SAC!
So I'm a bit late posting about Sac, I know...just a couple weeks...heh
Wednesday I packed, this time amazingly managing not to have to use the expanding function of my giant red suitcase. I even brought food this time, too. It saves quite a lot of money not having to buy breakfast every day.
Wednesday night I "spent the night" at young Michelle's (as opposed to old Michelle the advisor) house. That means that at 1:30 am we got up (after an hour of sleep on my part) and got ready to leave. At 3 am we got to Albertson's where the bus was to pick us up, and we were some of the first ones there. Old Ian (senior, not sophomore) was on time for once, but then realized that he'd forgotten his suits, so he had to go get them. Luckily he lives near there...
We then spent a lot of hours on the bus. I don't want to count how many, but it was a bunch. Mostly I tried (note the tried) to sleep, but in the beginning I was very hyper. Fortunately, I got a seat to myself this time. Unfortunately, it's still amazingly hard to sleep on a bus.
At around 7 am, we stopped for breakfast. Most everybody went to McDonald's, but Drew and young Ian and I went to the Carl's Jr. a little farther down. The food still wasn't great, but it was slightly better than what we watched everybody else eating when we went back to the McDonald's to actually eat our food.
At I think around 10 or 10:30 am, we got to the Hyatt in Sac. We stuck our luggage in one of the regency rooms (because our rooms weren't ready), got our schedules and commemorative books, and were set loose for an hour or so to eat (free buffet lunch that day) or do whatever. I ate, talked to Will (State Super of Public Instruction, but more on him later), and looked through my schedule.
Then we all met up to go to Opening Joint. I actually brought and used a camera this time (for like the first time ever...), and so I took a picture at Joint. Unfortunately, it (like several others) didn't turn out. State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell spoke, as did The Honorable Paul, and Attorney General Bill Lockyer (or however you spell it).
After that we went back to the Hyatt to wait to get our room assignments. This took even longer than usual. I fell asleep (I was pooped, despite sleeping some on the bus) in the regency room by my luggage, and woke several hours later to find that the room had shrunk to about a quarter its original size. It was very disorienting.
Now, because Caydee was unable to go to Sac, I was supposed to be sharing a room with Kendal and with two girls from a different delegation. Then, because she wanted to be with her sister, I was going to just share the room with Paggy and Whitney (from the other delegation). This would have been nice, since I'm not especial friends with anybody from my delegation (Drew is the only one I call a friend by my definition, and even by others' only young Ian would be added to that) so I usually spend tons of time with people from elsewhere, and since then I would be in a room with only 3 people.
But then they only gave us 7 rooms for the whole coalition, meaning that I got stuck in the room with Kendal, Chelsea (her sister), Kelly, and Alyssa. 5 instead of 3. Jolly good fun...
Plus, it was a smoking room, and smelled so bad I was nigh in tears with it sometimes.
On top of that, there was only one bed.
Now, I had gotten relegated to the rollaway, so I was happy, but still it wasn't a happy situation.
Thankfully, the advisors next door had two beds for two people, and were willing to switch rooms. Their room also did not smell as much. It was wonderful (comparatively).
We got all our stuff switched around and all that, and separated for dinner. Most people were just planning on eating in their rooms, but I couldn't stand the aroma (we hadn't switched at that point), so I went around trying to find somebody to go with since we're not allowed to go on our own. Finally I found out what room the boys (well, at least Drew and young Ian) were in, and Drew said he'd go to dinner with me. We walked up K street, neither struck by a particular desire to go to anyplace, except me for sushi which he doesn't like (so it was out). We eventually got up to the plaza, and stared at the directory for a long time.
It might be noted that things are still a bit awkward between us, especially going out to dinner as just the two of us...
We decided to go to Jamba Juice, since neither of us was all that hungry...Then I got a call from Vanessa, asking where we were and if she and Anna could have dinner with us. They had said before that they were just going to eat in their rooms, so I was a tad irked, but I said of course they could come. I spent the next who knows how long explaining how to get there.
Really, it's simple. You walk along K street (there's only one K street, and it only goes one way from the Hyatt, and it stops at the plaza). You walk past the Hard Rock Cafe at the opening of the plaza, and Jamba Juice is just past that. If you can't find that, there's a really obvious escalator at the opening of the plaza, and a directory front and center at the top. Still, they didn't really understand.
Drew and I went and got our smoothies (and I got a giant pretzel thing, since I had more time before session and was hungry), then sat down at one of the few tables.
Anna and Vanessa showed up a while later and got theirs, just as Drew was heading off to session. Five or ten minutes later, I left, too, since I had session a while later, and it was at the very top of the Hyatt.
I ended up way early (like 45 minutes) early for session, so I just sat there in Capitol View (the 15th floor of the Hyatt) and knit. Eventually people started showing up. Renee (a friend from Bob II) sat near me, and I talked to her some. Will showed up barely on time, as did the staff. We spent most of the time playing an icebreaker as described below:
Everybody picked the name of a fruit. I was starfruit (I had to be weird, of course!) There was a person in the middle, who started out by saying loves . Will started, and he said, "Will loves Orange" since Will didn't have a fruit. Orange then had to say "Orange loves " before the person in the middle could tag them. And so it went until somebody got tagged or said the name of the person in the middle instead of the name (fruit) of a person sitting down.
Finally we got around to business. We talked a little about what we'd done before for the benefit of the new people, then divided up into our task forces with an assigment: pick what to do about a budget dilema. We had 300,000 and 600,000 worth of projects. We had to either rasie taxes or pick a few important projects.
After that, I called my haha to get the information I had left at home in front of the computer from Bob, and then I went down to the hotel room. I organized stuff, got ready for bed, and went to sleep. This all took a while, so I probably went to bed at around midnight by the time all was said and done, maybe later.
I'm going to leave it at that for now, though. More will come...eventually...
Wednesday I packed, this time amazingly managing not to have to use the expanding function of my giant red suitcase. I even brought food this time, too. It saves quite a lot of money not having to buy breakfast every day.
Wednesday night I "spent the night" at young Michelle's (as opposed to old Michelle the advisor) house. That means that at 1:30 am we got up (after an hour of sleep on my part) and got ready to leave. At 3 am we got to Albertson's where the bus was to pick us up, and we were some of the first ones there. Old Ian (senior, not sophomore) was on time for once, but then realized that he'd forgotten his suits, so he had to go get them. Luckily he lives near there...
We then spent a lot of hours on the bus. I don't want to count how many, but it was a bunch. Mostly I tried (note the tried) to sleep, but in the beginning I was very hyper. Fortunately, I got a seat to myself this time. Unfortunately, it's still amazingly hard to sleep on a bus.
At around 7 am, we stopped for breakfast. Most everybody went to McDonald's, but Drew and young Ian and I went to the Carl's Jr. a little farther down. The food still wasn't great, but it was slightly better than what we watched everybody else eating when we went back to the McDonald's to actually eat our food.
At I think around 10 or 10:30 am, we got to the Hyatt in Sac. We stuck our luggage in one of the regency rooms (because our rooms weren't ready), got our schedules and commemorative books, and were set loose for an hour or so to eat (free buffet lunch that day) or do whatever. I ate, talked to Will (State Super of Public Instruction, but more on him later), and looked through my schedule.
Then we all met up to go to Opening Joint. I actually brought and used a camera this time (for like the first time ever...), and so I took a picture at Joint. Unfortunately, it (like several others) didn't turn out. State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell spoke, as did The Honorable Paul, and Attorney General Bill Lockyer (or however you spell it).
After that we went back to the Hyatt to wait to get our room assignments. This took even longer than usual. I fell asleep (I was pooped, despite sleeping some on the bus) in the regency room by my luggage, and woke several hours later to find that the room had shrunk to about a quarter its original size. It was very disorienting.
Now, because Caydee was unable to go to Sac, I was supposed to be sharing a room with Kendal and with two girls from a different delegation. Then, because she wanted to be with her sister, I was going to just share the room with Paggy and Whitney (from the other delegation). This would have been nice, since I'm not especial friends with anybody from my delegation (Drew is the only one I call a friend by my definition, and even by others' only young Ian would be added to that) so I usually spend tons of time with people from elsewhere, and since then I would be in a room with only 3 people.
But then they only gave us 7 rooms for the whole coalition, meaning that I got stuck in the room with Kendal, Chelsea (her sister), Kelly, and Alyssa. 5 instead of 3. Jolly good fun...
Plus, it was a smoking room, and smelled so bad I was nigh in tears with it sometimes.
On top of that, there was only one bed.
Now, I had gotten relegated to the rollaway, so I was happy, but still it wasn't a happy situation.
Thankfully, the advisors next door had two beds for two people, and were willing to switch rooms. Their room also did not smell as much. It was wonderful (comparatively).
We got all our stuff switched around and all that, and separated for dinner. Most people were just planning on eating in their rooms, but I couldn't stand the aroma (we hadn't switched at that point), so I went around trying to find somebody to go with since we're not allowed to go on our own. Finally I found out what room the boys (well, at least Drew and young Ian) were in, and Drew said he'd go to dinner with me. We walked up K street, neither struck by a particular desire to go to anyplace, except me for sushi which he doesn't like (so it was out). We eventually got up to the plaza, and stared at the directory for a long time.
It might be noted that things are still a bit awkward between us, especially going out to dinner as just the two of us...
We decided to go to Jamba Juice, since neither of us was all that hungry...Then I got a call from Vanessa, asking where we were and if she and Anna could have dinner with us. They had said before that they were just going to eat in their rooms, so I was a tad irked, but I said of course they could come. I spent the next who knows how long explaining how to get there.
Really, it's simple. You walk along K street (there's only one K street, and it only goes one way from the Hyatt, and it stops at the plaza). You walk past the Hard Rock Cafe at the opening of the plaza, and Jamba Juice is just past that. If you can't find that, there's a really obvious escalator at the opening of the plaza, and a directory front and center at the top. Still, they didn't really understand.
Drew and I went and got our smoothies (and I got a giant pretzel thing, since I had more time before session and was hungry), then sat down at one of the few tables.
Anna and Vanessa showed up a while later and got theirs, just as Drew was heading off to session. Five or ten minutes later, I left, too, since I had session a while later, and it was at the very top of the Hyatt.
I ended up way early (like 45 minutes) early for session, so I just sat there in Capitol View (the 15th floor of the Hyatt) and knit. Eventually people started showing up. Renee (a friend from Bob II) sat near me, and I talked to her some. Will showed up barely on time, as did the staff. We spent most of the time playing an icebreaker as described below:
Everybody picked the name of a fruit. I was starfruit (I had to be weird, of course!) There was a person in the middle, who started out by saying loves . Will started, and he said, "Will loves Orange" since Will didn't have a fruit. Orange then had to say "Orange loves " before the person in the middle could tag them. And so it went until somebody got tagged or said the name of the person in the middle instead of the name (fruit) of a person sitting down.
Finally we got around to business. We talked a little about what we'd done before for the benefit of the new people, then divided up into our task forces with an assigment: pick what to do about a budget dilema. We had 300,000 and 600,000 worth of projects. We had to either rasie taxes or pick a few important projects.
After that, I called my haha to get the information I had left at home in front of the computer from Bob, and then I went down to the hotel room. I organized stuff, got ready for bed, and went to sleep. This all took a while, so I probably went to bed at around midnight by the time all was said and done, maybe later.
I'm going to leave it at that for now, though. More will come...eventually...