TechEd 2007, Day 2

 

Got a late start today after catching up on emails in the hotel room.  Spent most of the afternoon at the WSS kiosk fielding all sorts of SharePoint questions.  Great traffic and lots of people interested in SharePoint. Even got a chance to talk about Nick’s cool tool BDC Meta Manager.  Unforunately, I’ve been too busy to attend any of the sessions but I’ll be trying to fit some in tomorrow.

 

 

 

Ran out of business cards in less than 24 hours.  This place is hopping.  Luckily they have two full-service Kinko’s onsite so I can get some more printed up.  It’ll be just my luck that I’ll have to walk a mile over to the other building to get it done.  Did I mention how big this place is?

 

Tonight is the Office & MVP party at the Peabody hotel.  Apparently it’s a Carribean theme and, since it ends at 10pm, I’m sure there’s going to be an after party organized by Bob Fox.  Another late night booze fest!

 

 

One of the greatest things about these events is finally getting to meet people whose names I’ve known for years but never seen face to face.  Amanda Murphy just dropped by to say hi and take a quick break.  Unfortunately, her co-worker Shane Perran isn’t here (he thinks work is more important for some odd reason) which is a shame because we’re working together on a project and haven’t ever spoken directly. 

 

 

The Office MVP party is out on the Patio of the Peabody, which is nice, but the food is nothing to write home about.  With the exception of some tasty little beef kabobs it’s pretty drab.  The calypso band isn’t bad but I’m not sure the world is qutie ready for Top 40 Hits of the 80’s on steel drum.  But hey, it’s an open bar so whose complaining?

 

 

Bob, Adam, Gayan and the rest of the crew finally show up, just about the time we’re filling up squirt guns with Tequila and filling up the elevators with bright orange Office beach balls.  Yeah, it was getting out of hand already.

 

 

Off to the MSDN party at Glow.  What a wierd place – all neon and pastels, straight out of Miami Vice circa 1984.  Booze is free but it’s all bottom of the barrel so the professional drunks (read Bob, Adam, Brad and myself) are all grumbling about it.  I feel bad for Patrick, who is forced to drink Budweiser for lack of any good Belgian beer (or any good beer at all, really).  He looks like he’s drinking pickle juice.  At one point Rachel spills and entire beer in Adam’s lap and Bob starts sporting an Irish accent and a name tag that reads ‘Kiran Omalley’.   The wheels have definitely come off this bus.

 

 

Somebody (Polly, in case you’re wondering) decides that Bahama Breeze sounds like a good place to hang out next.  A family restaurant after midnight?  Uh, I’m thinking not.  It all comes apart at the seams when something like ten people try to pile into Brad’s Mustang convertible and another batch start stumbling down the sidewalk (it’s more than a mile away but who’s counting?).  That’s all for me, folks.  I catch a ricshaw back to the hotel (well, it was sort of a rickshaw – more like a Radio Flyer attached to a Schwinn.  You just had to be there.).  I know when crazy becomes stupid and we left crazy behind hours ago.  Time to finally get a few hours sleep.