AAR Day 3

This post is going to be a stream of consciousness post, as I compose it throughout the day.

I got to the exhibit hall early to use the computers in the Cyber Cafe, a little after 7:30. Wow, they must have just disinfected something, because the ammonia smell was really strong. It dissipated in about 5 minutes, but it was sure strong for those few minutes.

I wish I were the one running the Cyber Cafe. They are the only place with lines! The shortest it has been is 1 person waiting, and they have about 10 computers.

I just found out that Barack Obama is going to be staying at this hotel tonight. They are shutting everything down tomorrow morning and no freight is leaving the hotel until Thursday. They are allowing individuals to take their boxes out to vans, but that is all. I hope I don't have a problem getting out of here tonight, but I do feel sorry for all the people who have to catch a plane tomorrow. They will probably have to allow an extra hour or two to get to the airport.

Well, at 3:00 PM I heard the tape guns start; that means people are tearing down and packing up. By 4:00 about 50% of the back section were gone, but the front section seemed to be holding on. By 4:30, about two-thirds to three-quarters of the back were packed up, or packing up. The front section caught the bug. I took some pictures of what it looked like, but they are too depressing to post. At 5:10, the official announcement came over the loudspeaker: “Due to popular demand, the exhibit hall is closed.”

How depressing. The people who promised to come by on Monday didn't. I think I can safely say that I speak for all the publishers in saying that it was a depressing conference with disappointing to non-existent sales...I hope SBL isn't like this!