bentangle

That’s the number of mixed drinks I had last night.  Granted, the first three were so widely spread out I was able to complete the full ebb and flow between them.  But given that I don’t drink in such quantities often, I always forget the critical steps I should be taking to avoid the kind of hangover I’m experiencing this morning.

Prior to the drinking, yesterday was somewhat tedious.  My absence from work has been growing increasingly palpable and desperation is setting in – especially since one of the only other persons who could adequately be my substitute is sharing a hotel room with me this week.  Throughout the training session yesterday, my attention would be slightly divided from the material at hand by a stream of emails of people clamoring for someone to address their issue.  For the most part I’m able to mark them as read and move on, but some bait I cannot leave untouched (though I’m careful to avoid catching any hooks).  I do manage to get caught by one – despite my efforts to provide a best fit solution via email, others seemed intent on needing it explained over the phone.  So after our training day is done, I get on the phone, re-explain the solution, wait for the gradual collective “oh, yeah that makes sense”, and get on with other more pressing matters (like figuring out where we are going to drink) – today’s edition of it only took about 10 minutes.  I must be slipping.

So we head out to meet up with the colleagues from our NY office (which is generally a sales office).  As with SF, the office is much smaller and quieter than the main hub that I’m accustomed to.  As I get introduced around, I am faced with a mix of “Oh! It is so good to finally meet you in person!” and “Oh hi … and what department do you work in?  Are you new?”  I felt like after nearly 4 years I had known and been known by almost everyone at least by reputation (not to be haughty, but I’ve worked on things that nearly every department in our company should be aware of).  Don’t get me wrong, I’m wasn’t upset or concerned, just mildly surprised.  But in my experience notoriety is more burden than reward – especially when sales is involved, so I made little effort to cement myself  in their minds any further … other than joining them for a 4-hour happy hour event at a rooftop bar.

So that brings us back to the drinking.  The waitress attending our party was horrible at her job.  I got the impression that the bar in question aimed for looks over talent in their hiring practices – I guess most guys might be content to wait a while for a drink so long as they can wile away the time ogling the server.  I am not so easily distracted by shiny things.  We ordered a round of drinks and then waited about 45 minutes to receive them.  After 2 rounds of this, most of us got in the habit of asking for the next drink as she was handing us one.  Even at that, I only managed to get 3 drinks to my hand over the course of 3 hours.  So we relocated to a more traditional and less pretentious pub where the drinks flowed more freely.  I guess one needs to be careful what they wish for.

I’m back on the road … well figuratively speaking.  I’ve actually spent very little time in cars during my travels at all.  My travels have been mostly in trains and planes – both for the first trip, just trains for the second.  I have to say that Amtrak’s Acela line is really nice – the business class seats are the equivalent to first class airplane seats and I had none of the hassle of long lines, security checkpoints, or landing or take-off queues.  I stepped on and by the time I found a seat we were already moving (and I’d hardly noticed).

After navigating the urban hedge-maze that is New York’s Penn Station, I found my way to the surface and trekked the 10 blocks to my hotel.  Funny how twice the price seems to buy me about half the room space in NYC vs. SF.  I can’t say that I’m surprised, but I would have enjoyed getting another lucky free upgrade to a bigger suite, but I guess that would be akin to lightning striking the same place twice.  This stay will also be punctuated by the presence of a roommate.

He showed up around dinner time and after walking around for a while, we ended up taking in a movie (I probably wouldn’t have bothered seeing The A-Team in the theaters otherwise – it was enjoyable and clever).  Now we are just chilling out avoiding bed with the noise of World Cup Soccer on the TV in the background (neither of us are sure way, really).  But I think I will soon succumb to sleep and how that my jet lag won’t prevent me from making it to the training I’m here to attend.  Wish me luck.

I’m going to write this one before bed rather than after as tomorrow will likely be packed with, well, packing, checking out, and making my way to the airport for my long trip home.  It has been a busy week and I look forward to the brief respite coming ahead (emphasis on brief).

Today went smoothly.  I got more substantial information out of the conference sessions presented today (I also found that standing rather than sitting helped prevent ennui-induced sleepiness).  Not that I’m surprised, but this conference has affirmed that I’m not good at listening to people talk for long periods of time nor am I especially extroverted.  I found that I often relied upon my colleague (who frankly is more entrenched with the software at hand anyway) to take the lead – I would find myself standing nearby as he struck up various conversations with vendors, hosts, and other attendees.  I would occasionally engage in these discussions, but not often initiate them.  In truth it doesn’t especially bother me to recognize this either – my primary focus this week was training and I don’t foresee myself joining user groups or contributing to forums on such matters.  Sure there is the networking aspect, but I doubt that I’d be looking to move to Sydney, Vancouver, or Poland for my next career step (well, maybe Vancouver – that place seems pretty awesome, as did the dude from EA that we met from there).

Once the sessions were done as we all stopped loitering around the foyer outside the conference rooms, my colleague and I worked out dinner arrangements with some of our other colleagues from the SF office (thanks btw, to my uncle and my friend who recommended a dining venue).  After meandering little Italy and parts of northern SF waiting for our party to coalesce (managing to buy some fudge somewhere in the mix of things), we eventually made it to this very interesting Italian restaurant called The Stinking Rose – a moderately prices, but elegantly trimmed establishment that seems to specialize in all things garlic.  From their famous appetizer of bagna calda (garlic cloves with anchovies stewed in olive oil and butter) to their garlic ice cream dessert, no dish is complete without garlic involved.  Unfortunately before we made it through appetizers, one of our party had to call it a night (I think he drink wine too quickly before getting food in his system), but we soldiered on through various starters and succulent main dishes.  None of us had the room or were brave enough to attempt the garlic ice cream, but I have a feeling we would have enjoyed it under different circumstances.

So tonight I spend my last night of quiet hotel solitude.  I will be sad to go since it seems I was just getting adjusted to being here.  I’ll be more sad that I will only have a day at home before I hit the road once more for another conference week away.  Given that I will be readjusting to eastern time and I will be sharing a hotel room next week, my travelogue may not be as in depth or as frequent.  But only time will tell.  Now if you will excuse me, there is an empty king-sized bed beckoning to me.

I seem to have found the secret to westerly jet lag recovery – alcohol.  Now if I could just get rid of this hangover…

Yesterday went smoothly comparatively speaking.  I made it through the day without needing a nap (though some of the conference sessions threatened to force me into one).  The commencement was great, and the 5-minute lightning talks by various sponsors about their products were fun (especially since they let us text vote on each vendor’s performance – I think the best presenter got something for free, but I can’t remember what).  But then I made some poor session choices and felt my attention and wakefulness slipping, so I skipped the last 2 sessions and retreated to my room to read and relax.

Drinking last night seemed to be inevitable – I was invited to no less than 3 parties (2 of which were sponsored).  The first was the official conference party which included free food and drinks and apparently a RockBand competition with the host (I was tempted to sign up, but didn’t feel I was skilled enough for it).  I stayed for about 15 minutes of it before I got pinged by the people from my company’s SF office to come out and food and drinks with them – so I went (I’ll talk an evening of drinking with a small group of people I know over one with a crowd of strangers).  After a handful of drinks, including a few shots, and some appetizers and a lot of laughing we dispersed.  On my way back ‘home’ I came across party #3 – the remnants of the first party heading for an after party around the corner.  I considered it, but didn’t have the energy left for it.

So after said festivities, I made it back to my room, wound down, and hit the sack just shy of midnight … and didn’t wake up until my alarm went off at 6:30.  I’m hoping that coffee and breakfast will help clear the headache and other post-drinking symptoms.  But I’ve had worse mornings after and this one is worth the mild suffering.

Finally I’m getting on track with my sleep … sort of.  After barely staying awake through the second training session yesterday afternoon, I came to my room to collapse for an hour nap.  This helped me get my second wind and stay up until midnight (more typical timing for me).  I still found myself awake at 5 AM, but I belligerently stayed in bed until my alarm went off.  As a result, this post is now coming later in the day than the last two.  I’d say that I’m sorry about this, but I’m really not.

So as part of my efforts to enjoy my trek, I’m making a point of sampling various local cuisines whenever I can.  Since the conference is providing a number of meals for us and I have a decent meal stipend, this is working out fairly well.  I’ve only eaten from the hotel restaurant once so far – apparently the head chef is a contestant on The Next Food Network Star. If the eggs Benedict with crab meat I had for breakfast yesterday was any indication,  then I can see why.  The other samplings I’ve tried while out here include an elegant seafood dinner on Pier 39 (complete with a view of Alcatraz), breakfast at Mel’s Diner, and Jack-in-the-Box (we were aiming for a Japanese sushi place that came well recommended, but they were too busy so we settled).  The catered food so far has been pretty impressive as well – many including well prepared fresh and local produce.  I haven’t planned out the remainder of my dining experiences for the week, but I am trying to skirt the line of adventurous and cautious (I’d rather not end up sick for the rest of the week).

While I am seeming to get my sleep schedule adjusted, I somewhat dread becoming completely acclimated as I will just have to shift back in a few days.  I definitely think that if I plan a vacation out this way anytime in the future (which I’m strongly inclined to do), I will pad it on both ends.  Though I may have to wait until the kids are older (I can just picture Grasshopper bouncing on me in bed at 4 AM ready to take on the world).