Conference swag

The Lottery, with its weekly pay-out of enormous prizes, was the one public event to which the proles paid serious attention. It was probable that there were some millions of proles for whom the Lottery was the principal if not the only reason for remaining alive.

We start with a board meeting over the Internet. Then another day of conference. A lightning talk: How long is a piece of string? Dinner with the Agile Alliance board. The sponsors reception - collecting signatures, giving away contact information, eating, drinking, shouting.

I take a bag of laundry to 4th Avenue, stopping in at a late night supermarket. I’ll pay the 20 bucks tomorrow, which is a fifth the price of the hotel’s per garment price. It’s humid outside, the pavements dangerous with “Birds” - battery-powered rental scooters.

A final whiskey sour in the bar with Zurcherart, Kara, and Doctor Dave. Upstairs I book, cancel, and rebook travel to San Francisco. And coincidentally discover that someone has been fraudulently using my company credit card.

It expires and so do I.