Ok, ready for part two? Here I go...
Day 3 - Saturday. Saturday was crazy. Busy all the time. Lots of excited potential noobs.
That morning the woman running the Sennheiser headphones booth brought over a set of headphones for us to try. So I saw opportunity knocking and went to speak to her. I told her how it was so hard to hear the game sounds because we were next to air hockey tables (a sound I never ever want to hear again - oh the headaches it caused). I said gamers always appreciate a good set of headphones. She said she'd put a set at each computer so we could cross-promote. Later that day she told me to keep all four sets of headphones! YAY!
The people trying EU really liked them and I enjoyed putting them on, playing or not, to block out the air hockey tables, if only for a minute!
We also found out Saturday morning that the official booth was not coming. At all. Oh, well, we had one banner and a high traffic booth position so we were ok.
Saturday afternoon Rex and I went to the stage area with NEVERDIE and Cheri. We made sure everyone in the audience got a disk. ND was great on stage. They had huge pillows along the front edge and some of the audience members were laying on them relaxing - but not for long! ND had them so excited about EU!
It was great. The tech guys sorta failed him and he didn't have much on the gigantic screen behind him, but he still caught the attention of many, and the crowd grew and grew as he spoke. As we wandered thru the crowd, we were asked many questions and people actually ran towards me saying "I need that game!!!!"
He signed many autographs and took the time to speak to everyone who wanted to.
Back at the booth, there were reporters everywhere. ND took time for all of them, and it eventually got a little quieter, so he headed out for the day. Mere minutes later, the G4 Tech TV team came looking for him. EEK!
So Rex called him and he came right back for an interview. The reporter was really nice and sat near our booth making notes and asking us questions.
Some time after dinner, John Bates arrived at long last. He was still excited and exhausted from meeting with NASA. Rex seemed very relieved to relinquish control of the booth.
We were supposed to stay open until 11:00pm (ya, all you other Ambassadors, just imagine! Loooooong day - you've all had it sooo easy!), but it was dying down so they closed the Festival at 10:30. We had been invited to a fashion show that started at 11:00pm, so we had time for a taxi ride over to the SAT, where the show was being held. It was a competition between designers to make the next Lara Croft outfit. They were all really great designs, but, personally, I felt that not all of them were the right style for Lara Croft. While the judges deliberated, the bar was open and people posed for some magazine (forget what it was called). We were going to wait for the results, but Rex and I were too exhausted, as was John, so the three of us hopped in a cab, headed back for the hotel.
Day 4 - Sunday. Sunday morning, surprisingly, I woke up before the alarm clock. We had to pack up and check out before we went the the Festival. Sunday morning was quiet. But sitting still made me realize just how tired I was. Just as I felt I would drop from exhaustion, Rex took me for lunch. We sat at a window in the sun, escaping the dungeon-like darkness of the festival, sat in the comfiest of chairs, and ate some fabulous pasta. It was just what I needed to carry on thru the afternoon. There were busy spells and quiet spells, but a lot less English-speaking people, so mostly quiet for me. Except of course when I was silly enough to hand a disk to someone followed by a camera crew. She asked if she could interview me on camera. I tried to pass her off on Rex, but she wasn't having it. It was all me. I hate cameras. With a passion. So after they pulled the camera out of my face, I realized I should find out what channel would be darkened by my presence. It was CBC!
Of course not some little show I'd never heard of, it had to be one of the biggest broadcasters in Canada! She promised to e-mail me before it goes on the air and I promised everyone I wouldn't tell them when!
Saturday afternoon, John and Rex were at the computers, as John rarely has time to log in with all the conventions. They were discussing equipment and a plan of action for when he has some time to hunt. Hopefully, the Festivals will quiet down over the holiday season and John will have plenty of time to play the game he promotes so very much! And he really does a great job, he gets so enthusiastic and the people listen!
Late Sunday afternoon, the Ambassadors were getting a little sad, knowing we'd part ways. Lankisa was the first to go, he had to catch a bus for a long ride home. He had been fighting a terrible cold the whole weekend but still did an amazing job and even did an audio interview.
We were the next to leave. There were hugs all around and an attempt to arrange a team hunt. We got in the taxi, headed for the airport, and the fatigue hit me like a ton of bricks. At the airport, my little brother showed up. He had decided last minute to visit his girlfriend in Sherbrooke, just north of Montreal. He was on the same flight home. But the brat didn't stop by the Forum to see us!
The flight home was quick, and our ride pulled up just as we walked out the door. So back to my parents' house to get our car, then to Rex's Mom's house to get our daughter and her guinea pig, and finally, home. Now that, at long last, we were re-united with our goldcards, it was tempting for a minute to log in. But only for a minute. I went to bed instead.
What a weekend!
and to find very nice persons behind the avatars.
for the long and open conversation in the first day (really apreciated) and of course, to meet in person John Bates, also a special person and hope will meet again
Dr. D.C., one expresion to describe him ''mamma mia''
I mean, to have her helping at the Event(s). 
