Day 1 -- Unfortunately there are no pictures from the first day because I was stuck in O'Hare thanks to American canceling my flight. So instead of an 7 hour trip from Orange County to Toronto, it turned into a 17 hour trip... Thanks American... I loved trudging around O'Hare with all my luggage, sitting on the floor for 4 extra hours next to an outlet so I can work on my laptop to pass the extra time. Seriously they should change their slogan from "We know why you fly" to "We know how to make your travels a living hell, and because you have all your frequent flyer miles with us, there's nothing you can do about it!"
The lone bright spot was I ended up using the time to finish up my logistics update and thereby avoided the wrath of the Gilliland.
Day 2 -- The meeting started off quickly as everyone went straight to work.
And just as sure as there can be no Ying without the Yang, there can be no Kevin without the Greg... Also, notice where Jason is sitting. He's sitting in front of a red sign that reads "luscious frothy silk smooth." A coincidence? Maybe... maybe not.
The meeting room gave us a great view of Toronto, and it was clear that a storm was approaching -- quite an ominous sign to the start of our meetings.
But the team was focused and getting work done.
The room itself wasn't without it's hazards. Over the last few meetings I've learned a lot about the team, but in Toronto one thing was apparent... don't mess with people's power cords or internet connection... and if you do, it you best be ready to throw down.
Despite all the activity and so many things to do, the team took time to celebrate Jessica's 30th birthday. Welcome to the club girl, be happy you're the rookie and not the 7 year veteran like me. My wife when she turned 30, called it her 29th + 1 birthday. She said it was her way of easing into 30, I said she was in denial...
So I asked Jessica what her birthday wish was, and she said she wished for the Summit Registration Tool to go out on time and without a hitch...
Well, the birthday fairies must have been listening because at 12:55 EST, the registration email went out successfully and the Registration Tool worked like a charm!
NICE WORK JESS...!
And no one was more relieved than Jessica. Within the first couple of hours over 200+ (or was it 400? Either way there were lots of registrations) attendees registered. Woohoo, nice job Jess! And all of a sudden the rain clouds disappeared and the skies cleared... again, coincidence?
The meetings ended with a lot of work being done and a lot of sugar consumed. Thank God for Koffee Krisp and Aero.
With a full day's work successfully under our belts, it was time to have some fun. Candace took the team to the Wharfs (or was it the Docks?), which had a great view Toronto by the lake side. There was even a golf hole floating in the water all by itself.
The team was ready to relax and have a good time...
... and Greg was ready to do his "Planet of the Apes" impression... or maybe it was Greg reacting to Sarah's comment about how much time he spends with Kevin.
But he didn't let that deter him and sought comfort in the arms of his "other wife when not at home."
Not that we really needed another reason to drink, but Jess' birthday seem like a good legitimate reason for a team toast.
The food was great and good times were had by all.
As the evening came and dinner was drawing to an end, it was time to kick it to another gear, literally.
It was time for go-carting... which brought out the competitive spirit in some, more so than in others... and provided the best Kodak moments of the team, wearing big red helmets... so sexy...
Here's a rare moment... Kevin, without Greg?... What?!?!?!?!
"Kevin.... where are you....?"
The team was ready for some action.
It was all fun and games until people got strapped in and got ready to race!
Everyone got out mostly unscathed, expect for Kevin who got runned over by Sarah.... it must have been because there was money on the line to see who was the fastest.)
Back on the bus it was time for some silliness, or maybe it was time for looking like you're on illegal narcotic, which was what I looked like.
Then after getting dropped off on a street corner and after 20 minutes of walking around in the rain trying to figure out what to do, we finally found a nice bar to hang out in.
The team actually stayed out until 11:15! Woohoo!!! Yeah! Who says we don't know how to party!
Day 3 --
The team did a great job preparing for the presentation to the Canadian Senior Marketing Team, and kudos to Candace for making sure everything worked so smoothly. Our only casualty was Jason, who apparently needed some extra siesta after a long night. So much for being luscious, frothy, silky smooth...
With the approval from the Canadian SMT in hand, it was now time to celebrate! After a long, tough day, Greg and Kev likes to take nice long naps together... Joey Tribiani and Ross Geller style.
With the approval from the Canadian SMT in hand, it was now time to celebrate! After a long, tough day, Greg and Kev likes to take nice long naps together... Joey Tribiani and Ross Geller style.
There was quite a buzz on the bus, as the team was on a high after receiving a lot of compliments and support from the Canadian Senior Marketing Team.
Next stop... Spice Route. It was sweet as we had our own private room.
The food was out of this world and what can I say about the cocktails? Let's see... Sangrias.... gooood... Mojitos.... goooood... so good in fact that our resident Mojito expert, Jason, gave it two thumbs up with a snap!
After tapping out the cocktails at Spice Route, we were ready to take it easy, and what better place than Candace's Brother's Bar! We got the another VIP treatment and got a chance to unwind.
Thanks Candace's brother!
I think a few of us actually broke the previous night's record of 11:15, and made it to midnight! Woohoo!
And what people don't know is that at a quarter past 1am, as I was sitting in the lobby being cheap so that I can downloading emails for free, in strolls Maurice and Matt... who apparently made it to some other happening bars in downtown Toronto... way to go strong fellas!
Day 4 --
It was back to work the next day and wrapping up 3 productive days in Toronto.
and we all left Toronto more excited and motivated. Be here for the next chapter as the team returns to Huntington Beach for one last off-site meeting before the big event!
Here's one last image of Toronto as we leave Canada with fond memories.
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