RSS FeedIncorrect info leads to major stress
One of the requirements for running WordCamp is a temporary event license. I needed to get this from the businesses license department of Las Vegas. I went to their website and downloaded the form and was quickly overwhelmed. For some strange reason, instead of tackling the issue, I set it aside and let time roll on by.
I made a call to the business license a few days later and explained what I was doing and asked what all I needed. They pointed me back to the website to the form I already had in front of me and said to follow the instructions. Oh boy, this was not going to be easy. The instructions list several different permits I had to get that included getting inspections for waste removal. HUH? What have I got myself in to? Overwhelmed once again, I set the papers aside and let more time roll on by.
Yesterday I got a call from a very nice lady at the business license office here in Las Vegas. She was following up because she knew my event date was coming up and needed to get my paperwork in. I could put it off no longer, I was forced to get this done. NOW! On my lunch break I made several calls to find out what I needed to do and who I needed to pay. Some of these permits were fairly pricey. This was going to hurt. Thanks to my brilliant timing of waiting until the last minute, which just so happens to be in the middle of the holiday season, I have even less time than I normally would. So, in a panic I fill out some forms, leave work early and head home to pick up the checkbook.
On my way home I decided to call my contact at Palace Station to see if she can provide some guidance. I know it’s my fault that I’ve waited so long, but hopefully I’m not overly screwed. As I’m explaining the hoops I’m getting ready to jump through, she stops me and says, “You don’t need to do all that.” Palace Station has all the permits for 95% of what’s on the list. The only thing I need is the temporary event license, sans all the permits. Excellent, this is a good start. I high-tail it over to the business license office and submit my paperwork. As it turns out, there is one permit I do need to attain. It’s a tax permit that is required because I’m charging attendees for the conference. Still, they let me submit the forms with the promise that I’ll get the tax permit and fax it the following morning. We pay our bill and hit the door.
I check our navigation system and it says that the tax building is .7 miles from the business license building. 10 minutes later (thanks to some fun one-way street issues) we are in their parking lot. We find the right room, put our name on the list and find that we are in for a 1 hour wait. During that hour it became clear that every person working in the tax office was overly nice. They were cheery and helpful and got people in and out of there quickly. The experience was not what I was expecting, I’ll tell you that right now! When it was my turn, I sat down at the desk and found that the lady helping me was training 2 people at the same time. She had a big smile, great attitude and had me in and out of there in under 10 minutes paperwork in hand. It could not have gone any smoother.
If I could make one suggestion it would be that the city of Las Vegas create different forms for the different type of event permits or at least provide a set of instructions that can help you figure out what parts are or aren’t required. Running events is not my normal job so I would have no idea that I could skip portions of that form. It would have made for a way less stressful day. Thankfully, I ran in to 3 ladies today that helped me out, set me straight and got me back on track.
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Do the holidays bring out the worst in people?
Maybe it’s just the holidays, or maybe it’s just me noticing it more, but people are a assholes. Today while we were out doing some last minute shopping, I was acutely aware of how rude people can be. For example, if you are walking around a shopping center, you normally stay to the right, much like the flow of vehicle traffic. Several times there were people walking up-stream and they are the ones that won’t move an inch to avoid running in to you. Annoying!
Even still, I typically go out of my way to be courteous to others. As we are entering a store I almost always hold the door for people coming in right behind us. When walking past somebody in an aisle while, we always say “pardon me” as we slip by them as they browse. These aren’t Mother Theresa level acts, but I’m amazed at how it seems we are the only ones in the mall who think to do them.
Tonight while at Ross, we were walking down an aisle that was fairly narrow. A lady with a cart edges her way in front of me and then I have to pull Chris to the side to let the lady pass as I’m certain she’s about to be run down by this lady with the cart. I was so pissed! I don’t know if you know this about me, but I’m RARELY the one to start a confrontation. In a situation like this I’ll typically say nothing and just steam about it. But this lady really ticked me off. I made a comment, louder enough for her to hear, I hope, about how Chris was lucky not to have been run over. Chris says the lady said she was sorry as she zipped past, but I certainly didn’t hear it.
After that bit of fun we stopped at the grocery store to pick up the fixings for Christmas dinner. We have a bit of a group coming over, so our basket was fairly full. I headed to the checkout line as Chris went to pick up a final item. As I arrived up front, I stood behind somebody in line just before another lady with a half-full cart pulled up. I then looked up and noticed I was in the 15 items or less line. So I moved over to look for the other lane. Turns out, there were no other lanes open. The lady who walked up behind me zips her cart in front of me in the line. She saw exactly what happened. I was less than 5 feet away. She jumped in front of me on purpose. This time I held my tongue because I knew that if I said anything, it was going to get nasty quick. I couldn’t believe how rude this lady was. Honestly though, I’m not sure why I was surprised.
Listen, if you are going to go out in public, bring along some manners with you, OK? I’m not asking for much. Remember when you were a kid and your mom told you to treat others the way you’d want to be treated? Let’s try that next time you go to the mall, shall we?
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Photography as a hobby
Taking on photography as a hobby has been quite interesting. On one hand, it’s incredibly rewarding personally. I enjoy the final results, I love sharing the photos online and receiving comments about the photos, and I am constantly challenged by the technical aspects of photography (lighting + camera settings + post processing). On the other hand, I’m finding that other people (including friends and family) don’t necessarily see the attraction and therefore have a tendency to give you sideways looks when you pack a photography bag to go to any function.
You have to be ready to take on some ridicule in order to get serious about photography. I have found this especially true when I bring out Bertha. Bertha is 3.5 pounds of awesome. Bertha is my 70-200mm lens that definitely stands out when you attach it to the camera. If I had my way, Bertha would be with me all the time. But, I’ve found that when I go bowling with friends, Bertha isn’t exactly welcomed with open arms. People tend to notice and stare when you have a foot long lens at a bowling alley set up on a tripod so you can take pictures of the ball hitting the pins. But to me, this seems like a lot of fun and a challenge that could help me grow as a photographer.
I’m sticking with it. I don’t know where I want my photography to go in the future. I don’t plan on making it in to a career, but I certainly want to advance my knowledge and talent. Trust me, I’m used to having people stare at me. Need I remind you of this shot of me?
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Proof I need new tires
I’ve known for a while that I need new tires on my car. I bought my car brand new in June of 06, so the tires aren’t that old, but in Vegas-time, it’s an eternity. Las Vegas is notoriously hard on car tires and car batteries. My two front tires are getting a little bald around the edges, and I’m able to break traction by running over a thimble full of water. But yet, I haven’t gone to get new ones yet and I don’t have a single good reason why not.
Today, as you may have read 1000 times by now, it snowed in Las Vegas. This, in itself isn’t exactly newsworthy. The difference today was the fact that South Vegas got snowed on; and it stuck to the ground. Normally the people in Summerlin get to post all the cool photos of their swimming pools and palm trees covered in a few inches of snow. But for us Southerners, we get to see the snow, but it’s a fraction of what they get up North and it RARELY sticks to the ground for longer than a few seconds. But not today. Today around 11:30am I saw the first few flakes of snow. None of it was sticking to the ground for the first two hours it was snowing. Then it started to collect on some bushes. And on parked car roofs. Then the grass and eventually even in the road. By the time I left the office at 5:30, it was still snowing and traffic was a mess.
When I got to my car it dawned on me. I’m in for a wild ride. My car tires are in poor shape and traffic is horrendous. This is NOT a good combo. I’m going to have to drive slow. So slow that I’m pissing off the grannies on their way to play bingo. I have no choice. It’s either inch along at snails pace or risk skidding off the road and picking up a palm tree as a hood ornament.
My normal 7 mile, 15 minute drive home tonight took just over 40 minutes. I slid to a stop twice. I kept it together nicely and got myself and my car home in one piece.
When I arrived at home I pushed the button on the remote to open the garage. It lifted effortlessly out of the way and I pulled in to the driveway. As my back wheels hit the incline, that was all she wrote. I was going no further. I spun my tires once, then twice and then a third time just for kicks. It wasn’t budging. I backed the car in to a spot on the street in front of our house and walked in. My wife pointed out that other people have to drive in the snow, too, and it may be a bad idea to leave the car in the street. This led to me shoveling snow off the driveway. We piled all the snow in one spot and turned it in to our very own snowman.
Tomorrow I’ll be using the wife’s car to get to work. Until the snow has melted and the roads are clear again, my car and it’s bald tires are grounded.
Click here to see some of the photos I took throughout the day.
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Time for the ducks to line up
I’m only about 3.5 weeks away from the start of WordCamp. Wow, let me say that again… I’m only 3.5 weeks away from the start of WordCamp. I need to get my shit together!
OK, truthfully, things are all going pretty well. But, that’s been thanks to some things falling in to place quite nicely. Some of that has just been hard work & manual labor, while other parts have been great recommendations by others.
I’m using EventBrite.com for handling the registrations. This turned out to be a stroke of genius. They handle the order taking, they collect all the important information securely, they let you ask additional questions if needed (shirt size, URL, etc…) and they deliver the cash directly to your paypal account. It couldn’t be easier.
After some searching on Google, I found a great deal on lanyards and badge holders at NameTag.com. They shipped my order the following day and it should arrive tomorrow. Sweet.
For the badges themselves, I’m actually still waiting on a piece of artwork from my designer. But, as soon as it arrives, I’m using a printer who I found through Twitter, of all places. Their website is VerticalPrinting.com and you can find Laura on Twitter @VPG_Printing.
Much of the hard work has been made a lot easier by the team over at Palace Station. They’ve really been helpful along the way. Getting the room organized, discount codes and all the extras that come up along the way. Big thanks to Page and Gina!
And finally, lots of help from friends. Doug hooked me up with the contacts for the conference space, Todd is on board to shoot photos and live blog the event, Jeff is in charge of the video and live stream, Brent is taking care of the internet access, my dad is driving in from California to do sound, my sister is coming in from California to help with registration/packet pickup and Dave was kind enough to loan me a projector. I think that’s everybody so far. I’m sure there will be more before the day arrives, but this has already been a great outpouring of assistance and I’m thrilled to have friends and family so eager to help! I hope they realize this is NOT a paying gig. 
I currently have a list of “last minute things” to get done that is on my iPhone and I look at it daily. I’ve been plucking items off the list and I’m feeling pretty good that everything is going to click in to place like a well tuned machine.
If I can get the shirts ordered by Friday, the printing ordered by the middle of next week, I’m going to be in the clear. I think those are the only things outside of my control that are outstanding. Everything else can be done locally. The weekend following Christmas is gonna be a busy one.
See you all there. Right?!?
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