Back when I was a system administrator for a Novell shop (yes, there is life outside of Microsoft), I looked forward to one big event every year: Networld. The largest computer networking tradeshow of the time would roll through Dallas anually, and I can't tell you how excited I was the first time I got a chance to go. I was much younger then, and much more easily impressed with glitz and glitter than I am now. Even today, though, I expect that I would still anxiously await the return of Networld, were it still a travelling showcase.

The first year I went, I just spent a day at the show browsing the exhibits. My employer couldn't afford to send more than one from our team to the seminars, so my boss went to those. The rest of us got to spend one day each at the exhibits, just not at the same time. Limited coverage, you understand. So head into the Dallas Convention Center, and I gaze at the spectacle in awe. This was the big time, and I was there.

Never having been to a trade show before, I was unfamiliar with the concept of the "booth bimbo." I'm sure this tactic is used at many trade shows for many industries, but there's just something unnatural with seeing attractive, scantily-clad young women pushing product materials into the hands of computer geeks with no social skills (excluding your truly, of course). It just seemed so unfair.

Anyway, I pretty quickly realized what was going on after attempting to speak details of the products with several ladies who were manning the booths. Their job was to get the product materials in my hands after attracting my attention to the booth. If I wanted to know real information, I had to wait to talk to one of the nerds, or call the number on the brochure to talk to a bona-fide sales person. This was before Al Gore invented the internet, so we couldn't just go online to find out about the product - we actually had to talk to people to get information.

How quickly I became jaded with the entire sham. Here I thought I would be able to learn important information about upcoming product that we might use in our shop, and all I was getting was on glossy print. Just before lunch, even though I had not even been through half of the exhibits, I was ready to throw in the towel and head back home, maybe even back to work.

That's when I bumped into her. I won't mention the vendor she worked for, because they are a reputable local company I've done business with a number of times, but as I was passing their booth, she caught my eye. She was attractive, but not overly so. She didn't come across as fake, as many of the other booth bimbos did. In fact, she seemed to be about my age. As I was going to get info from this vendor anyway, I decided to talk with her.

No, she didn't give me a great deal of information about the product, but by this time I wasn't expecting it. She did, however, ask where I worked, and when I mentioned that I worked for the University, her eyes lit up. She proudly exclaimed that she was a student in the school of music at the University, and she was excited to meet someone else from the school at the show. From there, we delved into a 30-minute conversation abotu the classes we had taken at the school, how I was also a part-time student in the music program, and what our favorite eating places were around campus. Our conversation would have lasted longer, perhaps, had the resident booth nerd not made a point of asking me if I had any questions about the product, obviously trying to free her up to attract more visitors. I asked him a few trivial questions about the product, I was already very familiar with it, and then went on my way.

My spirits were completely different after my conversation with her. For a few minutes, I sort of floated aimlessly around the booths, not really seeing any of the banners or product offerings. In fact, the thoughts that were running through my mind were like those of most men in their early 20's: man, she was HOT! I wasn't seeing anyone at the time (who am I kidding - I hadn't been on a date in two years) and I thought, why not? Go back and ask for her number. You've already had an introductory conversation, she didn't immediately try to terminate the discussion, you've got a lot in common since she's a student too... so the synapses were firing in my brain.

Trying not to look too desperate, I waited about 20 minutes, wandering the area near her booth before I went back to talk with her again and get her number. As I headed back into the booth entrance, she was going through her prepared speech about the product and offered some literature to a person who was clearly not interseted in the product. After a moment, he went away, and I made my move. I walked straight towards her to get her attention. When she noticed I was heading her way, she turned to face me. A smile spread across her face. I got into close speaking range, and she spoke.

"Hi! Can I offer you some information about our product?"

I mumbled something about already being a customer and turned and left. There wasn't even a glimmer of recognition in her eyes. We had shared a half hour conversation about common interests not 20 minutes earlier, and she didn't know me from Adam's house cat. Wow.

I spent the remainder of the day wandering through the trade show in a different kind of daze. I never told my boss, but they money they paid me to go to the show that year was a complete waste. I didn't even come away with the helium-filled remote-control blimp that HP was giving away for sitting through their presentation. I certinaly didn't come away with anyone's phone number.

For the next several years that I worked on campus, I kept an eye out for her, but never saw her again. I guess I learned a life lesson that day. I just have no idea what it was.