Last Tuesday morning I left with the CEO, Jim, and the endurance manager (endurance = they ride horses for 100+ ks in a race...), Caroline, to drive up to Hastings where the Horse of the Year show was about to start. It was sunny in Wellington, but Hastings was experiencing rain and cold weather- something very rare for that part of the country! The drive was beautiful, except for the normally green landscape being rather brown (due to the region's severe drought). We arrived in the late afternoon. I had hoped that because 3 others from the office had gone up the day before, they would have set up everything, so there wouldn't be much for us to do. Unfortunately, the tables had to arrive in our tent, so nothing was up. The lack of tables meant there wasn't anything Caroline or I could do until they arrived (which was the next day), and the others that were there had a lot of little things to do, running around and talking to people about final arrangements. This was frustrating b/c it meant that we just sat there in the cold with nothing to do. Finally around 5 I went with Jim to the Warehouse (kinda like Wal-Mart, but less classy-if you can imagine), picked up some extension cords and then we drove to the motel to check in. The motel was really nice, a big bathroom, lounge area and three beds. I shared the room with Caroline and Megan (the Showjumping Manager). Emma (The PA), Warrick, and Megan (all three had arrived the day before), went to the supermarket and bought dinner, which we all enjoyed in Emma and Warrick's room while we had a glass of wine and watched Dancing with the Stars. The night ended early, and seemed like it was off to an alright start despite the bad weather.
Wednesday morning we were up at 7 to head to the showgrounds to set up the tent. We had breakfast in Warrick and Emma's room while watching the Breakfast News program (their weather guy was based at the Horse of the Year show for the week). We then all piled in the rented van and arrived at the tent with our gumboots on (while it was done raining, it was really windy, muddy, cold and overcast). The tables arrived around 830, so we quickly set everything up--put out the trophy's, hung up posters explaining the different memberships, and set up the table from which we sold the magazines. By 9 we were passing out flyers, and repeating the phrase "Good Morning! Do you subscribe to The Bulletin?". By 12, I was already sick of the rejection, the standing on my feet, and the general lack of success. This pattern pretty much continued until Sunday. Long days, aching feet, and low morale shared by all.
Wednesday night, I had a pretty good time. There was a 2 story marquee that was put up for the duration of the show, and on Wednesday night they had a dinner and entertainment. The entertainment was the famous comedian, Mike King (famous for New Zealand). We sat at a table with some representatives from Bell Tea (they are the major sponsors) and I sat next to a 60ish year old millionaire, a Dutch guy (but has lived in New Zealand for a long time). When he found out I was from Massachusetts, he said "Ah, that's where the Kennedy's are from, they're all Democrats there, are you a democrat?" I didn't really know how to answer this, since when people had been asking me about the elections before that, they just wanted my opinion on Obama vs Clinton. As an American traveling, it's smartest to let people assume you are a Democrat, but if some one asks me outright, I have to be honest. So, I responded, "No, actually I'm a bit of a rarity for Mass, I'm not a Democrat". The Dutch man's face lit up, and then he kept repeating how great that was, and then repeated it to the whole table. Thankfully, the comedian came on right then, so we didn't have to go into it anymore! Mike King (the comedian) was pretty funny, rather vulgar, but my cheeks were sore at the end of the night from smiling, so that must mean he was good!
We woke up at 7 on Thursday to get to the tent as the first events were starting. The same process as the day before continued until lunch, when Rachel (the Eventing sports manager) and Alice (helps out doing the same job as me but part time) arrived. This made things a little better because with two more people we could take breaks, and also we all quickly bonded over how unhappy we were to be doing this job. Thursday night we were absolutely exhausted by the end of the day. We ordered Hell's Pizza (one of my favorite take out joints, it's a Kiwi chain) and then went to bed rather early. Friday was pretty much the worst of the days. Not only were we all really frustrated by the low sales, but we ended up working later than we expected. Our boss, didn't understand how unhappy we were, how frustrating it was to be on our feet all day and be selling something that we didn't really want to be doing in the first place. Oh, on top of that, the wind was constantly blow dust all over us. The main problem here was that there were no instructions or briefing at the beginning of the show. There was no meeting outlining expectations or guiding us on how to sell and what we should do, when we should take breaks, and how to best represent our organization. While I had some experience from senior gift tabling, the others were really at a loss of how to go about approaching people, and a lot of the time were at the table looking less than enthusiastic. This frustrated me because although I didn't want to be there, when I was up trying to sell, I was acting the part and making an effort, and I wanted them to do the same, but I knew it wasn't my place to say anything. It was then that I realized how important it is for the boss to pay attention to the little details. Yes, Jim needed to be networking with the sponsors and appearing at the important competitions, but he also had a responsibility to his staff, and because that was neglected we pretty much fell apart.
Friday night was the HOY "Extravaganza" there was horse vaulting and some other "fun" horse competitions, which I really could have cared less about, but it wasn't too bad to watch. Afterwards, we were all so tired and not in good moods, and that's when we all really bonded. Sad that it took a joined hatred of the situation we were in to get us to bond, but I'm glad that we did anyhow. That night we ate Thai while watching American Idol. I haven't been interested in American Idol since the first season, but after seeing it on Friday night, I now am really interested in it! Hopefully, it was just my exhaustion and the company, because I do not want to be hooked on another reality show!
Nothing too important happened during the day on Saturday. Saturday night we went out to dinner at the pub/restaurant across the street. The dinner was an absolute disaster. The longest wait for our food, rude staff, and then when we got it the order was wrong. We got free dessert and some great laughs out of it. We also met some locals who were sitting behind us and sympathized with our situation. It was good to talk to them for awhile about their impressions of Horse of the Year (its a huge deal for such a small town). Sunday morning was a pretty good day because we all knew it was the last day and also we got to pack up early to watch the final competition. We got to watch the Showjumping Horse of the Year (1/2 million $ cup) from the VIP room of the marquee, which was pretty neat because I was sitting around all these really well known equestrians, Olympians and news people, and I didn't have much of any idea who they were. The actual competition was good to watch. The girl who won is 22 years old, and she had a phenomenal ride in both rounds.
We flew home Sunday night. The strangest thing about the flight was that it was like hoping on a bus. There literally was no security. No one even asked for my ID when I got my tickets! You just get your ticket and walk out to the tarmac to board the plane! When I got home to Wellington on Sunday, I was so happy to be "home". So happy to see my flat mates. It felt like I had been gone forever! Catching up with everyone was so great, but all of the sudden I got pangs of sadness because it hit me how little time I have left. I know I shouldn't think about that too much, and enjoy what time I have left, so that's certainly what I have been doing. Hence, why I'm so tired this week and haven't had time to write this until now!
Monday night I went out to eat at Chow with Richard, Dan, two of the coworkers and Richard's girlfriend (it was 2-for-1 special). Chow is an Asian restaurant I've been wanting to try since I got here, so I was really happy to go with them. Tuesday night we had a "Girls Night." Sarah (my American friend from up the road) and I went to Daawat (another restaurant I've been wanting to try- Indian) and then met Jess (Sarah's flatmate and another American friend of mine), and Maria (my new flatmate) at the movies. We watched PS I love You. We all cried the ENTIRE time. We all loved the movie, but it was so emotionally draining. I definitely recommend it to anyone who is looking for a good cry and also a great movie.
This past week at work has been alright. I am so glad it's my last though. I really cannot take this lack of intellectual use anymore. Also, there are many changes that desperately need to take place to get the office to be more effectively run. Now that the database is mostly fixed and Horse of the Year is over, hopefully those changes will be implemented soon. I am glad to be leaving now though, because I know that at such a small office, changes will probably not go over well with at least one or two people.
Wednesday night, I had a pretty good time. There was a 2 story marquee that was put up for the duration of the show, and on Wednesday night they had a dinner and entertainment. The entertainment was the famous comedian, Mike King (famous for New Zealand). We sat at a table with some representatives from Bell Tea (they are the major sponsors) and I sat next to a 60ish year old millionaire, a Dutch guy (but has lived in New Zealand for a long time). When he found out I was from Massachusetts, he said "Ah, that's where the Kennedy's are from, they're all Democrats there, are you a democrat?" I didn't really know how to answer this, since when people had been asking me about the elections before that, they just wanted my opinion on Obama vs Clinton. As an American traveling, it's smartest to let people assume you are a Democrat, but if some one asks me outright, I have to be honest. So, I responded, "No, actually I'm a bit of a rarity for Mass, I'm not a Democrat". The Dutch man's face lit up, and then he kept repeating how great that was, and then repeated it to the whole table. Thankfully, the comedian came on right then, so we didn't have to go into it anymore! Mike King (the comedian) was pretty funny, rather vulgar, but my cheeks were sore at the end of the night from smiling, so that must mean he was good!
We woke up at 7 on Thursday to get to the tent as the first events were starting. The same process as the day before continued until lunch, when Rachel (the Eventing sports manager) and Alice (helps out doing the same job as me but part time) arrived. This made things a little better because with two more people we could take breaks, and also we all quickly bonded over how unhappy we were to be doing this job. Thursday night we were absolutely exhausted by the end of the day. We ordered Hell's Pizza (one of my favorite take out joints, it's a Kiwi chain) and then went to bed rather early. Friday was pretty much the worst of the days. Not only were we all really frustrated by the low sales, but we ended up working later than we expected. Our boss, didn't understand how unhappy we were, how frustrating it was to be on our feet all day and be selling something that we didn't really want to be doing in the first place. Oh, on top of that, the wind was constantly blow dust all over us. The main problem here was that there were no instructions or briefing at the beginning of the show. There was no meeting outlining expectations or guiding us on how to sell and what we should do, when we should take breaks, and how to best represent our organization. While I had some experience from senior gift tabling, the others were really at a loss of how to go about approaching people, and a lot of the time were at the table looking less than enthusiastic. This frustrated me because although I didn't want to be there, when I was up trying to sell, I was acting the part and making an effort, and I wanted them to do the same, but I knew it wasn't my place to say anything. It was then that I realized how important it is for the boss to pay attention to the little details. Yes, Jim needed to be networking with the sponsors and appearing at the important competitions, but he also had a responsibility to his staff, and because that was neglected we pretty much fell apart.
Friday night was the HOY "Extravaganza" there was horse vaulting and some other "fun" horse competitions, which I really could have cared less about, but it wasn't too bad to watch. Afterwards, we were all so tired and not in good moods, and that's when we all really bonded. Sad that it took a joined hatred of the situation we were in to get us to bond, but I'm glad that we did anyhow. That night we ate Thai while watching American Idol. I haven't been interested in American Idol since the first season, but after seeing it on Friday night, I now am really interested in it! Hopefully, it was just my exhaustion and the company, because I do not want to be hooked on another reality show!
Nothing too important happened during the day on Saturday. Saturday night we went out to dinner at the pub/restaurant across the street. The dinner was an absolute disaster. The longest wait for our food, rude staff, and then when we got it the order was wrong. We got free dessert and some great laughs out of it. We also met some locals who were sitting behind us and sympathized with our situation. It was good to talk to them for awhile about their impressions of Horse of the Year (its a huge deal for such a small town). Sunday morning was a pretty good day because we all knew it was the last day and also we got to pack up early to watch the final competition. We got to watch the Showjumping Horse of the Year (1/2 million $ cup) from the VIP room of the marquee, which was pretty neat because I was sitting around all these really well known equestrians, Olympians and news people, and I didn't have much of any idea who they were. The actual competition was good to watch. The girl who won is 22 years old, and she had a phenomenal ride in both rounds.
We flew home Sunday night. The strangest thing about the flight was that it was like hoping on a bus. There literally was no security. No one even asked for my ID when I got my tickets! You just get your ticket and walk out to the tarmac to board the plane! When I got home to Wellington on Sunday, I was so happy to be "home". So happy to see my flat mates. It felt like I had been gone forever! Catching up with everyone was so great, but all of the sudden I got pangs of sadness because it hit me how little time I have left. I know I shouldn't think about that too much, and enjoy what time I have left, so that's certainly what I have been doing. Hence, why I'm so tired this week and haven't had time to write this until now!
Monday night I went out to eat at Chow with Richard, Dan, two of the coworkers and Richard's girlfriend (it was 2-for-1 special). Chow is an Asian restaurant I've been wanting to try since I got here, so I was really happy to go with them. Tuesday night we had a "Girls Night." Sarah (my American friend from up the road) and I went to Daawat (another restaurant I've been wanting to try- Indian) and then met Jess (Sarah's flatmate and another American friend of mine), and Maria (my new flatmate) at the movies. We watched PS I love You. We all cried the ENTIRE time. We all loved the movie, but it was so emotionally draining. I definitely recommend it to anyone who is looking for a good cry and also a great movie.
This past week at work has been alright. I am so glad it's my last though. I really cannot take this lack of intellectual use anymore. Also, there are many changes that desperately need to take place to get the office to be more effectively run. Now that the database is mostly fixed and Horse of the Year is over, hopefully those changes will be implemented soon. I am glad to be leaving now though, because I know that at such a small office, changes will probably not go over well with at least one or two people.
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