Day Three: I can sleep when I die.

20070505-IMG_5797.jpg, originally uploaded by Buffett Jr.

By the time you get to Sunday morning, you start to feel the effects of the marathon. My eyes turn black, and it is easier to turn irritable when things don't go according to plan. I got a call from Pat at 8:15 am. We had missed Whitney Tilson's 9am get together, but we could still make it to the Markel Corporation's 10am meeting. We headed back out to the Marriott. Markell generously provided breakfast, and it was wonderful. I had a custom designed omelet and strawberry covered Belgian waffles. By the time I had shuttled all of my food up to our table at the front of the room, Mr. Markel had stolen my seat and put it by the podium. When a man provides a breakfast like that for free though, he could have taken my watch if he wanted. I happily found an alternative.

We had to duck out a bit early to make it to Borsheim's. We decided to walk over from the hotel (I really need to stay at the Mariott from now on). When we got there, the games (bridge area, ping pong, chess) had been moved out of the tents and inside the mall. I'm guessing this was because of the lightening, but it made for really cramped conditions. Adding to that was the fact that Berkshire had advertised during the meeting that Warren Buffett would be playing ping-pong against an 11 year old ping pong champion at 1pm. Because of this, many people would have otherwise skipped Borsheim's on Sunday decided to show up, only adding to the chaos. The rumor mill was whispering that Bill Gates would show up for a round against the girl as well.

We had time to wander around, taking everything in before Warren showed up. After seeing a $79,000 Breitling watch, I asked the salesman what the most expensive item in the store was, and where I could find it. I remember seeing a red diamond necklace and earring set last year that was priced at $1.2 million. This year, I found a pink diamond solitaire priced right at $9 million. My friend Cindy tried it on.

20070506-IMG_5823.jpg, originally uploaded by Buffett Jr.

Borsheim’s will do as much business in this weekend as they do in a normal month. They are already the biggest jewelry store in the country in terms of revenue with the exception of the Tiffany's on Fifth Avenue, so that is an extraordinary amount of business being done. Each year, every major jewelry vendor personally sends at least one expert to represent their products. Someone from Rolex will be there to tell you about the watches, someone from Cartier will be there to expain the pens, etc. I personally preferred the 19.23 carat white diamond.

20070506-IMG_5826.jpg, originally uploaded by Buffett Jr.

After playing with diamonds, I headed out into the mall and ran into the richest man in the world playing ping-pong against an 11-year-old girl (and losing).

20070506-IMG_5848.jpg, originally uploaded by Buffett Jr.

Warren showed up shortly thereafter and the two had fun facing off against her. At one point, Warren bowed down on his knees and offered her his wallet. At the end, Warren and Bill both served at her at the same time, finally scoring a point.

20070506-IMG_5860.jpg, originally uploaded by Buffett Jr.

They then moved over to the bridge area and sat down with Warren's online bridge partner and former bridge champion Sharon Osberg, and 11-time world bridge champion Bob Hammond. While this was going on, Patrick Wolf sat down to play against six men at once –- while blindfolded. He is so good, that last year he recognized someone that he had played the year before solely by his game play while blindfolded. Unfortunately, I didn't get to see how the games ended, as it was time to head to the airport. I stayed as long as I could and then rushed out, only to discover that my plane was delayed for three hours due to the previous night's thunderstorms. I ended up missing my connecting flight and didn't get in until midnight.

Looking back on it now, the trip improves more every year. The parties get bigger, the number of friends who make it out gets bigger, and the social groups grow. My first year here, I went by myself and didn't talk to a single person. This year there were parties scheduled almost literally around the clock. If you have never made it out, I urge you once again to make the trip before it is too late. A big thanks to everyone I got to meet this year. Your hospitality and graciousness won't be forgotten.

Those interested can view the whole 2007 annual meeting picture set here. If you haven't had enough, you can also view 2006 and 2005.