Vegas, WInter Meetings and the 7th Level of Hell

24 hours earlier I had been two-stepping with an attractive IU co-ed on the floor of Las Vegas' Bellagio while sipping on a double Jack & Coke speaking Spanglish with White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen.

But at the moment, I found myself in a familiar predicament- stuck in Houston's Bush Intercontinental Airport. The deep South gets snow about once every 30 years and one of those times had to be while I was scheduled to fly through it. I tried to remember how in God's name I was in the 7th level of Hell again and it struck me:

"Hey John, I'm planning on going to the Baseball Winter Meetings with my sport management class for the job fair," my friend Josh said, "You should come since you're looking for a sports job too."

Hmmmm, wasn't sure what to say about that one. I did have a credit for a plane ticket and splitting a hotel four ways in Vegas is pretty darn cheap. Hesitantly, I made my reservations for the 2008 Baseball Winter Meetings.

Despite having a lot of fun, everything that could go wrong did. My original early Monday morning flight was cancelled and my late morning flight was delayed. By the time I finally arrived in Vegas, I missed the whole first day of the job fair. That night, I lost $50 going 0 for 5 on five straight hands of $10 a hand Blackjack. However, I did meet a lot of cute girls.

Ah yes ... young, attractive women ... let's just say hiring managers have a weakness for them. I witnessed an official from the Texas Rangers walked straight up to one of the girls in our group and offer her a job. She told him she was just a sophomore and he bashfully said: "Oh really ..."

Oops!

By mid-morning Tuesday, I realized that most clubs with full-time jobs already had their interview schedules full and minds made up on those candidates. I interviewed for "marketing/promotions" internship with the Colorado Springs Sky Sox but when I discovered they were really looking for a video production and evening sales intern, I had to decline. I'm almost 24, I can't live on just $200 a month- even if housing is free!

However, I did have a positive conversations with the Sky Sox guys and they put this whole event into perspective. First, my resume was probably never even looked at because I preceded it with a cover letter. Every job I've even applied for required a cover letter. How was I suppose to know not to include one unless I was told? Second, the Winter Meetings are mostly a networking event.

For what its worth, I did enjoy some of the Vegas nightlife and about that ... well ... what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.