Entries Tagged 'Conferences' ↓

I just found out that in a few months I’ll be headed to Las Vegas to work at an event: Cisco Live!

What happens in Las Vegas… stays with you forever.

This year’s Cisco Live Customer Appreciation Event is set to deliver the complete Vegas experience under one roof; from beautiful showgirls to flying Elvises, from top Vegas acts to a rockin’ concert performance by one of today’s hottest bands.

It will be five crazy days of work and aching feet, but it ends July 1st, which means I could have a super 4^th of July vacation in Vegas and around the area. I think seeing the Hoover Dam is at the top of my list. What else should a first-time Nevada visitor see and do?

I went to Orlando.

I spent a lot of time with my coworkers.

I have coworkers that know how to let loose, though, so it was all good.

We stayed at a giant golf resort with fancy toilet paper.

There was a big industry conference.

It’s one of our most important events of the year.

I had fun, despite the late nights and way-too-early mornings.

Luckily, we had lots of folks around to help things go smoothly.

We hosted an ’80s-themed party.

I even got to do a little bit of sight-seeing.

Sunday brunch in the Animal Kingdom — I could’ve stayed a while longer.

One of the best things about Florida is all of the gigantic birds that are everywhere.

I went to Downtown Disney and drank tequila.

The crowds weren’t nearly as annoying as I expected, but it was after most kids’ bedtimes.

I bought some silly gifts for my niece.

On my last day in Florida, I had 15 minutes to myself to enjoy the hot tub.

It was sunny, but windy and about 50°. I braved it, though, and when I went back inside I was a little pink! So it was well worth it.

I came home in time for Valentine’s Day. Jason surprised me with a pearl necklace!

Jason and I went to see the Minnesota Wild kick the Vancouver Canucks’ butts.

It was my first live hockey game.

Some of the players were really into fighting! So that’s fun.

We had sushi for dinner.

Add in a few days of work, and this is how it has come to be February 18^th already.

I attended Adobe MAX in Los Angeles this year with my friend and coworker, Erin. My purpose at the conference was to focus on learning Flash Catalyst and to develop more web design/CSS skillz.

I’m just a girl who wants to be a better nerd.

Erin and I made friends with the locals. Everyone from Los Angeles was super happy!

The stage in the Nokia Theatre L.A. LIVE was cool, but had no bearing on the presentations like it did last year. I wish the speakers had interacted with it more, I guess.

Erin and I met Kevin Lynch (Adobe’s CTO)! He’s definitely the right kind of “celebrity” for Adobe-loving nerds like me.

Erin picked this woman as her favorite bartender.

Like last year, I drew the Pearson VUE logo on the community chalkboard. Gotta represent, yo!

Celebrities that attended include Mark Hamill (accompanied by Chewbacca and Darth Vader, with Queen Amidala and Obi Wan Kenobi clones) and John Mayer. I don’t care about either of them, but I do care about…

Stephanie Sullivan, the goddess of CSS! If you’re a web designer, you need to read her book. I have learned so many practical and useful tips. It was very cool to talk to her a bit this year—we kept running into each other! It’s a small MAX, after all.

The MAX bash wasn’t quite as crazy/cool as last year’s (though can anything beat the Cal Academy?). Erin and I checked out all of the entertainment (the Conga Room, the Grammy Museum, and the ESPN Zone) then spent most of the evening on the Nokia Theatre L.A. LIVE plaza, listening to the live band (fronted by an Adobe employee) and chatting with new friends.

Ok, so maybe I was drinking a few beers, too. (I paid for that the next day.)

Erin and I drooled over this car for a while. We asked if we could get in, but they wouldn’t let us. Dang.

I don’t think I’ll be attending Adobe MAX 2010, but who knows? It’s a whole year away.

I brought home a bunch of fun stuff, including a fully autographed copy of Stephanie Sullivan and Greg Rewis’ book, a coffee-splattered attendee badge, and silly little buttons (“Kiss Me, I’m Suite” and “I Weave Dreams” are the cutest). All in all, a good conference. Using what I learned this year, I’m working in Adobe Illustrator and Flash Catalyst to develop a departmental holiday e-card. Wish me luck!

So here I am, in Honolulu, and I already have way too many photos to share and stories to tell. I never got around to telling you about Adobe MAX or the MAX Bash or all the free crap I took home from L.A. last month. I got busy, but I still intend to tell you about these things.

But for now, I will just tell you that even though the ocean has been beating me up for the last two days, I am having such a supremely awesome vacation. I am happy to be with one of my best friends, Jen; I am happy to be getting multiple days of sunshine—it’s the summer that Minnesota missed this year; I am happy to sleep on this hard bed because I can hear tropical birds and see coconut trees and geckos on the wall and it is very amazing to be here.

Yesterday I saw a sea turtle, which was just about the coolest thing. Have you seen Finding Nemo? The turtles are the best part of that movie.

I miss everyone at home, but I have free wifi when I’m chilling at Jen’s apartment and I’m texting updates to Flickr and Twitter. I feel fairly connected, though the 4 hour time difference is just enough to make things awkward.

The wind is picking up now and the sun is setting a bit early today, but I think I’ve gotta grab my camera and go snap a couple more photos outside. Aloha!

When Erin landed at LAX, she called her cousin, Chris, who lives in Aliso Viejo. We were lucky enough to get him as a tour guide around Laguna Beach for the afternoon!

Erin and I took the 405 to the Pacific Coast Highway near Long Beach, then cruised… I also made Erin take photos out of the window as we drove.

I can’t wait to take a million more photos like this one in Hawaii. (Two weeks!)

Our first stop was Wahoo’s Fish Taco on Fashion Island. We later met Chris, his wife, Stacey, and their adorable chihuahua, Bruiser, there.

In this photo, Erin is actually sitting in the sun because she’s freezing and needs to warm up (she later changed her outfit—you’ll see). California was surprisingly chilly during this visit.

After I took this photo, Chris told me about polarizing lens (it would take the reflection off of the water). I found one when I got home (it’s Karyn’s) so now I need to learn how to use it.

I was all shocked. “Who puts a merry-go-round in the outdoors like this?? California is crazy.” Then Erin reminded me about the merry-go-round at Como Zoo. Oh, right.

This photo was Chris’ idea. I should hang out with other photographers more often—they have good tips!

Everything on Fashion Island was too expensive. I wanted to buy things to take home for family and friends, but figured I would get them better, more expensive gifts from Hawaii instead.

After wandering around Fashion Island, we all hopped into Chris’ car and he drove us to Laguna Beach. This time I took photos out of the car window.

Chris told us this house had been vacant for a couple years. If no one else wants to live there, I guess I will.

Can you believe how much birds can poop? Good thing they have a rock to poop on instead of using the beach.

There was a surfer pretty far out in the water here. I tried to get a photo, but he kept falling into the water. I’ll get some surfer photos in Hawaii, hopefully.

Why don’t I live here? I love the ocean.

I let Chris hold my camera while Erin and I waded around in the Pacific Ocean.

For dinner, Erin and I got ourselves back into downtown Los Angeles and our concierge recommended Bottega Louie a couple blocks away. Now I recommend it, too. The food is so tasty and the restaurant has a fun atmosphere!

Next up: what I learned at Adobe MAX. (It’s about time I review all of the materials I brought home!)