I have one conference I go to for work every year. It's in Palm Springs, and it certainly could be in a worse place. It's so beautiful there and the weather is always wonderful.* The only problem is that it's a pain to get to Palm Springs from DC. There are no direct flights, and seemingly all the layovers are either 35 minutes or three and a half hours. I went for the narrow option, and it got a little hairy on the way there. My flight out of DC (layover in Denver) wasn't officially late, but we sat on the runway for ten extra minutes for whatever reason, and then the in-air time was five minutes longer than expected because of strong headwinds, so we ended up landing as my connecting flight was boarding. It was a huge plane, and I was near the back, so I did the jerk move and pushed ahead as much as possible, and then booked it to the gate. I was almost the last person on the plane, and the only reason I wasn't the very last is because a few other people from my previous flight were also on this flight, and I apparently could run faster than them.
*This year it was "cold", i.e., highs in the mid-70s. It does get legitimately nippy once the sun goes down, but it still doesn't require anything more than a light jacket.
As I've mentioned before, plane rides are my prime movie-watching occasions, and I picked a winner this time: RRR. It's so badass. It might be the best action movie I've ever seen as an adult. On the flight home, I watched The Banshees of Inisherin, which is also quite good, if very different from RRR. In fact, I don't know that you could find two less similar movies. Actually, come to think of it, they both are largely about straight male companionship, so there's that. The main problem I had with Banshees is that I kept distracting myself: That's Colin Farrell, right? I mean, that's gotta be him. He looks so much older than I remember, and he's in costume as a 1920s Irish peasant, a large departure from his usual rakish playboy persona. It was really throwing me off, and I didn't have an internet connection, so I had to wait until the end credits to find out for sure.
Anyway, the conference was cool. I got to eat dinner with some friends who live in the area, and some colleagues and I wandered into a street fair one night that turned out to be pretty fun. I much prefer traveling west, as then the time change works in my favor. I'm just naturally on the correct schedule for a conference like this one. I go to sleep around 9:30 pm and wake up around 6:30 am. That's perfect for an event that starts at 8:30 am. One morning I even got up a bit earlier and went to the hotel gym for some weightlifting. I actually wanted to run, but I didn't want to get my shoes all sweaty and nasty, as I only brought one pair. (Plus, I averaged about 12,000 steps-per-day, just walking through the long corridors of the hotel/convention center.)
That's one good thing about workplaces and work events becoming less and less formal. It's easy to pack. I wore sneakers and jeans the entire time (nice sneakers and jeans) with a button-up shirt or a half-zip pullover. I could fit my entire wardrobe into a small duffle bag, which is the perfect carry-on because it can always be squeezed into an overhead bin. Some people take the informality a little too far, in my opinion -- I saw a guy there in a sleeveless tee, shorts, and flip-flops -- but that's better than being overly formal. I did wear a ball cap sometimes, but only outside at lunch because I would have burned my bald, pale head to crisp without it. I got a little red up top as it was.
The worst part about it all was coming back to DC, as I think I came down with some sort of bug along the way (not Covid). I woke up yesterday morning feeling hungover, even though I last drank a single beer Thursday evening. I was hoping I was just tired, but I kinda suspected I was getting sick. Indeed, by bedtime last night, I was full-on stuffed up with a sore throat and brutal sinus headache. I couldn't sleep because I couldn't get comfortable (a lot of tossing and turning), and then when I finally did, I slept until 10:30 am. I was annoyed at myself for sleeping so late, but then later in the afternoon I realized it was "spring ahead" today, so it actually wasn't that late.
Thankfully, S coincidentally already had a full day planned with the kids, so I didn't have to do much parenting today. We were all supposed to go to a baby-naming party, but I bagged out because of the whole not feeling well thing. I wouldn't say S was mad about it, but I could sense some annoyance. I think it's just spill-over from having the kids alone for a week. But whatever, I'm gone for maybe (maybe) 10 days a year; she's gone for like 50, so... yeah.
Alright a few pics and then that's a post.
Until next time...
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