Archive for "Travel"
Kicking Off ZINCON 2016
Posted on August 4, 2016 by Ching under Events, Travel, Zumba.
I recently returned from attending my third #ZINCON. (I’m not counting the Zumba Instructor Conference in 2014 because they didn’t have special hotel room keycards for the event. LOL.)
Somehow the collector’s edition room keys make the annual convention that much more memorable. Although, the LA conference in 2014 was the very last one so that in itself is pretty special.
We were on the same flight out as Pat and Stephanie which made the trip to Orlando go by a lot quicker. I also managed to talk Brian into shorter layovers on our connecting flights so that helped quite a bit as well. Although were on the same flight out, Pat and Stephanie flew back to Wichita on Sunday. Brian and I opted to stay an extra night (more on this later) and came home on Monday so the four of us didn’t get to travel back home together.
Our flights were pretty smooth and uneventful, unlike Andrea’s whose flight ended up getting canceled. She was supposed to arrive in Orlando by 7 PM and didn’t end up arriving until midnight. On the bright side, at least she arrived the day before and didn’t have to miss part of day one.
Brian and I were glad that we arrived by noon on Wednesday. Even though the hotel was already buzzing with ZINCON attendees, the lines weren’t too bad. I remember the long lines at the hotel check-in desk during my first ZINCON. It wasn’t unusual to have to wait almost two hours just to get checked in.
Lucky for us, I’d amassed a bunch of points by staying at Hyatt Place in Topeka over the last few months. Brian and I wanted to have enough rewards points that we wouldn’t have to wait in the long line when we arrived at ZINCON. You’d think that Brian was thrilled when my project was put “on hold” since I no longer had to be out of town so much but he was actually kind of bummed for two reasons: that meant he could no longer play video games all night and I wasn’t earning Hyatt rewards points to get us special treatment on our trip.
We checked my rewards status a few weeks before our trip and saw I had enough stays to make Platinum but not enough to make Diamond level. “Oh, well. At least we still get to skip the long line,” I told myself.
Fast forward to check in. Brian and I were actually a little bit cranky when we arrived at the hotel because our driver wasn’t waiting for us at baggage claim as we were accustomed to… When I called SuperShuttle to check on our Execucar, they were like “You didn’t give us the airline information so we didn’t know your arrival time.” I thought Brian messed up but he was quick to pull up his records and show me that he did, in fact, provide them our flight number. Somehow the airline and flight information didn’t carry over into their dispatching system so we didn’t have a specific driver assigned to us. When I called dispatch, they told me to go outside to the shuttle loading area and our ride would be there in 20 minutes. Anyway, a shared-ride van shows up and we were like, “Where’s our Execucar?!” The whole thing was all sorts of jacked up. We had a 12-passenger van all to ourselves, which seemed really silly to me. There’s only two of us. Why in the heck would we reserve a huge ass van? As absurd as the whole van situation was, I was more annoyed that we had to wait for the van to show up outside in the heat instead of our driver being ready and waiting for us at baggage claim as they have in the past.
But I digress… Brian and I kind of had the “What else could go wrong today?” mindset at check in because a few days prior we had received an email from the Hyatt Regency stating that they were oversold on Wednesday night. They were offering to put people up at the Double Tree down the street and pay for the stay and shuttle people to the hotel the next day. I think I was actually more nonchalant about it than Brian. He was super worried. Being the optimist that I am, I told him that (a) I felt sure there were other people who would take up the free night offer, (b) they’d probably kick out people who were not loyal Hyatt rewards members first before kicking a valued customer such as me to the curb, and (c) we’re arriving early enough that we should be pretty safe. Although, seeing everyone’s hotel arrival posts on Facebook did make me worry a bit because I knew that there were a steady stream of arrivals leading up to Wednesday.
So there we were in front of the concierge desk. We were tired, cranky, and apprehensive. The check in line was already quite long but not nearly as long as we’d seen it before. We definitely arrived at the right time. Wanting to take advantage of our newly earned elite status, we stood in front of the check in lanes under the “Diamond/Platinum” sign.
“I can help who’s next,” the lady at the front desk says. Brian and I step up. “Ma’am, you have to wait in line,” she tells us scoldingly while pointing to the end of the longish line. “But I’m Diamond,” I tell her indignantly like a petulant child. “In that case, I can help you,” she says completely changing her tone. I asked her if she needed my rewards number and she said she was able to look me up just fine. She told me that I’m actually Platinum in a way that made Platinum sound far more superior than Diamond level. Anyway, having been up since about 3 AM (because Brian wanted to be at the airport two hours before our flight — don’t ask, this is a constant point of contention for us), I also got confused and thought how cool it was that we made Platinum just in time for ZINCON. Brian and I actually knew I made Platinum several weeks prior but were trying to make it to Diamond. Somehow I had gotten it backwards in my mind and so did the front desk girl. She ended up giving us an upgraded room and all of the Diamond level privileges including a special amenity where we got to choose from several different beverage and food options delivered to our room on a specific day and time of our choosing.
I didn’t really care for the beverage options so Brian chose a couple of bottles of Bud Light and we both agreed on the fruit, cheese, and nuts plate.
The fruit and cheese plate was a great choice. It was delicious.
Other privileges included access to the Regency Club Lounge which offers complimentary breakfast each morning, light snacks throughout the day, hors d’oeuvres from 5 to 8 PM, and desserts every night. We bought a big jug of water and a ton of groceries to sustain us during our stay. Had we known we were getting free food, bottles of water, and other beverages we would have not gotten so much at the store. I’m actually glad that we didn’t buy any fruit at the store because we got fresh fruit everyday at breakfast.
Here’s a picture of Brian enjoying the complimentary munchies.
Here are a few pictures of the amazing view from our room on the 26th floor.
We had a great view of the pool area as well.
The our corner room was exactly identical to our room back in 2013, only several floors higher which in turn made for a better view. And, since it’s all the way up above everything else, we didn’t have to shut our curtains as we did before when were on the fifth floor. We didn’t have to worry about people seeing inside our room. It was really nice. I loved falling asleep to the twinkling lights of the Orlando skyline. Andrea, Brian, and I even enjoyed watching fireworks in the distance one night when Andrea came to hang out after the fitness concert.
After settling into our fabulous room and unpacking our bags and packing our fridge and pantry, we went to get me checked in at the registration desk to get my official name tag, commemorative shirt, and convention freebies.
I ran into my kababayan Lei Valle on my way to registration. He was getting his ACE/AFAA certifications during pre-cons.
We also ran into this lovely lady and she encouraged me to take a photo with her giant poster.
This one.
This is the typical scene in front of the “We Move the World” stage in between sessions. But this isn’t even anything compared to the crowd at the fitness concert.
Brian and I took advantage of my free time on Wednesday night to do some shopping at the Zumba Wear store. We met these two lovely ladies. They were hilarious. They changed their minds about various items in their hands a dozen times between when we first got in line up until it was time to check out.
I’m super grateful for Doris (left) because she told me about the official ZIN bracelet which I wanted but couldn’t find. I guess she had it in her pile of stuff and changed her mind so she put it in one of the bins. When she heard me and Brian talk about the bracelet she told me I could have hers. She even went back to the bin she dropped the box off at and got it and gave it to me so then I didn’t have to step out of the super long line to go hunt for it. I thought that was a super nice thing to do for a complete stranger.
Trust me, you do not want to step out of the line. It probably took an hour or so. The line to check out was even longer than the line to get in the store and the line to get in the store was super long. After Brian and I saw the line, we decided that Brian probably should have stood and held my place in line while I shopped. That’s the plan for next year so we can be more efficient.
Here’s an obligatory room selfie just because.
This is the scene at kick off. We got a really great spot toward the front, next to the ZCOM section and just behind the ten-year ZINs, thanks to my friend Charrise.
Zumba Home Office had the best intentions but just couldn’t enforce the no bags and selfie sticks rule. My group and I followed the rules but I saw lots of bags and selfie sticks. I didn’t want to chance it though because I always seem to be the one to get caught even when everyone else is breaking the rules. I’m like the little red coupe that gets busted for speeding the one time that I do speed. And I’m thinking, “But I was just going with the flow of traffic!”
Zumba gave us a bonus gift this year of the ultimate ZINCON experience through PixMob wristbands.
Here’s an example to give you an idea. You’ll also see it in the Magic Moments video at the bottom.
Anyway, this post is super duper long already so I’m going to have to cut it off here. Before I go, here are some key notes from kick off:
- Everyone at ZINCON also got a bonus gift of our very own copy of ZIN Volume 1. Of course, many of the ten-year ZINs probably have every single ZIN Volume ever created already so now they each have a second copy.
- Zumba is launching a new app that will replace ZIN DJ (which explains why they haven’t invested in fixing any of the bugs). The new app will combine ZIN Now features with ZIN DJ features and then some. It’s going to be like ZIN DJ on crack. I can’t wait until it’s available for download so I can finally scrap ZIN DJ. Until then I guess we’re stuck with the issues.
- Zumba is launching an official mentoring platform. They know that we mentor students and help them become fellow instructors so they’re providing tools and resources to help us help another and flourish.
- Timbaland will be making music for STRONG by Zumba. That’s how we roll.
- The BabyFirst network will have a Zumbini TV show, which will help drive babies and moms to Zumbini classes.
For the rest of the Zumba Instructor Convention highlights, here are the Magic Moments of ZINCON 2016…
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South Beach, Miami
Posted on April 29, 2016 by Ching under Travel.
This just goes to show you how long it took to get our food at Larios. After we placed our food order, we actually had time to walk across the street to walk on the beach.
This was super high on Darcy and Kelsey lists of things to do while in Florida so they actually went and dipped their toes in the water.
Thanks to Rahima, we managed to experience the beach even for just a few minutes. Darcy and Kelsey were super thrilled to cross this one off the list.
Group selfie!
I completed one of my must-do items earlier that day so I was content to take pictures.
And watch the sun set.
These next pictures were taken on our way back to the restaurant.
Ocean Drive is just so vibrant.
Lots of interesting restaurants and boutique hotels line the street.
Of course, you already saw pictures from dinner on yesterday’s blog post. These are just some extra pictures I had of South Beach that I wanted to share.
Our hotel was about an hour away so they hired a party bus to chauffeur us to and from dinner. It was a brilliant idea. I’m not sure most of the people in our group would have had the patience for an hour long drive to dinner if they didn’t have drinks to enjoy on the way. As for me, I couldn’t drink any alcoholic beverages because I was still on antibiotics after recovering from pneumonia. Thankfully, they had soda on the bus. I just drank my Coke and enjoyed the view, which wasn’t as interesting on the drive back because then it was dark. I enjoyed seeing all the high-rise condos and the boats on the way to dinner, though.
At least, dinner was delicious and we got to see the beach and we had good company. That made the long drive to dinner worth it.
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Wouldn’t You Like to Work Here?
Posted on April 26, 2016 by Ching under Travel.
If you thought that Zumba Home Office was cool, wait until you see this next office I had the opportunity to set foot in while in Florida a couple of weeks ago. It was originally BGT Partners’ award-winning headquarters. It was pretty cool back in 2012 but it’s even way cooler today. Since PwC acquired BGT Partners in 2013, the office is now the PwC Experience Center.
I’ve only visited one other PwC office and the look and feel of the Hallandale office is completely different. I’m thinking it’s the BGT influence. Even though it’s been a couple of years since the acquisition, the essence of BGT is still everywhere which makes sense. Very formal, boring offices don’t exactly foster creativity and innovation.
Anyway, I was completely in awe of their awesome office. I had to take a bunch of pictures, naturally. Enjoy.
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Impromptu Tour of Zumba Home Office
Posted on April 25, 2016 by Ching under Travel, Zumba.
I was in Florida on a work trip a couple of weeks ago when I happened by the Zumba headquarters completely by chance. We were walking around Gulf Stream Park when I saw this sign on the wall: Zumba Fitness, CORPORATE OFFICE, 2ND FLOOR.
As soon as I saw it, I heard the sound below.
Without even trying, I had stumbled upon the Holy Grail. I couldn’t believe my luck!
Ginger and Darcy went on back to the hotel. I told them to go on without me. I think it was quarter ’til five but I decided to pop in anyway. I mean, how often do you randomly run into the Zumba Home Office on a work trip? Plus, I didn’t know when I’d ever be in the area again. I had to go up and see if I could get a tour.
I don’t think Monica was super thrilled to see me that late in the day but she was nice enough to humor me. I explained to her that I’m a ZIN (Zumba Instructor Network member) in good standing and I’m only in the area for a couple of days and I didn’t know when I’d be back and I would like to get a tour of Home Office if at all possible. Monica explained that public tours are only available from 2 pm to 4 pm and, any other time, tours are done by appointment only. “This is the only time I have,” I pleaded. “Can you please check to see if there’s anyone available for a quick five minute tour?”
“Let me check,” she said as she started typing away on the computer. I waited patiently in their stylishly decorated lobby with all of my fingers and toes crossed. After what seemed like an eternity, she told me the last thing I wanted to hear. There was no one available. I should have known. Everybody wants to go home. No one will want to stick around and give a random, crazy person a tour that late in the day.
“Are you able to come back tomorrow afternoon?” she asked.
“No,” I told her. “I have a meeting starting at eleven o’clock and will be tied up well into the evening. Can I come back for a tour first thing tomorrow morning?”
Again, Monica informed me that I would need to schedule an appointment. She did me a solid though, and she gave the name and email address of there person in charge, Community Relations Specialist Gina Graziani.
“May I please have her phone number so I can give her a call as well?”
Monica looked in the system and couldn’t find her phone number but, being the resourceful person that I am, I saw some business cards on the desk.
“May I have one of these?” I asked, pointing at the business cards.
“Oh, yes. If you call that number, they should be able to connect you with Gina.”
I called the number as I walked back to the hotel. I’m not sure what the phone number was for but it wasn’t the right number. The man who answered explained that Gina belonged to a different department and I had to hang up and dial a completely different number. Some people would be annoyed but I was overjoyed that he was giving me the correct phone number to call. I eagerly called the second number and was able to get to Gina’s voicemail. I left a very desperate sounding message and told her that I would follow up with an email. As soon as I got to my hotel room, I fired up my laptop, immediately typed up an equally desperate email, and hit send.
And then I waited. And waited.
Obviously, I didn’t hear back because it was the end of the day but I was hopeful. Darcy wanted to go to the beach before our meeting the next day. I told her I would be happy to go with her but it depended on whether or not I could get a tour of the Zumba Home Office. I was now on a mission and I was determined to accomplish it.
Darcy and I met at 8 am the next morning for breakfast. Still no phone call or email response from Gina at this point. After eating breakfast and visiting for an hour, I checked my email again. Still nothing. At this point, we only had a couple of hours before our 11 am meeting so I didn’t think we had time to go to the beach. However, I had a couple of hours to try to squeeze a tour in.
“What are you going to do?” Darcy asked, knowing I didn’t have an appointment.
“I’m going to ask for a tour and I’m not going to take no for an answer,” I said determined. “I’m going to wait in their lobby and I’m not leaving until someone gives me a tour. Someone is bound to take a break at some point. Maybe I could tag along with them while they take their break?” Wishful thinking on my part, I admit. I failed to take into account that, unlike crazy workaholics like myself, people don’t actually want to work on their designated breaks.
When I got back to the office, Monica wasn’t at her desk so I had to wait outside until she came back. When she came back, I waived at her enthusiastically from the glass doors with a look of “Hi, it’s me again! Remember me? Crazy ZIN from yesterday?” on my face. I’m sure she was thinking, “OMG. Not you again!” but she didn’t show it. To my surprise, she actually buzzed me in.
“Do you have an appointment?”
“I called and I emailed but I didn’t hear back,” I told her, “but I called and emailed really late in the day so she might not have gotten to my call and email yet. I only have free time until eleven, though. Could you please try and see if it’s possible for me to get a tour? I fly home tomorrow and I don’t know when I’ll be back.”
We went over the whole tours are by appointment only unless between the hours of two and four in the afternoon again.
“I know but I don’t have any other time. If there’s another tour that’s scheduled and they don’t mind, I’d be happy to tag along on that tour or, if someone could spare five minutes, I will be quick. I promise,” I told her. Monica explained that tours usually take about a half an hour. Even a quick one would take at least 20 minutes.
“Let me see if Gina is available.”
So I waited once again with my fingers and toes crossed. At this point, I was a little bit nervous. On the one hand, I really, really, really wanted a tour. But, on the other hand, I cannot be late for my meeting which is the whole reason that I was in Florida to begin with. The PwC Experience Center was only two minutes away so I was calculating in my head how much longer I could wait before I had to give up and call it quits. It was then when Monica finally called me back up to the desk.
“Gina is on her way.”
Gina wasn’t by herself. She brought security with her so they could escort me off the premises. Just kidding. Gina actually brought one of her team members, Marsha, with her. Gina explained that she was running late for a meeting so she couldn’t give me a tour. Marsha would be giving me the tour instead.
Here’s a picture of the three of us behind the reception desk. Gina is on the left and Marsha is on the right. Both ladies were super nice and welcoming. They said that they really love it whenever they have ZIN visitors. Although, I’m pretty sure they prefer it if you make an appointment ahead of time. LOL.
Despite the randomness of my visit, they still made me feel special and welcome. And for that, I’m truly grateful.
Our tour started at the “Zumba Love” conference room. It’s the main conference room used for the weekly meetings with the department heads. Here’s a picture of me at the head of the table.
“Is this where Beto sits?” I asked Marsha.
I learned that Beto doesn’t actually have a permanent seat. However, he usually sits at the other end by the door so he can make a quick exit when needed. Makes sense.
This is the “Salsa” conference room where Forum Live! happens. Marsha asked if I’d ever participated in one but I haven’t. It usually happens during the day while I’m working. Maybe one of these days I’ll be able to hop on but I haven’t had the pleasure as of yet.
This is a picture of their break room where Zumba President and COO Alberto Aghion, the third Alberto in the Holy Trinity of Zumba, has lunch everyday. Marsha said that he usually sits at a different table each time and uses the opportunity to chat with employees. He does this everyday.
Aghion is known to employees but, to the general public, he is the lesser known of the three Albertos. He works behind the scenes so not a lot of people know about him. The only reason I know of him is because I’ve been to a few ZINCONs. He’s not as visible as Zumba CEO Alberto Perlman and definitely not as visible as Beto.
I posted a short video clip that I found on YouTube to help you out.
Perlman and Aghion’s offices are next to one another. The doors were closed so I didn’t get to peek in. I wish I could have, though. I’m curious what their offices look like.
Here’s a picture of Beto’s door.
I’m not sure if the door was locked because I didn’t try it. t wish I would have asked Marsha for permission to look into his office. He wasn’t there. I know this because Marsha told me that any time Beto is in his office he always has his music on full blast you can hear it all the way down the hall. This would explain why his office is away from the other two Albertos. LOL.
Anyway, Marsha encouraged me to take pictures of everything except for Finance, HR (also known as People & Culture), Legal, IT, and Zumba wear. Yes, I got to see the new Zumba wear line and pictures of all of the designs yet to come through 2018. I just couldn’t take any pictures.
This is a picture of the studio where they have free Zumba classes for employees at least three times a week. Armando and Heidy and other zelebs (also known as celebrity Zumba instructors) teach on a regular basis. Now that’s what I call a job perk!
In this room they have the ZINfolio – every single boxed set and ZIN DVD.
I believe beyond that door is the sound studio.
More pictures of the same room.
I love this room!
And then I was Gina Grant for two seconds.
I want one of these life-sized cutouts for my next Zumba party!
This is the customer service area. Part of it anyway. They outsource the first level of customer service. If I remember correctly the only customer service work they handle at Zumba Home Office is their online/email support.
Here’s a picture of me with Monica. Note her outfit. They actually encourage people to wear Zumba wear to work everyday.
Besides all of the fun pictures, I also got a some parting gifts: some rubber Zumba wristbands (Marsha gave me a couple), socks (a 2-pack with a pair each in Zumba green and pink) and a pink “Get Funked Up” t-shirt. That’s pretty much my tour of Zumba Home Office. Huge thanks to Marsha Segree, my wonderful tour guide; Monica Lazarus, friendly receptionist who was ever so patient with me; and Gina Graziani, Community Relations Specialist extraordinaire.
Thank you for making this trip to Florida truly memorable!
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First Time in St. Louis
Posted on April 16, 2016 by Ching under Food and Drink, Reviews, Travel.
I can finally say I’ve been to St. Louis, Mo even though it was just for a few hours. Ginger and I traveled there a couple of weeks ago to meet some folks at Laclede Gas Company (now Spire) and learn from them.
Been spending a lot of time at airport with Ginger of late. She is the best person to travel with. I’ve never had TSA Pre Check privileges until I these last few trips with her. I love not having to take off my shoes, take out my laptop and toiletries, and going through the short (or non-existent line) at airports. Now that I’ve had a taste of it, I’m almost tempted to pay for it even though I don’t even travel that much usually. I’d say it’s definitely a must for frequent travelers. If I traveled all the time, I would pay the extra for TSA Pre Check every time.
Ginger and I were supposed to have dinner with the rest of our team and the Laclede team at Brew House the night before our meeting but, as luck would have it (or my bad travel truck), our plane was delayed in Dallas. First they just had to change the tire. Then they discovered some kind of mechanical issue that needed to be fixed.
We actually boarded the plane and then were all told we had to get off so the repairs could be completed but were asked not to go too far away from the gate in case we were ready to board again. We were originally scheduled to arrive in St. Louis at 3:00 PM but didn’t land until 5:30 PM. We missed dinner with group obviously, which is the same thing that happened on our last trip together. Ginger and I joked that the rest of team is probably thinking that we’re trying to avoid the dinners on purpose.
We still had to eat dinner so we just opted to eat at the steakhouse next to the hotel instead. We didn’t want to wander too far away in case it started raining, which was in the forecast.
Neither of us wanted anything too heavy so we decided to just split an appetizer and an entree and then Ginger had a wedge salad. I probably should have ordered steak but I was quite happy with what I had. The food was pretty good. I really enjoyed the crab meat starter with hunks of jumbo lump crab over a horseradish cream cheese mouse and sweet chili sauce. The picture below doesn’t do the dish justice.
Here’s a picture of Ginger’s yummy-looking salad.
Then for dinner we split the jumbo shrimp scampi, which was also delicious. You can never go wrong with shrimp stuffed with crab meat. LOL.
The best part about dinner is the restaurant is connected to our hotel so you didn’t even have to walk outside. My room was pretty basic but I think it might have been an accessible room because I had tons of space.
It was an interior room so I didn’t have an outside view.
I didn’t really mind not having a city view but, being an interior room, made my room tricky to find at first. I didn’t realize that my room (625) was next to the elevator so, when I walked to the end of the hall where the signs were and followed the hallway around and then got down the hall, I was super confused when it jumped from 623 to 627. I almost called the front desk to ask someone to help me find my room but I couldn’t get signal and I eventually found it.
The Drury at the Arch was okay as hotels go. The location was great because of its proximity to the Laclede office. They also provide daily breakfast and happy hour which was nice. Ginger and I got to enjoy a couple of drinks on the day of our arrival.
The conference room we spent our day in is located in the corner of the Laclede building facing Busch Stadium. The walls were completely made of of class and the view was fantastic. It was good that it was kind of gloomy outside the day, otherwise it would have been way harder to concentrate.
We pretty much arrived the night before and then flew home immediately after the meeting. Ginger and I landed in Wichita about 10:30 PM that day. No issues on the trip home, thank heavens!
It was a super short trip. I wish we could have had more time to spend in St. Louis. I would have loved to have had pictures of the Arch and stuff. It seems like a beautiful city. I may just have to return and bring Brian. Perhaps we can plan a nice holiday weekend road trip with the girls.
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