Conferences and the Common Cold

Well, I got a little package in the mail on Monday. It was a letter from QANTAS apologising for the cluster that happened last Friday with a voucher for $300 for any QANTAS or oneworld airline for a year.

Here was the plan: Perth to Adelaide. Adelaide to Gold Coast. Gold Coast to Sydney. Sydney to Orange. Orange to Sydney. Sydney to Perth. Easy, right?

On Sunday the 18th, I flew to Adelaide with my workmate Brad, to be both told that our tickets to Sydney from the Gold Coast had not been paid and we couldn't get on the plane. Nice. Out come the credit cards. After that small hurdle we bundled into the Coopers Ale House for ein coldie then ran to the gate to board the plane. Hey, there's Andrew Gaze, cool! Jeez he's getting old....

Off to the sunny Gold Coast for the yearly Sales and Marketing Conference for work. Wining, dining and generally sitting around in uncomfortable chairs trying to stay awake. One highlight was the visit to Dracula's and the Beasts of Burlesque show. A total hoot! There was even a ghost train ride.

From Sydney it was off to L'Orange in NSW to visit a customer and talk automation. I don't have any photos on me as my camera is in the car and its cold outside so I'm not leaving my warm bed!

EDIT: Photos!

Gold Coast, Queensland

Orange, New South Wales

I had upgraded my flight from Sydney to Perth to Business class and I was looking forward to a nice relaxing afternoon at home. Until sitting at the QANTAS Club, waiting for boarding, waiting... waiting... Engineering Difficulties. I know what that means. Something fell off and they can't fix it. Noon flight rescheduled to 21:30. BOG! Luckily I managed to get a flight at 19:20 and at least it was still business class. So I spent six hours at the Mercure Hotel in Sydney wasting the time away with a nap, some TV, and the most awesome triple decker club sandwich ever.

From one conference to another, I spent Monday and Tuesday at Mining Automation WA. Luckily it was held in the city so I got to catch up with Hornet for lunch with some good Swedish food at Miss Maud's.

I also managed to catch a cold, more than likely from the evening out on the Mito with Robin on Sunday night. I'm still recovering and just having some trouble sleeping. It's 02:26.

More fencing tomorrow - I will be taking a kids class and showing them sabre. Woo. Hoo. (not) Well, at least it is a long weekend, meaning more sleep, more chilling out. Just what I need after a week of travelling.

Yeah, more sleep. Like, now...