Oh man, a couple of Blasts From The Past! It's getting to be near that Big Show time and I'm ready, just got my dispatch for the 18th day of work in a row... only took me 45 minutes to exceed my Hours of Service today, hoping to be good clear until 9am tomorrow. I'll be the guy sleeping face down on my open trader book there at the Riv, take what you like...

Noticed there was going to be a convention 1st timers workshop which sounds pretty cool, good idea. I remember my first time at the Convention in '01!

Checked into the Trop which had always been my choice before I was collecting. My vacation time there had lined up with the Miss Hawaiian Tropic peagent twice and once some sort of lingerie expo. The Miss Hawaiian misses were all very nice, clean and friendly when encountered while the underware models were kinda creepy. I always took a room in the Island tower anyway and was used to the mirrors and whatnot on the ceiling.

Can't really remember what the schedule was for the start of the festivities. walked into some sort of meet 'n greet and didn't know a soul. I think Steve Goodrich may have been the only chipper I knew in the world at the time and he wasn't there. Down the hall, some folks were busy trading something new to the hobby, slot cards! Undecided on the gizmos at the time so I returned to the chipper center proper and notice one fellow whose picture I'd seen. Told the gent I couldn't match a name to the face and found I was talking to Jim Episale, not a bad place to start making friends in the hobby as you well know. "What do you collect Mark?", I heard for the first time. Christy & Jones I replied and magically a georgeous black $100 Sans Souci C&J appeared in Jim's fingers at a genuine Good Guy price! Guess as a beginner I was too shy to pounce on the piece but I don't regret imposing my self on Jim.

Went to the banquet stag as has become customary for me and met up at the table with Robert Eisenstadt. Geez, Eisenstadt, Episale, Goodrich, nice start to a list of hundreds of chpper friends! Oddly, of all the banquet tables I've dined at, Robert is the only survivor. My other tablemates were always unknown to me before the meal and... I never have seen or heard of any of them ever again! Some sort of Twilight Zone Chip Rapture must remove them from this earth once we leave the dining room.

So they open the door to the borse floor and wow!, chips from horizon to horizon! After I had examined fully half of every single chip in the place, I started to get kinda woozy. The light bulb went on! Hey, I don't have to look at every single chip in one visit, these guys are gonna be here for three days! Here's something to put in your convention arsenal... the nap!

Couldn't name a single chip I came away with from the event. I remember all the new friends I made however. Is this a great club or what?

Ed seminar: Saito on Jensen. I'll be there with this chip in my pocket.