I’ve managed to attend An Event Apart every year so far, and this year was particularly exciting because the nearest location was in San Francisco. I went to Seattle the last two times, which was fine, but I know Seattle pretty well, so the opportunity to play tourist in a new city was very appealing to me. Luckily, my coworker Libby was coming with me, and she used to work in “the City” so I had the advantage of a guide.
We’re here! It’s 8:50, and the big screen is showing a slideshow of photos that they guys must have taken yesterday when they got into town. The conference room is really nice – slightly elevated rows as you move back in the room, with Aeron chairs at the desks for each row (no power for laptops, but there’s free wi-fi). Up front is a podium, and a table with two mac laptops and the video switchbox for the projector. I just waved at a guy I recognize from last night. Zeldman was personally supervising the lighting earlier, getting the light dim enough to focus on the stage, but still let you see your laptops (funny that’s he’s so hands-on running things – and he really is shorter than you would expect). Continue reading
Yesterday, Ryan and I got off the train in Seattle around 4pm. We caught a bus up to Hotel Andre, where we found we had a really nice suite on the 9th floor, where we had a bit of a view of the bay between a few apartment buildings. Since we had a few hours until the pre-party, we headed over to Pike Place Market, where I bought a cheddar roll at Piroshki Piroshki, and then we got dinner at the Pike Brewery, just off the market. Continue reading