ACUHO 2009: Day 1

I am absolutely wiped after a long day of hoofing it all over downtown Baltimore today. I woke up bright and early this morning, headed up to Manchester, NH, and flew on a very pleasant flight down to BWI. Hopped on the light rail train and made it to my hotel. Room wasn't ready, told to come back at 3pm. Reduced down to a tiny purse, left the rest of my luggage in storage, and ventured to Lexington Market, just a few blocks from my hotel; it was certainly a NFT/Yelp treasure find. Definitely teetered on the edge of safe/unsafe neighborhood, but at noon on a Saturday, it was bustling with activity and people.

The people watching alone was amazing. I was very visibly the minority there, but hopefully I didn't give off too much of the tourist vibe. Stall after stall of just about any food you could think of, and lots of fresh produce, meats, seafood, and fresh baked goods. And live jazz to boot! It reminded me of a Southern version of Boston's Quincy Market, but earthier and with a lot more local heart as opposed to blatant tourist trap.

My work colleagues called me to meet up for lunch, and we ate some really delicious crab cakes. They splurged and went for the jumbo lump, but I was happy to save a lil cash and get a regular crab cake. I'm also on Weight Watchers right now, so I'm really trying my best to keep my points in check, despite lots of food temptations :)

Checked in at the Conference, picked up my goodie bag, headed back to the hotel. Rooms still weren't ready, but a few batted eyelashes and respectful assertiveness got me a room faster than the dozens of folks in line waiting for rooms to be freed up (hotel is sold out). Barely had time to change and headed to the New Attendees Reception. Met up with some old friends from another school at where I've worked, made some new connections, got some good insight to make the most out of my first ACUHO conference.

Then it was off to Camden Yards for the O's Nats game and a special picnic dinner in the bullpen area. Made healthy choices about food (just a taste of nachos as opposed to a whole plate, lots of fruit and veggies), but treated myself to a hotdog - no bun. It is a baseball game... you gotta have a hotdog! Game pace was wicked slow... O's walked 2 runs by the top of the 2nd inning, and my coworkers left just after the 3rd. I stuck it out until the top of the 5th, then called it a night. Hoofed it to the Inner Harbor area, stopped in the Harborplace Gallery just before it closed to pick up a pair of stretch pants (my legs got wicked chafed walking all over the place in a skirt) and took a cab back to the hotel.

I will have no problem getting to sleep tonight... I'm beat! It's been a whirlwind day already, and I'm looking forward to tomorrow, especially the Case Study Competition Info Session. My dogs are tired, there's a new episode of Law & Order: SVU on tv, and I'm ready to fall asleep sitting up. G'night!