My Lotusphere Wishes

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As my friends journey from around the world and descend upon Orlando for Lotusphere 2008, I thought that it was time to share my wishes to all of them. As many of you know, I won’t be there physically, but I am now committed to be there in spirit. I started this today (Friday) with a few beers while wearing an OpenNTF t-shirt. I will continue this on Saturday by drinking a lot more beers and wearing another shirt. On Sunday, I plan on wearing another shirt and a hawaiian shirt and of course, more beer. (I need to go shopping.) You get the idea… different day, different Lotusphere shirt and more beverages.

Now what will I miss?

  • Singing ‘If I Had a Million Dollars’ with Greyhawk
  • Being a ‘member of the band’ at JAMFest (Did anyone remember to bring cowbell? I gotta have more cowbell!)
  • Jamming and singing along (to myself) while watching ‘White Chocolate’ sing ‘Rapper’s Delight’
  • Racing on a boat with my brother and ‘partner in crime’, Spanky (Good luck Devin and John!)
  • Having a good cigar with Greyhawk, my brother
  • Having some excellent microbrews with my drinking buddies (Can someone buy Gregg Eldred a beer from Big River Grille and Brewing Works on the Boardwalk? I owe him one!)
  • Seeing Bruce and Gayle (and getting lucky to be in a Taking Notes podcast)
  • Trying to keep up with Julian
  • Feeling a positive vibe from jonvon… it’s gotta be the Florida sunshine!
  • Having a beverage with Duffbert and Joe Litton
  • The Worst Practices Session with Paul Mooney and Wild Bill
  • Talking about Michigan Sports with Lord Lotus and Phil (Go Wings!)
  • Calling someone a geek… a LotusGeek
  • Hangin’ with the Hoss (Macian)
  • Following Warren and Kitty Elsmore anywhere they go… but not in a stalking way… just to review hotel accessories (I never did find that cool lion!)
  • Somehow… some way… getting Declan (or Terri… they’re married after all) to say 33 and a third
  • Talking device lust with Rob Wunderlich
  • Learning a new trick about my Blackberry Pearl from Volker Weber
  • Having Saturday lunch/dinner on the Boardwalk (the B.A.L.D.)
  • The Gonzo Lotusphere Gathering (It won’t be the same without Turtle!)
  • The BOF’s
  • Sunday night
  • Wednesday night
  • Sampling fine spirits courtesy of Wild Bill and Newbs
  • The anticipation of Monday morning’s OGS (Steve Jobs? Really? Nice!)
  • The announcements from Monday morning’s OGS
  • The labs
  • IBM Certified Instructor Day
  • THE SWAG!
  • Getting the C.U.L.T. shirt (Great job again, Andrew!)
  • Getting a shirt from Lotus 911 (I never did get the one from last year…)
  • The SWAG (I’ll take anything that anyone sends me… REALLY! I WILL PAY POSTAGE!)
  • Celebrating birthdays that I missed over the year, and Wild Bill‘s on Sunday
  • The food
  • The exercise I got speedwalking from place to place
  • The sushi and karaoke at Kimonos (still the best sushi I’ve had)
  • Having conversations with my Lotus ‘idols’ like they are just regular people
  • Lotusphere Online
  • Taking frantic notes during sessions… and getting the slides later
  • Going to sessions where I see brilliant people do amazing things with Lotus products
  • The Florida sun (It just ‘feels’ different down there…)
  • Seeing Turtle!
  • The bloggers group photo (Can anyone just Photoshop me in?)
  • The coffee and snacks during the breaks
  • The Lotus Stuff Store
  • SpeedGeeking
  • GURUpalooza and Ask the Developers
  • The Closing Session… always worth it! It’s like getting your marching orders before going out to the front
  • Feeling a sense of belonging (I will miss that most)
  • HANGING OUT WITH THE COOLEST PEOPLE ON THE PLANET… AND PEOPLE I AM PROUD TO CALL MY FRIENDS!!!

Since I’m not there, how will I keep up? Besides the shirt wearing and the beer drinking, I plan on utilizing the awesome website, PlanetLotus.org from the web and my phone. Twitter will also keep me up to date on who’s doing what where and when. Chris ‘IdoNotes’ Miller is planning on some live and near-live videos from IdoNotes TV and Carl Tyler and Chris are also going to have a persistent session up during the OGS via LotusphereLive.

Remember… be safe… have fun… learn something… don’t forget… and most important, BRING ME BACK SOMETHING NICE!