Power Unleashed Part 2/4

missed part 1/4? Check it out here: https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/power-unleashed-part-14-lee-decker

It was fucking hot. Like 102 degrees hot, in Newark New Jersey. I was standing outside of the Prudential Center in line a day before the event waiting for early registration / ticket confirmation. I'd double checked the emails, read all of the suggestions and felt prepared for an easy process. Nothing could have prepared me for the miserable agony of being the 2,000th person in line waiting in the very, very hot and humid weather -- each minute another few hundred people would join the line. I guess I was going to be here for a while. I had my skateboard with me and my shoulder bag with my laptop and headphones in it. You see since registration was supposed to be early afternoon, I figured I'd quickly check in and then head out to Manhattan, ride around, find a cool coffee shop and maybe do some writing or catch up on a little work. Ha! So much for that plan.

Every minute standing in that line without shade, sweating bullets and doing my best to be friendly with those around me took every ounce of patience that I could possible have in my body. Slowly inching forward every 10 minutes, watching all of the crafty people trying to cut in line and being envious of those that had purchased Platinum Passes getting to bypass the whole line.

There were event volunteers, who seemed so cheerful and happy to be there, doing their best to engage the crowd, get them to laugh, get them to clap -- all I could think about was how hot and crappy this whole thing was. One hour goes by, we were getting closer to the entrance.

At this point the two people that I had become friendly with in line were also getting impatient, trying to keep their cool. I saw this as the ultimate test of patience. One of the ladies had created this special water bottle for alkaline water and the other lady was a network marketer from Florida.

The crowd kept growing and growing around the block and the event volunteers were using these giant megaphones and herding us like cattle. They made it clear that the Air Conditioning in the building was operating on full blast and that brought me nothing but tears of joy, but the problem was, I was still outside.

After about an hour and a half of watching YouTube videos on my phone and mourning the loss of the entire day, we got closer to the entrance where they started to divide people up. If you didn't have any bags to go through security, you were expedited. If you had bags, it was another line. Luckily we were finally in the shade at this point in line. So many people pushing and shoving and all I kept thinking was....how am I supposed to have a positive experience at this event when there are going to be so many people here? Surely there was a point at which the critical mass would be a hindrance to emotional progress.

And then the second line started. You see there were these kiosks with iPads on them where you were supposed to scan the QR code in your email and then it prints out your name badge. I had the QR code at the ready, knowing that I was well prepared. And, of course all of the machines decided to malfunction. Then there was another line for customer service in order to manually create the name badge. At this point, I'd waited in three different lines for almost 3 hours and this was to be the fourth line. My patience was being so ultimately tested and you could tell that the massive crowd of thousands of people were getting as anxious as I was. I saw people cutting in line and I remember asking one such person, "are you happy with your decision, asshole?"

I was so hungry and thirsty and so very thirsty, did I mention I was craving water like I needed air? I was stuck. Then another line to get the plastic holder and lanyard and I was really happy to learn that we also got a free book. Nice. I was finally done.

It was dark outside and my plans of traversing the streets of Manhattan had to be put on the backburner. In the meantime, I hadn't eaten all day and searched for the nearest Whole Foods on Google Maps. Luckily, there was one roughly 1.5 miles away. I rode my skateboard there and downed a two liter of water and enjoyed the best meal from their hot bar that I had ever experienced. I stocked up on vegetables, water and other stuff I'd need for the weekend.

I hopped in an Uber back to Elizabeth, New Jersey where I was staying at a very humble AirBnb. The kind of place where it's great if you only need a place to sleep, and that's all that I needed, and sleep I did.

With a plan in mind for waking up early, getting in my Manhattan experience and getting to the event a little early to get a good seat, I fell into a deep sleep.

Nothing could have prepared me for what I was about to experience the next day.

stay tuned for Part 3!