I hated Bar Camp.
And not because it was uninteresting. Folks, the people they had talking were cool and enthusiastic about what they were doing and excited and thoughtful and all, but it was so fucking hot that I just sat there getting hotter and more uncomfortable and pissier and angrier and hotter until finally I just wanted to take my chair and beat someone, anyone with it.
I resented the heat. I felt like the heat kept me from enjoying myself and learning new things that might have been useful to me.
And, I’ve got to say, I’m about ready to go to the Kate O’ school of how to get by in life, because if she was miserable, she didn’t show it.
I’m all Homer Simpsoning over there in my chair “Oh no, another presentation?” and Kate’s working the crowd, smiling, showing no sign that it’s 110 in the building.
Is it drugs, Kate? You can tell me. Have you found some drug that lets you thrive in any situation no matter how uncomfortable?
Tiny Cat Pants 
While I wouldn’t say that I hated BarCamp, I can certainly see where you’re coming from. After the first 90 minutes, those chairs were really starting to make me ache… and that was even before it started getting very hot in there.
Yeah, I can understand you not having seen me acting like I was miserable because I don’t think I saw much of you after the first hour or so and I didn’t start getting really overheated until I made the silly decision to go upstairs for a better view. But when my pants started sticking to my leg, I decided to step outside into the 100-degree heat to cool off.
Luckily, around that time, I ran into Kat and Ivy who also needed to cool off, so we stepped into Fiesta Azteca for a bit and enjoyed 20 minutes of ice water and actual working air conditioning before heading back to watch Jackson and Chris.
Anyway, those 20 minutes were the only reprieve all day. By mid-afternoon, when Grace and I were sitting at the tables at the back of Exit/In nerding it up on our laptops, I was whining and probably making everybody else around me even more miserable.
I haven’t wanted to complain too much about it after the fact, because I’m not sure what more the organizers could have done, but I think the heat inside the buildings really put a damper on things, and that’s a real shame.
Tell you what, though, I’ve been cool and comfortable at home this morning and not the least bit eager to go outside today.
I whined.
I whined a lot. Actually, by the end of the night, B., I was downright bitchy.
Kate, you do have a wonderful easy way about you that appears ethereal in these kinds of situations.
I left for awhile and went and sat in the air conditioner, letting the sweat dripping off of me cool off only to sweat my ass off again. I ended begging off of anything later because I was absolutely drained (and irritable).
Beer was even uninteresting. Poor Squirrel Queen passed out immediately she was so tired from the heat.
It was miserably uncomfortable.
I enjoyed some things, other things flew over my head but all in all, I liked knowing that I have a lot to learn and that did give me a bit of hope because I know some people I work with who won’t even try to learn new things even though I felt sort of old.
Shit, does that make sense?
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I was too damned hot as well. That’s why there was beer… Although I thought the beer would better serve me if I had poured it on me instead of consuming it.
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I sat next to Kate over at Coco and I don’t care what she says…Stephanie may be Graceless in Love, but Kate is grace under pressure. I heard no whining.
for some weird reason, I morphed into Hermione on that last comment. Is Kat channeling Harry Potter again?
Thanx B, now I’m glad i didn’t go.
This is big part of why I did not go. Between seriously trying to learn something new (focus, don’t be afraid of technology or arcane terms) dealing with a slight hangover, ADD and heat would have made me unbearable to be around and highly distracting.
The chances of me being a positive participant or a negative participant were too strongly skewed in those circumstances and I punted.