Note to self: don’t ever schedule a conference during the same week as a potentially history-making, world-changing election.

Actual booth conversation:

Me: “Hi! Can I answer any questions about Microsoft certification?”

Attendee: “You must be happy today! What great news!”

Me: “Yes, I’m very happy—I even stayed up all night to watch the election results live. Can’t wait to see how Obama governs. Are you certified?”

Attendee: “Yes! Did you think he would win?”

Me: “I’ve learned never to take anything for granted, so no, I wasn’t sure. Have you heard about our new performance-based testing?”

Attendee: “Yes, Howler, right? We are so happy for you!”

Me: “Um, thanks. We’re pretty pleased with the technology too.”

Attendee: “No! I mean Obama—we’re all very happy that he’ll be your president!”

…and that’s pretty much how every conversation went throughout the week (and we weren’t alone… from what I hear the election was top-of-mind for most speakers and attendees, and it made it very difficult to focus on technology. :-)

In fact, the most striking example I can cite of just how pre-occupied everyone was:

Not a single person asked, “Where’s Trika?”

TechEd Developers starts in about 90 minutes… let’s see if we can get them talking about something other than last week’s election.

(Either that, or we need to fast-track a new MCPE certification (Microsoft Certified President-Elect)