Last year at this time, I was getting ready to go to Las Vegas to cover CES. It was the first time I had a press pass and I was so excited. I wanted to prove myself as a writer and I worked so hard last year that I’m not very excited about going this year. CES has become a big chore in my mind. Now that I feel like I’m a writer, I’m not looking forward to going.

I keep telling myself that I can work as little or as much as I want. I’m self-employed. That’s the beauty of it. I can’t cover everything. It’s not physically possible, but I can write about what interests me. I think my brain is a little broken. CES has become one big job for me instead of a fun party.

Comdex was like one big party for me. Even though it was all work-related, I didn’t stress out about it. That’s what I need from CES. I need it to feel like a big party where I get to touch all those cool prototypes that will probably never make it to the production line. That’s what Comdex was for me, but CES hasn’t felt like that yet.

I remember back in 1993, my goal at Comdex was to, “get me some of that virtual reality that everyone is talking about.” Sun Microsystems had a funny thing that you put on your head and played with for about thirty seconds before the person behind you in line poked you with a stick. I remember waiting in line for about an hour to see that virtual reality stuff. Strangely, it wasn’t a disappointment.

Maybe my problem with CES is that I don’t have a goal. My goal last year was to prove that I was a writer. I don’t know who I was proving it to. I already had a press pass. I guess I was proving it to myself. This year, I already believe I’m a writer. I don’t need to prove anything to anyone.

Back in 1993, I wanted to get me some of that virtual reality stuff that everyone is talking about, but right now, there is nothing that I want to experience first hand that I haven’t already. I’m still waiting for virtual reality to get here already…