I recycled my Princess Leia costume for the company White Out party that many people kept referring to as the “White Only” party.
I didn’t bother correcting anyone or pointing out the double entendre since I’d driven nearly 4 hours and had a hot second to check into my room, shower and change into costume. Yet my newly purchased off-white platform shoes didn’t fit as well as I’d thought when I’d tried them on in the store. I could only shuffle in them since they were tethered together. I knew they were about a size too big, but better than being a size too small, right?
I made the best out of my mullet to make the Princess Leia buns,
but they were lower than normal and didn’t quite convey what I wanted.
Even though there was a sea of people wearing white, I found the Austin tribe.
I’d only seen most of them twice before. I joined their standing table after making a Mac n cheese with coleslaw plate since the buffet had run out of the cooked vegetables and meat. I’d waited in line for a drink first, then waited after I’d made my plate, but in the end, I had to make a second trip to get the rest of my meal.
In the meantime, I smiled through it all and talked with the Zilis Austin crew. Once I finished eating and replenished my lipstick, I joined them on the deck for our group picture. I left soon after the group picture with all the Zilis White Out participants and as much dancing as I dared. I walked as gingerly as I could in those platforms.
I seriously thought I’d be on time for the Saturday morning session, but I’d slept so well that I arrived late for breakfast. It was a shame to eat such a delicious meal in a hurry, but at least I spoke with Mom and one of my sisters who thinks she’s my mother.
The greatest part of going to a conference by myself was when I showed up to a session late, I eventually found a singleton seat. After all my seat hunting, I still ended up just a row behind the Zilis Austin group.
I’d focused so much energy on finding shoes to go with my Princess Leia costume, I’d forgotten to pack anything nice for the awards gala. I got lucky with finding a dress at the hotel on sale and my size. That sales rack was full of size 6s and XLs. There were only 3 dresses that were around my size. By a sheer stroke of luck, the best choice turned out to be Zilis blue, but I didn’t notice that at the time.
I changed into my workout clothes, took 5 minutes worth of steps on a stairmaster and then rode 20 minutes on a reclining bike. Later, I took a shower and enjoyed a much deserved nap prior to the Booze and Schmooze.
I didn’t mean to cut in line.
I’d just approached the photo display from the other side. At least I played it off by talking to some women from Kansas and Arkansas as I chose which sign I wanted to pose with. Then, the line slowed down for some reason and I made my move with one of my new found friends as the photographer.
As soon as I finished my solo photoshoot, the other part of the Zilis Austin group showed up.
We reunited with the others in the drink line, of course.
We enjoyed a delicious meal during the marathon awards ceremony. I enthusiastically clapped during the first 2 hours, especially when members of my table were recognized for moving up in rank. By the time dessert came, I was ready to dance. Yet, the awards continued. I’m not saying that people shouldn’t have been recognized, I just think the high school diploma style of passing out awards needed to be reworked.
I enjoyed watching the video clips of the Diamond-ranked ambassadors. If the awards ceremony had ended there, I would have been a happy camper. Yet, I had to contain myself to chair dancing to the music between awards.
The real saving grace was talking with my Zilis Austin crew. All the plans we made–I hope it wasn’t all the wine! I thought how funny it was we had to go hours out of town just to strategize our next steps.
Once the awards ceremony finally concluded, a few tables had already cleared out and a slow herd made their way to the door. I refused to leave. I hadn’t waited that long to dance out of the room to Sister Sledge’s “We Are Family,” which was then followed up by Michael Jackson’s “Annie Are You OK.”
I made my way onto the main stage where the DJ was and told him the deal. “Dude, I just sat through a 10-hour awards ceremony. I wanna dance outta here to a real dance song.” He said he was just playing what had been requested, but he understood. I blew him some air kisses, which he returned.
My posse of ladies, who stayed behind with me, danced a few steps on our nearest dance floor to Missy Elliot.
Although it was tempting, I restrained trying to straddle the saddle, especially in my new dress.
I planned to get my money’s worth with that dress; so no wild and crazy stuff for the first wearing.
I drove back to Austin just dreaming of how I’d take my CBD business to the next level: one-on-one practice presentations with friends. One valuable lesson I’d learned was that a bad presentation was better than no presentation!