The Beginning: The Cocktail/Dinner Party 2/17/06

[Cindy]

I think we should start our reporting about the Wellness Workshops Weekend of 2006 at the very beginning. Let's start with the cocktail/dinner party. And for heaven's sake, may I refer to the event from now on as WWW/06?

The cocktail/dinner buffet was in a very nice room on the lobby level of the Safety Harbor Resort & Spa. The room looked out over the outdoor pool/lounge/bar and the beautiful Tampa Bay.

We had a registration table for attendees to pick up their name badges (which are zipper pouches not unlike a passport pouch, but with a cool velcro teeny pouch in the back -big enough for a bottle of drops- and a pen loop on the side) and a Dry Eye Zone convention bag that contained the Wellness Workshops Binder with the speaker presentation outlines and handouts, a set of DEZ dogtags and a DEZ post-it pad.

It was very exciting to put names and faces together as people came in and registered. Phyllis and I were way down the hall in the lobby greeting Dr. Holly and his wife but knew Diana & Co. had arrived because we heard a teeny baby crying off in the distance. We high-tailed it back to our DEZ cocktail hour to finally meet Diana and Babyt.

I'm not too sure but I think Mary was next to arrive followed closely by Cathy Bishop-Clark. That was a loud reunion and I take full credit for the volume! I was SO excited to see them both again! And then came DrG looking fit as a fiddle and happy to settle in to our warm welcome. Gosh, it was good to see him again.

Rebecca was, as I stated in another thread, unable to speak a whole lot. Laryngitis. Her sister Debbie and I can read RP's sign language loud and clear so we were able to keep the evening running on schedule.

Mark Cohen from Boston Foundation for Sight and I had quite a long chat, Dr. Hector arrived and sat with DrG, Dr. Brown and Melody from the Sjogren's Foundation. We played a lot of musical chairs moving around introducing ourselves to one another. Rosemary from Panoptx was a little late arriving but what a great gal!!! She's really something. Her exhibit on Sat. was marvelous. Lots of people giving various Panoptx styles a trial run.

The dinner was awesome. I'd never had conch chowder before. I do, however, grow heirloom tomatoes so knew they would be a treat to my Michigan winter-starved-for-fresh-tomatoes-self.

Eventually we all wound down, had a final piece of pie and/or a nightcap and went off to bed. Except for Phyllis, Margaret, Mary and me. We kept the party going for a while longer - there was so much to talk and laugh about - in my room until I don't remember when. I guess around 1:00 am we said our farewells until morning.

I'll hand this thread off to my WWW/06 friends to add to and to others for comment.

[Lucy]

My account of Friday started with me rising at 3 am after sleeping not a wink. We had storm warnings and I had to catch a puddle-jumper plane to Milwaukee. Flying over Lake Michigan in high winds was not my idea of fun. Going from the little plane to the airport was a shock as it was 7 degrees. Good flight from Milwaukee to Tampa. By 11:06 am, I was there. Cindy and her friend, Margaret, arrived at the same gateway about 20 minutes later and we all went to the resort together. I was so tired, I could barely move around, but managed to. I managed a nap (EYES CLOSED) somewhere in the late afternoon.

Meeting Diana and Mary for the first time was especially fun. Mary and I have 'known" each other for about 6 years. We have talked on the phone, emailed, and on bbs together. She once even sent her friend, Harry, (who was coming to my town to do a presentation) to call me at work for a "date."
I had a man calling me at work, one whom I didn't know, who was not far away and being sent by Mary. Long story short........it was a January and very cold and snowy. I met "Harry" at his downtown hotel bar for an hour after I got off work. Harry was very cheap and offered me some dried up crackers to snack on. I ordered a cup of flavored tea and that was my date with Harry. I will never forgive her for this.

Everyone was so friendly and comfortable. I ate at a table with Dr. G and others on Friday night. The food was good and plentiful, with a good variety. I won't eat something unless I know what is in it. So, even for me, there were lots of options. There was mingling going on. I met several new people. Mark was a nice guy and I enjoyed talking with Melody from the Sjogren's Foundation.

Rebecca was silent, but busy. Her efforts have not been ignored. It was apparent the amount of work, planning etc that was put into the DEZ event.
I think Cindy kept an eye on me so I didn't get lost in the crowd. I disappear in crowds because you can't see me.

[mary kenny badami]

Because I had to finish several projects for work before leaving for the weekend, I had slept for barely three hours the night before. On the drive to the airport in northeastern Pennsylvania my car was nearly swept off the road by 50+ mile-an-hour winds (the roof of a local business was literally blown away that morning), so I got into the teeny-tiny airplane wondering if I was being whisked away to the Land of Oz.

But instead, several planes and several hours later, I was joining the party! I met Dr. Holly, Dr. Gemoules, Cathy B-C and Phyllisssssssssssss, four people I'd "known" in some fashion for many years thanks to the internet, each of whom I cared very much about, and yet none of whom I had ever met in person.

I had interesting conversations with Mark from New Jersey and with Diana's sister. Our dinner table group included Dr. Holly, Diana, and baby Matthew. Yes, I stayed up very late laughing with Phyllis and Margaret and Cindy. And when I got back to my room and looked at our conference notebook I was excited to read the program for the next two days and to simply appreciate the high visual appeal of the materials which Rebecca had already put together for us . . .