The Collins Corner: Las Vegas

Again, i have been terrible with keeping things updated here. There has been a lot going on between work, vacation, weddings, and parties!

A couple of weeks ago i had the opportunity to represent my company in Las Vegas for a week and attend the HP Discover convention (nerds unite!). I was particularly excited because its been about 13 years since i had been to Vegas- and i was pumped that I would be of age to do some gambling this time. I was also excited to attend the convention- this is the biggest IT/QA convention of its kind. It is held each year as a technology showcase for all IT business/customers. It is a way to learn about new technology as well as network with many people.

Our flight left RDU at 6am on a Monday morning- we landed in Vegas at 8 am....ah the joys of a time change! :) We caught a cab to our hotel, The Venetian. What a beautiful place- it was so big you didn't even need to leave to do anything. It had 2 pools, 25 + restaurants, 3 casinos, 2 theaters, and so much more.

We quickly got settled into our rooms and headed to the pool. The heat out west is so different from the heat in the east- it was SO warm. We relaxed at the pool for about 2 hours and i managed to get burnt! Later that evening we attended a Welcome banquet that HP put on- it was a nice way to kick off the week. That evening was spent at one of the restaurant/bars in the hotel, The Public House. Way too many drinks were consumed and a lot of fun was had that night! To say that i was not 100% the next day is an understatement. There may have been some bad decisions made that night- i think i forgot how old i was! :)

To give an idea of how big this event is-- there was an estimated 10,000 people that attended. With 1,000 sessions available (in a 3 day span) to attend. Day 2 was spent in sessions- i tried to pick ones that would most benefit my position- however, when there are that many to choose from its tough. Later that night my company hosted a cocktail party at one of the restaurants in the Venetian. We invited all of our current customers that were also attending the conference. It was a really nice event!

After the cocktail party a couple of my coworkers and myself headed to a club at the Mirage, which was across the street. That was the first club I've been in since i left college, i really don't know how i did that for 5 years, whew.

By day 3 my poor feet were killing me. You do so much walking in Vegas. Even though the convention was in our hotel, you still walk so much. I seriously had to take Advil to help alleviate some of the pain in my legs.

Going out 2 nights in a row and then having to get up and sit in sessions all day wore me out- by Wednesday night i was dead tired. The day was spent in sessions again, trying to retain as much knowledge as we could. My roommate and i had dinner at B & B, Mario Batali's restaurant. The food in Vegas is so fancy, and yummy too! We both stayed in that night and watched a movie after dinner. We needed a little break from the Vegas crowd!

The last day was again spent in sessions. That evening HP put together a farewell party for the entire convention that included a private screening of Madagascar 3 and then a concert with Sheryl Crow and Don Henley (from the Eagles). We went to dinner at a place called 'Delmonico's'- it is Emeril Lagasse's restaurant. Delish! Instead of going to the movie and concert a couple of us opted to see 'The Phantom of the Opera' which was playing in our hotel. It was awesome- we had really great seats. That was my first time to a show like that, i loved it.

The next morning we got up early and flew back home. It was such a fun trip, i really hope i get to go again next year.

My company also won an award at the convention- we won HP's support partner of the Year- Commercial. It is a huge accomplishment and says a ton about the level/quality of work that we do.

A few pictures from the trip...