Had a bit of a slow start as I had a rough night and really wanted to try to sleep more. But I also needed food and snarfage. My decision was made for me when I coworker called about her email problem. I thought I solved it, but maybe it’s still not working; I don’t know. But by then, I was awake. So I headed up to the club level for some breakfast. I ended up eating with our executive director and enjoying the view from the 29th floor.

Then I ventured out of the Sheraton to find the Trader Joe’s to stock up on food for the week. On the way, I found a few snarfs and Eeyore found a lion friend (I take lots of photos of Eeyore with lions).

The one thing I wanted to buy at Trader Joe’s was the one thing I thought maybe they didn’t have (I don’t go to Trader Joe’s often at home as Whole Foods is more conveniently located to my home). But I was THRILLED they had my favorite rice cakes! The Whole Foods back home has about 8 different varieties of the rice cakes, but this Trader Joe’s just had the one–and it was my favorite! I bought 3 and have already begun snacking on them (I eat them like chips). SO THRILLED! I ran into Diane, her husband, and her adorable baby there as well.

After dropping the food off in my room, I headed out again. I had 45 minutes to get to the Boston Public Library and back. I just needed a good literary infusion before starting the conference. So I went in, rubbed the lion’s tail for good luck, took another few photos of Eeyore with a lion, and ducked into the King Arthur’s quest for the Holy Grail room. That place is so beautiful and calming. Then I practically sprinted back to the hotel and made it with a few minutes to space. I dashed up to my room, splashed water on my face, grabbed my laptop, and headed back down in time for the staff tour.

Christian showed us around the venue. I took notes because I knew I’d forget. And I’ve already forgotten most of where everything is. But I’m fairly confident I’ll be able to find my way to registration again, because we spent hours unpacking boxes of bags, setting up stations, perferating name badges, etc. Mekhala and I struggled with the airport (we’ve never used this kind of connect before with a set range of static IP addresses, so I’ve been worried about it for weeks… hence my rubbing the lion’s tail this morning!). Eventually we got it working and it should be fine onsite tomorrow!

I spent about an hour in my room, snacking and showering and trying to not fall asleep. Then we picked teams for the AWP team scavenger hunt. My team is totally going to win. I won last year; I’ve got a reputation to maintain!

Then I went out to dinner with the AWP staff and board. It was the second-longest dinner in my time at AWP. We met in the lobby at 5:45pm, got to the hotel at 6pm, and then got back to the hotel around 11:30pm. And I was served this. The bubbles made me a bit uneasy and we were all mystified by it, so I had to get a photo of it:

I’m turning in early. BIG DAY TOMORROW! I hear back home there is a huge snowstorm that I’m missing. *pout* And many people are having their flights to AWP delayed, so I hope everyone gets here eventually and gets here safe!