canyonwalker: wiseguy (Default)
canyonwalker ([personal profile] canyonwalker) wrote2025-03-08 09:00 am

Trade Show Day 2: Up Early Again 😖

Pasadena Trade Show Travelog #6
At the hotel - Sat, 8 Mar 2025, 6am

Yesterday was a long day kicking off the trade show in Pasadena. It wasn't that I stayed out late carousing; I was actually in bed, lights out, by 9:30. It wasn't even that the show itself was long. The afternoon vendor session was 4 hours, though I did spend 3 hours on setup ahead of that. And I had 3.5 hours of "regular" work with several meetings from my hotel room desk before even that. But what really made it an long day— annoyingly so— was that I woke up at 4am for no good reason. And today it's happening again.

No, I didn't wake up at 4am again. Thankfully. I managed to sleep in 'til 5:30 today. Woohoo? Yay I got 8 hours? I was hoping for more after a marathon day yesterday.

Today's schedule is more straightforward than yesterday's. There's no "cram in as much of a regular Friday of work as possible then go start this show at lunchtime". The show hours are 10-6, and that's all I intend to do work-wise today. It's a Saturday. But, dangit, I really wanted to sleep in 'til... oh, I dunno... the leisurely hour of 7am today?

As to what happened last night with that will-we-or-won't-we get dinner together cliffhanger I left off with.... Shawn and I met for dinner. We went to the Yard House a few blocks away. Well, it was a few blocks away for me and 1/2 block for him. We're at different hotels. At first I grumbled internally that's too faaaar as I was already beat and my feet were aching. But the brief walk was refreshing.

Dinner was exactly what I was hoping for: 1:1 with a new colleague, just shooting the shit about mostly not-work stuff, while downing a few pints of beer with some pub grub. We both were interested in calling it an early evening, so 3 rounds of drinks were plenty. Neither of us wanted to stay out late. (I have some colleagues who consider it a failing if they don't stay out 'til last call.) I was back at my room at 9pm, and lights-out in bed by 9:30.

Now today's another day. I'll see if two days of waking up stupid early has me running out of steam by the time the show day ends at 6pm.