Show day 1 continued

Every detail was completed. The booth was clean, the meeting rooms were organized, and the equipment was in place. I was dressed to impress with my name badge proudly around my neck. I was ready to take on the world – after I made a coffee run, that is. I collected everyone’s order and hurried to Starbucks. My first challenge was the line. It must have been two blocks long! I waited and I waited, patiently of course, repeating the order in my head: one Tall soy latte, one Grande triple nonfat vanilla latte, one black coffee with cream. I surely did not want to screw up my first assignment of the day. As the line inched forward, I noticed they were out of vanilla flavoring. This posted a serious problem. How was I going to order a Grande triple nonfat vanilla latte with no vanilla? It was almost my turn. Of course, the one thing I am in charge of, coffee, and I can’t even get it right. After safely delivering the coffee, without the vanilla, with a smile, I felt ready to take on anything. A little coffee run couldn’t scare me. Bring on the CEO’s and VP’s. I was feeling confident, and ready to show the world of trade shows what I was made of.

A frantic woman dashed to our booth and asked me where room 3B01 was. After stuttering a bit, I came up to what I thought was a decent answer. She then asked me to find someone who actually knew what was going on. So I grabbed the closest person and sighed. My super human strength was gone and I was back to zero.

The rest of the day went surprisingly well. I found myself re-stocking the giveaway bags and emptying the trash. The day was soaring by. The booth was packed wall to wall and the demo stations were full. I learned a lot about trade shows by observing my surroundings. When the day wrapped up after a solid twelve hours, we were all ready to get back to the hotel. One day down and one to go. With my feet blistered and sore, we walked out of the hall. My mind was filled with thoughts of the next day and what obstacles would come my way.

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