San Antonio Trip
This has been a very eventful last couple of weeks. For the sake of compression, I'm going to focus on this last weekend with this entry, particularly while they are fresh in my mind.
My trip was a rather arduous one. The difficulties began almost immediately with my obtaining a ride to the airport. I had put out feelers with several of my friends to get a ride with no luck. Thankfully, Tony, whose flight was delayed and was going to the airport to make sure his arrangements for the next day were confirmed and I was able to ride with him. If I had entertained the notion that my troubles for the weekend were over at the point of arriving at the airport, and I don't believe I ever did, I would not have been more wrong.
My flight departed in good order and everything was going quite well. I was busy with Sudoku's so I did not glance out the window much, which I was not inclined to do anyway. There was a solid white blanket of clouds covering the whole of the country we were flying over east of the Mississippi river, so not much for variety in that. But I couldn't help but notice the same cumulonimbus cloud I had seen before on one of the occasions I glanced out, maybe because I had noticed that our course seemed to becoming a large circle. Sure enough, we were orbiting the town, hoping thunderstorms would disperse. I had been warned by Dad this might happen, but had dismissed it, in part because there was nothing I could do about it at this point anyway. Our circling enduring so long that we actually had to divert to Springfield, Missouri in order to obtain more fuel. I began to feel that this was not going well. We returned and landed immediately, however my connecting flight to San Antonio had already departed.
After discussions at length with the folks running the service at the terminal, I obtained booking on a flight departing the next evening. In my distress and fatigue (I had stayed up late the previous night studing for med chem, in fact the last time I had slept was the previous afternoon), I forgot that Dad would have been most likely aware of the situation and already rebooking me. I could have saved myself a considerable amount of trouble had I remembered that. I did get the opportunity to talk with the lady I had sat next to on the flight in. Had it been a normal flight, we would have had a few sentences at most (since we were both occupied during the flight with our respective reading materials) and that would have been the end of our acquaintence. As it was we conversed several times throughout the night and the the following morning. I called and talked to both Mom and Dad and my distress was lessened. I became determined to make the best of a bad situation.
It was my first lesson in a harsh reality. When you are stranded because of the effects of weather, the airline does not consider it their fault and takes no obligation concerning your well being. As such, you are on your own. As a consequence, with the reduced number of flights, it is very prudent to make yours the earliest possible so that you have a chance to get on another one. I spent several hours wandering the area we were allowed to visit (the new rule is that you cannot stay in the concourses themselves overnight). There was a Arby's that was open through the night. I ended up springing for some chicken fingers as my hunger was considerable. It was good enough of a meal, something I might consider again if I grew tired of burgers, but not something I would necessarily spring for if I had alternatives available. My wanderings were primarily geared towards helping keep me awake since the few matresses that were provided had been rapidly taken up. I attempted to read some, but I found myself so tired I was not able to focus on getting a single sentence read. To the best of my knowledge, this has never happened before, although I think I have been this tired on other occassions. Eventually I found a bench in a reasonably public area and set my baggage up at the foot of my makeshift bed as a footrest, looping my foot through the straps of my bag as a deterrence to anyone with the ambition and temerity to try to abscond with my belongings. Using my coat as a blanket and nestling my head between the armrest and the back, I was actually able to get some sleep. I attribute this to the massive sleep debt I had acquired over the week. I'll admit this is not the most uncomfortable sleeping arrangement I have ever had, but I have no doubt it will endure in the top three. I tried to sleep more as a device to pass the considerable amount of time I was stuck there than anything else. I managed about four hours of broken sleep, much to my amazement. It was mostly broken by the perpetual announcements that one will hear a multitude of times if they spend any time in a terminal more than hour and also by some thoughtless people, I think part of the night maintence crew, who were talking as loud as they possibly could which was amplified in the cavernous entrance area. I sometimes glared from under my coat, particularly if the offending part did not scurry along soon, but I doubt my frustrations were heeded or even noticed. I am grateful that the backache I was suffering from earlier this week had left me, otherwise I doubt that I would have been able to sleep at all.
I had started this at about 1 am and by about 5 am I decided that I had obtained about as much sleep as I could reasonably expect. After a brief (and final) conversation with my neighbor on the flight in, I decided to check at the counter and see if I could get something worked out. On a final note, it is interesting the dynamics of these sorts of acquaintences. I have already stated how little we would have talked had this flight gone as normal, but also during the whole of our conversations, an aggregate of about two or more hours, neither one of us never once learned each other's name. The move to check at the counter was promptly rewarded, there was a cancellation on the 9:15 flight and I got a seat. I decided to get to the terminal early, I had seen everything in the portions of the terminal outside of the concourse and was eager to see what was in the concourse itself a little more. My explorations included a quick breakfast at one of the places open early enough for me to do so and I found a place called the Blue Note cafe. It might have been interesting to visit had my time there been long enough to do so. I would like to visit Memphis again and have an opportunity to explore it, but I decided to restrict my adventuring because of the fact that I was hauling luggage. If there had been a locker I could have rented at a reasonable price, I might have considered stowing my gear and seeing more of the town.
Thankfully, my flight encountered no difficulties and I was able to get successfully to San Antonio. I happened to be sitting in front of some students from the University of Kentucky and we chatted a bit, both on the plane and at the airport. There was a brief moment of panic when I arrived and looked for the bag I checked planeside. I did not see my name tag on it, nor did I see my bag of liquids in the top pocket when I unzipped it. I had put my ticket in my backpack and they took it to the baggage claim while I was fumbling to get it. It turned out to be my bag when I got to baggage claim, I had merely checked the wrong pocket. I met some folks from the University of Ohio on the way out too. They were heading to a hotel close to where we were having the convention and I knew mine was too, so I hopped a ride with them. Good thing too, cab fare was about $20 from the airport to that part of downtown. Split four ways that's not bad, but for just one person that's a touch pricey.
Since the convention center was closer to where I was than my hotel, I decided to get the registration stuff taken care of. I encountered some of the P1s from Creighton and we chatted on the way to registration. With that taken care of, I headed over to the hotel. It was nice to only have to cross a single street to get there as compared with San Diego last year, particularly in light of my initial misadventures in finding the hotel. I had already been checked in by Dad, a move to ensure that the room was still mine upon arrival. I got to my room and took a bath almost immediately. I was still very tired and laid down with the hopes of just resting a little bit. It turned out to be quite awhile longer than I had planned. I did make it over for the evening social and so I got credit for that event, but there was nothing of significance to mention about that event other than seeing some of the classmates. In spite of sleeping as long as I had, I retired early to bed and managed to get a significant amount of sleep. I headed over to the conference area and proceeded to scout around so that I could get a feel for where everything was located. I ran into Kelley from the VA and we chatted a little before moving on. I ran into a few of my classmates who were going to see Dr. Augustine from Creighton receive an award at the general session, so I went along. I would consider Dr. Augustine one of the outstanding professors here at Creighton and, in my opinion, he was very much deserving of this award.
As soon as the general session was concluded, we all headed down to the registration area where the exhibitor booths were also set up. The room was massive which of course was necessary given the massive volue of booths from every conceivable pharmacy, vendor, etc. After a brief performance by a Mariachi band to pass the remainder of the time before the hall opened, we were allowed in. I was at the front of the line and, as such, was able to get down almost immediately. I made a pretty good circuit and came home with a significant amount of items. I even chimmed in a little with one of the ScriptPro people when I was there since I have a significant amount of experience with that machine.
Next item of business was the ASP general session. After last year I had mixed feelings about the session and its value, the major reason we attend is because it is considered a primary meeting concerning our stipend of $150 to attend, so the vast majority do so. The major events of the session are presenting awards to the chapters that have performed well in projects such as Operation Immunization. For our region, all of the awards went to the University of Iowa. I was sitting next to my friend Vince for the proceedings and both of our opinions were not high of this unanimous awarding. Vince is well connected with our ASP chapter which leads me to believe he has more information on the involvement of both our chapter and the others than I could admit to. I think that, once again, politics rather than merit were the deciding factor in this matter. If this is the basis of this, it is most unfortunate. The proceedings also ate up a considerable amount of time, it was almost an hour and a half before the keynote speaker took the stage.
The speaker they had hired was Joey Cheek, the Olympic gold medalist. I am somewhat inclined to express my disappointment to whomever is responsible for the hiring of people for these procedings. His speech had some good points, but most of the time it was cut short and most of his comments were very self-serving and arrogant. Most of the people I talked to had a similar contempt for the level of arrogance that he expressed, my classmate Kathryn's only comment was that he did win a gold medal. I declined to express my long held opinion of athletes being elevated in our society's esteem to a level far higher than should be done knowing that it is one of many opinions that I hold that would likely be cut down mightily by the general public. Like many other contemporaries, I endured for the sake of my stipend, although I did dismiss myself to obtain a soda during the speech and made no great haste to return to my seat. While I think some of his actions towards charity are commendable, I am also aware of the possibility that this may be an instance of the right thing being done for the wrong reason. Namely that this might be a way of maintaining public attention that is all to quick to transfer to the next individual or to quell any criticism that his actions might generate. I have said my peace on the matter and I will be content to leave it at that.
After the session, I joined a good number of my classmates and we headed down to the riverwalk. It is quite lovely down there. Having given it some thought, I think San Antonio might have displaced San Diego as the city we have had this convention at that I would like to return to the most, particularly upon my discovery that there was a cavalry museum in one of my guides to the city. We stopped at a CVS to procure some goods. I restricted mine to a candy bar and a soda and we continued on to the hotel where the majority of the folks were staying.
I returned to the Hilton and was set to enjoy a relaxing afternoon before the alumni dinner. I went to get some ice in my ice bucket only to find that my second key did not work. I took the elevator down to the lobby to get this corrected. I had already removed my boots, my heels being quite sore, and so was making this whole journey in sock feet. I was grateful I had not further undressed, or this could have been most embarrassing, although I doubt I would have the temerity to journey down the hall anything short of fully dressed. He asked for my ID which I did not have, but accepted my statement since I gave my full name and the fact that I had the ice bucket indicated I had access to at least a room. I made a note of this and made a point of having my driver's liscense with me whenever I left my room no matter how brief my purpose was. I placed the ice inside a wet washcloth in the bathtub and placed my feet on that which gave considerable relief to the soreness. I think my feet were in much better condition this year since I have been wearing my boots all day for a month or two now. My icing my feet helped relieve the pain very well and may have arrested the development of any blisters, as I check now I cannot find any which I am exceedingly grateful for.
I dozed for a brief while and then got ready for the alumni gathering. I was not feeling the best that particular evening, plus I had removed most of the gear out of my bags, so I arrived without knowledge of where I needed to go. I wandered around for awhile trying to find the place, at one point jogging a considerable distance, before I found it. It was a nice social evening with friends where I was introduced to some of the P1 students I had not been acquainted with at that point by my friend Michael. The event was well catered, I had some southwestern egg rolls that were very delicious. In retrospect, since there were still leftovers at the end of the event, I wish that I had taken more. But I was also not feeling the best at the time. After resting some more at my room, a little too much, I went to join my friends at a place called Howl at the Moon they had said they were going. I went in facing a massive $10 fee and then paid $7 for a shot of Southern Comfort only to find that my friends were not at this place. It turned out they had gone to another location upon being unable to get in at the time that they arrived. I had come after midnight so my access was far less hindered. This, along with my travel difficulties, emphasizes my need to get on a cell phone plan that encompasses more than just Nebraska and South Dakota. Dissappointed, both with my financial loss and missing out on time with my friends, I marched back to my room. I passed the Coyote Ugly bar and was tempted to go in, given the place's reputation, just so I could say that I had been there. But I overheard that the cover charge there was $5. I was not in the mood to pay any further for the priviledge of buying drinks, so I continued back to my hotel.
The next day started off fairly slow. I was fairly methodical in my preperations to depart. I was unaware of the hours the Alamo might be open, otherwise I might have made more haste so that I might see it. Oh well, there's always next time. I had gotten a recommendation of a steakhouse called Saltgrass, so I made a point of going immediately after checking out of my hotel. I had the difficult situation of having to figure out how to bring all of my baggage along with me, but I was able to cinch up the straps on my backpack so I could attach it to the handle I pulled my suitcase by. I was the first customer there. I elected to sit outside by the Riverwalk. The view was very lovely and a few of my friends from class walked by while I was dining. The steak was delicious, I have not had a ribeye in quite some time, and this one met all of the high standards I have for beef. I'll definitely be making a trip there upon my return to San Antonio.
As soon as I was done, I headed back to the convention center. Being unable to find where the computers were at the hotel, I elected to go to the kiosk at the convention to print my boarding pass. Having done this, I tried to find where the regional legislative meeting was going on; as with last year it was at conference rooms in another hotel. Go figure when I had to drag all of my luggage. Not much to say about the meeting, it did round out my requirements for attending meetings to obtain my stipend. Then came our general House of Delegates session. Before the initial business was even concluded, I was forced to depart in order to make it to my flight in good order. The taxi I rode over in was hybrid so it was interesting to see the mechanics of that.
Everything with my flight was going routine and I was nicely settled into the my seat which had been upgraded to first class. Just as they were making the standard announcements that just preceed us pulling away, suddenly everything stopped. We were informed there was a problem with the computer and a considerable amount of time passed with a maintenance person coming and going often and two complete shutdowns to hopefully reboot the systems. That did not work and eventually they decided to have us get off. We got a stipend for a meal and I ended up springing for McDonalds, partially because they were maybe the only place still open. It ended up after two hourse of work, the computer blew a circuit board and then did the same with the replacement. So it ended up being cancelled completely.
There was one plus side to this misadventure. I was able to talk to a student from Drake who had been at the convention. Turns out she was a second year pre-pharmacy person on the verge of starting her first professional year; her father is a pharmacist in the Air Force. She was very frustrated both with the situation and her inability to get in touch with her father who was also at the conference. It turned out we had both been staying at the downtown Hilton. She is very ambitious, her plans already include running for regional delegate this coming semester. I might suggest attempting for the position of chapter delegate, regional may be fairly ambitious depending on who is running. I think back to last fall when my efforts to be chapter delegate were stymied. As a result, it was Janna who was representing us this afternoon and not myself. I must confess again to having become somewhat embittered as to the election process as I do not feel my peers have been particularly fair in giving me a chance to exercise my leadership; arguably the system's greatest flaw. I take a certain level of solace in the fact that I was able to make a new friend as a result of this incident and I was able to get to know her better than I likely would have even had our paths crossed at the conference. I am finding as a result of this experience that a measure of happiness can be obtained in finding the positive in a bad situation and that even the little misadventures in life can be a great opportunity. This is a lesson I hope to carry throughout my life.
The infinitely superiority of being stranded due to mechanical difficulties is that the airline is obligated to provide lodging. In my case it was a room that I must say was slightly superior to my quarters downtown, having a larger, flatscreen TV and a considerably larger desk. My first act upon stowing my gear was to go out in search of a place where I could get some contact lens solution. Neither a gas station nor a corner grocery mart yielded any luck. I ultimately decided to discard these lenses early, first making doubly sure that my glasses were with me. While I try to be very exacting in packing everything, there is always a margin of error. I also spent considerable time wandering to try and find a pay phone or something like that so that I could call both Brandi, my ride upon return to the airport so that I could inform her that I wouldn't be coming in and also to pass word along that I might be late for work the next night, and Mom just to talk. After considerable frustration and no help even from the person on the help line, I was able to figure it out myself. The two calls I made ended up costing $1.08 out of the 20 I had deposited at the desk, but it was worth the while to make them and I felt good that I was able to figure this out. After my conversations, I bathed and relaxed. I slept well that night and awoke well rested.
I made quick order of getting my goods in order, I had made sure everything was readily accessable, I checked out and boarded the shuttle to the airport. After getting my boarding pass (I had merely been given a flight itenerary the night before, I passed through security for what seemed to be the zillionth time and found a comfortable spot near my flight. Once more I partook of McDonalds, using the additional meal coupons we had been given. I thought it prudent to eat there as compared to my destination and that proved to be a wise choice. I was heading into Atlanta this time, an unfamiliar airport and one considerably larger than Minneapolis and that one can be difficult to navigate in, particularly if your gates are on opposite sides. I was growing anxious as we were boarding, my section was still boarding minutes after we had been scheduled to depart. Fortunately, the plane was delayed in its arrival from Atlanta due to a headwind which translated into a tailwind for us. At both APhA conferences one of those has been very beneficial to my efforts. This time I was flying Delta vs. Northwest, the two have merged. It occured to me that my Pepsi on my flight that never happened the previous day will likely be my last on an airplane; Delta serves Coke products exclusively. My flight was nice enough, except this individual sitting next to me was somewhat fidgetty. I think some of his travelling companions were sitting in the row behind me, because once we got in the air, I don't think a few minutes passed where he didn't turn around to look. It was somwhat annoying and made my reading a little more difficult, but I made the best of the situation.
Dad had made a point of passing on detailed instructions to me for what I needed to do upon arrival to Atlanta as far as navigation. It was unnecessary, I was able to navigate on my own and would have been able to figure it out on my own without difficulty. It was just another example of the less redeeming side of him which could be best described as a control freak. Mom has been the victim of this side of him far more than I have and I can see how it has caused her considerable consternation over the years. It was again demonstrated when I turned on my phone upon arrival a few hours later to call Brandi to receive a call from him while we were still en route to the terminal from the runway. As it was, even with a narrow time margin, by jogging down the terminal and rapidly locating where I needed to go, I was able to make it to my gate just as they were making the initial announcement to board. Unfortunately, as with Memphis, the sky was overcast which obscurred my view of Atlanta. Hopefully that will not be the case next time. After a long and uneventful flight, we arrived and I was able to obtain a ride from Brandi back to my apartment, where I immediately got ready for work with little turnaround time.
Thus ends my journey to San Antonio. In spite of all that happened and really not being able to do much outside of the conference itself, I had a very good time. I believe we are going to get me on the nationwide plan that my Dad has in anticipation of rotations a year from now and that will aid considerably in addressing the problem of coordinating with my friends. I think I took some good life lessons from this experience and performed well under the stresses induced, so I can say I'm pleased with that. Hopefully next year's conference will be considerably less stressful. One benefit of the location of Washington DC is that it will be in a location that I have been before, so there is at least a nominal familiarity, albeit one that will be outdated by almost a decade. Hopefully it will help at least a little bit.
My trip was a rather arduous one. The difficulties began almost immediately with my obtaining a ride to the airport. I had put out feelers with several of my friends to get a ride with no luck. Thankfully, Tony, whose flight was delayed and was going to the airport to make sure his arrangements for the next day were confirmed and I was able to ride with him. If I had entertained the notion that my troubles for the weekend were over at the point of arriving at the airport, and I don't believe I ever did, I would not have been more wrong.
My flight departed in good order and everything was going quite well. I was busy with Sudoku's so I did not glance out the window much, which I was not inclined to do anyway. There was a solid white blanket of clouds covering the whole of the country we were flying over east of the Mississippi river, so not much for variety in that. But I couldn't help but notice the same cumulonimbus cloud I had seen before on one of the occasions I glanced out, maybe because I had noticed that our course seemed to becoming a large circle. Sure enough, we were orbiting the town, hoping thunderstorms would disperse. I had been warned by Dad this might happen, but had dismissed it, in part because there was nothing I could do about it at this point anyway. Our circling enduring so long that we actually had to divert to Springfield, Missouri in order to obtain more fuel. I began to feel that this was not going well. We returned and landed immediately, however my connecting flight to San Antonio had already departed.
After discussions at length with the folks running the service at the terminal, I obtained booking on a flight departing the next evening. In my distress and fatigue (I had stayed up late the previous night studing for med chem, in fact the last time I had slept was the previous afternoon), I forgot that Dad would have been most likely aware of the situation and already rebooking me. I could have saved myself a considerable amount of trouble had I remembered that. I did get the opportunity to talk with the lady I had sat next to on the flight in. Had it been a normal flight, we would have had a few sentences at most (since we were both occupied during the flight with our respective reading materials) and that would have been the end of our acquaintence. As it was we conversed several times throughout the night and the the following morning. I called and talked to both Mom and Dad and my distress was lessened. I became determined to make the best of a bad situation.
It was my first lesson in a harsh reality. When you are stranded because of the effects of weather, the airline does not consider it their fault and takes no obligation concerning your well being. As such, you are on your own. As a consequence, with the reduced number of flights, it is very prudent to make yours the earliest possible so that you have a chance to get on another one. I spent several hours wandering the area we were allowed to visit (the new rule is that you cannot stay in the concourses themselves overnight). There was a Arby's that was open through the night. I ended up springing for some chicken fingers as my hunger was considerable. It was good enough of a meal, something I might consider again if I grew tired of burgers, but not something I would necessarily spring for if I had alternatives available. My wanderings were primarily geared towards helping keep me awake since the few matresses that were provided had been rapidly taken up. I attempted to read some, but I found myself so tired I was not able to focus on getting a single sentence read. To the best of my knowledge, this has never happened before, although I think I have been this tired on other occassions. Eventually I found a bench in a reasonably public area and set my baggage up at the foot of my makeshift bed as a footrest, looping my foot through the straps of my bag as a deterrence to anyone with the ambition and temerity to try to abscond with my belongings. Using my coat as a blanket and nestling my head between the armrest and the back, I was actually able to get some sleep. I attribute this to the massive sleep debt I had acquired over the week. I'll admit this is not the most uncomfortable sleeping arrangement I have ever had, but I have no doubt it will endure in the top three. I tried to sleep more as a device to pass the considerable amount of time I was stuck there than anything else. I managed about four hours of broken sleep, much to my amazement. It was mostly broken by the perpetual announcements that one will hear a multitude of times if they spend any time in a terminal more than hour and also by some thoughtless people, I think part of the night maintence crew, who were talking as loud as they possibly could which was amplified in the cavernous entrance area. I sometimes glared from under my coat, particularly if the offending part did not scurry along soon, but I doubt my frustrations were heeded or even noticed. I am grateful that the backache I was suffering from earlier this week had left me, otherwise I doubt that I would have been able to sleep at all.
I had started this at about 1 am and by about 5 am I decided that I had obtained about as much sleep as I could reasonably expect. After a brief (and final) conversation with my neighbor on the flight in, I decided to check at the counter and see if I could get something worked out. On a final note, it is interesting the dynamics of these sorts of acquaintences. I have already stated how little we would have talked had this flight gone as normal, but also during the whole of our conversations, an aggregate of about two or more hours, neither one of us never once learned each other's name. The move to check at the counter was promptly rewarded, there was a cancellation on the 9:15 flight and I got a seat. I decided to get to the terminal early, I had seen everything in the portions of the terminal outside of the concourse and was eager to see what was in the concourse itself a little more. My explorations included a quick breakfast at one of the places open early enough for me to do so and I found a place called the Blue Note cafe. It might have been interesting to visit had my time there been long enough to do so. I would like to visit Memphis again and have an opportunity to explore it, but I decided to restrict my adventuring because of the fact that I was hauling luggage. If there had been a locker I could have rented at a reasonable price, I might have considered stowing my gear and seeing more of the town.
Thankfully, my flight encountered no difficulties and I was able to get successfully to San Antonio. I happened to be sitting in front of some students from the University of Kentucky and we chatted a bit, both on the plane and at the airport. There was a brief moment of panic when I arrived and looked for the bag I checked planeside. I did not see my name tag on it, nor did I see my bag of liquids in the top pocket when I unzipped it. I had put my ticket in my backpack and they took it to the baggage claim while I was fumbling to get it. It turned out to be my bag when I got to baggage claim, I had merely checked the wrong pocket. I met some folks from the University of Ohio on the way out too. They were heading to a hotel close to where we were having the convention and I knew mine was too, so I hopped a ride with them. Good thing too, cab fare was about $20 from the airport to that part of downtown. Split four ways that's not bad, but for just one person that's a touch pricey.
Since the convention center was closer to where I was than my hotel, I decided to get the registration stuff taken care of. I encountered some of the P1s from Creighton and we chatted on the way to registration. With that taken care of, I headed over to the hotel. It was nice to only have to cross a single street to get there as compared with San Diego last year, particularly in light of my initial misadventures in finding the hotel. I had already been checked in by Dad, a move to ensure that the room was still mine upon arrival. I got to my room and took a bath almost immediately. I was still very tired and laid down with the hopes of just resting a little bit. It turned out to be quite awhile longer than I had planned. I did make it over for the evening social and so I got credit for that event, but there was nothing of significance to mention about that event other than seeing some of the classmates. In spite of sleeping as long as I had, I retired early to bed and managed to get a significant amount of sleep. I headed over to the conference area and proceeded to scout around so that I could get a feel for where everything was located. I ran into Kelley from the VA and we chatted a little before moving on. I ran into a few of my classmates who were going to see Dr. Augustine from Creighton receive an award at the general session, so I went along. I would consider Dr. Augustine one of the outstanding professors here at Creighton and, in my opinion, he was very much deserving of this award.
As soon as the general session was concluded, we all headed down to the registration area where the exhibitor booths were also set up. The room was massive which of course was necessary given the massive volue of booths from every conceivable pharmacy, vendor, etc. After a brief performance by a Mariachi band to pass the remainder of the time before the hall opened, we were allowed in. I was at the front of the line and, as such, was able to get down almost immediately. I made a pretty good circuit and came home with a significant amount of items. I even chimmed in a little with one of the ScriptPro people when I was there since I have a significant amount of experience with that machine.
Next item of business was the ASP general session. After last year I had mixed feelings about the session and its value, the major reason we attend is because it is considered a primary meeting concerning our stipend of $150 to attend, so the vast majority do so. The major events of the session are presenting awards to the chapters that have performed well in projects such as Operation Immunization. For our region, all of the awards went to the University of Iowa. I was sitting next to my friend Vince for the proceedings and both of our opinions were not high of this unanimous awarding. Vince is well connected with our ASP chapter which leads me to believe he has more information on the involvement of both our chapter and the others than I could admit to. I think that, once again, politics rather than merit were the deciding factor in this matter. If this is the basis of this, it is most unfortunate. The proceedings also ate up a considerable amount of time, it was almost an hour and a half before the keynote speaker took the stage.
The speaker they had hired was Joey Cheek, the Olympic gold medalist. I am somewhat inclined to express my disappointment to whomever is responsible for the hiring of people for these procedings. His speech had some good points, but most of the time it was cut short and most of his comments were very self-serving and arrogant. Most of the people I talked to had a similar contempt for the level of arrogance that he expressed, my classmate Kathryn's only comment was that he did win a gold medal. I declined to express my long held opinion of athletes being elevated in our society's esteem to a level far higher than should be done knowing that it is one of many opinions that I hold that would likely be cut down mightily by the general public. Like many other contemporaries, I endured for the sake of my stipend, although I did dismiss myself to obtain a soda during the speech and made no great haste to return to my seat. While I think some of his actions towards charity are commendable, I am also aware of the possibility that this may be an instance of the right thing being done for the wrong reason. Namely that this might be a way of maintaining public attention that is all to quick to transfer to the next individual or to quell any criticism that his actions might generate. I have said my peace on the matter and I will be content to leave it at that.
After the session, I joined a good number of my classmates and we headed down to the riverwalk. It is quite lovely down there. Having given it some thought, I think San Antonio might have displaced San Diego as the city we have had this convention at that I would like to return to the most, particularly upon my discovery that there was a cavalry museum in one of my guides to the city. We stopped at a CVS to procure some goods. I restricted mine to a candy bar and a soda and we continued on to the hotel where the majority of the folks were staying.
I returned to the Hilton and was set to enjoy a relaxing afternoon before the alumni dinner. I went to get some ice in my ice bucket only to find that my second key did not work. I took the elevator down to the lobby to get this corrected. I had already removed my boots, my heels being quite sore, and so was making this whole journey in sock feet. I was grateful I had not further undressed, or this could have been most embarrassing, although I doubt I would have the temerity to journey down the hall anything short of fully dressed. He asked for my ID which I did not have, but accepted my statement since I gave my full name and the fact that I had the ice bucket indicated I had access to at least a room. I made a note of this and made a point of having my driver's liscense with me whenever I left my room no matter how brief my purpose was. I placed the ice inside a wet washcloth in the bathtub and placed my feet on that which gave considerable relief to the soreness. I think my feet were in much better condition this year since I have been wearing my boots all day for a month or two now. My icing my feet helped relieve the pain very well and may have arrested the development of any blisters, as I check now I cannot find any which I am exceedingly grateful for.
I dozed for a brief while and then got ready for the alumni gathering. I was not feeling the best that particular evening, plus I had removed most of the gear out of my bags, so I arrived without knowledge of where I needed to go. I wandered around for awhile trying to find the place, at one point jogging a considerable distance, before I found it. It was a nice social evening with friends where I was introduced to some of the P1 students I had not been acquainted with at that point by my friend Michael. The event was well catered, I had some southwestern egg rolls that were very delicious. In retrospect, since there were still leftovers at the end of the event, I wish that I had taken more. But I was also not feeling the best at the time. After resting some more at my room, a little too much, I went to join my friends at a place called Howl at the Moon they had said they were going. I went in facing a massive $10 fee and then paid $7 for a shot of Southern Comfort only to find that my friends were not at this place. It turned out they had gone to another location upon being unable to get in at the time that they arrived. I had come after midnight so my access was far less hindered. This, along with my travel difficulties, emphasizes my need to get on a cell phone plan that encompasses more than just Nebraska and South Dakota. Dissappointed, both with my financial loss and missing out on time with my friends, I marched back to my room. I passed the Coyote Ugly bar and was tempted to go in, given the place's reputation, just so I could say that I had been there. But I overheard that the cover charge there was $5. I was not in the mood to pay any further for the priviledge of buying drinks, so I continued back to my hotel.
The next day started off fairly slow. I was fairly methodical in my preperations to depart. I was unaware of the hours the Alamo might be open, otherwise I might have made more haste so that I might see it. Oh well, there's always next time. I had gotten a recommendation of a steakhouse called Saltgrass, so I made a point of going immediately after checking out of my hotel. I had the difficult situation of having to figure out how to bring all of my baggage along with me, but I was able to cinch up the straps on my backpack so I could attach it to the handle I pulled my suitcase by. I was the first customer there. I elected to sit outside by the Riverwalk. The view was very lovely and a few of my friends from class walked by while I was dining. The steak was delicious, I have not had a ribeye in quite some time, and this one met all of the high standards I have for beef. I'll definitely be making a trip there upon my return to San Antonio.
As soon as I was done, I headed back to the convention center. Being unable to find where the computers were at the hotel, I elected to go to the kiosk at the convention to print my boarding pass. Having done this, I tried to find where the regional legislative meeting was going on; as with last year it was at conference rooms in another hotel. Go figure when I had to drag all of my luggage. Not much to say about the meeting, it did round out my requirements for attending meetings to obtain my stipend. Then came our general House of Delegates session. Before the initial business was even concluded, I was forced to depart in order to make it to my flight in good order. The taxi I rode over in was hybrid so it was interesting to see the mechanics of that.
Everything with my flight was going routine and I was nicely settled into the my seat which had been upgraded to first class. Just as they were making the standard announcements that just preceed us pulling away, suddenly everything stopped. We were informed there was a problem with the computer and a considerable amount of time passed with a maintenance person coming and going often and two complete shutdowns to hopefully reboot the systems. That did not work and eventually they decided to have us get off. We got a stipend for a meal and I ended up springing for McDonalds, partially because they were maybe the only place still open. It ended up after two hourse of work, the computer blew a circuit board and then did the same with the replacement. So it ended up being cancelled completely.
There was one plus side to this misadventure. I was able to talk to a student from Drake who had been at the convention. Turns out she was a second year pre-pharmacy person on the verge of starting her first professional year; her father is a pharmacist in the Air Force. She was very frustrated both with the situation and her inability to get in touch with her father who was also at the conference. It turned out we had both been staying at the downtown Hilton. She is very ambitious, her plans already include running for regional delegate this coming semester. I might suggest attempting for the position of chapter delegate, regional may be fairly ambitious depending on who is running. I think back to last fall when my efforts to be chapter delegate were stymied. As a result, it was Janna who was representing us this afternoon and not myself. I must confess again to having become somewhat embittered as to the election process as I do not feel my peers have been particularly fair in giving me a chance to exercise my leadership; arguably the system's greatest flaw. I take a certain level of solace in the fact that I was able to make a new friend as a result of this incident and I was able to get to know her better than I likely would have even had our paths crossed at the conference. I am finding as a result of this experience that a measure of happiness can be obtained in finding the positive in a bad situation and that even the little misadventures in life can be a great opportunity. This is a lesson I hope to carry throughout my life.
The infinitely superiority of being stranded due to mechanical difficulties is that the airline is obligated to provide lodging. In my case it was a room that I must say was slightly superior to my quarters downtown, having a larger, flatscreen TV and a considerably larger desk. My first act upon stowing my gear was to go out in search of a place where I could get some contact lens solution. Neither a gas station nor a corner grocery mart yielded any luck. I ultimately decided to discard these lenses early, first making doubly sure that my glasses were with me. While I try to be very exacting in packing everything, there is always a margin of error. I also spent considerable time wandering to try and find a pay phone or something like that so that I could call both Brandi, my ride upon return to the airport so that I could inform her that I wouldn't be coming in and also to pass word along that I might be late for work the next night, and Mom just to talk. After considerable frustration and no help even from the person on the help line, I was able to figure it out myself. The two calls I made ended up costing $1.08 out of the 20 I had deposited at the desk, but it was worth the while to make them and I felt good that I was able to figure this out. After my conversations, I bathed and relaxed. I slept well that night and awoke well rested.
I made quick order of getting my goods in order, I had made sure everything was readily accessable, I checked out and boarded the shuttle to the airport. After getting my boarding pass (I had merely been given a flight itenerary the night before, I passed through security for what seemed to be the zillionth time and found a comfortable spot near my flight. Once more I partook of McDonalds, using the additional meal coupons we had been given. I thought it prudent to eat there as compared to my destination and that proved to be a wise choice. I was heading into Atlanta this time, an unfamiliar airport and one considerably larger than Minneapolis and that one can be difficult to navigate in, particularly if your gates are on opposite sides. I was growing anxious as we were boarding, my section was still boarding minutes after we had been scheduled to depart. Fortunately, the plane was delayed in its arrival from Atlanta due to a headwind which translated into a tailwind for us. At both APhA conferences one of those has been very beneficial to my efforts. This time I was flying Delta vs. Northwest, the two have merged. It occured to me that my Pepsi on my flight that never happened the previous day will likely be my last on an airplane; Delta serves Coke products exclusively. My flight was nice enough, except this individual sitting next to me was somewhat fidgetty. I think some of his travelling companions were sitting in the row behind me, because once we got in the air, I don't think a few minutes passed where he didn't turn around to look. It was somwhat annoying and made my reading a little more difficult, but I made the best of the situation.
Dad had made a point of passing on detailed instructions to me for what I needed to do upon arrival to Atlanta as far as navigation. It was unnecessary, I was able to navigate on my own and would have been able to figure it out on my own without difficulty. It was just another example of the less redeeming side of him which could be best described as a control freak. Mom has been the victim of this side of him far more than I have and I can see how it has caused her considerable consternation over the years. It was again demonstrated when I turned on my phone upon arrival a few hours later to call Brandi to receive a call from him while we were still en route to the terminal from the runway. As it was, even with a narrow time margin, by jogging down the terminal and rapidly locating where I needed to go, I was able to make it to my gate just as they were making the initial announcement to board. Unfortunately, as with Memphis, the sky was overcast which obscurred my view of Atlanta. Hopefully that will not be the case next time. After a long and uneventful flight, we arrived and I was able to obtain a ride from Brandi back to my apartment, where I immediately got ready for work with little turnaround time.
Thus ends my journey to San Antonio. In spite of all that happened and really not being able to do much outside of the conference itself, I had a very good time. I believe we are going to get me on the nationwide plan that my Dad has in anticipation of rotations a year from now and that will aid considerably in addressing the problem of coordinating with my friends. I think I took some good life lessons from this experience and performed well under the stresses induced, so I can say I'm pleased with that. Hopefully next year's conference will be considerably less stressful. One benefit of the location of Washington DC is that it will be in a location that I have been before, so there is at least a nominal familiarity, albeit one that will be outdated by almost a decade. Hopefully it will help at least a little bit.