Monday, February 15, 2010

Back from Vala2010

I'm back from the conference in Melbourne and I am now the proud owner of some red heels. Wish I'd got the black versions as well because I really like them.


I'm still processing stuff from the conference.  I'll publish my "official librarian thoughts" on the Diligent Room blog but here are some not so librarian thoughts.

  • Twapperkeeper is great for archiving tweets and looking at the archive refreshes my memory of the sessions I attended. 
  • I {heart} Twitter and conferences.  I think Twitterers have more fun at conferences.
  • I {heart} meeting people I have met online IRL.  I had 2 dinners out with some other Twitterers and Bloggers and we had a blast.  Somehow some non-Twittering librarians came along to one dinner and we overheard them remarking, "I was asked my Twitter name before my real name!" Heh - well it was organised on Twitter. Doh.


  • Automatic Cafe along the Yarra River front serves enormous chocolate cake portions.  It's also incredibly hard to find if you use Google Maps instructions.  The cake below was about 12cm across the widest part of the wedge and about 15 cm high.

 
Nope - that's not my dessert.  I had lemon tart.

 

  •  I missed my family a lot particularly on the first day when I had no other company.  Skype is great.  High internet charges is not.  
  • A technology conference that doesn't have power outlets in the main plenary auditorium is a major oversight.
  • There is less singing at Australian library conferences.  But some folks do interpretive dance in their sessions and some knit during the plenaries.
  • I forgot my toothpaste.  Hotel housekeeping services are very handy.
  • The current trend for vendor schwag is shopping bags that fit in your handbag - very cool!  I scored 3 but only kept the National Library of Australia one which is an Onyabag.  The rest + plus the other things (post its, pens etc) I took into work for my colleagues.
  • Leaving the shower curtain outside the bath while having a shower results in a flood over the tiled floor.  Thank goodness for bathrooms with drains in the floor.

  •  This bed was very comfy but it didn't have DH in it so I didn't sleep that well.  The hotel was very pleasant though (Holiday Inn on Flinders).
  • Apparently I should have taken more pictures of trams and trains according to Mr 6.

10 comments:

  1. Hi Penny
    I'm glad you enjoyed your conference...it sounds like there was variety...knitting AND interpretive dance ;-)
    I loved Melbourne...isn't it the most fabulous city??

    Sandra

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  2. All sounds interesting alright! hehehee
    Great heels! ;-)
    I laughed at T's comment about not enough photos of trams etc! Classic. Oh well you'll know for next time :-)

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  3. Sounds very interesting. I also don't sleep well without hubby in the bed. Love those shoes ... at one time I had what I called my "Dorothy" shoes - red and sparkly and when my sons were little they loved those shoes!

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  4. Awesome shoes! It sounds like you had a fantastic time ... although obviously didn't spend enough time behind the camera waiting for trams to pass by. Yum at those desserts ... you've just made me hungry and I'm seriously wanting chocolate cake now!

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  5. I like those shoes!
    Glad you had a good time. Melbourne is awesome. Can relate to your comment about not sleeping well without your DH, I am the same, even when staying in flash hotels with comfy king size beds!

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  6. A girl's gotta have a pair of red shoes - love them.

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  7. okay I am loving those shoes they are gorgeous. I am coveting them is that wrong? lol sounds like you had a great time....very envious lol

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  8. Sounds like a great trip!

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  9. smokin' hot shoes! sounds like a fun conference:)

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  10. Love the red shoes. Hope you get to wear them LOTS. I forgot to mention on my blog that my *barefoot* gecko shoes are also red ... I need to add a photo

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