learning curve

well i have had a great big learning curve of a day. first of all i got to hear the minister speak. he is very very very smooth. he is to smooth as worms are to silk. very very close. entirely credible. even got a bit teary at one point (him not me; although i probably was too but for entirely diffferent reasons realted, mostly, to the chronic incapacities of the labour party...) anyway. i can see why he is so powerful. then i heard a bunch of other smooth people speak. then i heard mem fox teach us how to 'read aloud with feeling'. and then i ran back up to my room and added about 55 extra slides to my own presentation having negotiated to be allowed to update my originally submitted ppt. then i took about 52 out. thhen i put back about 4. so now it is longer but not stupid. well not totally. this is a crowd that seems to like stats: so now i have added in graphs and tables and have even rehearsed a throw away (throw up?) line about the 95% confidence limit of the statistics cited (and i am 100% confident i'll never actually be able to say that). and now i have rehearsed my jokes, brushed up my stats, polished up my most engaging examples and just want to go to bed!!!!

but i have to swan off and do dinner with a crowd of 200 people withhin which i know exactly no one. well almost. still i am sure it will be fun and if nothing else it will give me some ideas on what people liked about today. and then i can add another 4400 slides after the coffee tonight.