Back home

I'm back from Canadia! Sadly, I left the hotel only once the entire four days I was there. It was just conference conference conference 24/7. The steakhouse we ate out at (the one night there wasn't a planned dinner) was even connected to the hotel! So the only sunlight I got was by sitting out by the pool during breaks.

It's always fun mingling with folks in your industry because then you can geek out about stuff that would bore anyone else. "Wow, take a look at that paper stock!" or "Check out the spot-coating they got on those photographs!" just doesn't fly in the normal world. I get to quibble about what makes good market writing, and I get to debate about the tone I want to use versus "the company tone." Being the one & only at my company who does what I do, gatherings like this help keep me sane.

I won "Best of Show" in my category (don't get excited, it's nothing glamorous--we're talking annual reports here), and I got to spend quality time with my fake boyfriend (who coincidentally has my title at a different NYC company and was already going to this conference (picture me sneaking back to my hotel room on the 18th floor from his room on the 27th floor in the early morning hours, and then having to swing an emergency escape down the stairs in order to thwart scandal when I saw a fellow conference-goer coming my way!)).

When it was all done, I put the crystal trophy thing in my carry-on luggage and headed for the Toronto airport. Walking through immigration, the man on the other side of the counter took my U.S. passport and opened it to where my picture was. He looked me up and down. There was a pause of some insecurity and nervousness, as I am wont to have by experience. He asked me why I was in Canada. I told him I was here for business. He asked me where I had stayed, and I told him that as well. "You live in New York?" he asked. I told him I did. Then he closed the navy booklet, handed it back to me, and wished me a safe journey home. I have no logical reason to feel this way (as I am a law-abiding citizen and was born in the U.S.), but every time I pass through airport security or customs, I breathe a sigh of relief as if I've just gotten away with murder. I hide the smile, not wanting to be suspicious.