COFES 2009 – The Odd Man Out

Of all the 178 people attending COFES 2009, I guess I am going to be the odd man out. I seem to be the only one who has “Blogger” for a title. Everyone else has titles like President, Founder, CEO, Director and similar. There are a bunch of journalists and analysts as well, some of whom are also bloggers. But the title on my badge is definitely going to stand out. Whether it stands out positively or negatively remains to be seen.

I leave for the Arizona dessert coming Monday on what I believe will be an epic journey: Goa > Mumbai > Brussels > Newark > Chicago > Phoenix. My travel agent gave me a good reason for making me pass though six airports. On my way back I am going to break journey at Brussels to attend the ODA World Conference in Leiden, Holland. Apparently, if you book a round trip via the same route, it costs much lesser. So maybe this wild goose chase will be worth it.

The last time around, I landed in Phoenix in the evening, felt it was morning, while my stomach kept complaining that it needed lunch. This time will not be any different. I am going to arrive the Scottsdale Plaza late evening on 14th April. COFES starts on 16th.

I hear that Brad Holtz, the “organizer-in-chief” of COFES, has organized something for people like me who will be arriving the day earlier. Not sure what it is, but I hope painkillers are on the menu. On second thoughts, booze (plenty of it) would be just as good.

This is going to be my second COFES. And something tells me that it is going to be just as fruitful as my first, if not a whole lot more.