Admittedly, I’m an over-packer. I pack all sorts of crap that I know I’m absolutely NOT going to need, but I can’t seem to help myself. However, there are some things that I absolutely cannot go with without. Here are my top 5 (in no certain order):

1. Comfortable Shoes — likely more than one pair. I’ve never done so much walking in my entire life. Last year I got one of those little Jawbone devices that they were giving away in the expo and at the end of my first full day with it, I was over 22,000 steps. I’m starting to get too old for this!
2. My Mophie standalone phone charger. Your phone will be struggling with battery life in the area, if I had two of them, I’d bring two of them. Alas, I have only one so it will have to do. I’ll turn off any un-needed services and operate on the lowest level of brightness if I have to, but having this battery backup is a life saver!
3. Laptop — call me old fashioned but yes, I still lug around my laptop at events like this. (Mainly because my iPad is a first-generation one and has pretty much reached the end of its useful life for me — and I’m cheap). Believe it or not, you will have some downtime or will “need” some downtime. For a developer like me, that downtime comes in the form of hacking code or further learning (Trailhead anyone?), but I like to find a bean bag near an outlet and zone out for a bit….speaking of power outlets:
4. Power Strip — it will add a little bit of weight to my bag for sure, but I believe Brian Kwong mentioned at our user group that if you are the person with a power strip at Dreamforce, you will be one of the most popular people on campus. What a fantastic way to meet new people! So this year, I’m giving that a shot.
5. My Guitar — I never like to be far from some source of music creation. I never know when lyrics or melodies will pop into my head. Its also my comfort zone. Its like a comfort food for my soul, and a way to decompress at the end of the day, or whenever I need it. Luckily for me, I have a folding guitar so its not a big bulky thing. I doubt I’ll be carrying it around all that much but hopefully it will find its way to admin zone with me at some point. I did bring a mandolin & a travel guitar my first year and touched them once each, so I may not even get to use it, but just knowing it is there is comforting.

So there you have it! What are your top “Must Haves” for Dreamforce this year?

And also: Is It Dreamforce Yet?

:wq!