Another Cadence Conference-A Big Headache

I had the hugest of headaches. I needed something to dull the pain so I could keep working.

I’d been staffing the Epic “booth” at a conference in 1995 or early 1996. I’m embarrassed to say I can’t figure out what conference it was though! It was much larger than my TEPR experience. I found a “history of HIMSS” document and confirmed it wasn’t a HIMSS conference. In any case, I was there to answer technical questions about Cadence / Epic and deflect non-customers from the booth. There were a lot more Epic staff on hand — it was an important conference.

We were staying at the Marriott Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center in Nashville, Tennessee (USA). It is absolutely bonkers of a hotel and conference center. Take ALL of the ideas you might have about what you’d want in a hotel experience and that idea was likely manifested somewhere in the facility, if you could find it. I’ve stayed in hundreds of hotels (from theme parks to Vegas to a former castle in Ireland) and never stayed at somewhere that had so many things going on — it wasn’t relaxing — think MORE COWBELL.

From the Opryland Hotel web site:

“Inside our airy, nine-acre glass atriums inspired by the vibrant energy and charm of the region, you’ll find winding waterways, lush gardens, and an enchanting atmosphere. Wander through the tranquil paths, find a quiet spot to chat, or simply relax and enjoy the perfect 72-degree temperature.”

If you’ve been on business trips, especially Epic trips “back in the day”, you’d visit cities by arriving late at night, do a thing for 12-16 hours, sleep and then wake up for an early morning flight. That was my first trip to Nashville. There probably was a city, but I arrived at night and left before dawn two days later. I only went outside to get from the airport to the hotel. One of THOSE trips.

There were two things I remember from the event. First, being a booth guard. There were thousands of attendees at this conference (still frustrated I can’t figure out what the name was!!!). There were many competitors and consultants that would attempt to watch demos or ask questions about our software. On more than a few occasions I had to Midwest Nicely ask someone to leave the booth.

The most frustrating one was a former Epic employee that had become a consultant for a competitor. He kept coming back to the booth and trying different avenues to learn about software release dates, etc. Under the guise of “friendly ex-employee asking innocent questions” he tried and tried. A little part of me felt bad for him that he’d decided to do that. But, a bigger part was surprised that he thought we were gullable enough to fall for it. There are often “pre-huddles” either at Epic or before the conference floor opens to visitors where last minute topics are discussed. He’d been a topic of both meetings as a warning.

I’m sincerely glad my career hasn’t required me to be on the opposite end of that.

In the middle of the afternoon on day 1, my brain hurt. I couldn’t concentrate and desperately needed some medication for a pounding headache. The cold and dry conference center air with the noises, the crowds, dehydration, talking to people … HEADACHE. I’d finally decided to try to find my hotel room (which was an adventure itself) and get something for my headache.

As I was just about to leave the main exhibitor hall, Judy saw me and asked how I was doing. Yes, she knew my name. 😀

I told her it was going well other than the pounding headache I’d developed.

She said “hold on!” and began to shuffle through her handbag/purse. A moment later, she offered me two ibuprofen/aspirin/what-evers. 99% of the time I would have declined that offer from nearly anyone (as I’m a no-double dipper, wash your hands, germ-a-phobe), but the gesture was so unexpected and my head so pounding I accepted them graciously and eagerly and used what little water I had left in a water bottle to swallow them immediately. I of course said thank you and I don’t think we chatted further.

Your two take-aways from this post:

• Don’t be the person who tries to get ex-coworkers and friends to tell you secrets
• Judy gave me drugs (yes, OTC drugs, but still).

If anyone knows what conference this would have been, I’d appreciate knowing and will happily update this post with information.