Music to the max!

It's 11.30 pm on Tuesday. The Gala *galah* dinner has wound down and I'm mellow and ready for sleep.

Monday seemed uncommonly busy. Or maybe it was just first day set up. There seemed to be a lot of people around the booth area, the foot traffic ebbing and flowing with the timing of the talks.

We have a new booth position this year. I'm not sure if we will be able to use the same spot for 2011, depending on what others think. The booth ended up directly under the stairs. Admin2 and one of the managers hated it on sight. When I say directly under the stairs, that's exactly what I mean. It wasn't Harry Potter under the stairs, but it's a close run thing. It's also a major walkway, with plenty of foot traffic through the centre of the booth. This year we had been granted a full booth space, plus a small area on the other side of the walkway that had been used by a small vendor exhibit which was not in place for 2010.

By the end of today, Admin2 was rethinking her position, conceding that although there was foot traffic, more people seemed to be stopping to talk. I like the position because it's directly in front of the entrance way and there is lots of foot traffic. The manager hates it because of those exact same reasons. It's claustrophobic cause it's under the stairs. We are sharing space this year and she thought they were taking away the focus from us. There was too much foot traffic. *sigh* Can't please some people.

The gala dinner was tonight. It started with a gathering poolside. Outdoors. Brr! The temperature was relatively mild but were it any colder I wouldn't have gone out there. After about half hour, we were called in to get seated for dinner. I didn't know where we wanted to sit. I confess I did get a bit snappy with MOTH as I was trying to find someone I knew, talk to him and take a photo all at the same time. He got grumpy cause he couldn't hear what I was saying. I repeated myself, too loudly it seemed. Ah well, off to a good start. We ended up sitting with one of the managers, and discovered that two very high profile names were also at the table.

Entree was already awaiting at the table. Poached chicken or a lamb dish. I had the chicken. The meat was tender, with a salty feta. Excellent dish. Then entertainment. Whoo! Jimoein. An Irish comedian with a very Australian flavour. I think maybe some of the references were over the head of some of the overseas guests. I doubt they would have gotten the reference to kangaroos going to the side of the road to die.... Perhaps they were wondering why the Aussies were laughing like mad things. There were awards presented and then the main meals came out. MOTH had barramundi, I had beef. Again, the meat was tender. A thick fillet, topped with a field mushroom and some sort of glaze. Very, very good. One of the high profile guests bought a bottle of red wine and offered it around. No one spoke up so I timidly took him up on the offer. It was very good. I had almost finished my glass when the waitress began to pour some of the house red into the glass! I was offered a refil by the person who bought the bottle; he commented that sometimes the blend could be very good. After a small time he asked the waitress for some of the house red and experimented with the blend.

The second round of entertainment was a group called Yummy Opera. They sing some opera songs and get a member of the audience up to play the male lead of Carmen. It is quite funny although a lot rests on the shoulders of how well the male lead becomes involved. Our bunny tonight got right into the spirit of the thing and it was hard to tell that he wasn't actually a part of the act. He was brilliant.

Dessert eventually rolled out, and I had to sample a little of everything. Small things from the buffet. The white chocolate dome was to die for. A white chocolate shell with some very fluffy, creamy white stuff in the middle.

So now, with feet very very sore, I did the walk of shame to the lift. We're back in the room and I'm ready for sleep!

G'night!