Under The Gun

One would think that with all the travel that I manage in the course of a year that I would have it down by now.

The night before a trip is always the worst. So many things to do, so many details to settle. Inevitably, I still have a laundry list (and actual laundry) of things to complete and sit around wishing I had another week to do it all.

I leave for Atlanta in the morning to attend yet another SCAA Conference, Trade Show and World Barista Championship. Until just a few days ago, this was going to be my first SCAA since 2003 that I would be attending with nothing in particular to do. For the past six years, I've done some sort of volunteer work instructing espresso classes, calibrating espresso machines, recording podcasts, organizing a booth, competing and all sorts of miscellany. This year, I had nothing planned except to be a simple attendee wanting to see the show from a regular persons' point of view. I was excited.

That was until just the other day when Sarah Allen from Barista Magazine called me up to see if I would be a sort of roving reporter with pen in hand and ready to write about the conference from my perspective. Didn't she know that my confidence in the SCAA has been all but destroyed? Now I'm no longer just another attendee - I'm an attendee with a mission.

Back into the darkroom to dig up my old and trusty Domke F2 bag loaded with lots of photo goodies. Toss out the ginormous Canon EOS 1N body and suddenly my bag is feeling pretty lightweight.

If you happen to be in Atlanta, look for me and my camera bag roving the floors of the Georgia World Congress Center, but if you don't see me there, you can look for me at Watershed and some of the other fine eateries in Atlanta.