A tragic waste
In a previous job I used to have to go to conferences and give presentations on occasion. It wasn't frequent - a couple of times a year, usually - but it was enough that I eventually got pretty good at it.

One time I got given the opportunity to give a presentation about something I was genuinely interested in and excited about. I worked hard on that sucker - I made far prettier slides than usual, practised it until I had it word-perfect and even managed to work in some genuinely funny jokes which is quite a rarity for me. I was really proud of what I'd done, and for once was really looking forward to giving it rather than the usual feeling of vague dread that accompanied the task.

The conference was at Birmingham University and I was scheduled as the opening speaker for the second day. The delegates were spread around the student accommodation in various places where we could be squeezed in and there was a complementary bus service to collect everyone and drop them at the main hall for the day's events. As a speaker I was one of a lucky few who got accommodation on campus, within walking distance of the venue.

The first day was excellent and there was a real buzz around the delegates in the bar that evening, so I was doubly revved up the next day. I got up bright and early to get set up in time, strolled into the conference hall, grabbed some coffee and breakfast and plugged my laptop into the projector for a quick run through to make sure all the technology was working as it should.

And while in the process of doing just that, one of the organisers arrived and told me the bus company had failed to send any coaches that morning, and while replacements were not on the way they weren't going to re-schedule any talks. So I ended up giving a triumphant, brilliant, cutting-edge presentation to about five people.
(MattDP (Squiggle), Fri 19 Aug 2011, 10:40, Reply)