I've been away - at the annual Iowa Recycling and Waste Management Conference. This year it was in Bettendorf one of the Quad Cities. I drove over Monday after driving to DSM early that a.m. The Environmental Management System (EMS) video was on my desk when I got in. Thank God!
You may recall I'd been working on the video for the past couple weeks, after traveling Iowa sporadically the past couple months with the videographers. Soon I should be able to put the website link on here so you too are able to watch it online - all 8 minutes. Okay, maybe you won't be quite as thrilled about a new way for planning areas to manage things at the landfill, recycling facility, etc. Don't get me started. I guess you didn't - I did it my own self.
I headed East on I-80 and you guessed it - the Outlet Mall at Williamsburg called to me during my lunch break. Eddie Bauer and Jockey. Yay. Got to the venue - a Casino and Event Center late afternoon, and got the DNR display set up. Kudos to me, as it's a bit like a legos set. Then I started working the room talking to the peeps. My Trash Peeps.
At five o'clock the reception started. Food and free drinks. Hmm. I had decided that I didn't need to be partaking in alcoholic bevvies while at the conference - because I am representing DNR. This vow proved to be harder than I thought. Damn! I chatted with the EPA rep, and various planning area people. My roomie for the night Susan showed up. We turned in pretty early, but some conference goers were gambling.
Early the next day my supervisors showed up - Brian was the first speaker, and Jen was just there to meet and greet. I was nervous because I was a speaker at the EMS program set for 11 a.m. The video showing was set for then. Gulp! A critical audience. No wonder I didn't sleep well.
We had a full slate of speakers during our program. EMS Council Chair Sara Bixby, Fab EMS Consultant Laura Fiffick, Marie DeVries from Cedar Rapids and Rodger Kaster from Appanoose County - representing 2 of the pilot areas and me with my video. It went great. Lots of compliments after the program - about EMS and of the video - from my boss Brian and several others. That makes me happy!
I enjoyed catching up with my little buddy Christine Collier Richter - former consultant/engineer in my former life. She helped me tear down my DNR booth later yesterday. We don't get to talk much anymore now that we don't cross paths in our jobs much. I miss her. I scored a laptop backpack/golf shirts/golf balls and more for $40 in a silent auction. Other were drinking bevvies. Me - the picture of self control.
There was a pub crawl as the entertainment that evening. I rode along with a group to the first stop - Modern Woodman Park, as Sara Bixby was being honored. -She's just been elected president of the Solid Waste Association of North America. Big stuff! We toasted her at the ballpark in Davenport where the semi-pro baseball the Riverbandits team plays. Sara is an umpire in her spare time. She was pretty touched - it was cool when they put her name and photo on the big scoreboard!
But no drinking by me. But oh I did feel thirsty. Liquor can be a crutch in somewhat awkward social situations. It's relaxing. I could have used it. But I'm proud of myself that I didn't. So I'm making a big deal out of it.
I think I'll get shit-faced this weekend. haha
You may recall I'd been working on the video for the past couple weeks, after traveling Iowa sporadically the past couple months with the videographers. Soon I should be able to put the website link on here so you too are able to watch it online - all 8 minutes. Okay, maybe you won't be quite as thrilled about a new way for planning areas to manage things at the landfill, recycling facility, etc. Don't get me started. I guess you didn't - I did it my own self.
I headed East on I-80 and you guessed it - the Outlet Mall at Williamsburg called to me during my lunch break. Eddie Bauer and Jockey. Yay. Got to the venue - a Casino and Event Center late afternoon, and got the DNR display set up. Kudos to me, as it's a bit like a legos set. Then I started working the room talking to the peeps. My Trash Peeps.
At five o'clock the reception started. Food and free drinks. Hmm. I had decided that I didn't need to be partaking in alcoholic bevvies while at the conference - because I am representing DNR. This vow proved to be harder than I thought. Damn! I chatted with the EPA rep, and various planning area people. My roomie for the night Susan showed up. We turned in pretty early, but some conference goers were gambling.
Early the next day my supervisors showed up - Brian was the first speaker, and Jen was just there to meet and greet. I was nervous because I was a speaker at the EMS program set for 11 a.m. The video showing was set for then. Gulp! A critical audience. No wonder I didn't sleep well.
We had a full slate of speakers during our program. EMS Council Chair Sara Bixby, Fab EMS Consultant Laura Fiffick, Marie DeVries from Cedar Rapids and Rodger Kaster from Appanoose County - representing 2 of the pilot areas and me with my video. It went great. Lots of compliments after the program - about EMS and of the video - from my boss Brian and several others. That makes me happy!
I enjoyed catching up with my little buddy Christine Collier Richter - former consultant/engineer in my former life. She helped me tear down my DNR booth later yesterday. We don't get to talk much anymore now that we don't cross paths in our jobs much. I miss her. I scored a laptop backpack/golf shirts/golf balls and more for $40 in a silent auction. Other were drinking bevvies. Me - the picture of self control.
There was a pub crawl as the entertainment that evening. I rode along with a group to the first stop - Modern Woodman Park, as Sara Bixby was being honored. -She's just been elected president of the Solid Waste Association of North America. Big stuff! We toasted her at the ballpark in Davenport where the semi-pro baseball the Riverbandits team plays. Sara is an umpire in her spare time. She was pretty touched - it was cool when they put her name and photo on the big scoreboard!
But no drinking by me. But oh I did feel thirsty. Liquor can be a crutch in somewhat awkward social situations. It's relaxing. I could have used it. But I'm proud of myself that I didn't. So I'm making a big deal out of it.
I think I'll get shit-faced this weekend. haha
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