Last week I was pleasantly surprised to see the following message in my inbox:

Hi, (apologies for the delay in sending this acceptance mail) Your lightning talk has been accepted for the Lightning Talk session at GUADEC 2006, in Birmingham UK.  If you have not already registered for GUADEC, you should register now at http://guadec.org/registration. We look forward to seeing you at GUADEC! Ross Burton GUADEC Papers Committee

A couple of friends had motivated me to submit my talk and I was so looking forward to finally meet them face to face.  But alas, the announcement came a few weeks too late as I have already made a commitment at work during this period, as well as scheduled my vacation.  To top it off, I haven’t received my American passport yet and without it I cannot leave the country!

I would like to thank the GUADEC Papers Committe for the opportunity and hope to be able to attend it next year!