CNMC 2009 Day 2

I spent part of Thursday night recapping my day on Inge’s MacBook.  I never found the time to do that on the other days of the weekend, so now I attempt to do that.  It is now Tuesday, but I’ll do my best.

Friday was a great day.  Unfortunately, it was over 100 degrees all day with a heat advisory and air quality warning, so we were advised to stay inside.  It would have been great to go out a bit, but it was just way too hot.  I started my day by working out in the hotel gym.  I actually ran a mile, but had to stop a few times.  I figured it was a good idea since the day’s eating would be erratic and not very healthful.

After I came back and showered, we headed down to the mezzanine level for breakfast provided by the hotel.  I had the pleasure of eating with Fr. Roderick and Inge.  We sat at a large table and waited for others to arrive.  Eventually Capt. Jeff came and we got our food.  Jeff took an awesome photo of us and posted it on Twitter.  It’s funny because Inge is wearing a Daily Breakfast shirt and we’re eating with a priest (sorry, had to explain to those that don’t get it).  The rest of the day was pretty much meeting new people and exploring the hotel.  At one point, we saw that Fr. Roderick was “working” by streaming online from his hotel room.  We joined the chat as one identity to confuse people in the chat (which was fun!).  Once the Rod Father figured out we were in the chat, he said “why are you in the chat?  You can just come up here!”  So, obviously, we thought that was a great idea, so we went up to the clubhouse to surprise him.  Eventually, Steve Nelson also showed up, followed by Lisa Hendey and David, Luke and Kathyrn Sweeney.  I also saw that Jeff Young was in the chat and in the hotel.  I asked if he wanted to come up and met him at the 6th floor to show him the way.  We did some furniture arrangement for the others that were coming soon, but when David showed up he reminded Fr. that the meeting was just about to start and he really needed to get going.

Well Fr. got the brilliant idea to take the computer with us to the meeting and figured out that since the hotel has Wi-Fi, he probably would have a signal the entire way.  So, he took the laptop, showed the audience the rest of the massive suite, and carried the computer down the hall, in the elevator and all the way to the meeting room.  We stopped at the place on the 2nd floor where you can see the lobby and everyone who had arrived was looking at us taking photos such as this one courtesy of Maria:

Once we got to the meeting room, there were many more people to meet.  They included Nick and Pat Padley, Maria Johnson, Mac and Katherine Barron, Paul Camarata, Deacon Tom and his wife Dee, and a few others.  After meeting everyone, we shared lunch (and like the loaves and fish it had to feed many and did).  The funniest part is that I met Nick and Pat and talked to them for a while, but didn’t realize that they were the voices of the “In Between Sundays” podcast much later that I had just started listening to.  😉

After lunch, the board members and their code names were introduced and then all the riff raff that had crashed the party were kicked out so they could have their meeting.  We went back to our room and watched the Ustream.  The Rod Father put on music to keep us from hearing too much and we enjoyed confusing the chat audience by having one identity again.  I switched to my screenname eventually, but Inge also used it! 😉

Eventually we decided to venture out of the room and went to the lobby.  We quickly discovered that the best way to meet new people is to hang out in the lobby.  We ran into the Catholic Traveler, Sarah Bauer, Dr. Paul, Fr. Jay Finelli and Fr. Seraphim that way.  Mac let us know that he and Kat and Maria were going to the Alamo to do some filming and invited us to come along.  We got to know each other a little better along the way and then eventually got there (it’s only a few blocks from the hotel).  Mac and Katherine formulated a plan and said that it would all become clear tomorrow.  I got a sno-cone and we attempted to stay cool in the heat.  Maria also explained the history of the structure to Inge.

We went back to our room for a bit and followed the comings of people on Twitter and Plurk.  We found out that Barb had arrived and I DMed her to find out her room number.  We went to their room to meet them in person and it was awesome!  It’s so great to put Twitter IDs to real people.  We also met her mom Rosalie and heard their travel stories and they heard ours.

Eventually it was time for the real fun to begin with the CNMC Meet and Greet!  Social events like this always freak me out a bit since I’m such an introvert so Inge and I hung out in the corner for a stretch of time.  We did meet people, such as Matthew Warner, Kien, John, Carleigh, Jeff Geerling, Sr. Anne, Lauren and many others.  Mac attempted to talk more to me and I think I frustrated him a little because I was not being my most articulate.  I did move a few times and met some new people.  Barb was so funny because she was so enthusiastic and happy to be there!  She carried her iPod Touch around to match people with their avatars and had a blast meeting all her online friends.  I was excited too, but not as much as Barb!  Here are some photos from the evening also courtesy of Maria:

The party went on well into the night and by 9:30 or so, Inge and I were ready for bed.  Right around the time we were leaving, I got a text from Zina saying that they had landed!  I texted her back to find out if she needed a ride, but she didn’t respond.  I was delighted to get a phone call from her later!  She reported that they had arrived and were in the process of getting a rental car.  They also needed to get some supplies for Myra who has lots of allergies and to grab some food.  She said hi to Inge and said she would let us know when they got to the hotel.  At 10:45 I texted her to let her know that I was going to bed, but would appreciate a text letting me know that they had made it.

And so ended a very exciting second day!  These posts are very long, but the days are just so action-packed and fun!  Day 3 and 4 posts are coming soon… 🙂