Is it nerves? or hunger?

The presentation is ready. I'm rehearsed, though hopefully not over-rehearsed. Right now, I'm feeling a little jazzed, and I don't really know if it's anxiety or - since I haven't eaten anything yet today - simply hunger.

The Interpreter Division had its reception last night, at the hotel's 'Kookaburra Lounge'. Ms. Visson, who had lectured earlier, was there and without really intending to, I got caught up in a small group that included me, Ms. Visson, and Laura Wolfson (who had worked hard to arrange the lecture), and we left the bar's noisy environment for the relative quiet of the hotel's lobby lounge. The discussion was wide-ranging, and I found out - among other tidbits - that Ms. Visson has written a cookbook highlighting Uzbek cuisine. There was also the standard exchange of anecdotes, some of which involved open microphones. All in all, it was an interesting and stimulating discussion.

The Slavic Division held its annual meeting this morning. My action items coming out of it are (a) to help generate a PDF version of the Division's newsletter, and (b) to write a 'review' of Ms. Visson's lecture for the newsletter. All else about the meeting was fairly mundane, except for one woman who sat in front of me wearing a loud pink dress and who tended to carry on at length and very emotionally on a variety of subjects. At one point, I could not help myself and - when it appeared she was winding down (a deception, to be sure, as she was merely preparing to continue) - I whispered, sotto voce, "Sounds like a volunteer, to me!"

That brought a favorable response and a segue to another issue.

Anyway, it's time to break out the nice clothes and get dressed. Then I need to go downstairs and make sure the setup is okay; I eyeballed the room from the door earlier and it seems fine, but it never hurts to make sure. A lot of people have told me they're going to be there, so it seems I'll definitely have an audience. Yummy.

Cheers...

Done!

Everything went well at the presentation. Nobody left, nobody threw anything (at least nothing with a sharp edge), and about the only glitch in the deal was my running over about three minutes (I had about 2 slides left, and they went quickly).

Things could've gotten sticky, though. I arrived at the room a half hour in advance to find no LCD projector to plug into. After a frenzied 5-minute search for Someone In Authority, the wheels started turning and a projector was installed within minutes. I then set up and played Tchaikovsky's "1812 Overture" on my computer to warm up the audience.

I knew most of the people in the audience, and the room was far from full, which kind of took the edge off the presentation. I guess I am a 'ham' way down deep inside; I like audiences. Heck, when the next session's audience started walking in, I paused briefly and chided them with mock seriousness, "Hey, you guys are late!" That got a laugh.

It's all over, pretty much, except for tonight's farewell banquet. Having paid through the nose for a ticket, I'll expect a ham sandwich and a warm beer (if it's anything better, I'll be overwhelmed).

The folks that brought me from the airport say they've got to pick me up at 4:40 am tomorrow to assure my getting to the plane on time. That means I've got to wake up at 3:30 am or so. Yech.

Anyway...time to pack right now so that the rest of the day (and tomorrow morning) goes well.

Cheers...