The Importance of Internet Access

54: The number of minutes I spent on the phone with IT people during the resource fair yesterday.

I like resource fairs. It's nice to get out of the office for a while, and it's always satisfying to work directly with people who are looking for help. They're a lot of fun.

Let me clarify.

I usually like resource fairs. When everything goes smoothly, it can be a lot of fun.

And now I'll explain.

Kaitlyn and I were scheduled to do a resource fair in Dayton from 12-5 yesterday, so at about 10:15 we loaded up my car with the usual candies, literature, tri-fold and laptops and drove out there. And while we drove, we became more aware of the fact that this particular resource fair is being held at the Dayton Dragons baseball field. Outside.

This is when we start to get a little anxious. We were already cold just from walking from Shared Harvest to my car in the parking lot. Here are some of the things that were said on the drive:

"I am so glad I brought my jacket."
"What if it rains on our laptops?"
"Oh crap, we only get two chairs per booth. ... I guess people can just stand."
"I'm still not sure where to park. If I get a ticket, can I expense that?"

Finding the stadium was no problem. Figuring out where to park took a couple of drives around the same block, but we got there eventually. We also learned that we wouldn't be on the baseball field itself; we would be in that area where they sell hot dogs and baseball caps and whatnot. So at least we wouldn't get drenched if it rained. (Which it didn't!)

BUT when I went to set up my laptop (after Kaitlyn asked around for an extension cord), my broadband card would not allow me to connect to the internet. And even though we were there 30 minutes before the resource fair was set to start, people were already lining up at the booths. Poor Kaitlyn had to manage everyone who came to our booth, which was definitely one of the most popular booths there, while I spent nearly an hour talking to different people working in IT. It turns out my registration number doesn't match the serial number. It's all a great big complicated technological wiry mess.

Eventually we gave up on my computer and did whatever we could to make the process easier with only one laptop. I never realized how dependent I am to Internet access. I felt completely helpless. I fielded as many questiosn as I could and Kaitlyn did Quick Checks and Site Finders. I also grabbed a few YES cards and went around to some of the other nonprofit organizations who had booths there and asked them if they were interested in becoming a Benefit Bank site (which was actually pretty successful, woohoo!). But the whole ordeal would have been so much easier had we had two functioning laptops.

By the way, I meant to take pictures. I even had my hand on my camera at one point, but then a new wave of people came in and I completely forgot. I was simply too busy. And forgetful. But anyway.

All in all, it was completely worth it. It always is. We had a lot of people coming in who had just been laid off and had no idea where to go for help. We directed several to different Benefit Banks around Dayton. And almost no one had ever even heard of the program, so we're getting the word out.

And yes, it was cold and windy and our fingers were getting pretty numb. But we powered through.

And we'll bring gloves next time.

And maybe a thermos of hot chocolate.