As appears to be usual no matter what time zone I'm in, I was up way too late Sunday/Monday night and was not at all happy when my alarm went off at it's normal time (time zone adjusted, of course, because the phone is smart like that).

Despite hitting the snooze button far more than I should have, I made it to the opening session of the convention on time and fed (thanks to one of the many bakeries/coffee shops on the way there that was more than happy to sell me a tasty tasty muffin of some sort).

Most of the sessions I attended today were quite useful--the first non-"welcome to the con" one potentially offering a solution to a problem or three I've been banging my head against for weeks now.

The itinerary was:

• Getting Started With Drupal(Con)
• Views Examples: Using Arguments and Relationships
• Case Studies in Social Commerce (very interesting to see how the "big boys" like Waste Management and Mattel are using social media and Drupal to better connect, educate, inspire, and entertain)
• Monetizing Drupal (another installment of "how to make money with free software"--always itneresting to see other people's business models)
• CCK Demystified (which turned out to be way more basic than I expected it to be--though just what a lot of people in attendance apparently needed)
• Planning and Executing a Successful Drupal Implementation (which basically confirmed that yes, we do, indeed, try to do things the proper way... reality just gets in the way sometimes)

Just before lunch, my coworker (and planned con roomie) Greg crossed my path. We grabbed chow, caught up on stuff, and then dove back into the conference sessions.

After the conference was over, I met up with my cousin (who's been out here for a while now) and grabbed some fantastic burrito goodness at a place down in the Mission district. Lots of good conversation.

Back at the hotel, I noticed it was about ten minutes before the new sitcom Romantically Challenged was going to debut. I've been following the lead up to it on Twitter from the show's main gal, Alyssa Milano, for a while now. Happy to say it was a pretty good first episode. (Full review to show up on Toob Talk, eventually.)

Decided I was a bit too wiped out to make out to the DrupalCon shindig that was going on... somewhere. Dozed off a little, decided to attempt to be productive (only moderately successful... was distracted by good conversation online).

Now, I'm dangerously close to being up too late again. But this time it was because I checked my work e-mail and saw a rush request from a good client. The slow internet connection here in the hotel made what would've been a five minute job in the office into a much longer endeavor. But it's done and everyone should be happy.

Tomorrow, another full day of sessions, the boss rolls into town, and I may actually make it to the second night party being thrown.

For most of the week, I'm in San Francisco for the 2010 DrupalCon.

This is my first time on the West Coast.

Since I'm going to be a bit busy (and, even on West Coast time, should be asleep now), here's a quick list of what's gone on so far.

Saturday, April 17

• Attempt to sleep later than usual. Partially foiled by 9 a.m. phone call from an old friend.
• Packing and prep done in time to toss everything in my Wayward Traveler's car so we can hit our normal Saturday night haunts.
• 3 a.m.  (ish) = Crepe time! Good times and, strangely, bolts.
• To the Airport by about 5 a.m.

Sunday, April 18

• No problems with airport security.
• Deaf athletics team from Wisconsin gives me college flashbacks with all the sign language going on.
• Plane departs on time a little after 7 a.m.
• See one other DC Drupal guy I know on the flight. He's sitting nowhere near me
• Discover that the Listen app for my Droid does, indeed, require an internet connection to work, even though it says it downloaded the podcasts I was planning on listening to.
• Touch down in Milwaukee, WI. No time to visit The Fonz, the Cunninghams, Laverne or Shirley... we're back in the air in less than an hour.
• Doze off for at least an hour or so, podcast plain foiled, I fall back to MP3s, have to deal with the bulk of the person next to me constantly oozing over into my space (her equally large husband is on the aisle, they share Red Vines and Dots while sounding condescending about a good many things).
• Finally land in San Francisco, luggage retrieved, mass transit to San Fran proper located, hotel check in, conference check in, wandering around a hunk of the city.
• Lots of homeless people. Even more later at night, it seems. At least some are entreprenurial "Wanna buy a Maglite?" "Cigarettes, a dollar a piece... I've got acid, too."
• Food for the first time since the crepes. Thai, some version of my normal Ka Prow the I order everywhere (with various spellings). They used ground beef... not what I'm used to, but tasty and priced sensibly.
• Catch up with an old friend I haven't seen in a decade and a half or more. Meet his partner and some other people he knows. Full of awesome.
• A little more night time wandering around the city on my way back. Offer photo tips to tourists (who, oddly, will apparently be in DC next week... what're the odds of that, huh?). See afore-mentioned enterprising street people.
• Back at the hotel, catch up on some work I wanted to have done before I left, swear at how slow the hotel internet connection is (wireless B? That's the best you can do for a network? Really? And a pipe too narrow for how many geeks are going to be on this week).
• Attempt to decide which sessions I'm going to tomorrow.
• Now, finally, real sleep...

Or, at least, a wee more bit of nap than I've had since Friday/Saturday.

There are pictures and more stories to come... but probably not until I'm back home with a speedy connection for uploading all the pics.

Expect more bulleted updates as the week goes on, these are notes to expand on later.