Thursday, June 7, 2012

Yesterday, I attended the second part of the RDA workshop. Again, there was good content but I also found it a little depressing because it is clear that I have a lot of work ahead of me.

After the workshop, a friend and I took a cab to downtown Nashville to find some lunch and to experience the atmosphere. The 2012 CMA Music festival is on right now meaning that there are about 65,000 people attending a variety of events around town.

We found a place to have lunch that was not too too noisy, then went for a mingle with the throngs of people in the street. It was very warm, I was overdressed and before long my head was spinning and I started to feel unwell. All around us there were crowds of people, bands playing, music blaring from the restaurants, with people weaving in and out of shops and restaurants and various entertainment venues. We decided to stop for an ice cream after which we meandered back and hailed a cab to the hotel. It is difficult to describe the noise, the crowds of people and the clash of loud music coming at us from different directions. Add to that the intense heat and escape back to the air conditioned hotel seemed like the only answer. We did stop at a place that was selling boots "buy one pair and get two free". My friend tried some on but they didn't fit so we left.

We decided to go for a dip in the outdoor pool after we got back. That was refreshing, the water fairly cold but we spent a little while splashing around in the late afternoon sun. After that we had a rest before dinner and the opening session of the conference. Today we had our first full day of the conference program and this evening we are off to the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum for dinner and a tour.