Steemhouse Publishing Has a Representative at Anarchapulco

The Steemhouse representative at Anarcapulco will be me, @michelios . In fact, I’m already here, in Acapulco, killing time on the beach until the conference.

I didn’t publish much on Steem in the two years since I first got my account. But now that I’m part of a very active Steem writing community, I’ve started to feel some pressure to actually write.

When I met @rhondak and @gmuxx at Steemfest, I didn’t see myself as a writer. But in the weeks after, I started collaborating with Rhonda on many projects. She got really bossy and started telling me what to do. She said I can’t stay forever the “perfect little spy” lurking in the shadows. I survived her lectures. But see? I’m writing. Sometimes you just have to go with it, even if your laptop battery won’t recharge and you have to write everything out longhand.

Originally, I planned to attend Anarcapulco for personal reasons. But seven days before I was set to fly out of Paris, an idea burst into my head that it would be a good idea to promote the Steemhouse Publishing Group during the conference as well as the novel we’re about to launch. This happened on January 31. Problem was, I held tickets for a flight to Mexico leaving on February 7. Could we even get this done in time?

Rhonda liked the plan and so did GMuxx. So we scrambled. In order to make this happen, I had to design a QR code and link it to a site GMuxx hadn’t even finished building yet. Once that was done, I found a custom printer in Lille who could have a couple of shirts ready for me in time for my flight. Then came the cards--and that’s when things got tricky.

To our dismay, Rhonda discovered that VistaPrint doesn’t deliver to Mexico. So much for receiving the cards there. Through an internet search, we found another print shop local to me that would expedite a rush order of business cards. This should have given us plenty of time for the cards to print and be ready for pickup.

But no--I received an email from the print shop saying the image I sent them was not suitable, that it seemed to be a scanned image. It was not. Back and forth with them I went, sending and re-sending images until they had one they could use. The cards were promised to me for delivery on Wednesday before I flew out on Thursday. But as you might guess this didn’t happen.

The cards were not ready for pickup until 30 minutes before my bus would leave for the airport. In my second attempt on Thursday morning, I finally was able to get them. I grabbed the cards, grabbed the shirts, and ran through the streets of Lille like a madman with all my luggage in tow. I made it onto the bus literally two minutes before it pulled away from the stop.

Once I arrived at the airport, stressful news was waiting for me. I didn’t know that taking a France to Mexico flight that passes through the US obligated me to have a return ticket. Even though I was there in plenty of time to make the flight, I now had to choose the place and date of my next flight while dealing with connectivity problems and battery on the phone trying to die. Those were tense moments and it was hard to remain calm. But I stayed focused and made it onto the plane five minutes before the door closed. Whew! No need to run or drag luggage or stress any more for the next ten hours while I crossed the Atlantic.

After more than twenty hours, I landed in Acapulco. I had made a last-minute AirBnb reservation but it was not on the coast near the conference center. Some previous research and warning from others had convinced me that parts of the city were not safe. So I had to balance this concern with my need for affordable pricing, especially in the days leading up to the event. After two days, with the help of locals, I found a nice hotel on the beach. It’s off-season here and there are very few other guests. So I was able to negotiate a price for a room that is nearly half the price listed at the registration desk.

So now I wait until tomorrow for the Anarcapulco conference to begin. I am ready with business cards in hand and a smile on my face to talk to potential investors about Steemhouse Publishing. I’m very happy to be here representing a company at the forefront of innovation. If you are planning to attend Anarcapulco this year, please look for me at the event. I would love to speak with you.