After i arrived at the Tuscany Suites and Casino, my stomach started to hurt. That's right, the pressure, the stress...there's so many butterflies rampaging in my stomach as i walked to the reception. The queue to register was long. Initially i joined in the queue but then i saw some individuals 'bypassing' them. I assumed they must have been the speakers so i asked the volunteers and phew... i managed to get in without queuing.
Once i got in, i didn't waste any time and start to take as much pictures as i can. Well, i was a tourist when i was there so excuse my itchy fingers to snap pictures. The atmosphere was awesome, the people were friendly and the topics were great! Despite not properly socializing with the crowd, i was having a great time there. Well, i am a sucker for conferences, so such a con made me feel belonged.
When my time was up, i walked up to the 'stage' and connect my computer to the VGA cable to extend my monitor. I spent the first 4 minutes trying to get it connected. Resolution sadly gave me an issue so i had to make do with a slightly smaller yet still visible resolution on the projector. I was nervous and things that i was prepared to say, those words just got lost. But i was happy that the audience, despite my pressured state, were very supportive. Some were smiling, some were nodding their heads, showing signs of approval with every slides i went through. Of course, i was challenged by another speaker who told me off about the practicality of my talk after i shown two clips from Die Hard 4.0. After replying to him saying that, it is possible for a scene like Die Hard 4.0 to happen and telling him that my last few slides will show it how, he with his 3 other friends, all wearing black tshirts, stood up and walked out of the conference room..and i was just on my slide 4. I was a little demotivated but i am glad that the rest stayed until the end. What i didnt expect was the audience gave me a round of applause after my talk! I was very touched and felt a little emotional, feeling appreciated despite my stressed mode and pressure.
After the talk, i was approached by a handful of people from the audience, asking me more about my talk. Some asked about my talk and some congratulated me about my performance. I was very happy to hear from their own words that they enjoyed my presentation. And what's more important was that i got to meet some experts in the field i was talking about.
All in all, it was an amazing experience, this was indeed one of the best conferences i attended. The organizers, the volunteers, the speakers and the audience were simply awesome! It truly felt like home...
Here are some of the pictures...
Where it all happened!
The souvenirs!
Bought and Free Tshirts!
Close up of the Badge!
Some sponsor banners!
Mini booths
WiFi Pineapple!! I bought one!
Protiviti! - Looking for Security Enthusiasts to join them.
Big Ass O-Wasp!
Hackers For Charity booth!
CTF Competition!
Social Engineering Competition!
Creative Winning Trophy!
The Topics!
The start of my presentation
Me with Chris Sistrunk aka SCADA God!
Me and Jack Daniels, the co-founder of Security BSides conference!
This volunteer (on the left in yellow) was the man who motivated me and encouraged me not to be pressured and even helped me answered a question from the audience! Kudos to him! Wished i knew who he is..
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