I returned late last night from Boston, where I attended An Event Apart. (Much to the jealously of certain people I know. I’m looking at you… and you.) I mentioned the other day how strange it was to find myself eating something a mere five feet away from Jeffrey Zeldman. Here are a few other things that made my trip:

• Upon arriving in Boston, I hailed a cab to take me from the Back Bay train station to my hotel. He laughed at me when I mentioned the destination; it was half a mile away. I was fully aware of this, but being that it was (A) 10:00 at night, (B) dark, and (C) I had no idea where to go, I allowed him his chuckle. I then denied him his tip. So there.
• On day one at around lunchtime, I faced the prospect of eating lunch with total strangers, a situation I’m not usually comfortable with. Then I saw this hot guy a few feet away and greeted him, thinking he was familiar but I couldn’t place the face. We herd downstairs to lunch and at some point I turn around, saw his name badge, and realized I ran into Ron, Mr. Leather Egg himself. We went out for drinks after the second day’s sessions.
• I had something of a rock star moment on day two, when I met Cameron Moll, the first presenter of the day, on the elevator en route to the session. We chatted briefly on the way down, and I suddenly felt very hip and cool.
• Leaving Boston was something of an adventure. After finally clearing up a billing issue at the hotel, I head out to walk to the train station. (It was 11:00 a.m., so I was okay with it.) Upon arriving at the station, I find access to the Amtrak entrance taped off. I eventually find out that there was a gas leak and they closed the platform, so I had to get myself to South Station instead. Fortunately, I was granted free access on the T, and I made it to South Station with no time to spare.

I made my train, which left on time… and arrived in D.C. late, natch. I posted some photos from the event to the AEA Boston 2007 group on flickr.