The fuckup
And so it came to pass that I found myself in Miami Beach, with the rest of my company's senior staff, a full day ahead of schedule.
You see, we're at Internet Retailer's Web Design '09 conference. IR had asked us to give web design consultations--we are among two dozen organizations selected and vetted by the conference as worthwhile partners.
The way the conference agenda is laid out is as follows:
Monday--Design and Usability Consultations
Tuesday--Main Conference - General Sessions
Wednesday--Main Conference - General Sessions
Thursday--Post-Conference Workshop: Case Studies and Critiques
And as part of the line items on Tuesday and Wednesday, the agenda says the following:
9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Web Consultations (concurrently)
What I assumed, and what I failed to clarify, and what the conference never elucidated, and what was in the consultation appointment spreadsheet but glossed over by me repeatedly, was the fact that Alexander Interactive is part of the (concurrently) and not the Monday. Which turned out to be quite a discovery at 9:00 this morning, when we were rendered temporarily useless.
So here I am at the swanky new Fontainebleau in Miami Beach, thoroughly annoyed and self-critical, while my colleagues are off visiting grandparents, fighting colds and otherwise missing in (in)action, all of us frustrated--pretty much at me--while I spin and hope the perfect Miami weather can make up for a lost day.
I have this incredible urge to say, "It could be worse. It could be raining," but something tells me I'd better not.