Australia Day 2 - Back to Work
I slept in as long as I could. The sun was crawling around the edges of the heavy curtains, determined to pry my heavy eyelids open. Grudgingly, I rolled over to look at the alarm clock and see what time it was.
5:45am.
Ugh, I rolled over and shielded my head with another pillow. Eventually, I could sleep no more. I glanced at the little timekeeper in the corner:
6:25am.
Reluctantly, I got up and began my day. I got dressed and went out on my first mission of the day: To find a wall adapter for my laptop. (I left my universal adapter kit at home.) After trying several stores, I had luck at the "chemist" shop (what might be called a "pharmacy" elsewhere). Gleefully I returned back to the room and plugged my laptop in. By now it was 10:30am and time for me to Skype home to tuck the family into bed. We enjoyed the visit and, after a short devotional and prayer time, kissed each of them via webcam and sent them off to bed.
Next, I walked over to the convention center to register my attendance and begin surveying the location. From there, I headed over to a mall just south of the convention center - Pacific Fair. The usual food court suspects were there along with the same American retail experiences. A few odd twists: Bed, Bath and Table (not much "Beyond" that...), Colourado (yes, someone thought that British spelling of Spanish words was acceptable) and Hungry Jack's (think the old Burger King logo but with the words Hungry Jack's instead - identical menu too). I did some grocery shopping for fresh fruit and retreated to my room. While there I ate some lunch while watching reruns of AFL ("Aussie Rules" football) games on television.
At 4:00pm I dressed up and went back to the convention center for my orientation. Over the next two days I will be helping conference attendees in the Hands-On Labs. Because of my SharePoint experience I will be working the Developer labs (cute, I know). The evening activity was a Welcome Reception featuring the obligatory buffet dinner and open bar, along with a visit to many of the different vendor booths in the Exhibition Hall.
Back in the room it was 8:30pm. I called home via Skype to say "Good morning" to the kids on their first day of school. Strange to think I lived my entire day today while the family was asleep, and now it's their turn. It's almost 9:00pm now and I'm wiped out. Time to sleep and prepare for tomorrow. Until then...
5:45am.
Ugh, I rolled over and shielded my head with another pillow. Eventually, I could sleep no more. I glanced at the little timekeeper in the corner:
6:25am.
Reluctantly, I got up and began my day. I got dressed and went out on my first mission of the day: To find a wall adapter for my laptop. (I left my universal adapter kit at home.) After trying several stores, I had luck at the "chemist" shop (what might be called a "pharmacy" elsewhere). Gleefully I returned back to the room and plugged my laptop in. By now it was 10:30am and time for me to Skype home to tuck the family into bed. We enjoyed the visit and, after a short devotional and prayer time, kissed each of them via webcam and sent them off to bed.
Next, I walked over to the convention center to register my attendance and begin surveying the location. From there, I headed over to a mall just south of the convention center - Pacific Fair. The usual food court suspects were there along with the same American retail experiences. A few odd twists: Bed, Bath and Table (not much "Beyond" that...), Colourado (yes, someone thought that British spelling of Spanish words was acceptable) and Hungry Jack's (think the old Burger King logo but with the words Hungry Jack's instead - identical menu too). I did some grocery shopping for fresh fruit and retreated to my room. While there I ate some lunch while watching reruns of AFL ("Aussie Rules" football) games on television.
At 4:00pm I dressed up and went back to the convention center for my orientation. Over the next two days I will be helping conference attendees in the Hands-On Labs. Because of my SharePoint experience I will be working the Developer labs (cute, I know). The evening activity was a Welcome Reception featuring the obligatory buffet dinner and open bar, along with a visit to many of the different vendor booths in the Exhibition Hall.
Back in the room it was 8:30pm. I called home via Skype to say "Good morning" to the kids on their first day of school. Strange to think I lived my entire day today while the family was asleep, and now it's their turn. It's almost 9:00pm now and I'm wiped out. Time to sleep and prepare for tomorrow. Until then...
