Music City

Long time, no blog! On Friday afternoon I was asked to attend a conference in Nashville over the weekend. Considering that I am still in that "this is a new job that I want to keep and I want to prove to you that I am a team player and all-around rockstar" phase, I said yes. Despite the fact that I had to sacrifice a weekend, it was a great opportunity to have a new experience in my field and, quite honestly, to enjoy a couple of nights in a great hotel with some great food that I did not have to pay for!

The conference was for the National Association of Campus Activities, an opportunity for campus events programmers from across the country to gather together for professional development and for student programming boards to see hundreds of talented artists who they might want to bring to their campus. So basically I got paid to go hear up-and-coming bands, soloists, comedians, and general talent acts (magic, juggling, mind-reading, acrobatics, you name it!), as well as prominent campus lecturers (on everything from sex, legal issues surrounding Facebook, and going green on campus). I heart my job.

A few experiences of note:

I got to stay at the Gaylor Opryland Hotel (almost exactly like the Gaylord Texan in Grapevine). Sometimes its just so relaxing to stay in a nice hotel room with a plush bed, a newspaper on your doorstep, and a killer breakfast buffet. And let me tell you, if you are giving me money that I have to spend on food, I am gonna spend it!

One of the speakers I heard was Desmond Child. I had never heard his name before he came on stage, but as soon as the curtain opened there he was, sitting at a piano, tinkering out the first few bars of Bon Jovi's "Living on a Prayer." (Meredith and Julie, WHERE WERE YOU???) Turns out he was the songwriter for that song as well as many other top-40 hits. He played through the first half of the song and it took everything in me not to stand up on my chair singing "OOOOHHH-OOOOOOHHH LIVING ON A PRAYER!!!!" at the top of my lungs. No matter where I am, that song immediately takes me back to summer nights in Meredith's Geo Tracker.
I also got to sneak out for a bit to see my cousin Suzy. This is the closest I have ever lived to an extended family member so it was such a treat to stop in for dinner, linger over a glass of wine, chat about our family members, and laugh at old photos. We planned future get-togethers for taking in the Nashville music scene and hanging out on the lake this summer. And you can bet that I'm going to take her up on the offer!