I spent the last 6 days at Disney World. I was sent there with a co-worker for training and a conference. Kronos, the vendor for our time keeping system, holds a two day technology training session, followed by a 3 day conference. I gained lots of valuable information this year, partially due to improved course subject material, and now that I actually have used/supported this software for 3 years. The last conference I went to in 2005 I had never touched the software. I went to learn about the software, which I have learned is a horrible way to introduce someone to a technology they have never used. Conferences != training!
I really don’t have anything against Disney World. It’s a fun, happy place with something for everyone, regardless of age. However, I have been there every year for a week for the past 3 years. I’m getting kind of tired of the place. Hopefully I wont have to go there for another couple years.
After working late Thursday, I went home, packed, and got up at 5am to catch my flight on Friday. I got down there with no trouble and almost immediately hit the Magical Kingdom. Got back to the hotel about 9pm and crashed.
Day 2 training started at 8am. I was pumped after this course, because this was the type of information I needed 3 years ago when I started working with this software suite. Its such a hybrid system with many disparate components and technologies residing in many locations. That training ended at 5pm, and I then met up with my buddy Matt and his wife who live in Melbourne. They drove into Orlando and we had dinner, and then went outlet mall shopping. I got back to the hotel at 11pm that night.
Day 3 training started at 8am. This class was good, but not as useful as I hoped. It was on troubleshooting and tuning the suite. Parts of the session deviated from the course description, but others were useful. I was hoping for a more hands-on approach to the topic. Perhaps they could have setup a poorly performing system on each VM (we each had virtual machines to do our training on) and have us resolve the issue. However, I picked up some good tips. That night I had dinner in Paris at Epcot. Excellent meal… Excellent.
Day 4 the conference kicked off with the keynote speech delivered by Malcolm Gladwell. He is the author of “Blink!” (which I am currently reading and is excellent), and “The Tipping Point.” The keynote was on his book, “Blink,” which deals with decision making with too much information, and its negative impact on our ability to make accurate, quick decisions. Fascinating. I was fortunate enough to meet him and get my book autographed. The sessions for this day were mediocre, in my opinion. Later that night we went to Epcot for dinner. I enjoyed a well-deserved Spaten in Germany, then headed over to Mexico for dinner.
After that I watched the big fireworks show and then called it a day.
Day 5 consisted of more sessions, mostly useful. went to Epcot again for dinner, and ate at the German Bier Garden. We were seated at a table with German family. They were here visiting from Bremen, Germany. It really added to the experience. The lady sitting next to me explained many differences of the regions of Germany and the food. We talked about the origins of my family, and she noted that people from Baden-Württemberg were very smart and hard working. What a funny way to describe a region and its people, but nonetheless, I thought it was cool. We got a good seat for the fireworks that night, and I took some really cool photos which I will post later.
Day 6 started off with a few sessions, lunch at the ESPN Zone, and then caught a flight home. I got home about 9pm last night and then crashed and went to bed.
I actually got to see/do very little at the parks. my park pass was actually a waste, in my opinion. Almost every free moment I had, with the exceptions of dinner, I found myself working remotely. We’ve been working diligently to get a new system ready for our International office, and we ran into issues of course, right before I leave for a trip. So I got up early every morning and worked until the conference started, during breaks, and each night up until the time I went to bed. The internet connection there made this even more of a challenge. I had a wired ethernet connection in my room, which was as fast as dial up, and no wireless connection in the lobby of the hotel or anywhere. However, I believe we were able to keep things moving along and not slow down the process. Work has been crazy busy lately. I’m being pulled in so many directions I’m not sure which end is up anymore. We are stretched thin as a group, and I am on 3 high profile projects at once. I need a break.
Anyways, look for some photos to be posted in the next few days.
