Home again from SF

Thursday started inauspiciously: My whole purpose to being in SF this time was to maintain a table (for recruiting and sales) at a nursing symposium. To this end, I was shipped our banners and some literature to hand out… three large unwieldy boxes of stuff. I hopped into a cab and gave him the address, and minutes later was dropped off… only to discover after hauling my stuff inside that I had been dropped off 3 blocks from the actual place.

So I grabbed my huge boxes and slogged, huffing and puffing in my best suit. I arrived with plenty of time to set up, only to find our tables were off in a corner of the event that could not be happened upon accidentally, so foot traffic was doomed to be light.

Add to this that I spied no fewer than a dozen of our major competitors lurking around, NOT with a table but free to roam through the crowd, passing out cards, making connections. No this wasn’t going to be a great day by any means.
As the day progressed, it became obvious to all (my competitors included) that this was not a prime hunting ground at any rate: The people here were not key decision makers – they were mostly rank and file, and most without the sort of experience we hire for either. So by the end, the wolves were mostly standing around comparing war stories, and there was no business being transacted.

One good thing was watching some of the presentations: It’ll be at a forum very like this one that I’ll be presenting in 2 weeks, so it was good to get a feel for the format. The other thing that was good/interesting is that it continues to validate some of the product ideas I had for nursing tablets, RFID, and pager systems from a few years ago… there is still nothing like this on the earth….

The day felt like a bit of a waste, though getting the name out and maintaining a presence is certainly not a bad thing. Midway through, I took a call to discover that one of my clients in Portland has decided to cancel all 2009 initiatives to recover from a budget shortfall, so that’s an opportunity not there either.

At least the East Coast is looking quite promising!

Pamela reminded me that I’ll be donating blood on Saturday, so I should go get some steak, so steak I got, building up that iron in my blood – though not enough to set off the metal detectors at the airport. No further SF shenanigans – since I really don’t want this cold to take root, I decided to turn in a bit early.

For one reason or another, sleep didn’t come to me in the night – I had 3 hours down, 2 hours of raging insomnia (I actually turned on the lights and read for a while), then 2 more hours of sleep before heading to the airport.

At the airport, I took the plunge and registered for the TSA Frequent Traveler Program: In this, they scan two forms of ID, take finger prints, and scan your retinas. In 2 weeks I’ll get a card that will allow me to jump to the head of a security line with a scan of my finger and eye. It is very sci-fi, and I suppose I should be somewhat concerned about the privacy implications, but something about the technology was just irresistible to me. Retina scans! Plus, cutting 10-20 minutes out of a security line is pretty attractive. It’s not for all airports yet, but it is at a few of my frequent ones, so it may be worth it.

While going through the security line, I did witness a sad sight: a very old man with a walker and obvious cognitive issues being run through the metal detector back and forth being asked about things in his pockets, having his shoes taken off, etc. Seriously TSA, when you see that, just take the dude aside right away – it reflects poorly on you!

It was my every intention to try to sleep on the plane home, but after a valiant 45 minutes of keeping my eyes shut, my brain showed no signs of interest in shutting down. So I’m typing this up and will post it when I land…

This was a very long week for me: I felt like my trip to SF really wasn’t that productive, AND I didn’t feel well enough to properly goof off. Add to this that between last week’s trip, the weekend in Seattle, and this week’s trip, I’m missing my Isaac and Bella something fierce. I’ve been looking forward to an extended roughhousing and cuddling session immediately upon my return. Like for 2-3 days.

I have no trips this week coming up, which is good because I need to continue to refine my presentations for late May. And I need to anchor myself in a place for a while before flying again.