Hate and Discontent...

This morning is off to a rocky start....

I guess it mostly started yesterday; it was my "cheat-day" when I am allowed to go off my "diet" and indulge. Which is pretty easy at Tech Ed, it's junk-food heaven. I had more sugar yesterday then I think I normally have in a month.

After the conference, I attended a Microsoft event, which I really enjoyed (Thanks Drew!) and where I continued to indulge in rich "no-no" food, and was out much later than normal. I got back to my room about 11:30 PM, which is basically the equivalent of 2:00 AM for me with a splitting head-ache. I had to get up at 5:30 to work out (sprints, yay) so I went straight to bed.

5:30 came, and boy did it suck. I downed an energy drink and hit the gym. I was hoping to do 45 minutes, but at about 30, all of yesterdays gastronomical indiscretion came crashing down. I had the stomach ache to end all stomach aches. Imagine the worst hang-over you've ever had and now picture it focused in your stomach. I went back up to my room and got ready to head over to the conference. On the way I stopped in the little store in the lobby of the hotel to get some Pepto Bismol. The total came to $9.71 (I got some Rolaids too, and it is a hotel gift shop) but the very nice lady working there keyed it into the credit card machine as $97.10. It took are about ten minutes to straighten it out. Meanwhile the $97.10 charge is still pending on my account.

Here's where the suckiness starts.

I go get on a shuttle bus at 7:30 AM. The conference starts at 8:30. I figure if I get some "real" food into me before the sessions, I'll be cool. I got on a shuttle but run by "Datco" The bus loads, and instead of leaving at the appointed time, they driver spends and extra ten minutes hitting on the nerd-herder. When he FINALLY realizes that he's not getting anywhere, he climbs in and we take off. He heads to the next hotel, and proceeds to go through the wrong entrance. Then he spends another ten minutes hitting an another nerd-herder. Realizing he's 0 for 2, he gets back on and we head to the next hotel, and the next nerd-herder. Sorry dude, three trips to the line and three air-balls. So, finally we are off to the convention center, right? Wrong. And this part wasn't really his fault. The guy in the truck in front of us decides to stop (on a one lane road) and have a conversation with his buddy walking along the side walk. Apparently he doesn't notice the tour bus behind him, and why would he, it's not like it's a giant, several thousand pound object or anything. Why our driver does start laying on the horn and get the guy to move, I'll never know. So truck guy FINALLY finished his conversation and we are off. Home free, right? Wrong. The driver got lost twice on the way to the convention center. And lets be clear, it is not a long trip. I've been here three and a half days, and I'm pretty sure I could find my way. It took us an hour to get from the hotel to the conference. On the way, we were passed by two busses from our route. I practically inhaled breakfast before I had to sprint to the next session. Gah!

Thanks Datco, next time I'll just walk. :(

OK, enough anger for today. I promise the next post will be happiness and sunshine.

Update: I was informed earlier that there is a Boston-wide bus strike. Apparently it's gone so far that several drivers have "commandeered" a bus, plastered it with signs, and are driving around area hotels taunting people waiting for their much-delayed busses.

I don't know that this tempers my irritation from earlier, the bus business is a business and they need to do what it takes to provide service. But, I'm no fan of the unions in general either...