The Weekly List - Why I Dislike Conferences

Saturday, June 22, 2013
1. I never seem to have enough time to exercise.

2. Attending the requisite "Cocktail Party" makes me want to start cutting myself.

3. Even though I'm well into my forties and always wear a wedding band, it's a safe bet I'm going to get hit on by at least one chowderhead who thinks professional conferences are the perfect place to pick up chicks. Bow-chicka-bow-wow.

4. The Good Ole Boy network is always out in full force. An example of an actual question asked of me during one of these events: "What the hell are you doing here?" Charming.

5. Maintaining the "always on" energy level makes me tired and cranky.

6. Sometimes there is distinct lack of...quality control...in terms of session content.

7. Deep fried everything. 

8. Giving out hundreds of business cards means I have to spend the next three months unsubscribing from marketing E:mail lists.


9. I miss my family and friends.

10. The level of intelligence gathering at these events borders on industrial espionage, although the level of competence more closely resembles Spy vs. Spy.

1 comments:

Anne C. said...

Having just attended my own profession's main conference, I concur with much of this, especially the one on session content.

Thankfully, I saw many more women and people of color than I thought I would see, which made me happy and buoyed my spirits.