We're back in the room and getting ready to turn in for the night. It's been a good day. I got registered, we got some dinner (sandwiches/salad at the ACB Cafe, we went to Mass, and we planned to go to one of the several special-interest-groups' welcoming parties. Unfortunately, it wasn't apparent in the program that there was an admission fee to get in to said welcoming party. So we didn't attend the party, but it's just as well. First of all, we both are exhausted. Second of all, I can't believe how DEAFENING the music was. Great Caesar's Ghost, wouldn't you think that people who rely on their hearing, in the absence of sight, would do more to protect said hearing and avoid blasting music loud enough to drown out a jet engine? :o/ I don't know, I never enjoyed decibel levels where in order to converse, you have to get within three inches of the other person's ear and yell at them.

Plus, I have chronic tinnitus (as in 24/7/365) from attending some concerts in small (and I mean SMALL) clubs with my b/f at the time, where the freaking sound engineers must have been trying to make the music register on the Richter scale. At first, I would notice tinnitus the next morning, but it would go away. However, after a few months of occasional loud concerts, there came a time when the tinnitus was there and it NEVER went away from then on. It's pushing 20 years and my ears still ring. Hence, excessively loud music is not my favorite thing.

And as loud as the party we didn't attend was, there was another special interest group in the adjacent ballroom, and their music was even louder. Sweet Gesu. My tinnitus is flaring up at the mere memory of it.

In other news, if you like Labrador Retrievers, get your tail to Louisville, pronto. There are more dogs per square inch at this hotel than I would expect to see at a dog show, and the vast, vast majority of them are Labs. Personally, I think the dogs believe that this is a guide dog convention, and they're all delighted that their great Moms and Dads brought them here to meet hundreds of other guide dogs. :o) And when I say "hundreds", I'm not exaggerating. I know I am going to get tail-wagged to death in an elevator before the week is out; most of the dogs wag at the sight of another guide dog, and it's not unusual to have two or three dogs in an elevator at any given time. But it's great. I love being around a zillion dogs, even if I can't pet any of them (besides KC's Gypsy when she's off duty).

Oh, I know what else happened today that was interesting. John Stamos was in the same plane I took from Philly. He seemed like he preferred to keep a low profile today (hat and sunglasses), so I didn't bother him or take a clandestine photo. But I heard people talk to him and address him by name, so it was definitely him. Very nice-looking guy. Seems like he has a pleasant disposition, too. :o)

Anyway, I'm about to keel over,so let me publish this post. Good night!