PRI Blog – Day 2 (12/11/09)

The show opened this morning with a herd of people once again making its way methodically down the aisle; row by row, booth by booth. Ahhh, Day 2 of the PRI show is now open.

There was a steady crowd streaming through the convention center today. So far, we have gone through approximately 700 spark-plug keychains (a show favorite!), 352 Honda Racing/HPD Speedway Directories and endless numbers of Honda Racing/HPD decals. We hope to pass out the rest of our stock tomorrow because the less we have, the less we have to ship.

One incident I didn’t mention from Thursday: Sandy Shamlian from Quicksilver RacEngines fell though the wall of our back meeting room, taking a panel down with him. Apparently, Sandy tripped over the 10 or so laptop bags on the floor, causing him to lose his balance, and he placed his hand on the wall/display panel in an effort to regain his equilibrium. Sandy very quickly discovered that the panels are not solid walls and suddenly, he was on the other side of the meeting room, in the middle of an aisle, with panel in hand. Luckily, the panel was put back in place, and the only way those at the front of the booth became aware of the incident was because the entire display shook as if we were experiencing an earthquake. Seeing as we are in central Florida and not California, an earthquake wasn’t too much of a possibility. By the way, Sandy walked away with only a bruised ego.

We had a visit from another friend today. Bob Boileau is back, this time minus his brother, Al. Bob was with us at the American Honda/Honda Racing/HPD display last month at the SEMA show, and it had to be expected that he wouldn’t miss PRI. I have given Bob the title of “HPD Groupie”, mostly because he is two-for-two with his trade-show presence, and when he does arrive at our booth, he never seems to leave. (I am not saying you should, Bob … we enjoy having you!) Anyway, just as Bob likes to be known as the “2009 SCCA Runoffs Champion”, if you should see him at a track or another trade show in the near future, please feel free to call out “Hey, HPD Groupie!” and see if he answers. I am sure he will love it!

For those of you who read my last set of blogs from SEMA, you should know that I was working on my germaphobe issues, and not obsessing over sterilizing with anti-bacterial every chance I got. Well, that sounded good in theory at the time, until, a few days after returning home, I got VERY sick! Apparently, my immune system was not strong enough to rid itself of all the germs with which I came in contact at the show. This time around, I am determined not to get what my melodramatic self would call “deathly ill”, or – for reality’s sake – catch a cold, so don’t be offended if you are here at PRI and you see me using antibacterial sterilizer fairly frequently. I am determined not to get sick this time around. Let’s cross our fingers!

As the show came to an end today, the crowds seemed to depart a little more quickly than they did yesterday. I noticed that half of the convention center lights were turned off in a not-so-discreet way, in hopes that the attendees would depart a little sooner today. I was told that the lights were turned off yesterday as well, but the first day’s excitement must have been too much for the lights to compete with and the crowds hung around despite the darker convention center.

There is only one more day of PRI excitement ahead of us, and then we pack up and head back to California. So far, we haven’t seen the sun, but on the plus side, there has only been a day or so of heavy humidity, so I guess this native Californian shouldn’t complain. Maybe the sun will peek out for our last day at PRI. We shall wait and see…