The last day was really slow. Fortunately it was also short. After four hours on the floor we started packing up. It only took 15 minutes to get all our crap out of the booth and on the palette to head back to Michigan. Afterward I met up with Bruce and we did more touring of Nashville - this time of the Vanderbilt University area. After that, we met up with the son of one of our really big customers who also happen to be good friends of Bruce and Tim outside work. I forget the name of the restaurant but they served really good food.

The flight home was alright. Finally got to start the newest Zelda game - the one I had wanted to start all weekend. Got back home to see the excellent job my parents did to spruce up my house a bit. It looks really good and I really appreciate the help they gave over the weekend. I picked up Orange Box and attempted to install Windows XP as a secondary OS - an experience that has reinforced my hatred for Windows. I managed to get the installer to recognize my system to install the upgrade version I had laying around, saving me $200 I would have spent buying a new version, and I’ll be able to play Portal to my heart’s content tomorrow.

I’m squealing with joy at the idea of sleeping in my own bed tonight.

Today was another successful day. Set up early and let the awesomeness of the site work its magic the whole day. We even left the conference floor 2 PM, after Bruce and Tim got here, to take a tour of the downtown area. It reminds me a lot of what Detroit should look like in twenty years. At least I hope it looks this good. We went to a BBQ place for lunch - it was delicious - and we hit up the less-than-stellar Oktoberfest that one of Tim’s friends told him about. Dinner was at a brewery, followed by a ‘party’ that the ST folks were really excited about. It was more of a club shindig than a party. Music too loud to hear anybody talk, lights too dark to see anybody or anything, except the ones that periodically shine in my eyes that I love so much. I stayed for about 5 minutes before heading back to my room. I can deal with the tanning scene, in which I clearly do not belong, but clubs are where I draw the line.

Got up early to set up the network. That went better than I’d hoped. During the show, I was only called once to unlock a door for which I had the only key. I was not bothered a single time regarding the site. I’d call the whole day a huge success. While I wasn’t at the ST booth, I wandered around looking at the tanning stuff and the girls. The tanning booths were funky lookin’ and the girls were… oh my god hot. The chicks from that one tanning show on E! (don’t really watch that channel, couldn’t tell you the name) were there and they’re quite the hotties in person. I got their autograph and the autograph of a chick who was signing posters for the sole reason that she was hot. As far as I could tell she was not famous in the general meaning of the word. I don’t mind.

Oh and here are some pictures. Today it’s a few photos of the hotel and some of the more interesting tanning booths.

THE FLIGHT

The flight was short - almost too short. I didn’t even get to finish the podcast I was listening to. The guy in front of me fell asleep and his head would roll forward then jerk back reflexively. I thought that was really funny for some reason. The cabby who took me to the hotel didn’t wear any shoes.

Speaking of the hotel, we’re staying at the Opryland on Smart Tan’s tab. I’m sure it wasn’t an inexpensive gratitude they showed us, and I really appreciate the opportunity to stay here. It’s friggin huge. I had to ask directions from one of the bellhops to my room. I’ll have some pictures when the trip is done. I’m off to help set up our area.

THE WALKTHROUGH

After arriving to my room, we all walked around the conference hall. But not before me getting lost again, pressing the down button on an elevator, and making some guys who wanted to get off on floor 6 get off on floor 5. It took all I had to not bust out laughing at them. On the way to our meeting place I got confused and managed to find my way onto the conference floor without a badge (which is required). The real walkthrough was uneventful. I can’t wait for gameday tomorrow. Apparently the Dallas cheerleading team might make an appearance.

That brings the total ‘lost’ count to 3, but I’m getting the hang of the place.

PRE-GAME PARTY

Drinks, drinks, drinks! I had a hell of a time hanging out with the ST folks. Jack Daniels’ Bar was a hoot and a half. The live band there kicked lots of ass.