Grab the podium with both hands, and hang on.
On the 4th of September, I was told by my boss that he wanted me to attend a trade show in Chicago at the end of the month. I was to go to Graph Expo on the 29th, take a turn around the floor and see what the competition was up to, collect some collateral we could study, that sort of thing. They were going to put me up at the Palmer House Hilton - a lovely hotel in the heart of Chicago, one of my very favorites - and hang out with my co-workers that were staffing the show, and they'd fly me back the next day. Needless to say, I thought this was a pretty sweet arrangement. So, on the 5th I booked the travel with the company travel agent.
On September 8, out of a clear blue sky, they laid off half my department, including my boss, and handed over the planning and execution of this trade show over to me. What was to be a pleasurable overnight junket has now turned into a 9-day ordeal, coordinating the details of an event I had no hand in planning. Now I'm going out to Chicago on the 24th, to wrestle with the union guys, builders, techs and salesmen. They've even got me purchasing appliances and snacks on-site. (Yeah, I have to buy and stock a mini-fridge. MARKETING!) And then I have to break it all down and ship it back, flying back to Boston on October 2nd.
And then I fly out the 3rd to my friend Ken's wedding. Which I'm more interested in, actually.
But before I can get to that, I have to march through a week or more of event planning hell.
Am I apprehensive? You betcha.
But hey, Palmer House Hilton.
I'll let you know how it pans out on the other side.
On September 8, out of a clear blue sky, they laid off half my department, including my boss, and handed over the planning and execution of this trade show over to me. What was to be a pleasurable overnight junket has now turned into a 9-day ordeal, coordinating the details of an event I had no hand in planning. Now I'm going out to Chicago on the 24th, to wrestle with the union guys, builders, techs and salesmen. They've even got me purchasing appliances and snacks on-site. (Yeah, I have to buy and stock a mini-fridge. MARKETING!) And then I have to break it all down and ship it back, flying back to Boston on October 2nd.
And then I fly out the 3rd to my friend Ken's wedding. Which I'm more interested in, actually.
But before I can get to that, I have to march through a week or more of event planning hell.
Am I apprehensive? You betcha.
But hey, Palmer House Hilton.
I'll let you know how it pans out on the other side.