UOAA Conference Photos, Part 2

Incoming!

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Entering the Mad Hatter's party room.

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Mystery Chick Magnet Guy here, do you know this guy? He is a member here :)

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This is how they announce/list the schedule of events, for those of you who've never attended a "Con." Real-time scheduling. Plus weather.

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Self-Explained. :)

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Busted! Mystery Man. I'll have what he's drinking, please.

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Fireball in the sky. Pure awesome shot! Whoa!

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People hanging out.

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A walk through an inflatable colon. Just when you thought you'd seen everything. :)

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For Beach Boy and "bird people."

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Oops. Duplicate. Did I mention this was an awesome shot?

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Jason, from Halloween - the movie - his neighborhood? Didn't see Jamie Lee. Yes, this area is located behind the hotel, on hotel property.

That dessert looks yummy! It looks like everyone was having a good time at the conference. Thanks for sharing the photos.

Nice pics, Warrior.

Thanks for the pics ❤️

That one shot deserved a duplicate post. 🤣

Ok, not to be a Debbie Downer or worse a 'Karen', but I have to ask... other than the boondoggle... what's the point of attending such a convention? Looking over the schedule, I don't see anything new or groundbreaking. Why would I want to travel to a conference such as this, other than to hang out with other "intestinally challenged" folks for a day or two? Seems a very expensive proposition when all that info can be found here on this site, if one asks. Did you see any new products or talk to any new companies with promising tech or ideas? What am I missing, Bro?

;O)

My Ostomy Journey: Kimberly | Hollister

From my own perspective, I think the social aspect alone would be the big draw. That's the only reason I would attend. And what's wrong with that?

Terry

Great pics, Warrior! Thanks for posting.

Terry

Not a thing if you've got money to burn and time on your hands.

;O)

Hey Jersey Boy Transplant, and dear Bruther..... I hear what you're saying about not having the time and money to go..🤔

I dig that. 👍.. but.. I took a forkit  pill and used my card, and said "charge it." 😋

Terry's point is valid because we all type to one another, yet hardly have the opportunity to meet each other face to face.

This con gives that opportunity. The social aspect of it gives you the comfort of really knowing fellow baggers.. but not so much because the sport a bag for whatever reason, nope.. it's because they are our people - tribe-like. Gone through the trials and tribulations only as we know them.

I'm not just saying meeting the good peeps from MAO. No.. you'd be surprised socially how friendly and welcoming people here are in general from around the globe.

If you miss that socializing, this is why you attend.

If you are hoping to "hook up" with someone - connect, this is why you attend..

Since you socialize more with farm animals and prefer them over human beings, then.. I can see your reasons not to attend.😄😁😆 jk jk.. Hee hee..

You anti-social butterfly. Just busting bro. 💓🫵. 😉

Honestly, the workshop titles were interesting and presenters were "all-out" being grand. They were speaking from the heart. And you shook your head in agreement with their story.

Isn't that refreshing? You got it. The audience got it - the speaker's story, experience, you understood it..

Frankly, the one workshop on Crohn's disease I attended was not inspiring. A panel of surgeons and primary care were present to answer your questions.. the panel looked like they didn't even want to be there. The room was packed.

People walked up to the mic 🎤 to ask the panel questions.

Those folks had some serious stories about their illness. 😪 Maybe too complicated for the panel.

But you know what happened when the workshop ended? People got together on the side because they too had similar conditions and wanted to hear more from you. 😳💓

My attending the con was motivated to meet and greet people.🤗

And I did that. 😉

My new friendships from the con have become "titanium" because of meeting, not concrete - more solid, dig? 😉

I felt the same way when I attended conferences for the deaf. Those are more informative due to technology changing weekly. Can't compare the two. 😳😖

Building lasting friendships would be enough to motivate me to go again. Some might think the workshops were not worth it.

Some folks lose their friends and relatives when they have serious health issues. I did.🥹

Found better peeps. Here. And there at the con. 💯

Talk to Cathy, your cow, she will mooooootivate your ass. 😉. If not, Peter, the pig, will squeal on you. We email a lot. Oink oink.

Stay salty, Bro..

Thanks for more great pics, Warrior, and for the phrase:

"👍.. but.. I took a fukit pill and used my card, and said, 'charge it.' 😋"

- sounds like a motto I like to live by; you're my kind of people! 😅😊

Your reasons for attending would have been my reasons if I had been able to go.

Plane ticket...$XX

Conference registration...$YY

Opportunity to meet others on a similar path IRL...$priceless

Other people take vacations and cruises, etc. I haven't had a real vacation in 10 years. If I were physically able to travel, I'd have splurged.

That's Mr. KILLJOY you mean.😆..

Good point though. Things certainly have changed since "back in the day" regarding credit cards.

Restraint, patience, job security, and planning all come into play.

That's about the only "exercise" I get these days.

Get this, a young coworker just bought a Snap-On roll cart.

It's the size of a Mini Cooper. Said he got a sweet deal on it.

Uh-huh.. $22k list. Purchased for $7k.. uh-huh. I didn't inquire about the financing details of the "sweet deal." He already had a smaller version of the same. He traded up.

$7,000 !!!???

For me, that would  have paid off both my credit cards !!. Boom!

So true. I'm not one to travel or take vacations. However, when and if I do, charge!

The way I see it is if you're working or receiving any type of income you can count on, then anything can be done in time via payments. That car you dreamed about? That vacation you always wanted, that addition to the house, whatever it may be, can be paid off eventually. But taking too much time to pay off the credit card, you're—excuse the pun—pissing in the wind.

In what some would consider a perfect world, such events would be taxpayer funded, so all ostomates could attend. Well, American taxpayers anyway. I'm pretty sure plenty of taxpayers would object to that tax. Does it mean that those who can afford to attend should feel guilty about it? I'm not sure.

Terry

It comes back to the standard line around here; what works for one doesn't work for all.

For those who value personal connections and friendships highly, attendance was a bargain. The rich experiences and deep friendships gained are not readily available elsewhere. Some of us who could not attend due to health or financial limitations regret the lost opportunity.

For those who only value information, it is inconceivable that anyone would spend any amount of money in pursuit of information readily available elsewhere. They don't value the same experiences.

Certainly, it makes sense not to spend beyond your ability to pay. I have purchased many things on credit. But the only things I don't pay off in a month or two are my house and my car.

Thanks for the pictures.

I would have loved to walk through the inflatable colon. I didn't know where the conference was being held. I live 45 minutes east of Orlando.

Oh dang, 🤦 how did you miss this? I opened a topic in January of this year with a few follow-up edits afterwards, and I think one in 2024. They do cons every two years, I think.

Where have you been? 😁.

This inflatable walk-through was huge. And inside showed all the different diseases and whatnot.

I was tempted, but decided not to put a pin in it. 🫣😆.. they forgot it also deflates. As we know, a stoma does. Hee hee. 🤦

I am glad you didn't get out your pin. 🤣 🤣

I have been missing a lot while packing up and preparing my house for sale. Staying in a house for over 30 years, you accumulate a lot of stuff that you thought you might one day need or get around to repairing. 🙁 It's been taking up more time than I imagined.

I definitely regret missing the conference in my backyard.

Ahh, that explains the tardy to the party here. You're moving? Yea, that's a huge thing. Especially deciding what to keep and sell or trash.

I'm a hoarder too... um, er... excuse me... a collector.

Of things... always thinking, "I'll need this"... 2 years later, still needing... 4 years later... still needing... time to sell? Merde... 💩. Trashed.

I moved myself 2 times in 5

years. You have my sympathy.