"What happens here, stays here." What a brilliant slogan for Vegas to come up with and if you say it enough times you believe it! Unfortunately, what happens in Vegas doesn't always stay in Vegas and people are who are suspicious of you anyway, will never believe the truth no matter how many times you tell it. So, one might as well do what they are accused of anyway, right? Perhaps not. Either way, I had an interesting time there.
I was back working at NAB for the first time in 3 years. I felt ready. Granted, I cried at the airport as my husband, daughter and 2 year old son dropped me off. It was hard hearing Lennon crying, "Mommy, come back! Mommy, come back!" As the car sped away. Lola in tears as well as me and my husband. I was going to be gone for 6 days, 7 nights! Seemed like a long time to be away from my family. However, once I got there, I was ready. I was eager to work, to show what I could do, and get recognized by my peers and bosses for having stayed on my game. I could have been 15 pounds lighter, but I don't think that was noticeable. Clothes that fit are a wonder.
I was on the big solutions stage and had two scripts back to back. I ended up doing about 22 a day. That's a lot of talking. I was had some great people in my area that I was working with, Dave, David & Jason. Demo guys who helped make the presentation much more interesting and were kind and funny. One of them had a tragic story to tell which absolutely broke my heart. I noticed the wedding band and asked if he had children. David hesitated. I knew right then something was wrong. He has a daughter who is 16 and he had a son, who would have been 19. He died 3 years ago by drowning. An excellent swimmer, he hit his head on a curvy slide at a water park and no one noticed him in the whirlpool until one of his friends came down the slide looking for him. I was so overwhelmed by this, I wanted to hold him. More so, I wanted to hold Lennon in that great hug he gives where his whole body envelopes mine. My heart broke for David and his family. He's never sure what to say when asked this question and I said just what he said. He did have two children. His son matters and was very important to them. I'm grateful for my children. And know life is tender and we should be grateful for every moment. Life is also a struggle and gets in the way of enjoying it!
The show was very good. I also was not alone on this one, unlike Cedia in September, where I was the only presenter. This time around, some great talent shared the other stages in the booth: Great gals, Tina & Robin, and terrific guys, Matt & Vic. We laughed a lot and had a chance to hang out with each other in between shows. We went out one night and hung out at the pool party looking for ice cream. I was too full from dinner to have any.
For a week I didn't snack. I didn't eat anything extra. I reminded myself that I have to do this when I get home. That would help in losing the 15 pounds if I would stop eating Lennon's leftovers!
Back to the beginning paragraph. A little cryptic, but to protect the innocent, names and situations shall remain nameless. The one thing I will say, is that I'm married to a man who will fight for my honor. He has shown me again and again that I married the right guy. My two female presenters are married to the right men, too. Sure, we're all annoyed at the same things we all get annoyed at: not enough time and attention, they move too slow, fighting about raising kids and not enough money, but over all, wouldn't change it for the world.
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