Steve Hall is My Name

This is more than I ever share but since it’s something that happens to me over and over and over again, it was just dying to be expressed. For me, the hardest part about leaving Las Vegas has nothing to do with leaving behind the gambling, the parties, the visual distractions, the elegant hotels. It has everything to do with having to say goodbye to the familiar faces I see and the new friendships I make when I go there. Or to any city for any conference for that matter.

The first time I went to Vegas in September 2008 for Blogworld, I immediately thought of it as Disneyland for Adults. And it’s exactly that. Just as Disneyland caters to the dreams and aspirations of a child who smiles when he takes that first ride in the one of the parks, Vegas caters to the dreams and aspirations of adults seeking, perhaps, a temporary respite from the rigors and realities of their daily lives.

During Affiliate Summit West in January, I made even deeper connections with old friends and new acquaintances that are now permanent memories I will cherish for the rest of my life. Yea, I know that sounds totally cheesy but that’s how I feel. I get attached. I can’t help it.

No, leaving Las Vegas is not easy for me. It wasn’t the first time and it wasn’t the second time. In fact, it’s not easy for me to leave behind any city I travel to for work. When I travel to a conference, I immerse myself in it and in the people who attend. Because of the personal connections I make, it’s very difficult for me to just disconnect and go back to business as usual.

Simply put, I just don’t want the social intensity of a conference to end. I hate packing my suitcase and leaving the hotel. I hate the cab ride to the airport. I hate getting on the plane for the long lonely ride home. I just want the fun to last forever. Of course, that’s an unrealistic view of life but it doesn’t change my desire for the dream to live on indefinitely.

In my mind, the reason conferences are so intense and, consequentially, so hard for me to leave, is because so much happens in such a compressed period of time with so many people you know in the same building in the same city at the same time. While expecting that intensity to last indefinitely is not practical, nor healthy, it’s just not easy for me to flip a switch and walk away from it all at the end of each conference. It takes time for me to adjust.

Perhaps because I work at home alone without the benefit of social interaction that comes with an office job, I overindulge in conferences at which I can hang with real people. Real people who, over the years I eagerly look forward to seeing every time I travel.

And, in addition to the people I already know, I look forward to the new people I will meet. Because, without fail, I always meet someone (or several) new with whom, for whatever reason, I make a lasting connection.

I don’t know what it is.
I hate being alone.
I love meeting new people.
I hate saying goodbye.
I love going to conferences.
I hate leaving conferences.
I detach from reality more than I probably should.
And, yea, I can’t wait until the next conference.

I hope to see you there.