Conference
I just got back from an overnight work conference at the Gold Coast. I am utterly exhausted and all I want to do is crash and sleep. It was a very early start yesterday with me getting out of bed at 6:30am. I got to the airport to see all my workmates waiting at the departure lounge. It appears that the company had booked out almost 3 entire flights with a few poor buggers getting throw on board. We arrived at Coolangatta airport to have private coaches take us to the Sheraton Mirage Pool and Spa resort where we were staying. We arrived only to be hustled downstairs where morning tea/breakfast was served. Everyone filled up on crossiants, danishes, muffins and fruit. It was a sea of grey as everyone had to wear the mandatory conference Tshirt.
We're all standing around enjoying a good dose of caffiene when the doors all opened simultaneously to have music blaring from the conference room. Each door had 2 people standing there to greet the participants. We walk in and the place is gorgeous. Huge chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, lush carpets under our feet and beautifully decorated tables. If I didn't know any better, I thought we were almost going to a wedding reception minus the flowers.
Next came a good few hours of listening to how the company has been performing, how each of our divisions have been performing, what are our goals for the next few years etc etc. For people like me who are still fairly new to the company, it was good to get a bit more detail on what each division does within our group. They gave each group in our division $5000 and instructions to make a 5-7min video giving a run down on what they do and how their group works. This was particularly good because we have offices in Milan and Memphis. All the videos were quite entertaining and kept well into the budget. Except for the last video. They went ALL OUT. They did a sketch on "The Apprentice" where the head of that group looks eerily like Donald Trump. They had all the credits and music going, all the cinematography and even commercial breaks inbetween the show. It was absolutely hilarious! It was probably closer to 15mins, but I don't think anyone noticed. Saying that people in our company think outside the square is definately an understatement!
With the talks wrapping up, the conference doors suddenly got thrown open, and a group of people marched in with balloons which they proceeded to lay around the stage. A guy walks in to the "Survivor" music all dressed in his camping gear. Now all conferences have group activities, and our activities are called "Survivor: Macquarie Island". Each table sent a representative up to select a balloon which they are all to pop at the same time. Inside each balloon is a number of transports that will take us to the island. The modes of transport include: a slow moving barge, jetskis, water taxis, parasailing speed boat, party boats and numerous other water transports. We ended up with the water taxi whilst a few poor buggers got the slow moving barge. It would take them over an hour to get to the island whilst it'll take us 20mins! hehehehe
We had 20mins to eat lunch, which was a huge spread of gourmet sandwiches, pastries, salads, spring rolls, skewers and dessert. Thinking I would have time to change into my swimmers before the group activity, I ended up scoffing my lunch and raced upstairs to find my bag. I quickly changed into my swimmers and shoved all my mobile, ipod, camera etc into my suitcase which I locked. As I arrived back in the conference room, half of the group got sent off the to the island first where they had to complete their first task, whilst we were to remain in the hotel to complete the task.
Dressed up in our group bandanas and all lathered up with sunscreen, we find out what our first task is. Between the 9 of us (Some lucky tables had 10), we had to eat a packet of jatz like biscuits and drink 15L of water. Thats right, 15L!!! Thats over 1.5L each! Right after lunch! And you're not allowed to spill any or you'll get disqualified. To make it worse, the water had been sitting in the hot baking sun, just like what you would find on the island. We located ourselves near a drain and some bushes. The water comes in a tub with a tap/nozzle thing. We unscrewed the top and started scooping out of the tub whilst we "accidently" let the water leak out of the tap. with 1L of water left, one of my team members thought he could just tip the rest out without getting caught. And of course, we got caught by another group. Except that other group wasn't that bright and thought they would get revenge on us by throwing their remaining water on us. Guess who got disqualified aye? hehehehe They grabbed the tub of water and tipped it on the judge for disqualifying them.
We were totally bloated by the time we were ready to leave. We waddled our way over to the pier where we hopped onto a water taxi which was more like a speed boat that took us to the island. It was an awesome ride where we went flying ontop of the water. Nothing like Santorini! We arrive on the island to find out what other tasks we had to complete. Tasks include getting blind folded and tied together to find missing puzzle pieces scattered on the sand (Didn't help that the sand was SCORCHING HOT! So hot that I actually burned the skin on the soles of my foot and I was wearing shoes!), slingshotting tennisballs that the other team members had to catch.
For the final task to win the very last immunity idol, everyone had to gather at the tip of the island. (Previously we had been playing by the sides of a lagoon) With 2 groups, one on each side of the lagoon, we had to nominate a swimmer from each team. Thinking they had to swim out to a little boat out at sea, everyone was pumped and ready to go. That is until the host said that he cannot tell us what the task is until a helicopter flying overhead is gone. The Helicopter flies off into the distance, turns around and heads back towards us. This is when we realised what was going to happen. The helicopter flies out to sea at a point between the 2 groups, it hovers JUST above sea level when someone inside the helicopter throws a whole bunch of floating bottles into the sea. As the helicopter takes off, the task is announced. Swim out, retrieve a bottle and follow the instructions. Like OMFG!! They hired a bloody helicopter for that! They could've done it by throwing it out of a boat, but in our company, we don't do half-assed things. hehehe
Everyone dives into the sea and starts swimming for the bottles that was getting carried off with the current. A few people got caught in a rip and had to be rescued by the Jetskis, but those who made it, found out that they had to jump into a canoe and paddle down the shoreline to get the immunity idol. With that completed, we gathered back around the lagoon next to our group torches where we had a big trivia question session. Each immunity idol gets to be used once when you cannot answer the question, in the end there was only one group of survivors. They get pulled onto a pontoon, handed medals and got their photos taken. A slow moving boat pulled up to the pontoon where the winners all get on. This is when we find out that slow moving boat isn't taking them back to the hotel. Its taking them to a luxary cruiser that was anchored 200m out out at sea where they have an open bar, lobsters, oysters, prawns and their very own Flute and Cello player. THE BASTARDS!!!
As they went off, they did a lucky dip and one more lucky team got chosen to ride the Jetskis back to the hotel. The group that rode the Jetski to the island had a little accident where one of them fell off the back hehehe. A number of boats were coming and it was first come first serve basically. Because we were the last group to come to the island, we get first dips. My team mates ran to this speed boat and hopped on. Unfortunately, I was too short to get onto the damn boat and had to be hoisted up and dragged by my strong team mates. We sat down on a few cushioned seats and no railings or life jackets, and off we went. We were speeding through the water like the boat was running off caffiene or something. We even overtook one of those big red speed boats that can do maneouvers in the water. We were the 3rd speed boat to leave, but the first to get back to the hotel.
I finally get to check into the room that I was sharing with my room mate. Now I know why you pay so much to stay at the Sheraton. Basically, the entire hotel surrounds these huge ponds and pools. Every window you look out of, you will either see the pool, or a fountain/pond, or the beach. We were so close to the beach that if we got any closer, we'll be in the water. Our room was huge. 2 double beds, spacious lounge, huge TV that comes with play station games, a HUGE bath/shower, complimentary bathrobes and slippers. I was in heaven. I had a nice long shower to scrub the dirt off me before lying back and relaxing for an hour.
Drinks started at 6:30, and the theme for dinner this year is Class of 2006. We got together and had a bunch of graduation robes and Mortar boards made, some of the chicks got into tight tight mini skirts with their school shirt unbuttoned low enough to show their belly button. We had alter boys, a priest, a pope, school nurse, a bunch of crayola crayons, netball and football teams. It was a hilarious sight to see the get up some people had on. Drinks was by the pool which was by the beach. I had a hell of a time trying to keep my hat on which kept flying off and taking people's eyes out. I managed to have wine spilled all the way down my robe and all over my hat. Good thing about strong winds is how fast things dried out. We consumed mass amounts of alcohol, sushi, battered prawns with a red curry sauce before dinner was served.
A guy dressed as a head master came and started yelling at people and giving them detentions and a whipping for talking over him. We walk into the conference room to see it transformed into a school playground. On one side of the wall, it was all graffitied like it was back in school. Each table had a bunch of markers where we were encouraged to go graffitti on the wall.
We had a Grilled chicken asian style and antipasto as an entree. Dinner was oven roasted racks of lamb and grilled Barrumandi which was so tender, it melted in your mouth. Considering they had to cook for about 400 people, they did an excellent job. With the main meals gone, people walked around chatting with other tables whilst the alcohol kept flowing. They had a live band and a spelling bee conteest. This is when the side doors opened and an ice cream truck drove right into the conference hall! Mr Whippy!! Oh how that brings back the memories! Ontop of that, they were serving chocolate bars such as Polly Waffles and even freshly fried donuts in the little white paper bags they had in the school tuckshop!
We partied late into the night to retro music. They had professional photographers roaming around taking photos which immediately got blown up onto the huge screens for all to see. Each table also had disposable cameras for us to use....I'm actually scared to see what I would find on those. The partied ended at midnight (which was 1am Sydney time) and I was so exhausted, I decided to give the after party a miss. Spirits or no spirits.
This morning we had a huge breakfast which ranged from eggs benedict, steamed bbq pork buns, fresh hashed and fried mashed potatoes, gourmet sausages, danishes, muffins, cake, japnese miso soup and pickles, fruits, deli meats and cheeses, olives, yoghurt and the list just keeps going on.
To pass time before our bus leaves for the airport, we headed across the road to the Versace hotel to bum around for awhile. I am utterly exhausted now and I'm not looking forward to work tomorrow.........
We're all standing around enjoying a good dose of caffiene when the doors all opened simultaneously to have music blaring from the conference room. Each door had 2 people standing there to greet the participants. We walk in and the place is gorgeous. Huge chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, lush carpets under our feet and beautifully decorated tables. If I didn't know any better, I thought we were almost going to a wedding reception minus the flowers.
Next came a good few hours of listening to how the company has been performing, how each of our divisions have been performing, what are our goals for the next few years etc etc. For people like me who are still fairly new to the company, it was good to get a bit more detail on what each division does within our group. They gave each group in our division $5000 and instructions to make a 5-7min video giving a run down on what they do and how their group works. This was particularly good because we have offices in Milan and Memphis. All the videos were quite entertaining and kept well into the budget. Except for the last video. They went ALL OUT. They did a sketch on "The Apprentice" where the head of that group looks eerily like Donald Trump. They had all the credits and music going, all the cinematography and even commercial breaks inbetween the show. It was absolutely hilarious! It was probably closer to 15mins, but I don't think anyone noticed. Saying that people in our company think outside the square is definately an understatement!
With the talks wrapping up, the conference doors suddenly got thrown open, and a group of people marched in with balloons which they proceeded to lay around the stage. A guy walks in to the "Survivor" music all dressed in his camping gear. Now all conferences have group activities, and our activities are called "Survivor: Macquarie Island". Each table sent a representative up to select a balloon which they are all to pop at the same time. Inside each balloon is a number of transports that will take us to the island. The modes of transport include: a slow moving barge, jetskis, water taxis, parasailing speed boat, party boats and numerous other water transports. We ended up with the water taxi whilst a few poor buggers got the slow moving barge. It would take them over an hour to get to the island whilst it'll take us 20mins! hehehehe
We had 20mins to eat lunch, which was a huge spread of gourmet sandwiches, pastries, salads, spring rolls, skewers and dessert. Thinking I would have time to change into my swimmers before the group activity, I ended up scoffing my lunch and raced upstairs to find my bag. I quickly changed into my swimmers and shoved all my mobile, ipod, camera etc into my suitcase which I locked. As I arrived back in the conference room, half of the group got sent off the to the island first where they had to complete their first task, whilst we were to remain in the hotel to complete the task.
Dressed up in our group bandanas and all lathered up with sunscreen, we find out what our first task is. Between the 9 of us (Some lucky tables had 10), we had to eat a packet of jatz like biscuits and drink 15L of water. Thats right, 15L!!! Thats over 1.5L each! Right after lunch! And you're not allowed to spill any or you'll get disqualified. To make it worse, the water had been sitting in the hot baking sun, just like what you would find on the island. We located ourselves near a drain and some bushes. The water comes in a tub with a tap/nozzle thing. We unscrewed the top and started scooping out of the tub whilst we "accidently" let the water leak out of the tap. with 1L of water left, one of my team members thought he could just tip the rest out without getting caught. And of course, we got caught by another group. Except that other group wasn't that bright and thought they would get revenge on us by throwing their remaining water on us. Guess who got disqualified aye? hehehehe They grabbed the tub of water and tipped it on the judge for disqualifying them.
We were totally bloated by the time we were ready to leave. We waddled our way over to the pier where we hopped onto a water taxi which was more like a speed boat that took us to the island. It was an awesome ride where we went flying ontop of the water. Nothing like Santorini! We arrive on the island to find out what other tasks we had to complete. Tasks include getting blind folded and tied together to find missing puzzle pieces scattered on the sand (Didn't help that the sand was SCORCHING HOT! So hot that I actually burned the skin on the soles of my foot and I was wearing shoes!), slingshotting tennisballs that the other team members had to catch.
For the final task to win the very last immunity idol, everyone had to gather at the tip of the island. (Previously we had been playing by the sides of a lagoon) With 2 groups, one on each side of the lagoon, we had to nominate a swimmer from each team. Thinking they had to swim out to a little boat out at sea, everyone was pumped and ready to go. That is until the host said that he cannot tell us what the task is until a helicopter flying overhead is gone. The Helicopter flies off into the distance, turns around and heads back towards us. This is when we realised what was going to happen. The helicopter flies out to sea at a point between the 2 groups, it hovers JUST above sea level when someone inside the helicopter throws a whole bunch of floating bottles into the sea. As the helicopter takes off, the task is announced. Swim out, retrieve a bottle and follow the instructions. Like OMFG!! They hired a bloody helicopter for that! They could've done it by throwing it out of a boat, but in our company, we don't do half-assed things. hehehe
Everyone dives into the sea and starts swimming for the bottles that was getting carried off with the current. A few people got caught in a rip and had to be rescued by the Jetskis, but those who made it, found out that they had to jump into a canoe and paddle down the shoreline to get the immunity idol. With that completed, we gathered back around the lagoon next to our group torches where we had a big trivia question session. Each immunity idol gets to be used once when you cannot answer the question, in the end there was only one group of survivors. They get pulled onto a pontoon, handed medals and got their photos taken. A slow moving boat pulled up to the pontoon where the winners all get on. This is when we find out that slow moving boat isn't taking them back to the hotel. Its taking them to a luxary cruiser that was anchored 200m out out at sea where they have an open bar, lobsters, oysters, prawns and their very own Flute and Cello player. THE BASTARDS!!!
As they went off, they did a lucky dip and one more lucky team got chosen to ride the Jetskis back to the hotel. The group that rode the Jetski to the island had a little accident where one of them fell off the back hehehe. A number of boats were coming and it was first come first serve basically. Because we were the last group to come to the island, we get first dips. My team mates ran to this speed boat and hopped on. Unfortunately, I was too short to get onto the damn boat and had to be hoisted up and dragged by my strong team mates. We sat down on a few cushioned seats and no railings or life jackets, and off we went. We were speeding through the water like the boat was running off caffiene or something. We even overtook one of those big red speed boats that can do maneouvers in the water. We were the 3rd speed boat to leave, but the first to get back to the hotel.
I finally get to check into the room that I was sharing with my room mate. Now I know why you pay so much to stay at the Sheraton. Basically, the entire hotel surrounds these huge ponds and pools. Every window you look out of, you will either see the pool, or a fountain/pond, or the beach. We were so close to the beach that if we got any closer, we'll be in the water. Our room was huge. 2 double beds, spacious lounge, huge TV that comes with play station games, a HUGE bath/shower, complimentary bathrobes and slippers. I was in heaven. I had a nice long shower to scrub the dirt off me before lying back and relaxing for an hour.
Drinks started at 6:30, and the theme for dinner this year is Class of 2006. We got together and had a bunch of graduation robes and Mortar boards made, some of the chicks got into tight tight mini skirts with their school shirt unbuttoned low enough to show their belly button. We had alter boys, a priest, a pope, school nurse, a bunch of crayola crayons, netball and football teams. It was a hilarious sight to see the get up some people had on. Drinks was by the pool which was by the beach. I had a hell of a time trying to keep my hat on which kept flying off and taking people's eyes out. I managed to have wine spilled all the way down my robe and all over my hat. Good thing about strong winds is how fast things dried out. We consumed mass amounts of alcohol, sushi, battered prawns with a red curry sauce before dinner was served.
A guy dressed as a head master came and started yelling at people and giving them detentions and a whipping for talking over him. We walk into the conference room to see it transformed into a school playground. On one side of the wall, it was all graffitied like it was back in school. Each table had a bunch of markers where we were encouraged to go graffitti on the wall.
We had a Grilled chicken asian style and antipasto as an entree. Dinner was oven roasted racks of lamb and grilled Barrumandi which was so tender, it melted in your mouth. Considering they had to cook for about 400 people, they did an excellent job. With the main meals gone, people walked around chatting with other tables whilst the alcohol kept flowing. They had a live band and a spelling bee conteest. This is when the side doors opened and an ice cream truck drove right into the conference hall! Mr Whippy!! Oh how that brings back the memories! Ontop of that, they were serving chocolate bars such as Polly Waffles and even freshly fried donuts in the little white paper bags they had in the school tuckshop!
We partied late into the night to retro music. They had professional photographers roaming around taking photos which immediately got blown up onto the huge screens for all to see. Each table also had disposable cameras for us to use....I'm actually scared to see what I would find on those. The partied ended at midnight (which was 1am Sydney time) and I was so exhausted, I decided to give the after party a miss. Spirits or no spirits.
This morning we had a huge breakfast which ranged from eggs benedict, steamed bbq pork buns, fresh hashed and fried mashed potatoes, gourmet sausages, danishes, muffins, cake, japnese miso soup and pickles, fruits, deli meats and cheeses, olives, yoghurt and the list just keeps going on.
To pass time before our bus leaves for the airport, we headed across the road to the Versace hotel to bum around for awhile. I am utterly exhausted now and I'm not looking forward to work tomorrow.........
2 comments:
Feeling crap on a Monday morning isnt punishment enough after the awesome party-weekend conference thing you had!
=P
Yes, I am jealous!!!
True. The only thing that would've made my weekend better was if I actually got to ride the jetski or the helicopter. And no spirits! How could they not serve spirits!!!
A few people are away today, I assume they're sleeping the weekend off hehehehe
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