Conference week

The tutorials begin the week this time. All is quiet and it's a small break after the rush of last Sunday. It also gives me breathing space to work on the app before the demand kicks in on Wednesday.

The tank has come in! True, it's not quite what I was expecting, but hey! It will do!

I head out to the lawn to watch.

The booths are mostly set up. We have a cut out at the stand and some are game enough to have photos taken... We have a wii at the booth. We are offering a prize and the geeks are happy to have a go. Admin2 badgers me to play but I don't like to do that when people are watching. Eventually a passing geek talks me into it. I've never played the game before and get a score of 586. It's not the best but it's not the worst either. *i'm happy. and now i think i want a wii. or maybe an xbox. i miss that...*

I'm waiting for the Gala Dinner. I've arranged the 501st for delegates and I hope they will like it. Not many people know about it and I've kept it that way so it's more of a surprise. I think it goes over well.

I've organised for them to arrest one of the speakers and take him from the stage. But OH NO! Everything is running about fifteen minutes ahead of the run sheet and 501st have missed their cue. The speaker went shorter than time and fled the stage quick smart too. Luckily, I had asked C her opinion about it before adding it to 501st run sheet. The GM took the stage, called the speaker back and arranged the 'arrest' photos. I didn't see the speaker again after so don't know if he enjoyed the experience. I'm told from those who could see that he was in seventh heaven.

I didn't feel well and left before Axis of Awesome.

Budget day and luckily this month is a three pay month. I decide that the bills can wait - MOTH and I will trip up north for a few days. I arrange with C and K to have the week off.

The conference is finally at an end. I'm doing pack up duty with Admin2 and it's between 1600 and 1630 when we finish. I don't like driving a work car in the dark so I had booked an extra night. We decide to stay. We haven't spent all the budget for the week, so we have dinner at the pizzeria. I have carbonara and MOTH a pizza. We sit, talk, wind down. The carbonara is absolutely delicious. We've arrived, been served and eaten within forty-five minutes. I crash after watching Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries and don't stir till after 0600 the next morning. Excellent sleep for me.

Head out the next morning and within mere seconds MOTH says you probably should have gone that way. Things deteriorate from there. Karen tells me to go one way, MOTH tells me another but today he is a terrible navigator and says That way while vaguely waving his hand around. I take several wrong turns. I'm getting frustrated and stressed, MOTH is getting angry too. He asks if I put the right destination in when I started. Yes, I did. He is going to reset it just in case, has a go at taking it off the mount and gives up. Things are getting worse. I duck down an empty side street to do a U turn. We're still arguing and in the few seconds it takes me to pull in and turn, I've not checked the mirror and someone slams on the brakes and beeps their horn. A few seconds in an empty suburban street. MOTH thinks later that she has come around the corner pretty quickly too.

Karen tries to take us back in her original direction and MOTH throws his hands up. Just go where she says. I do. We're on the motorway in a very odd way *it looks like we are going south when we need to go north* and all is good for a time. We pass exit 24, looking for exit 23. Guess what! ... ... It's blocked off. No exit 23. Or 22. Or even 21. We take the next and come home a totally different way.

Finally home! And as I come in the door, MOTH is looking at Jerome. Jerome is looking at me and when I speak, he meows and runs to me, twisting around my ankles and telling me how good it is to see me. He's on the bed, nuzzling my hands and purring like an engine. He's barely left my sight since.... and yet, I have to leave him again...