Davy wrote yesterday, annoyed that I had not been posting from Lisbon. Certainly there were interesting things I had seen here, he suggested, a little bit of culture perhaps? His nagging made me feel guilty enough to write a post but there was precious little culture in it. What he got was the previous one about being stuck in the middle of my very last job assignment and really not wanting to be there.
Because of the conference, we have been hotel-bound and really haven't taken in much of Lisbon or its culture (unless those Japanese-style snack crackers in the bar are a Portugese dish). We would have done some tourist stuff this afternoon, but last night's party left us so tired we needed naps in order to be able to go to tonight's celebratory dinner for the team that put on the conference. I know. It's a tough gig and all of that, but last night was the first time we succumbed to the lure of the social bits of the conference.
We've been the leaders among the well behaved ones here, skipping the festivities and late night partying on the first two nights. OK, we were so jet lagged we couldn't stay awake, but nonetheless I still want some credit for moderation even when excess was not an option.
Linda and I do tend to behave during the first few days when we are running these things. We have learned that moderating the morning session of a conference and having to listen to the four or five Powerpoint presentations while you are sleep-deprived, dehydrated and hungover is actually less desirable than being condemned to the first three or four rings of Hell for eternity. And it seems to last even longer. So we missed some of the nightclub madness that everyone was talking about at breakfast.
I am not sure why people who go to conferences and conventions feel the need to party like there's no tomorrow with people whom they won't see again until next year. Actually, now that I have written it, I can see clearly why they do it. You might feel a bit awkward having one of those evenings with the people in the workstation next to you who can then keep reminding you of it every time they need someone to run out for coffee.
But do it with the sales guy from Germany and the editor from Canada and you're pretty sure that no one is ever again going to discuss with you that there were easier ways to get to the loo than crawling under the tables at the club.
Anyhow, the conference is over and we are celebrating at dinner tonight. Our host is my now-former boss David, who has exquisite taste in wines. We've had our naps and we will be ready for fun, even if everyone else has burned their candle at both ends and can't contemplate raging on. What's that music I hear faintly in the distance? Why I believe it is Alicia Bridges. Isn't she singing, "I Love the Nightlife, I Got to Boogey."
Retirement has resumed. The holiday is on. Culture tomorrow.
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