I just scheduled a cab to pick me up at 4:45am tomorrow morning. That just seems way too early, but I'll deal with it since it means I'm going to LA tomorrow!

ARGH! i know!

btw nic - i have to leave my house by 4 am in order to be at the airport in time - icky early! thank god my mom is taking me down and i'll have somebody to suffer with!

- marissa

I know that I am going to be getting to the airport wayyyy early Wed. but I want to make sure I can find a parking place.

Today on the way home, they announced that Airtran had installed a new computer and everything was delayed, i.e., screwed up. It was taking 5 hours to get a boarding pass!

When I heard the news at 5:00 p.m, all airport parking was full...hopefully they will have cleared spaces by tomorrow morning.

I'm taking Delta so I hope that they don't go bankrupt, on strike while I am out of town...or do I?;)

We have dry erase boards at work where we are supposed to write when we're out of the office, at a meeting, etc. So I printed out pics of that pool and the Rose Lawn and some other pics of the hotel and put them on my board with a note "I will be back in the office on June 27th, unless they need an IT person at this hotel.. then I'm staying!"

Dropped the dog off with the ex and kids. It's so strangely quiet in the house without her. I need to clean my room, which is a disaster area from packing, and then hit the sack. My flight leaves at 8:10 am. And, I'll see you all in Indian Wells! (unless I can't sleep and end up posting again).

Call me when you get here! hee!

do you like shrimp? (Sunday's dinner) lol

My flight leaves at 8:10 am. And, I'll see you all in Indian Wells! (unless I can't sleep and end up posting again).

I'll probably be here while I'm making copies of things that were to have been copied before SOMEBODIES left school.:rolleyes:

Wish I was going to be there!

I've got to finish up the hats tonight and package them with the CANDY I'm sending.

Behave yourselves :D

My clothes dont fit in my suitcase-- The 7 pairs of decorated flip flops for the people in my group takes up a lot of space.

Two suitcases and a carry-on...nine pairs of shoes...and I have to be up in 6 hours to catch a plane in 8.

See you all there! BE SAFE EVERYONE!!!!

Got to bed at 1 am. I remember setting the alarm but somehow it turned itself off.
Thankfully, I've still got time to stop by Dunkin Donuts!:)

I leave for the airport in 5 hours--- yeah--- oh I am at work this morning-- I am oughta here at 11, I wonder how unproductive I will be today???

just heard from mu_agd and greeklawgirl, called me at work to tell me how fabulous laying by the pool is. lol

So... for all us nonconvention going girls... if you haven't read the blogs yet... do. The blogs were a great idea.... for all the convention going gals... PLEASE tell us about your fun and show us all that we are missing out on!

To the ladies who went to Convention....DO TELL! :)

IT WAS HOT!!!!!!:eek: :cool:

About 107, lol.

It's 11:35 p.m. so I am off to bed but promise to "tell" more tomorrow.

I think I saw all the GC ladies...Dee (as soon as I walked in!), Maria, Marissa, WinnieB, MuAGD, and even ThetaSig (Wendy) who I have been trying to meet for 2 years and she lives in Georgia, lol.

We dun good!!!:) :) :)

2008 - SAN ANTONIO!!!
(I think we should go back to New Hampshire like we did one year cause it may be cooler, (weather wise).;)

Checking in.. just got home after a long travel day. Will post more tomorrow.. or today or whatever day it is! It's a very pleasant 70 degrees here and I'm opening all the windows before I go to bed. I had a great time :) This is the busiest I've ever been during a Convention and my head is still spinning. Since I slept for about 3 hours on the plane and have a 3 hour time difference, my internal clock is quite messed up at the moment.

ETA: To Vandal Squirrel: Thanks so much for the candy! The baked potato hat was great and everybody was talking about it.

Also, thanks to the Hawaiian who put that native snack on my chair!

San Antonio!!! YEAH I can make that one!

So, wild and Crazy AGD's where are Pictures?

Sounds like it was fun and hard working!:)

Need PIX's!

I only took a few but not of GC'ers. I've reached a point where I realized that I don't look at the pics after I take them, lol.

Still tired so maybe tomorrow will post more, lol.

(Oh yeah..Vandal Squirrel...loved my spud!:D )

I didn't take any pics either--- the girls I traveled with will be emailing me the pics they took. And the photographer that was at convention will have all the pics online, though I dont think they are there yet.

Convention was great-- the hotel was nice-- the bed and the pillows were great! The pool was wonderful, and so was our pool boy- Gary, who waited on us everytime we were at the pool. Our limo drivers were great, the limo drive there was tons of fun!! ;) We had lots of fun Saturday night and I will always have something to remember that convention by, a permanant reminder from Palm Springs. i got another tattoo

I really could have used more time in the pool- I wish there was some down time in the middle of the day so I could have worked on the tan some more! :) But on Thursday I got pool time in and several workshops so that worked well!

From GC I saw Lynn, Dee, Maria, Nicole, Marissa. And someone else too!! ;)

OHHHHH and I got my arc---- and congrats to Dee too!!!!

eta: i LOVED the vera bradley coin purses at the foundation luncheon! i got the one that matched one of my bags! Well, in general I love all the gifts- but Vera is always GREAT!!!!

I wish I had gotten to the pool more but my feet were killing me!:mad: :mad:
I need to learn to take shoes with more padding, lol.

If I'm not mistaken, Connie B mentioned that 2008 would add another day?:)

I liked the workshops but I don't think that they allowed for a lot of actual interaction between the collegians...they tended to always sit together at meals and/or be at the pool, lol.:rolleyes:

Congrats to WinneB for her Arc! And I think Dee got her Arc with Diamond??

On a side note, my Pres was upset that I didn't get one but I told her I already had an Arc, lol!! ((Note...have VPMD do a refresher on the Honors!))

My Chapter won an award but I'm not going to post it yet because they will find out in August. I am soooo super proud of them! (Can I say me too?;)

Oops-- sorry Lynn, I meant to post Congrats to you (your chapter) for the award!!! Congrats!!!!
Yes, Connie did say the next convention added a day as well!

What were the gifts this year? I always loving seeing them. I read that someone got the circle... is that true? Who????

Marie Locker Hill - Gamma Beta from Columbia, SC received the Circle.

I was honored to receive the arc with diamonds.

It was great to see someone receive the circle since it is so rare.

Favors: Tote bag= by far the nicest ever. It is almost like a messenger bag, with all kinds of zippered pockets, including a top that zips. I never used my Convention totes for travelling because they'd always tip and spill, but I will use this one all the time

soda/water bottles cozies: neoprene/foam type cozy which looks like a dress with neon green fringe. Very cute!

Epsilon Pi banquet: flip flop with letters and diamond chips on a silver chain. Very pretty necklace.

Feast of Roses: Beautiful bracelet with glass beads of red and buff roses

And, you clearly heard about the Vera Bradley coin purses. I took the one that matched my daughter's bathing suit and gave it to her. She has decided that it is a perfect digital camera case.

The biggest highlights to me: The presentation of philanthropy collection to the Marines (you'd have thought we'd never seen men before) and.. the ultimate: The Big Convention picture on the staircase, when 600 Alpha Gams, all standing on one staircase burst into song spontaneously while many hotel guests looked on. I had goosebumps. Our presence was impossible to ignore, that's for sure.

I am so excited about The Leadership Institute web site/programs and RoseBuds. Two phenomenol new programs which I think will really take off. I'm already recruiting my own RoseBud, who is very excited about the whole idea. Both are available to non-Alpha Gams, which I think really emphasizes our new mission of Inspire the Woman, Impact the World.

She also wants to know if every sorority gives out Vera Bradley stuff at Convention because, if not, then she DEFINITELY wants to be an Alpha Gam...lol.

There is so much more.. I had such a great time and I really wish I was back in the Alpha Gam Alternate Universe now (because real life is getting stressful). There is nothing better than 5 days with my sisters.

How I love those Alpha Gams so deep deep, so down down, so deep deep, so down down in my heart... Wooo!

Post Convention is at my house. I have 4 Alpha Gams sacked out on my couch right now watching Love Actually while I am at work. lol

Hope y'all are enjoying yourselves Nic, Maria, Marissa and Sandy! ;)

of course we're enjoying your hospitality! love the blow up bed and the shower pressure. can we have another pillow fight tonight?!

What I love about Convention is that it gives you a chance to meet those "Big Squirrels" and other VST members...and find out that they are "regular" people.

I remember Marie LH when I was an undergrad although she was "just a name" then.

It's reassuring to know that when someone has a position for several years, there is always someone to step up and do a terrific job. Although I don't think that anyone can replace DeeDee as Ritual!! One cool Squirrel!! (ETA: I finally read my Committee reports, lol. Nancy Knickerbocker is replacing DeeDee as Ritual Chairman. She's cool too!!))

I'm excited to know that I can walk up to any Big Squirrel/VST member to discuss a problem that I am having and they are quick to offer advice and/or direct me in the right direction. :)

I'll try not to bug them.;)

ETA 2: IHQ could possibly have left over Convention favors for sale. If they did like they did last time, they sent flyers to the Chapters. I can't remember if they posted on the IHQ website. The tiny red flip flop was very cute!! Burr Patt was sellling a silver one but I don't know the price.

What does the Vera Bradley bag look like? I use a Vera type bag for my camera also... very good use.

As to convention goodies... I think that I will wait till I get to go myself before I start collecting goodies.

Out of wonder... do any new mommies bring along babies? I know that this is an excellent time to "get away" but I was just wondering. WHY??? No no little legacies on the way.... just trying to figure out when would be a good time to have one... I was going to try for next summer but now I am in my first wedding (that wasn't my own... I'm been asked for 3 but something always happens) so I really don't know if next summer will be good for me and then the following summer is convention... I guess with my mom in Houston I could always let Nana have "it" for the week. Or what about Hubbies to do they ever tag along? Just wondering....

The Vera Bradley tote was small; I don't know the dimensions..sort of like a coin purse??

There was one Alpha Gam with a baby in a stroller. I don't know if she was a Chapter Advisor or VST; baby was very good!!! She may have gotten special permission..after all, they are business meetings and ritual ceremonies (not sure if baby was in the room when ritual was done, lol.)

There were some hubbys there. Not sure how many but I did overhear some conversations about being on the golf course.

Keep in mind that most days are completely full with dinners, etc. going late into the night. Plus "hangout with the sisters" time:)

Did anyone take Pix?

If so, would love to see them!

Please!!!!:)

Hey girls, if you haven't seen it yet, there are a bunch of pictures up at: http://www.photoreflect.com/scripts/...event=059T007K

And this one:
http://www.photoreflect.com/scripts/...event=059T007M

I just love the photo and I loved the spontaneous singing and all the attention we attracted while arranging ourselves for the photo! That was very special.

Awesome PIX!
 

Very Fantastict PIXs.

Looks like a Great Time Was had by all.:)

WOW, Hats, Hats, Hats!:)

Very Lovely Ladys of AGD working, earning awards, having fun, and Loved the Flag Parade!

TERRIFIC!!
 

I saw Dee, WinnieB (several times, lol) , AGDRie, Susan (can't rem her GC name, ). me and my girls!!

The Georgia Peaches are 1085-1088.

After the Chapter is told, I'll tell you which one is my Chapter Pres.:D

Beautiful International Council!!:) :) :cool:

And yea, I'm in that BIG PIC somewhere, lol.

My awesome baked potato hat is in three pictures, my favorite is the one with a sister pointing at it and another in the background with this awesome expression. Our alumnae chapter president ordered me a copy of her wearing it and I will add it to the AGD shrine/scrapbook.

I told you the baked potato was a big hit!

There's a cute pic of me and AGD4rie in our hats too.

Someone referred to Convention as the Alpha Gam Alternate World and I have to agree. I like that world better than the real world..lol. I came back to car troubles, issues with my refrigerator, and news from my mom that she's not doing well again. Alpha Gam world was so nice...

Two years til San Antonio!

I want to go back to that alternate world!! Why can't I live in Alpha Gam land? I could lay by the pool all day long (ok- i didnt do that at convention- but i got several quality hours in the pool), and Gary the pool boy was great-- I just waved at Gary and there he was getting me what I wanted--- where is that in real life???

For those of us who haven't attended convention... i.e. me... need so explanation of some of the pictures. PM me about the memorial book, the chest with beads, and other things... there needs to be captions for those of us who didn't go.