Conference Countdown

Meetings, Meetings, Meetings

By Annette Dashofy

Twenty-three days until the conference. I have moments of calm knowing that my responsibilities will soon be over followed by panic attacks because things need to be done and I don’t have the time to do it all.

But of course I do. The thing about panic attacks is they aren’t rational.

In the past week, I’ve discovered a perk to being conference coordinator. Meetings. Okay, the meeting itself isn’t a perk. The food that comes with it, however, is.

First I met with the hotel’s catering and detailing managers. Michelle and Katie are lovely gals who bend over backward to accommodate our needs. We got together for lunch in the Marriott’s restaurant. Let me tell you, the Marriott has an EXCELLENT restaurant. And since the hotel was picking up the tab, it was all that much better. We covered a lot of ground and a lot of calories. Chocolate crème brulee, anyone?

Two days later, I had a meeting with my critique buddies. It had absolutely nothing to do with the conference, but we ate just the same. Spinach and cheese omelet sandwich. Calories dripping with fat. Yum.

Next came the final conference planning committee meeting. And with it, a venti white chocolate mocha (no whip cream, skim milk, please) and a slice of chocolate cheesecake. Kind of like ordering a large hot fudge sundae with a diet cola.

Lastly, I had lunch with one of the committee members who couldn’t make the meeting. I behaved myself and had a salad. A very LARGE salad with lots of black olives.

Don’t anyone tell me to relax and everything will be fine. I need to fret away all those extra calories I’ve picked up at these meetings.