In which the team rocks a convention booth, wears a cowboy hat in (debatable) style, and talks to a ridiculous amount of awesome people.
This past week has been a lot like camping: Intense. Running on a steady diet of chips, cheese, and not enough sleep for example. Another example would be the American Diabetes Association EXPO, where, lack of eye-catching swag notwithstanding, we managed to pass out all our client’s brochures, and attract more interest in five minutes than the booth across from us got all day, by doing what we love doing: talking face to face.
Full disclosure: We didn’t have any swag at first. That was before Nate took a trip to the dollar store, raiding the shelves supermarket sweep style and coming back with an assortment of plastic army men, pinwheels, water bottles, and other doodads to which he laboriously applied logos and contact info.
Meanwhile I was engaging in some of my favorite hobbies: Serenading the elderly and pitching the business.
Nate’s idea was to set up a carnival style game where you could win swag by hitting a target with a Nerf dart. The water bottles disappeared long before we could even construct said target. What can I say, Texans are thirsty people.
This leads me to peculiar observation about Texan thirst. It’s pretty clear that the Texas Alcohol Commission requires places that serve alcohol, which includes just about every place, to post warnings about the risks of consuming alcohol. Like so many Cigarette cartons, many of these places opt to post the warning about the risks of consuming alcohol while pregnant. In these cases, I’ve found these warnings almost exclusively posted on the inside of the men’s room door.
That, I think, qualifies as a loophole. No judgement here, I did not confirm their absence in the ladies room, but is a bit strange to be reminded that I should avoid alcohol if pregnant while I’m leaving a room with a urinal.
Another observation I’ve made about Texas is that Texans are awesome. I mean, I should have known that already, since we have so many awesome clients in Texas, but ask a stranger what there is to do in Austin and San Antonio, and if they’re not visiting themselves, they’ll help you write a book about it. I’ve met film-makers (in between takes) in San Antonio, I’ve met a single mom who sings the blues on Sunday nights. I’ve met a ton of young entrepreneurs, and just about all of them have a fascinating story to tell.
For example, the girl who was kind enough to take a picture of me in my replacement cowboy hat to prove to you that yes, I can pull it off, not only is a business developer for one of the leading ad agencies in the world, but when I asked what her dream was, explained in precise detail the dream for her own business, including the model, different financial scenarios, and gave me some great advice about how to learn to plan your business better. Not that is matters, but she was also gorgeous, so I know you’re all proud of me for not asking her to marry me.
Okay, I was about to, but she had to leave. Not the first time a Texan has broken my heart. This week.
That’s the news update from the Lone Star State. I still have two days to go, so more updates may be pending. If y’all have any comments, I reckon you know where to leave ’em.
