Another Partner Meeting (APM)

Another year another ARM Partner Meeting and one which I was quite pleased not to be presenting at. However, I ended up presenting twice to our marketing team beforehand so I didn't entirely get off scot free. All in all my ramblings on the future of location based social networking and Mobile Web 2.0 seemed to go quite well and I think I captured the imagination of the audience with my vision of the present and future.

"A bit better than talking about the next version of the tools eh?" my colleague commented.
Hmm... yes I guess it actually really is quite a lot better. Adjusting to my new role has been a bit hard over the past few of months, not helped by adjusting to my slowed down metabolism but I am definitely getting there.

I must admit the novelty of the APM itself has worn thin. Every year it seems to follow the same prescribed formula:
Day 1: Endless meetings which preclude anyone from attending any of the presentations followed by a 7 hour drinking session.
Day 2: More meetings with people looking decidedly the worse for wear (see day 1) followed by a 7 hour drinking session.
Day 3: People leave early looking quite unwell.

Over the years I have managed to embellish my itinerary at the event with such things as coffee and wi-fi in Heffers (the wi-fi at the event never works) and lunches at 7a Jesus lane with partners. The APM ends for me with Prue taking me to the Wrestlers where we can get some decent food and chill before heading on to the office.

This year I didn't go on to the office until late. I spent the afternoon with Zogger walking and talking around Cambridge. It was very pleasant. In fact I would probably say that afternoon was the best part of this whole trip. He took me round the faculties where his late father had worked and where he had been allowed to run free as a boy.We covered a lot of ground, physically and mentally and by the end of that hot August afternoon I felt a lot happier in myself that the future is bright.

There was one other great moment though: The Big(ish) Curry at the very end. Post APM I always try to get my friends together for a final meal and a beer with Zogger and myself and this year was no exception. However, this year was slightly different, Gavin was in town too, so Zogger invited him, and with my new zeal at renewing old friends I decided to give Jamie a call and see if I could persuade him to join us (given that we were only 3 streets away from his house). The last time I saw Jamie was in Feb 2007 for lunch and that was the first time he had been out with anyone for quite a while. Working for Marco for stock and no money had taken its toll and Jamie just couldn't afford to go out anywhere, nor could he afford the time to stop hacking the software for Marcos latest get rich quick(ish) startup. So Jamie had become a recluse and no one in Cambridge had seen him for several years. When Jamie walked through the door of the Cambridge Blue, Andy's face was a joy to behold- he had really missed his old friend. When "time" was called Zogger and I hopped in a cab back to the college and quick final pint at the Mitre which as luck would have it was open until Midnight. Friday came round all too fast and after a few hours sleep is was time to stuff ourselves into our respective metal tubes and head home.