Back from Vegas
Last week I went to Vegas as usual, for the GAMA Trade Show (GTS). I got back from my trip late Thursday night, and this is actually the first chance I’ve had to post about it.
The trip was good. Hectic, though. I got in at about 4pm on Sunday and went straight to the bag-stuffing, a tradition I helped start about four years ago which involves people voluntarily helping to stuff promo/freebie bags for the show. It’s a chaotic mess, and lots of fun. And I didn’t really stop moving until I left Thursday at 2pm.
A lot of what I was doing this year was seminars. I was asked to serve on two different freelancing seminars (beginning and advanced) by my buddy, freelancer extraordinaire Matt Forbeck. Then at the last minute he asked me to help him out with another seminar, The Seven Signs of Highly Effective Freelancers, which we had created last year. Each one ran twice, and the beginning and advanced seminars were each three hours long. Which, when you add it all up, is a lot of time I wasn’t in the exhibit hall.
It’s interesting but normally I’d say that I spend about half my time at this show doing Clockworks stuff and the other half doing stuff for my own career. This year was more like 20-80. And I don’t think that’s a bad thing. I usually come back with three to five follow-ups—this year I came back with sixteen.
The Riviera, where the show was held, was okay if a bit seedy. The exhibit hall was decent, though it seemed sparse, and the seminar rooms were good. My wife and daughter didn’t come with me, so I was up until about 3 each night hanging out with other industry people. I had several very good dinners, went to two parties (one very cool, the other very cheesy), caught up with some old friends, made some new ones, and generally enjoyed myself.
And, much to my wife’s chagrin, I barely gambled at all. And when I did I lost. I told her it’s just not the same without her there.
It took me the weekend to recover, especially since I went to work Friday as normal. Now I’m back, and starting those follow-ups. If even a third of them come through, I should have a very busy—and very profitable—year.
The trip was good. Hectic, though. I got in at about 4pm on Sunday and went straight to the bag-stuffing, a tradition I helped start about four years ago which involves people voluntarily helping to stuff promo/freebie bags for the show. It’s a chaotic mess, and lots of fun. And I didn’t really stop moving until I left Thursday at 2pm.
A lot of what I was doing this year was seminars. I was asked to serve on two different freelancing seminars (beginning and advanced) by my buddy, freelancer extraordinaire Matt Forbeck. Then at the last minute he asked me to help him out with another seminar, The Seven Signs of Highly Effective Freelancers, which we had created last year. Each one ran twice, and the beginning and advanced seminars were each three hours long. Which, when you add it all up, is a lot of time I wasn’t in the exhibit hall.
It’s interesting but normally I’d say that I spend about half my time at this show doing Clockworks stuff and the other half doing stuff for my own career. This year was more like 20-80. And I don’t think that’s a bad thing. I usually come back with three to five follow-ups—this year I came back with sixteen.
The Riviera, where the show was held, was okay if a bit seedy. The exhibit hall was decent, though it seemed sparse, and the seminar rooms were good. My wife and daughter didn’t come with me, so I was up until about 3 each night hanging out with other industry people. I had several very good dinners, went to two parties (one very cool, the other very cheesy), caught up with some old friends, made some new ones, and generally enjoyed myself.
And, much to my wife’s chagrin, I barely gambled at all. And when I did I lost. I told her it’s just not the same without her there.
It took me the weekend to recover, especially since I went to work Friday as normal. Now I’m back, and starting those follow-ups. If even a third of them come through, I should have a very busy—and very profitable—year.
posted by Gryphon Rose @ 10:50 AM
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