Thoughts from the Conference

Everyone in Las Vegas is a flirt. I swear, I had more casino employees flirting with me yesterday. I guess it's a part of their job description to make single women feel like they're important. The attention is certainly a change of pace. The best comment I’ve received since I’ve been here was at the sushi bar. The waiter said, “My, you’re looking fresh tonight.” Fresh. They must say that a lot at the sushi bar.

I've arrived in Las Vegas, specifically Caesar’s Palace, where I will probably stay for the next 4 days. These casino complexes are large enough it would be very easy to never have a reason to go to another casino. In my case, I really don't have a reason to visit another casino - all the work is here. When I arrived this morning, my room wasn't ready (to be expected since I arrived at 10am). I anticipated this scenario and packed accordingly. So for the past 4 hours, I've been laying out by the pool. My own little mini vacation. It was fabulous and I have the sunburn to prove it. I'm rested, relaxed, and officially ready to conquer the world...err, at least be nice to my customers.

Tonight I met a bunch of customers. I heard lots of good things about the team I work with. But I also heard a lot of comments about my height. People say I sound a lot taller on the phone. Hmm, I wonder what that sounds like.

The best was a customer telling me that he hoped he hadn’t been an asshole to me. We had a tough conversation a few weeks ago regarding some things that I could improve. It’s always tough to get criticism even if it is constructive. He wasn’t being an asshole and I told him that. He was simply giving constructive criticism. I’m taking it to heart and am trying to make things better. I feel like he and I just had a breakthrough with each other by him asking if he was being an asshole. It’s like he said he was sorry for being tough on me and that he respects me. He also said he thought I was very relational and not particularly weird. It sounds strange writing it, but in context, it was a fabulous compliment. That conversation made this whole trip worth it. Oh yeah, and the conversation where I probably helped sell some consulting services. That made the trip worth it too. Wow, it’s on the first night and I’ve already got things rolling. Who knows what the next few days will bring!

It occurred to me just now that a client of mine asked me yesterday about my studies. Over a year ago, I told him that I was going to pursue higher education. Yesterday, he brought it up. Wow, that’s a good memory. Then he asked me about my skills in other areas of the software. It felt like he was testing the waters. I wonder if he’s going to try to offer me a job in another year…the company is in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Interesting.

Comments