It just dawned on me that I never wrote about my weekend trip to San Diego/Tijuana...
Deena and I spent this past weekend in San Diego learning as much as possible about Oceanside glass. We arrived Thursday and relaxed before our great adventure began the next morning. The theme this year was "The Glass Crusade: In Search of the Crystal Skull." Everything - and I mean everything - was geared toward an Indiana Jones theme.
Friday morning we registered and found our team. We were Team Willie, named after a character in "The Temple of Doom." Breakfast was spent getting to know our other team members and leaders before climbing on buses and heading to Tijuana. OGT built a brand new factory in Mexico a couple of years ago and we were off to tour it. We spent the day at the factory, which was beautiful, clean, and organized. Afterward, we jumped on the buses and headed back across the border for dinner at a San Diego park.
Saturday morning we got an early start and went to the headquarters located in Carlsbad. We spent the day there doing various workshops about green design, design concepts, and installation - yes, we installed sheets of Tessera on a vertical surface! Amazingly, it's very easy if you follow the directions to a T.
Saturday evening was our final night together and the guys at Oceanside know how to throw a party. We had appetizers, cocktails, and dinner on the beach under a full moon followed by dancing and a guest performance by "Slump" - made up of Oceanside employees and executives. While some of their songs are about tile, most are pretty good covers.
All in all it was a very informative and enjoyable weekend. We're both looking forward to going again!
I'm off to a work seminar this weekend in San Diego with one of our suppliers, Oceanside Glasstile. Deena, my counterpart at work, is going with me. We fly out around 4:00 today (I know - flying on 9/11) and should land around 5:30. Tonight we don't have anything to do but hang out and wait for tomorrow.
On Friday we venture into Tijuana to visit the factory where we'll spend the day watching them pour glass, making our own molds, etc. We even have a "Churro" break at one point (my mouth is watering already.) We'll be back over the border before the sun sets (we ain't stupid) for dinner on the beach.
Saturday is full of workshops - installation, design, product knowledge, etc. with the occasional team building game thrown in - the main thing I hate about these things. Then Saturday night is reserved for the party. Open bar and good food - Deena's determined I'm going to be on the dance floor at one point.
The overall theme to the weekend is "The Glass Crusade: The Search for the Crystal Cranium"...uh huh, I know...they're cheesy as hell, but also a lot of fun. At least their being creative. I won't be so lucky next month when I have to go to a different seminar in Perth Amboy, NJ. It's mostly sitting in a room and listening to lectures - a complete let-down after Oceanside and San Diego.
Oh well - that's next month. It's 10:15 and I'm so ready to go. We're leaving work at 2:00, but I've been here since 7:30 this morning and am tired already. I was up late last night and needed Mark to bring me to work so I could leave my car at home for the weekend. Nobody else showed up until 9-ish so I got a lot of work done and now I'm just a little bored...and ready to go!
Sorry I haven't been writing this week. I'm building a blog for my showroom and it's eating up some time. I promise I'll be back...in the meantime, check out the new shirt design. It hasn't been posted yet, but it will be later on. Let me know what you think!
It's no secret that I'm not a fan of the Republican party, not that I'm a Dem fan either. I'm not really crazy about the party system in general. But I have to admit that I reserve a little more disdain for the GOP. This is a clip from The Daily Show highlighting everything that's wrong with politics in this country and made me laugh out loud at the same time.
How freakin excited am I? I now have tickets for Tina Turner Live on Oct 26th! This will be the 4th time for me to see her - the most I've ever seen any one artist. She's just amazing in person - indescribable energy and attitude.
I think her energy is always better in Dallas, and she always makes a note of the fact, because this is where she finally broke away from Ike. I was just talking about her yesterday when "Proud Mary" came on the radio at work. Then, this morning I came in to work and poof- there she was!
So, how did I get these tickets before they go on sale on September 15, you ask. I'll let you in on a secret - three actually. First, there are 3 different presales going on - two AMEX and one Oprah. Second, the Oprah presale gets you better seats. Third, the Oprah presale password is "proudmary". There ya go!
If you've never seen her, now's your chance - fair warning - there are only two price points. The majority of seats are $165. I put $59 in and it pulled up tickets in the 3rd level. The higher priced one brought up tickets in the lower level - just off the floor.
Me & Deena at the Mexico Factory
