Second Night In DC: Karma Starting To Tire

With tickets firmly in-hand, Monday night was all about meeting up with more good friends and having a good time. There were two events on the docket: a NABJ reception featuring Gwen Ifill and the Black Hotel Owners and Operators party.

For those of you who don't know, I have been a member of the National Association of Black Journalists since 1997. Currently, I serve as the VP for Broadcast on the NABJ Sports Task Force.

This particular reception was held at the National Visionary Leadership Project headquarters, housed in a historic brownstone near DuPont Circle. The only problem with this location is its size or lack thereof.

I'm sure the space is perfect for the NVLP, but for a reception featuring hundreds of journalists and other attendees, it was simply way too small. So small that when Gwen Ifill made her brief remarks--and I do mean brief--several people had yet to make it through the front door because there was not enough room in the foyer.

Come on, NABJ! We hold annual conferences featuring thousands of attendees. You mean we couldn't find an appropriate place in the downtown Washington, DC area capable of holding a few hundred?

After a small plate of finger food and a couple of drinks, it was back to the Renaissance for the second and final event of the night. The best thing about this party was that it was held at my hotel. So good to know karma was still kicking it with me.

The second cool thing about the Black Hotel Owners and Operators gala was that George Clinton was performing. Checking out the Master of Funk in person never gets old. The only problem was, George never showed up. Word was that he went to the wrong Renaissance hotel. So his band just played all the songs George would have performed had he been there.

So with no P-funk in the house, I decided to retreat to the hotel lobby bar to watch the Lakers/Cavs game on TNT. But guess what? Neither of the two televisions--one with cable and the other with Directv--could get TNT. How is that possible? It's 2009, not 1989.

With karma seemingly starting to get a little fatigued, I decided to call it a night and head upstairs to the room. I could watch the game in bed. Plus, I was expecting a very early wake-up call in the morning!!