed. I was surprised when Mark B. announced that Greg from my chapter had won Member of the Year - Management and asked me to come up to accept the award on his behalf. I mentioned the reason for Greg's absence: "He's too busy getting married", which was met with thunderous applause. After the awards I shared with Mark what Ginger and I have been up to with "I Thought You'd Never Ask", which he received enthusiastically.
We left the restaurant and shopped at the Walgreens across the street, then caught an Uber back to the hotel. After all, it would be an early morning and we aren't 22 anymore.
Breakfast was from the Japanese place in the food court: Gary had a breakfast sandwich and I had an omelet with a biscuit and home fries. I think next time I will stick with the udon soup I had last time. As we sat down to eat, I noticed an extraordinarily tall young dude (at least seven feet) with black hair and beard in a T-shirt and long, loose basketball shorts in line at Wendy's; he and his female companion sat off to my right and behind Gary. As we stood in the hall opposite the gate waiting to board, in the stream of passersby I noticed a shortish dude with both arms covered in colorful webs of ink and a stouter dude with a bushy beard in camo outerwear and a ball cap advertising a tree service. Gary said the latter bear could have been Jack (from Federal Way).
After we'd scanned our boarding passes and were waiting in the jetway, one of the gate agents squeezed by us on the left to deliver some paperwork, which completely halted the boarding process for a minute or two. When we reached our seats we were joined by a young and thin dude on the aisle whose girlfriend sat in front of me. As it turns out, the lady on the aisle next to her and in front of her boyfriend was separated from her husband across the aisle. In the re-shuffling of seats which followed, the dude next to me took the vacant middle seat beside the husband, who swapped seats with the girlfriend, leaving the aisle seat beside me vacant and leaving behind his cherry Coke, which I passed to his girlfriend. Once the aircraft door closed, I moved to the aisle seat, remarking to Gary that while flying squished against one another may be romantic, it isn't very comfortable. The flight was a bit bumpy and the fasten seat belt sign was lit up more than usual. About mid-flight, the line for the bathroom got a bit long and a cute balding bear with a trim black goatee had to do a little dance in the aisle right in front of me to allow an older turbaned dude to return to his seat.
Once we landed, we grabbed our bags and took the Terminal Link shuttle to the train station. We got off the train at Medical District station and I called for an Uber to the hotel. We got an upgrade to the Executive Level (26th floor) which was a nice anniversary gift. Once we'd unpacked, we had a late lunch at Counter Offer in the atrium: a Cobb salad for me, a croissant sandwich for Gary, and a fruit cup for each. Next I got my registration and my volunteer T-shirt, and we returned to our room for a little Netflix and chill (minus the Netflix).
After that there was just enough time to freshen up before the LAAD Awards dinner. Met Brad from the San Francisco Bay area, chatted with Ginger and Patrick, and generally schmoozed. I was surprised when Mark B. announced that Greg from my chapter had won Member of the Year - Management and asked me to come up to accept the award on his behalf. I mentioned the reason for Greg's absence: "He's too busy getting married", which was met with thunderous applause. After the awards I shared with Mark what Ginger and I have been up to with "I Thought You'd Never Ask", which he received enthusiastically.
We left the restaurant and shopped at the Walgreens across the street, then caught an Uber back to the hotel. After all, it would be an early morning and we aren't 22 anymore.