The good?
1. I had an excuse to buy coffee yesterday morning.
Doesn’t coffee you don’t make yourself just taste better sometimes?
2. I got upgraded to first class and got to sit next to a man with the worst best toupee I’ve ever seen. I really wish I could’ve gotten a picture for you guys but there was just no way without being completely obvious. I was hoping he’d doze off so I could whip the camera out but no such luck.
3. I finally got to try Pizza Fusion for lunch. With a tagline of “saving the earth one pizza at a time” I was more than game. I feel like every Florida blogger has posted about this place multiple times so when I saw one on the cab ride to the hotel I knew that’s where I was headed for lunch.
Amazing arugula, beet, feta & roasted onion salad to start.
And, the Farmer’s Market personal pizza on a multi-grain crust.
Overall, it was pretty good. The salad was delicious and the pizza wasn’t bad either. My only complaint was that the sauce tasted a little too much like a jarred one for me. I’m super picky with tomato sauces though. There was no Ragu or Prego in our house growing up. Homemade every Sunday. The good part about that? I know how to make my own tomato sauce. The bad? I’m a tomato sauce snob now.
4. After lunch, I got to have my second mocha coconut Frappuccino of the summer. God, these things are insanely good!
5. The best part of the day though was the ridiculous amount of fun my coworker James and I had putting up our booth for the conference.
Evidence #1:
This is James pretending to be the male genitalia.
Evidence #2:
Hey, if you have to “work” on a Saturday you might as well make it entertaining.
6. We actually went for a run after this, hence the workout clothes. We managed 1.85 miles outside and then I did another 2.15 on the treadmill in the hotel gym to round it out to 4 miles total. It is HOT in Tampa. Somehow we managed an 8:18 pace for that 1.85 miles. That is the quickest I’ve run in heat like this in a while. Thank God the 5K starts at 6:45am on Tuesday.
The bad part of the day?
1. Finding out you had to pre-register for the 5K to get a real race number and timing chip. #Fail. If I’m going to run a race I want it timed dammit!
So here’s my plan. There are a bunch of people registered to walk the race. I’m going to ask one of them politely if they wouldn’t mind lending me their bib & timing chip so it can count. Obviously, I’ll be recorded as them, but at least I’ll know an official time. What walker really cares about their time, right?
2. Finding out my company only registered 1 of us as a full attendee so I can’t attend any of the “events” of this conference. I am strictly an exhibitor and get no event privileges. Sometimes these conferences are lenient about this, this happens to not be one of them. So I flew in on Saturday for nothing but setting up a booth. Awesome.
At least the good far out weighed the bad today. 
Random question: Does anyone else get annoyed when hotels leave the drain of the bathtub closed and you have to then touch the drain to open it when you shower?
Anyone who knows me and my OCD tendencies will not be surprised that this GROSSES ME OUT and therefore I use a tissue while touching it!
{ 19 comments… read them below or add one }
Oh my gosh I’ve never had that happen in a hotel before but that is GROSS!! I would definitely be annoyed (or more likely disgusted!) by that.
Glad the good outweighed the bad today! It always makes working on a Saturday easier to swallow
Hahahaha, I love that video!
You guys look like you are enjoying yourselves to say the least!
And I definitely think you should ask a walker for their bib and chip. I once did a race that wasn’t “officially” timed because you had to pay EXTRA for a timing chip!! WTF?!
I find the shower drain to be extremely annoying too!
And yes, coffee that you do not make yourself ALWAYS tastes better.
Holla for getting moved up to first class! Hope you can get yourself a chip for the 5k Tuesday!! Have fun in Tampa!
Bahaha that video!
I have worked at enough of those conference thingys to know that you’ll probably be wanting that box to hide in come lunchtime tomo!! And man that mocha coconut frappuccino looks delish!! Have as much fun as you possibly can whilst on a conference trip! 
And good luck getting a chip n bib for the race, i’m sure you’ll be able to!
I’m dying from this video! Probably more so that I know you and James.
Hope you have fun at the conference! Send back something good with the booth.
I’m totally guilty of Starbucksing just because I’m convinced that it tastes better when I pay $3.00 for it rather than just brew it at home. Don’t feel guilty, you are not alone
& I feel you on the shower drain– that’s pretty freaking gross…
Just sayin’
hahahaha, so Steve didn’t tell you to be careful with the “$10,000 booth!!?!!”
good idea on asking a walker! someone should give you their bib and timer =) I would! <3
I’m totally guilty of going to Starbucks today too
OMG GINA That video just made Jon and I laugh SO HARD!!!! You are HILARIOUS!!!!!!! LOL and so ugh about not being registered right
But WOOO on first class…and seeing an awesome tupee.
Toupee commentary was classic. I always seem to sit by people like that. And I also L.O.V.E. getting to drink more coffee than usual while traveling. Good luck!!
I have never noticed hotels doing that but yea – it would gross me out!
And that does look like a good time despite the work. Yummy lunch and silly antics? Sounds good to me! Also, your plan for the race and asking a walker sounds very doable.
You are in Tampa?!! Where?!
At the convention center downtown. Are you close?
Yes! My school is near downtown and I live near Bayshore!!
Ahh, too bad we didn’t figure this out earlier, I leave tonight
Phooey! Hope you enjoyed your run on Bayshore this AM! I love running on Bayshore…except when it’s super hot because there is absolutely no shade! Safe travels back to NY!
I hate the drain thing. I normally don’t notice till I realize there is too much water at my feet. Not only do you have to touch the nasty drain but you have to reach through the dirty water. My question is how is it shut to clean. If they clean and then rise, wouldn’t it be open to drain out. Makes no sense to be at all. BTW did James really run that fast?
haha, you should ask James how the run was. He did run that fast, but he was DRAGGING at the end
That’s why we only did 1.85 outside and I finished up by myself on the treadmill.
{ 1 trackback }