PMI Conference - Day 2

This was a picture from my morning walk to the conference at the convention center.  It was probably a good solid eight to nine blocks but was generally a decent and mostly safe path.  Toward the end, you pass these pretty impressive multi-story tall screens lining the buildings and illuminating everything.

The main opening session was held in these large rooms that probably sat a few thousand people and was all done up with lots of fanfare to get us pumped about Project Management.

This is a view of the entrance when I was heading out for lunch.  Lots of big signage helping us to find the PMI Global Summit 2024.

The days were pretty nice for the breaks during the sessions to come out and get some fresh air and enjoy some of the sunshine.

The one thing that sometimes feels a bit weird at a conference (especially if you are attending alone) is what to do for the dinners or at night.  Most of the time, I would say that I find myself pretty tired and just happy to head back to the hotel to crash.  However, you still need to find some food and sometimes eating alone for days on end feels a bit weird.  I did find a Lazy Dog Restaurant to grab a quick bite to eat, watch some football, and enjoy a nice tall glass of strawberry lemonade before retiring for the night back to the hotel.  It was also important to get back there before it got too late, as downtown LA is not exactly the safest place to be out at night.  I am thankful that my work sent me to the conference.  It was quite inspiring to be surrounded by thousands of people that share the same work occupation and passion for what you do.  I learned a ton and will now be able to bring back lots of learning to my company.  Thanks Leprino!

PMI Conference - Day 1

 

Every year, the Project Management Institute (PMI) holds their global conference and this year it was in Los Angeles in late September.  I love the west coast, so I was happy to align work and some beach time all in the same trip.  Knowing the area, I decided to fly into Orange County (rather than LAX) and make the drive later in the afternoon into downtown LA where the conference was being held.  It was around lunch time when I landed so I immediately headed straight towards Huntington Beach and found this awesome Mexican restaurant with a view: Primecut Taqueria.  Awesome food with some great Mexican rice and beans and a few tacos.

I also took a nice stroll down the bike path to walk off lunch and enjoy the sunshine a bit.  What a beautiful day!

After the drive downtown (with some wonderful LA traffic), I checked into my hotel room and was excited but also a bit nervous about being way up on one of the higher floors.  This room was awesome, though.  It had a living room and office area that was separate from the bedroom, which was perfect for taking some conference calls before and after the conference sessions.

Perhaps the best perk of the hotel, though, was this top floor hotel gym with panoramic views looking out over downtime while you worked out (and in this case, jogged along on a treadmill).  Pretty fancy, I would say!

What's This Noise?

 

Working at home is somewhat of a blessing and also somewhat of a curse sometimes.  One September morning, I am just working at my little desk in our living room and I start to hear this tap, tap, tap coming from somewhere.  I was thinking, "What is this noise?".  It almost sounded like an animal was crawling on our roof or something.  I figured maybe a squirrel got up there or something and it just continued and continued.  So, I had to go out to investigate, and this is what I was greeted with.  

How in the world are five or six birds just choosing my roof to hang out on?  And to make matters worse, they were not just walking around, they were pecking at the sunroof window like it was something to eat.  I really couldn't believe it.  I looked around and nobody else had birds on their roof.  How was this possible?  Why my roof?

So, when Tara gets home, I start talking to her about it and she mentions that the new next-door neighbors (who also have their parents living with them), have racing pigeons and this might just be them!!  Even if that proves out, why would the just be chilling on my roof?  Why not there's or someone else's?  The most important question, though, is how can we get them to stop? Perhaps I should hang a hawk or an owl figurine up there to get them to stop.  Do you talk to your neighbor and see if they can get their racing pigeons off of your house?  Wild!

Dinner at the Garlic Factory

 

This is actually one of my favorite restaurants in Boulder, though Tara isn't quite a huge fan.  She refers to this place as the "Garlic Factory", but it's true name is Pasta J's and is a Boulder classic.  Pasta J goes way back as a staple in the downtown dining scene and is also a huge CU Buffaloes fan and provides a huge sponsorship to the team every year.  You really can't beat the lasagna here and the garlic break is well...garlicky!  Every once and a while I can get away with taking the family here, so thanks for supporting the location choice for a nice fall evening out!  

Pentatonix Concert

It has been a hot minute since I have been to a concert, but our friends Malia and James invited us to go to the Pentatonix concert at Fiddlers Green down near them.  We had to take them up on the offer.  We first met them at their house near Washington Park and got a nice tour of their newly remodeled and in-process remodel work on the back side of their house.  After a bit there, we jumped in "Tessie", their new Tesla car and parked at the concert venue.  We had great seats a bit off to the side, but nice and close up to the front.  The opening act was Loren Allred, who was actually the singer of the song Never Enough from the Greatest Showman.  She was outstanding and a great start to the concert.

 A bit later and we got into the main act with Pentatonix.  This is our second time seeing them in concert, with an earlier concert being at the Broomfield Pavilion (I believe) several years back.  They were just as good and are really fun to watch.  By now, they have so much music out that you certainly miss some old favorites but get a good taste of what is more current from them.  Thanks for the invite Malia and James!

Gavin's 17th Birthday

 

Happy Birthday Gavin!  Each and every year that goes by seems to just fly by and we wonder how it all could be moving so quickly.  Each trip around the sun brings so much growth.  We have certainly seen that this year with Gavin.  He continues to be someone that takes strong pride in his academics and athletics.  He has an expansive friend network and he always eager to get out to experience the world with all it has to offer.

He usually like to pass on a big party at our house and often opts for a nice dinner with the family and then some low-key hang out with his friends.  It just seems to always work out.  Happy Birthday, buddy! 

Matchy Matchy

We continue to have a great time riding outside with Tara's new bike.  We got this new Zoot Aloha kit that just matches perfect with the colors and designs on her bike.  She certainly looks legit out there!  I am not sure I would race her!