Another thing I witnessed first hand was a woman going completely ballistic on someone from the Registration desk because she didn't keep up with the news and apparently didn't know that the tsunami warning had long passed, and honestly brought nothing more than waves a few feet higher than what was typical for the time of year in the area. But there she was screaming, and I do mean screaming, about the tsunami. I don't know what she wanted or how she expected yelling at the Registration people were going to react, but seriously... The funny thing is that the morning before she was asking a question of the panel and supposedly at her loudest nobody could hear a word. Find out about a non-existent tsunami and this woman found her vocal chords. As an aside, I also caught her yelling at the bellman at the front doors. Nose to nose, she was on him like white on rice. I have no idea what her issue was that time, frankly by then I'd grown quite bored of her antics.
This is not to say that my own first impressions were so great now that I think back on it. While during sessions I was able to keep the flash sweats to a minimum by staying near air ducts and having my handy-dandy fan at the ready. However, that doesn't mean that I was able to keep the flashes at bay for very long. Also, since I'm a smoker, I often pop Mentos in my mouth when I'm finished so I don't offend too much. (umm, forgot to pack Mentos, gum with have to do.) Let's not forget that I do suffer with panic disorder, but if there's any way I can help it, I refuse to take my "rescue meds" unless I'm dyin. I'd rather deal with the raw nerves and impending panic naturally when I'm at these events. I need to be present and don't wanna be the zombie in the room. But I chew harder and faster and my fan moves at supersonic speed because of the turmoil I'm feeling.
So here is the mental picture I have of my time talking with someone of great importance at one of the cruise lines: a short dumpy woman with a fan waving frantically in her face as flop sweat falls off her brow and she chews gum like a cow because she didn't have Mentos. Yes, that pretty much covers my time in the Exhibition Hall. I was chewin that gum like it was nobody's business and fannin' like a freak. Yeah, I'm sooo gonna be taken seriously....