Thursday, June 16, 2011

My RWA Experience - 2005 Reno

Since the time for the RWA National Conference is near, I thought I'd share my hectic experience while at the conference in Reno. Go ahead. Laugh all you want. I can laugh too, now!

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When I stepped into the tub/shower, my feet slipped from under me. It’s amazing what goes through your mind when airborne, especially when you’re over the hill. Oh, Lord, I’m a goner. Will the EMT’s have to lift me naked from the tub? What if I break something?


As my right hip hit the porcelain, the back of my head bounced off the tile wall. My conference buddies pounded on the bathroom door. “Are you all right?”

“I think so. Give me a minute.” I pushed up, didn’t feel any severe pain. “Yeah, I’m fine.” Other than considerable bruising, I was, but should’ve known then this trip was hexed. Evidently spending the night in Austin before our flight had been a bad idea.


Weary travelers. We'd registered and visited the "Goodie Room."
 The following morning, we boarded our Reno bound plane to attend the National RWA conference. Once there, we piled into the back seat of a cab, where we were thrown from one side to the other on the tight curves, but within minutes were at the hotel, registering, getting freebie bags, and eyeballing the slot machines.

The workshops were wonderful. If you’ve been to an RWA conference, you know you get oodles of free books. The year before, I came home with over a hundred.

In our free time we played the slots. Did you know that while gambling, drinks are free? I didn’t, but learn fast. I won two-hundred dollars, lost it all, and ended up twenty dollars in the hole. Not bad for a four day stay.

The morning we left, books packed in every pocket, carry on bag, suitcase – anywhere we could stash them, we left the room. Way overloaded – I had a large wheeled wardrobe, my foldable cart on wheels, a big book bag, and my purse – I decided to put my driver’s license in my pocket so I wouldn’t have trouble locating it while in line at the airport.

After checkout, I collected our key cards and dropped them in the key box on our way out. Huffing and puffing with overloaded bags, we entered the airport to join the long line at check-in. When I reached in my pocket for my driver’s license, it wasn’t there. Sheer panic! I searched the floor all the way to the entrance. Could it have fallen out in the cab? Then it hit me. I’d dropped it in the room key box at the hotel.

How would I get on the plane? Would I miss the flight? When I got to the counter, I explained my situation.

The clerk asked. “Do you have another picture ID and a credit card in your name?”

Credit card, easy, but a picture ID…? Eureka! I whipped out my Sam’s card.

I was handed a boarding pass. “Be prepared to go through extra security.”

“No problem. As long as I get on that plane, I’m happy.” Of course, I didn’t have a clue what extra security meant.

I do now. Ever heard the expression, “Spread ‘um?”


In conclusion, if you're going to New York for the conference, be careful when stepping into the bathtub and don't put your drivers license with the room keys.

Have a great conference. I wish I could be there.

Happy Reading and Writing!

Linda

14 comments:

  1. LOL! You brought back some conference memories, Linda!

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  2. Linda, I can totally picture this!!! ROFL! Thanks for sharing.

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  3. Very funny. Sounds like the kind of trips I have. If anything can go wrong--it does. Thanks for sharing.

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  4. Oh wow, just glad you're all right. I slipped coming out of our bath and landed flat on my back, naked on the floor. I was so glad to be lucid and not need the EMTs to come rescue me. Argggg.

    As for the conference, albeit all the bad stuff, sounds like you had fun.

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  5. Linda, glad to hear you were okay. I had one of those trips recently to a writers retreat. You can only laugh later.

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  6. That was some trip, Linda! Glad you didn't suffer any terrible injuries, except to your dignity!

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  7. Linda, you were very lucky. Hope you have grab bars in your own shower at home now. If you read my post, "My big break," about six months ago, you know you can't take for granted that you won't break.

    These days you might not have gotten on the plane with a Sam's card. Glad you could share a lucky set of misshaps. Thought you'd had a bad agent experience. That wouldn't be funny.
    Julie

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  8. Hope you never have a groundhog day with that one! Sounds like something that would happen to me too, my man Murphy visits me quite often! Good picture of you two! I like taking before and after shots of trips:)

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  9. Oh, man. What an experience. Thanks for sharing. Someday, HOPEFULLY, I'll have my own RWA Nationals experience. Sigh.

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  10. LOL - I was a lucky one once that got to "spread em". At the time I was giving my hubby a hard time saying he would and then they pulled me from the line!

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  11. You're making me nervous, Linda! I once visited my daughter in Oxford, England while she did some studies there, and the first night I arrived I stayed at an airport hotel and the exact same thing happened to me. I slipped in the tub, feet flung up, hip crashed into the procelin. I was alone! I thought, if I've broken something, I'm going to be stuck here for hours! Fortunately, I was only badly bruised, but it was scary. I'd freak if I lost track of my drivers license. glad you made it home safely. Here's hoping all of us attending NYC RWA have a wonderful time!

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  12. Thank you all for stopping by and leaving a comment. Sounds like I'm not the only one with harrowing experiences. Here's hoping all who attend this year's convention have a wonderful, safe time.

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  13. Oh.Mah.Gawd. That was quite the trip - and thank goodness you were able to get on the plane! Two questions:
    1) Did the hotel ever send you your license?
    2) Did you get the cute security guy or the prison matron?

    Thanks for sharing, I know it wasn't funny but you made me LOL and spit coffee!

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