Choosing the path to Tech.Ed
Well, we (myself and my wife) made a decision this week. We're going to fork out the money for me to go to Tech.Ed this year in Sydney. Normally we'd never do it - it's a fair chunk of money, and so it's generally meant that if work won't pay, then I don't go. And you can be pretty damn sure that it's rare I get any money out of my employer.
As a result, I haven't been since 2003. In fact, I've only been in 2003. :)
If we pay now, it's tax deductible for when tax time arrives in a month - so I might already have my refund before Tech.Ed comes along - and so it won't gather too much interest on the credit card in the meantime. So to hell with it. I'm going!
So over lunch I decided to go and register and get it all sorted out. There's several steps to the registration process, giving them a fair bit of information - but I waded through it and got all the way to here - the final step.
So i clicked the button.
And waited.
And waited.
And waited some more.
And then IE showed me this.
So now I don't know. I haven't received an email with confirmation. I've called microsoft to see if my card has been charged, and they gave me an email address. I emailed the address and it bounced. I got my wife to call Amex (we put it on her card) but they can't tell us anything for 24 hours.
Since I never got the email, I'm pretty sure that the charge hasn't gone through. And hell, if it does, i'm sure they'll credit back one of them if I go and book my ticket again.
But I can't even hit the registration site now. I don't know if the site is down, or if it's something on my end of the network (my work's net connection).
So anyway, thus begins my journal of Tech.Ed 2006 in Sydney this year. I've created a new category for Tech.Ed posts, and as time goes on I'll be blogging about things leading up to it (like if I ever successfully register :) and stuff while I'm there on the hunt for as much free swag as I can find.
Next up - finding accommodation!