time in tampa

It's been tough to get back in the swing of things after my week in Tampa.  Mostly because my head is spinning from experience.  What I enjoyed the most was making friends and sharing best practices.  But scoring the exams was also eye-opening.

The opportunity is kind of a big deal.  It is prestigious for a district to send someone to read and score the exams.  I didn't realize that receiving an invitation on the first day is a thing.  But some others talked about it like being drafted in the first round.  I kept it to myself that I received my invitation the morning that they were sent out.  Does that make me a first first draft? 

The flights were smooth.  Except I need to remember that I want window seats next year.  Sitting on the aisle meant the drink cart bumped into me and people staggered by me.  

My biggest stressor was having a roommate.  A stranger.  As in Stranger Danger!  However, I picked up a little icebreaker gift of some silicone earplugs in a cute little gift bag and gave them to Marie.  She turned out to be a great roommate for me.  She's mid-thirties, sociable, and fearless.  And she thought the icebreaker was hilarious, so we started out on the right foot.  For the record, my snoring is "not bad" according to my bestie.  Marie also snores.  But even better than that--she YELLS in her sleep.  The first night she yelled, "I hate this fucking school!" and we had a good laugh about it in the morning.

The food at the convention center was fairly typical cafeteria fare.  It wasn't bad and there were always several options for gluten or vegan diets that included more than "just salad."  I usually had a big breakfast and lighter meals after that.

I am a fan of hotels.  There's something that feels luxurious about staying somewhere with housekeeping.  I missed having a bureau and we ended up living out of suitcases.  But the comfortable bed more than made up for it.  And the view was quite nice from the 26th floor.  I got a nice stash of hotel goodies--I always give them to the school nurse's office.  

To be continued...