California adventure

Time to blog about the trip now that I’m flying over Arizona on the way home. The trip to San Diego was fun and somewhat productive. Getting away from Atlanta and the office for a few days but still spending time with friends and family was definitely helpful, even if it will be hell back at work come Tuesday morning.

My apologies if this runs long and even more self-serving than Monday Morning Quarterback …

Wednesday: A sudden morning downpour altered my plans for parking at work and taking MARTA to the airport. I then started a mad scramble for my alternate airport parking plans (going to a station next to the airport), although I did make it on time. It was just strange not having that hour-plus cushion I usually have when flying.

I was surprised that Finding Nemo was playing on my flight. I had no problems watching it again, although isn’t it still playing in a lot of theaters? If many movies have such quick turnarounds from theaters to airplanes, I suppose Gigli or From Justin to Kelly will be in Delta’s rotation next month.

Hotel sider: I’ve mentioned this before, but many times, the more expensive the hotel, the less you actually seem to get. The hotel where I stayed (and where the convention was) was in a great location just a couple of minutes from downtown and right next to the airport (I could see the terminal from my hotel room). Plus it had a nice lobby and bar, which got really busy the first two nights with all of us conventioneers. I guess it’s also a great place for those who own boats on the marinas near the hotel, but seeing all of those ships lined up together had me humming the tune to Gilligan’s Island over and over again.

However, the in-room cable left a lot to be desired, the charge for local calls could pay for ALF’s return to Melmac, and worse off, the hotel health club charged a lofty fee. Thank God for the nice scenic road by my hotel so I could put in a decent walk.

As for the convention itself, it was good to see a lot of friends and other familiar faces. Our local chapter was represented well, not to mention former Atlanta-based people who were popping up all of the place. The opening reception was at SeaWorld, so at least I didn’t have to spend big bucks to see the park or Shamu. I think we accidentally saw a lot of the attractions stumbling around to find the pavilion for our group. Unfortunately, just following the Asian people wasn’t good enough given we were in San Diego.

Thursday: The real opening of the convention started with a breakfast reception with the dean at Medill. I was and wasn’t surprised to see how many Medill alums are in the organization, although it may be slightly telling that the ones at the convention who knew me from school weren’t the ones in my class. I didn’t think I flew that far under the radar, but apparently I did.

We did hear about the blackout after lunch, and just in time for the Q&A session/damage control with Arthur Sulzberger Jr. He was briefly interrupted for blackout stuff, but otherwise went on for a while doing his best to explain the situation and everything else. Honestly, nothing really earth-shattering came from the talk, but it was fun to listen to nonetheless, especially with plenty of his editors hanging around as well.

Friday: Not only do I fly under the radar, I’m also so unique that it makes it hard for many people I meet, either other conventioneers or recruiters, to figure out who I am or what I do. Online is an emerging medium and sports is very popular, yet there are very few people at this convention that do either, and I do both. However, I was happy to see at least one person recognize me from my work, so I supposed I’m doing something right. At the same time, making the switch somewhere else could be somewhat dicey since there are very few positions that come anywhere close to what I do. I probably have a longer way to go than I think if I want to make a major switch in my career.

Still, I’ve got a long way to being successful at the networking game. The uniqueness of my position can actually be a detriment. Not to mention not being sure whether to pull out the sports/pop culture from my conversation arsenal for business use. I did get into a nice little talk about the NL MVP race with one guy, although it does feel strange doing so in what could be considered a job interview. But take a lot of that out of the equation, and I could be toast. Everyone has a certain zone where they feel comfortable and confident to carry out conversations with whomever; mine just seems to be very minuscule.

Saturday: I haven’t been in San Diego for years, so I did do a lot of touristy stuff when I could, and thankfully I had a lot of free time Saturday and Sunday. One of our connections in San Diego got us free passes for a club in the Gaslamp District for Friday night, but I discovered quickly why I usually don’t go clubbing. On the other hand, when I went back for dinner with my cousin Sunday night, I saw that the place was actually very enjoyable.

It should make for a great scene next year when the Litter Box opens. Parking may be a pain and a half, but the convention center across the street might help that, not to mention the trolley. So let’s see, a downtown ballpark in the heart of a popular restaurant/bar district and has some real public transportation to get there – two things Turner Field doesn’t have, and Philips Arena/Georgia Dome is lacking the restaurant scene minus whatever is at CNN Center. Good going, Atlanta!

Speaking of stadiums, I did go to the Q for exciting Chargers-Cardinals preseason action. The park wasn’t anything spectacular, but it was horrifying either. I was thrown off by the separate box offices for the Padres, Chargers and SDSU, causing me to venture further than I would’ve liked to pay way too much ($34 for an upper view seat) for a game that meant so little. But I was in town, and there was a game going on, so how could I pass it up?

The game was what you expected from these teams at this time of year. Lots of rust, lots of unknowns getting tons of PT, lots of fans disguised as empty seats (although that made traffic much more bearable). Neither offense looked good, and the Chargers backup offensive linemen could find work as matadors when they get cut. But I did go nuts when Damien Anderson tore off an 82-yard run on his first carry of the game. Other high/lowlights: a Special Olympics exhibition at halftime and plenty of screen time for the cheerleaders (at least they were performing for the entire game).

A trip to the Chargers team store (a tent next to the box office) was fruitless. When did NFL jerseys get so expensive and why are they charging close to full price for guys that aren’t there anymore (Seau, Conway, Harrison)? On the other hand, I was dangerously close to buying a Ryan Leaf jersey for $20 at a swap meet on Sunday.

Oh yeah, I did hear about the Vick’s vaporization on the ride to the game. If I wasn’t caught in slow moving stadium traffic, I might’ve run off the road (although probably into the shopping center down the street from the park). So much for my teams in the Mastermind Mock and ffWebmasters.

As for other parts of town, I did like Balboa Park a lot. Parts of it felt like a nice green oasis in the middle of town, but at the same time, it was like the San Diego version of the Smithsonian with all of the museums and the zoo. There’s a little bit for everyone. As for Old Town, my friend and I gorged at a great Mexican restaurant there, while the rest of the area seemed quaint but slightly hokey – nothing wrong with that, though. Some areas downtown and near the stadium had some amazing looking condos, apartments and lofts. I should’ve hit the beach and a casino or two, but maybe that’s something for another time. The areas I was in seemed reasonably easy to navigate, although I’m sure the traffic is much worse outside of town.

If you got this far, congratulations. More later as I think of it and get myself back on Eastern time. My clock got really smacked around watching sports on Pacific time.