Weekend highs and lows

Aren't we a happy crowd?

We arrived from a two-hour Manila-Cavite trip as the advance party for our company's 3rd Invitational Golf Tournament to Microtel Inn, where we were spending the night. Oooh, spending the night in comfort? Really nice.

Night was already upon us when we checked in, but we still had lots to do. The ladies sorted out the bags, shirts, caps, and data sheets from our Sponsors while Francis, Anthony, Joey Boy, and headed for the golf course, where we has to set-up banners and more importantly, the demo for the Lightpointe Free Space Optics equipment.

We started at around 7:00, but were quite hungry already by 9 , so we had dinner at Microtel. After some time, we were back in the field. Whoops! The UPS was continually giving off alarm beeps! That was nearly midnight. Joey Boy had to make a series of calls to our engineers to help out in the diagnosis. By this time I was already dead tired, as we had been working for this event since a couple of days back, routinely going to the mall to buy and haul stuff, coordinating with the organizers, etc etc.

I dozed off by the lobby at 12 midnight, and was awake by 1:30AM. It was going to be my only sleep for that night. The others had gone off to the golf course for the other side of the installation.

By 3AM, light rain began to fall. We had to stop our work and take shelter. We were drenched in sweat, and getting rained on was a bad combination. Eventually, we had to give up and went out to have something warm to eat.

We were back in Microtel by 4AM. Not much chance for sleep now, as we had to be back there by 5. I made adjustments to the agenda and did last-minute printing while the others dozed off. By 4:30, we each took turns at the shower, and we were back to work at 5.

The guests started coming in, and it was a frenzy. We were running all over the place, coordinating this, running errands there. By 8AM, the Lightpointe demo worked! Sigh of relief from the guys. But our work was not yet done.



We were only able to relax when the last visitor left by 5:30PM. We ordered a can of beer each and wearily sat together while the others helped disassembling banners and hauled our things to the van.

We were all smiles when we arrived, not fully realizing the extent of work that needed to be done. And so there we were, adrenalin finally gone, our tired spirits wanting to take a break.

My boss approached us after the event and said, 'great job'. Somehow, things became better.

***

If there was one thing I learned here, it's that our Engineers are dedicated people, tirelessly making things work for the benefit of the entire organization. They definitely deserve whatever compensation the company can provide them. The event was also a re-affirmation of the bonds we have with each other, willing to extend a helping hand.

Now, if only I can reconcile these event expenses ...