AAJ San Francisco - mashup days 1 and 2

Photo:  Gary Pillersdorf doing his thing at the Belli seminar with Linda Atkinson looking adoringly on.

Wake up from semi-conscious state just in time to glimpse the wreckage of the Korean jetliner still at the airport.  Shuffle off the plane.  It is 9:30 a.m.

Find limo driver.  Follow him to car.  He wants to talk.  I want to zone out.  Good manners kick in.  We talk the whole way.  He is quite delightful.  If we had more time, I could probably recite his family tree for you.

Arrive at Hilton. Room on the 9th floor Tower 2.  Nondescript, neat and fairly quiet.  Throw bag on bed and put away everything right away. Because that is what always do.

Rush down to ballroom where Belli seminar is on break for lunch.  Grab horrid lunch.  Blech.  Eat it anyway.  Give hugs and kisses to Gary Pillersdorf and Janice Kim.  Sit in corner, put finishing touches to powerpoint.   Metaphors, similes, analogies and allegories.  My fault for choosing a new topic.   Couldn't recycle anything.  Save to thumb drive and give to Linda Atkinson.  Eventually give speech.

Back to hotel room.  Go for run.  Meet M and D (can't tell you their secret identities) for fantastic dinner at Greens at Fort Mason. Try to get cab.  No cab.  Go back inside restaurant.  They call a cab.  Cab takes about half an hour to get there.  We could have walked back.  But it was too cold.

Back to hotel room.  Work on next PPT.  Go to sleep.

Wake up.

Grab horrible breakfast.  They are now 0 for 2.  Eat it anyway.  Finish PPT.  Go to meeting number 1.

Time for lunch. Should have learned after the first two times. Worst meal yet. Vow not to eat another thing made in the hotel.  Chit chat with various friends.

Go back up to room and change out of comfortable black tunic/leggings/sandles.  Put on very fitted gray dress and heels.

Clip clop down tower 2 thru lobby and get lost trying to find continental ballroom.  Find it.  Give speech on spinal cord injury.

Am late for next meeting.  Clip clop up and around and down long hall.  Arrive at almost the end.

Rush back to ballroom area.  Give speech on powerpoint.

Am late for next meeting.  Clip clop up and around and down same long hall but farther.  Arrive at almost the end.  Mel Orchard is there.  Show him the super duper convention attendee blog .  He laughs and punches me in the arm.

Go back up to room.  Throw on run stuff and head out.  Make it back.  Clean up and go to opening reception.  Fail at first to realize it is not in the hotel.   Walk to Exploratorium.   Apparently there were buses, but was oblivious.  Chit chat with friends.  Hang for a while with Pat LePley.    Eat a very bad hors d'ouvre.  Pat bails on going to dinner with me and Stewart Casper's family.

Look for Stewart.  Can't find him in mass of people.  Decide to take a cab to dinner.  Go outside and there's Stewart.  He has another lawyer with him who will take Pat's place.  Bill Bloss.  Also from Connecticut but is currently staying in LA because is on the team of lawyers representing Michael Jackson's Estate in a wrongful death trial.  How cool is that.  Dinner is at Gary Danko which is the opposite of horrible food.  Extremely delicious.

Bill and I share a cab but I tell the cabbie to take us back to the wrong Hilton.  We walk back a mile or so and he tells me more tidbits about the trial.  As we are about a block away, one of the friendly neighborhood derelicts comments on Bill's "pimpin' summer suit."  Bill doesn't think it's funny.  So hide my smile.