Amazing Race & Amazing Friends!

Three weeks of worry and self-torment ended in three hours of great fun this past Friday.  Firemonkeys throws a studio-wide event each quarter with the intent of bringing the staff closer together.  Toni Julian (our Facility Manager) organized the activities for this quarter, and as luck would have it, I was expected to participate. The days leading up to the event day were brutal and it took every ounce of my being to stay enrolled in the idea.  My fear began the moment I heard that we were being divided into teams and competing against one another.  Lets just say that my idea of fun does not involve breaking up into teams and competing.  The only way I could keep moving forward was to remind myself how much I had grown to like Toni, and how great the entire staff was in general.  Over and over I kept telling myself that it was going to be okay and that there was nothing to worry about.  Now if I could only believe it...

Secretly I prayed that I would be assigned to a team that included all the people I knew best.  I thought that I might get lucky and be put on Lisa’s team, or perhaps Toni’s, Denise’s or Gabbie’s.  If I just knew one person on my team, and knew them well, I would be okay.  WRONG!  Toni was wise, and she wasn't putting friends with friends.  I failed to mention, the whole idea of this event was to bring people together that normally didn't have much interaction with one another.  Meeting new people, new friends, and team building was the end goal.  On a day-to-day basis I mostly chum around with Denise, Toni, Lisa, and Gabbie, so assigning me to a group of strangers was a cakewalk!  

The day that I had been dreading finally arrived.  To make matters worse, I had a lot to do on this particular Friday.  You know, little things like CLOSE A HUGE DEAL!  Of all days!  To be honest, as far as I was concerned any day was going to be a bad day for this event.  The time had come and the entire studio emptied out into the park across the street.  I couldn't believe the number of people!  Working in a segmented office makes our group look so much smaller!  My first challenge was to find my team, and after a few panic filled minutes I found them.  Now for the rules…

Think of the show “The Amazing Race," and that is essentially our event. Each group was given a set of tasks to complete and each task was worth "X" amount of points.  In addition, we all had scheduled events to compete in along the way.  The more tasks completed, the more points.  Teams that completed the events the fastest also earned more points.  In the end, the team with the most points wins.  Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that each segment of the race was timed.  The company in charge of this whole thing was actually very organized.  Each team had roughly six people.  Every team member was given a Myki card to ride the tram, and each team provided a camera, backpack (to put things in) and $10 spending money.  We were off and running!  The game events and tasks were spread throughout the city of Melbourne.  It was a literal race to the finish line as the last minutes of the game played out.  The tram that carried my team to the finish line was overflowing people.  All of which had the same end goal in mind.   When the tram stopped and opened its doors, nearly everyone onboard exited and ran full speed toward the office.

I was the first member of our team to make it to the finish line, but there were several from competing teams already present.  Watching teams cross the finish line was HILARIOUS!  Everyone was gasping for breath and laughing hysterically.  Eventually all the teams made it back to the studio and it was time to tally the points.  We were treated to pizza and beer while we awaited the results. 

My team didn't win the race, but I would venture to say that the entire studio had a great time.  Toni and her committee did a fantastic job with the planning!  For me, it was another lesson learned.  I am now 1/2 through my trip to OZ and I have made some great memories and friends.  Melbourne has been an extraordinary experience!  The Firemonkeys Team welcomed me with open arms when I arrived in April, and since that day I have become close friends with many of the staff.  I don't look forward to the day that we all say goodbye.  Each day is a new beginning though, and who knows what life has in store for me next.  Oh wait, I do know...

CHRIS ARRIVES!!!  

Check out some video of our team competing in the race HERE.

Another random video of Melbourne at night HERE.