interop conference, day 1

USD3,000 is a lot of money to part with. This will probably be the first and last time I'll handle such large amount of cold cash... but oh well, it was for the payment of the conference to begin with *sigh*. Call it withdrawal symptoms. Just think: in a span of two days 4,000 bucks slipped right off my fingers. WAAH!

The goodie bag is cute. I got a tumbler and a shirt and bunch of documents/flyers that I doubt I'll read anyway. Hehe. There are cool potential freebies in the Expo though. Can't wait till Tuesday for that.

Jake and I decided to attend the Introduction to Malware Analysis workshop, since most of today's workshops/tutorials and boot camps are mostly designed for CIOs and CSOs (hence the boot camps of the same name). We felt that since we already have some background in malware analysis, we can sit in with one eyebrow raised and mutter corrections here and there while the presenters talk IDAPro or whatever. Hehe. Interestingly enough, the workshop was somewhat enlightening. I liked the first part better though, since it's more forensic-ish, so it's malware in a somewhat different light. I guess... *shrugs*

Lunch was delicious by the way. Then again, it's worth 3K so it should be. LOL! Salad, grilled chicken and pasta, and a LOVELY mousse for dessert... Mmm. As delicious as the CEO of Mandiant, our instructor. Hehe! And he was from the military!

The credit card issue remains unresolved. Dammit. The office says they already sent a fax regarding payment details. The hotel says they haven't received any. Jake's card wasn't charged... yet. On my part, since my cards were declined I have to shoulder the deposit straight out. And I can't get a refund because for some reason, my recently upgraded credit limit is still not enough? Urgh. The bottom line: both of us were the ones charged with the account. WAAAH! This needs to be resolved ASAP *fingers crossed*.

That didn't stop us from buying tickets to see Zumanity though. Hehe. I charged it, of course. We also had dinner at McD's and strolled across half The Strip and back, stopping by the M&M's and Coke museum/shops. Pictures galore. Hehe. Shame it's still light even at 7 in the evening... I would love to take a picture of the neon lights at their finest.

We retired early in our rooms. So now I've to finish a draft for Eric. Ugh.