28 September 2000
	Last year: The cat has changed his mind about who to wake up in the morning... I'm trying to let this bother me.
	My manager called me yesterday morning. "Are you interested in going to ScanTech?" he asked. (ScanTech is one of the premiere trade shows in my line of work. I've never been, and it had been mentioned at the last staff meeting that this year it would be in Chicago, where Matt's family lives. We're not going to have a demo this time, so the presence of a programmer is pretty nugatory. My job would basically be to wander around the convention, looking at other demos and collecting business cards and freebies.)   "Sure!" I said.   He told me to talk to the administrator in charge of making travel arrangements. "When's the show?" I asked.   "October third through the fifth."   Oh, I thought, I've got a couple of weeks. Then I checked my calendar.   Would someone mind telling me where the heck September went?!?   So there ya go. I'll be going to ScanTech for part of next week. Do I have any readers in the Chicago area who want to get together for dinner on Monday or Tuesday?   Actually, it's not ScanTech anymore. They renamed it - to FrontLine, which gives me a giggle every time I think of it. FrontLine is the name of the gunk we put on the cat to keep fleas at bay.   I've never been to one of these trade shows before, though I've heard a lot. My officemates have commanded that I bring back lots of freebies. (A lot of booths, in order to attract people, give away things. Squishy stress toys, mousepads, bouncy balls with blinking lights, tote bags, t-shirts... all kinds of crap.) My supervisor went as far as to say, "I think the way it works is, the more stuff you bring back, the more likely you are to go to the next one."   Anyway, I will be posting Monday, since I won't have to leave for the airport until late morning. But I probably won't be able to post on Tuesday or Wednesday. If I can get access to a browser, I may send brief posts to the mailing list.   To tell the truth, I'm kindof excited about the trip.   Word of the Day: nugatory - inconsequential; trifling; having no force
	Currently Reading: - between books   Current Projects: -   Diet Progress: 15.5 lbs lost
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