I have spent the last four days in Las Vegas, which is always an interesting experience. Vegas is not exactly a wholesome place, by any stretch of the imagination. I only come here to work a major industry event, as a chance to "network," which is not a task that comes naturally to me. As my career develops, I find myself invited to more opulent events each year. I just finished having very expensive drinks at an exclusive club overlooking the Bellagio Fountains, which are my favorite Vegas attraction. I was discussing ways to accelerate particle simulations of that phenomenon, which is probably not the usual line of conversation there, but that's what happens when technology engineers get together.
Last night I attended a much larger party, with thousands of industry people in attendance. It was a pretty impressive venue, the type of place you normally only see in the movies. I don't know what I found more amusing, the spas with glass sides, or the beds out in the middle of the pool. I am not sure about the networking potential of an event with the volume too high to consider communicating with the people around you, but I still find myself going every year for some reason. This time it was to try to make some introductions that didn't end up happening anyway.
My job here for the week normally entails demonstrating the new features of an advanced software toolset, and coming up with solutions to customer's complex workflow issues. I am working for a different company this year, and have very little to do besides describe product options and talk about price points. Since I am not much of a marketing or customer service oriented person, this is a less-than-ideal change.
Luckily I only have two more hours to work in the morning, before I take off on yet another leg of my trip, this one purely for recreation, to visit some good friends. After a bit of examination, it seems like this is my first recreational trip in many years, which is probably something I should work on.
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