I took a deep breath as I walked into the Convention Center in Oudenaarde, “Wow, I can’t believe I’m finally here. I wonder if I’ll recognize anyone. I’ve seen Kiya’s picture so maybe I’ll know her. I wonder who else is going to make it? I know Hypatia’s going to be here; Seth said he wasn’t sure, although I hope he will.” I grinned: “jvb’s going to be here for sure.”
I pulled my bags up to the check-in desk and handed my confirmation form to the gentleman behind the desk, silently praying that he spoke English. I smiled at him hopefully: “Excuse me; I’m here for the Larian Conference. Here’s my reservation confirmation.”
He accepted my paperwork and wished me a “good morning” in perfect English! As he turned and put my reservation number into the computer, I pulled out the additional Euro for the room. He smiled and handed me my key, explaining that my room was on the 5th floor and that he believed several other people attending the conference were on that floor too.
After thanking him, I was turning away to go to the elevator when I suddenly remembered the special meeting tonight. “Oh, excuse me; I have a meeting this evening that I’m supposed to RSVP. The information Larian sent me said that I needed to do that here at the desk.”
He smiled and pulled out a sign-up sheet and handed it to me to sign. I looked at it and then glanced back at him in surprise. “Am I the first one to arrive?”
He smiled again and told me that no, others had arrived; however I was the first one with the special invitation to sign in. I was really surprised; I hadn’t been a member of the forum that long… Why had I gotten a special invitation? I smiled and told him thank you again and went up to my room to take a nap and get ready for the 7:00 PM meeting.
