Convention Working Off the Holiday Weight Gain, Bill Clinton and Pics. December 2010.

In a previous post, I mentioned I landed a temp job working at a tech convention.   The event did help me work off some of the holiday weight gain and definitely kept me away from the fridge.

I managed to get a few pics during my off time. 

The Convention:  Dreamforce 2010.
The convention was about cloud computing.  In cloud computing, the shared resources, such as information and software, are provided on demand to a device.

Artwork decorating the Moscone Center from Dreamforce 2010.

The new workout:  goodie bag and packet stuffing.

A goodie bag from the event.

I literally had no idea how many goodie bags and packets I had stuffed for this event, but it is safe to say that with 30,000 attendees, there must have been at least 25,000 goodie bags that everyone was trying to stuff.

Guestimating:  With 30,000 Attendees, there must have been at least 25,000 goodie bags and packets.

Where I Spent Most of My Time.
I spent most of my time onsite behind a regisration desk where I checked in convention attendees and issued them their convention badges.  For some, I had to troubleshoot why their badges didn't work and why their registration could not be located during the check in process.

Since I was behind the registration counter most of the time, I was not grazing on food at a fridge.

My temporary home away from home.

The view from my temporary home away from home behind the registration desk.

The 30 Minute Lunch Break.
The 30 minute lunch breaks definitely will not leave you enough time to get to a restaurant, buy some food, eat the food and for you to get back to work on time.  So, one has to pack lunch wisely, or risk having no food to eat at all.

On a couple of days, us, little people got lucky and got a free boxed lunch.  They were the leftovers from the attendee lunches.

A free lunch from work.

The Hours Were Long.
Again, I was kept away from grazing on food at a fridge by the long work hours.

During some long work hours when the going gets tough, the tough gets powered by Starbucks.  We were thankful that teas and Starbucks coffee was provided to us.

Nothing like coffee from Starbucks to keep you going during the long hours.

Odds and Ends:  I Felt Like a Walmart Employee on Black Friday Morning.
Except in my case at the convention, I was not faced with a large group of people about to run in to get Black Friday deals.  At the convention, I was facing a large crowd who were trying to get in fast to get a good seat to see and hear former President Bill Clinton speak.

Attendees lined up for hours just to hear former President Bill Clinton speak.

I was assigned  to be one of the human barriers to adjust the flow of attendees as they streamed into the large keynote hall.

I can honestly tell you that one of the scariest feelings in the world is standing on the inside of the set of doors, as some of the other convention staff open a set of doors to let the crowd of 20,000 attendees in.

Thanks, Bill Clinton, for coming to speak!!!

I definitely felt this convention worked some of my holiday weight gain off.  Perhaps, time permitting next year, I'll try to convention work my holiday weight gain off again.