I arrived this afternoon in Seattle for a ten-day tour of duty. Three days for MSN Search Champs v2, followed by four days of shore leave, and then three more days for Microsoft Research's Social Computing Symposium.
The first half of the stay is in the W Hotel in Seattle...and I'm a total convert. Luxury everywhere, from the featherdown beds to the soft robes to the high-end bath products to the cushy, comfortable window seat. (Photos on Flickr tomorrow, probably.)
MSN Search has been as generous this time as they were last time, from the accommodations to the goodie-packed bag to the lovely reception this evening. If they're trying to make a good impression, it's definitely working.
What's more impressive than the money being spent, however, is the genuine interest in our opinions being evidenced by the MSN staffers mingling at the reception. It remains to be seen how much of what we say gets acted on...but my gut tells me that we're not just being humored here, that this isn't just about buzz.
At any rate, while it's only 10:15 here in Seattle, my internal clock knows it's way past bedtime. So I'm going to slip into the oh-so-luxurious 350-threadcount sheets on my bed, and try to get some sleep before my 5:30am (ack!) wake-up call. (6am online chat with my students, followed by a 7am breakfast and 8am bus to MS...)
I left my Mac power adapter at home, but my husband is shipping it out tomorrow. In the meantime, I'll be using my Tablet PC, which is a perfectly functional machine but doesn't have iPhoto. I have two fully charged batteries for the PowerBook, so I should be able to upload photos tomorrow night, assuming the hotel network remains stable (which it's been thus far...)
We've been promised network access tomorrow during the sessions, so I'll blog to the extent that the NDA allow. And now, sleep....
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