ZINCON 2014: First Impressions
Posted on August 20, 2014 by Ching under Travel, Zumba.
I really had high expectations this year after an amazing Zumba Instructor Conference in 2013. I didn’t think this year’s ZINCON was as cool as last year’s — I mean, last year was amazing, so it would be pretty hard to live up to it — but I still had a ton of fun. There were aspects of ZINCON that were better last year than this year and vice versa.
Check in was really smooth this year. I think it’s because they had the desks open for longer hours. Our bags this year were a different style than last year, which is good because I already have two of those one-shoulder backpack bags (one from the 2013 Conference and one from the 2014 Convention). We got a commemorative convention shirt, but the quality of the shirts isn’t as good as last year. Also notably missing were our ZINCON 2014 bracelets. I didn’t really miss those as much as other attendees. I thought the free luggage tag more than made up for the bracelets. I love, love, love my Zumba logo luggage tag. I actually used it on my carry on luggage on the way home.
I thought the signage was somewhat scaled down this year. The graffiti walls were a really nice touch, though. There were several throughout the convention center and Hyatt Regency. I wrote several notes. Brian wrote on them too.
The graffiti walls were great! Totally made up for not having as many of the massive signs all over the convention area.
Here’s a picture of me in front of the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando. It is hands down the largest convention center I’ve ever been in.
The hotels around the convention center got in on the festivities by having drink specials. Found this board at the Hilton.
We didn’t really spend a lot of money on meals (other than our $150 anniversary dinner at The Oceanaire) because we picked up groceries. This is what the pantry and fridge of a ZINCON pro looks like. LOL.
We were so much more prepared this year compared to last year. It helps to know what to expect. We got wine, beer, and snacks. We didn’t go hungry at all.
I also loved all of the flash mobs this year. They were popping up everywhere. Last year the focus was the Zumba World Party video game demo. This year they added the ZIN DJ stage which was really a great area for showcasing some talented instructors. The districts really got into it. I loved watching all of their performances.
One of the reasons ZINCON 2013 is hard to top is because it was so well-conceived. This year the theme was somewhat all over the place. It wasn’t as cohesive as last year. However, there are so many great things they added this year that we didn’t have last year. For instance, we actually got to see the third Alberto. I thought he was a myth for the longest time. He’s a real person after all.
I guess part of the reason that I still think that ZINCON 2013 was the best is because it was my first. Your first is always the most memorable, I guess. However, there were so many awesome things about ZINCON 2014 so I think it’s equally amazing in its own right. If you’ve never been to a Zumba instructor convention, you have to check it out. There really are no words to describe this event. It has to be experienced in person. Oowa! Oowa!
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Our Anniversary Dinner in Orlando
Posted on August 19, 2014 by Ching under Food and Drink.
We ate out a lot in the days leading up to our anniversary. We hit our favorite places in Wichita where we hadn’t been in a long time so we ate at the Anchor and also at Redrock but we didn’t really “celebrate” our anniversary until Orlando because I wanted Brian to try the Oceanaire Seafood Room.
I ate at Oceanaire for the first time when I was in San Diego on a work trip and loved it. I remembered that they had a location down the street from the convention center in Orlando so I asked Brian if we could wait to celebrate our anniversary when we arrived in Orlando that way we could have our anniversary dinner at Oceanaire. The place is so expensive, special to a frugal person like me. It’s not really a place that you could just go to eat just for kicks.
I really like the “Happy Anniversary” message on the menu. It’s a nice touch. Although, I liked the menu from San Diego better because it actually had my name printed on it.
I’m glad I warned Brian about the prices on the menu ahead of time. He would have had a fit. He is just as cheap as I am. LOL.
This is my super delicious sangria.
I also like the fresh veggies.
The chef also gives a small treat to first timers. Brian didn’t even want to try it. He saw the raw fish and that was enough for him. It actually wasn’t bad.
The “congratulations” card they gave us signed by the staff was also a nice touch.
It makes me want to celebrate every birthday and anniversary there. I’m cheap, but once or twice a year won’t be too bad. It’s a shame there’s not one in town.
They have the most delicious crab cakes ever. This one was just as good, if not better, than the ones I had in San Diego. I like that there’s hardly any filler and the crab meat has just the right hint of sweetness.
This ugly entree was the most expensive thing we ordered. $42 for this dish. It was just okay. I’d had better salmon before, for half the price. Actually I was thinking the dish would be around $32 but since I substituted the crab Oscar instead of the shrimp Oscar there was an up charge.
All I’m saying is that the crab cakes are worth every penny. I expected more out of this dish. Maybe I don’t know what good salmon tastes like? LOL. Maybe it’s because of the messy presentation? I don’t know. All I know is that I didn’t enjoy this dish as much as I thought I would have.
I didn’t complain or ask to exchange it though. I just ate until I was full, which is what I should do anyway rather than cleaning my plate every time.
This is the hash browns Oceanaire-style. We ordered it because our server said it was their most popular side dish. This was just okay also. Other than how huge the serving is, there wasn’t really anything spectacular about it.
Brian’s pork chop was just okay too. It was cooked well, but I thought it needed more flavor. That’s probably just me, though.
The baked Alaska was good but it was rock hard. It had just come out of the deep freeze so it was solid. She could barely cut it in half even after heating the knife. It was that hard. Here’s a photo of it from the side.
Here’s a video of the baked Alaska. The flames don’t always show up in photos so our server recommended taking a video instead.
Even though the Orlando location didn’t live up to the high expectations set by the San Diego location, our anniversary dinner was wonderful overall. Our server was delightful. Although, I think they are purposely nice to you though so you don’t feel so bad about the bill when it comes. LOL. I joked to Brian that we blew our entire food budget on one night. We were celebrating our 12th wedding anniversary though, so we had to pick a special place — one that’s worthy of the milestone.
Looking back though, I think we should have celebrated our anniversary at Twelve. I hear the food there is great and it would have been perfect because then it would have been our 12th at Twelve. Maybe I can talk Brian into a do over on Friday night. It’s just so far. I wish it wasn’t so far out on the West side of town. =P
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Leadership Development
Posted on August 3, 2014 by Ching under Leadership.
I have some really exciting news to share with everyone. I get to cross another item off my bucket list. I received my acceptance letter for Leadership Wichita 2014 a few days ago. I didn’t want to say anything before because I didn’t want to be embarrassed in case I wasn’t chosen. LOL. This is something that I’ve always wanted to do, though.
Getting the “big” envelope was pretty exciting. It felt like I was applying for college. Actually, I take that back. It wasn’t like I applied at Harvard. Pretty much anyone can attend Wichita State.
It was a lot like applying for grad school though, where I actually had to take an exam, submit an essay, and provide two letters of recommendation. But then I scored high enough on my GMAT that I wasn’t really concerned.
With Leadership Wichita I didn’t even know where to begin. The program isn’t something that I could simply apply for. I had to be nominated. And, I wasn’t even sure how that would be possible because the nomination form is very specific about who to nominate. You couldn’t nominate just anyone.
Leadership Wichita is something that I’d always wanted to do but I couldn’t even tell anyone because I was afraid they’d just laugh at me. So when Ginger and Don both approached me this year about representing our company in this year’s class, I was super excited. It felt like Christmas!
It’s a huge commitment so they wanted me to think seriously about it. I didn’t have to think about it, though. This is something that I’ve always wanted to do so I knew that I would clear my schedule for the rest of the year if I had to. I had secured my nomination. There was no way I was passing on this opportunity.
I needed three strong letters of recommendation so I told Jim Ludwig right away. As my mentor, I figured that he would be supportive and write a letter of recommendation on my behalf. I had one letter of recommendation down and needed two more. I couldn’t ask a friend or relative because I wanted to submit a strong application. I didn’t want to be accepted simply because I’m representing my work. I wanted to be accepted on my own merit. I wanted to be a strong candidate worthy of Don Sherman’s nomination.
Dr. Gerald Graham was one of my professors in grad school and a well respected leader in the community. I knew that a letter of recommendation from him would carry a lot of weight. However, I wasn’t sure if he’d remember me. His class, Organizational Behavior (MGMT 862) was one of the first classes I’d taken in grad school so it had been almost ten years. Lucky for me, I’d received additional training from Dr. Graham through work over the years so we would see each other occasionally. Despite that, I still worried that he would say no and I didn’t have a contingency plan in place. What a relief when he said yes! I was so thrilled when his letter of recommendation arrived in the mail.
I knew that with Don, Jim, and Dr. Graham in my corner I had a pretty good shot at being accepted but I didn’t want to leave anything to chance. I had my work experience and educational background covered, so I needed a letter of recommendation that shows my commitment to the community. I wanted to be a solid, well rounded candidate so I asked Natalie if the Treehouse could write a letter on my behalf since I helped with Labor Run 2013. I figured that this would show my community involvement.
I felt like I submitted a strong application. Don tells me that my package is great and he knows his stuff so that made me feel pretty darn good. I’m very grateful to everyone who helped me get in because I don’t think I could have done it on my own (though I probably would have kept trying).
This year’s program/schedule looks really interesting. I’m looking forward to getting started and representing my company well. I promise to make the most of this opportunity and make you all proud!
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Blue Jean Bingo
Posted on August 2, 2014 by Ching under Events.
Brian and I attended Blue Jean Bingo at Abode last night. It’s a benefit for Goodwill Industries of Kansas. It’s actually one of the more fun fundraising events I’ve attended. I’ll have to remember it again next year. Here are some pictures.
If Brian doesn’t look like he is having fun, it’s because he never smiles in photos. Oh, and he was seriously concentrating on the game. He did not want to miss any of the bingo numbers. He held on to that bingo dauber like a weapon!
I have never gotten as much use out of my official name tag as I did yesterday. Seriously. That thing was on me for almost 18 hours.
They asked us to wear our metal name tags at our leadership conference so it was already on me when I left the house yesterday morning. I didn’t want to lose it so I just kept it on when I went back to work, so then I didn’t have to wear my regular badge. I didn’t plan on wearing it to the event, but I ended up staying at work until after 6:30 pm because of a problem.
I actually went back to work after our meeting because I wanted to complete testing the Spanish IVR. Darcy assigned it to me on Wednesday and I told her I wouldn’t be able to really test anything until Friday afternoon because of the leadership conference. Anyway, I didn’t get much testing done because of said problem. Things don’t always go according to plan I guess. You just have to roll with the punches.
I didn’t have time to go home and change. Brian picked me up from work and we just went straight to Abode. When we got there they had name tag stickers for everyone but I still had my official name tag on so I just kept it on. Who needs a “Hello, my name is…” sticker when you have a fancy metal name tag? LOL.
It only took ten plus years for me to finally get an official name tag. I’m really glad I have one now because I’ve gotten good use out of it.
Yes, I am nerdy. Please don’t make fun of me.
The food last night was actually not bad. The vendors who participated were Emerson Biggins, Old Chicago, Il Vicino, Abuelo’s, Chapada, P.F. Chang’s, and Truffles Catering. Of course, when drinks are free it makes everything taste better. There was also a chocolate fountain in case the delicious and decadent dessert selections weren’t enough.
I really wanted to win one of the bingo prizes. No such luck, though. The big winner at our table was Brigid’s sister Mary. She won bingo game number four, called by Bonnie Bing. Bonnie was the best bingo caller that evening by the way. The other celebrities were great, but Bonnie stole the show.
Anyway, Mary won a $100 gift card to Bradley Fair. Lucky girl!
At the end of the evening we checked out the results of the silent auction to see if I won anything. Brian always tries to stop me from bidding on items and he always fails. LOL. Since he often fails to stop me, I think he just prays that someone outbids me on my items most of the time.
I’m glad we checked the silent auction results before we left because I did win one of the items that I was bidding on. It was silent auction item #217, a necklace and a sign from Pink Boa. As we were leaving, I enthusiastically (it doesn’t take a lot to get me excited) showed Misty what I’d won in the auction.
She was like, “Did you WIN it or did you BUY it?”
She can be such a “Debbie Downer” sometimes. I WON my loot in the silent auction and she’s not going to convince me otherwise.
Anyway, I had so much fun playing bingo last night that I’m actually considering hosting a bingo night at our house. Do you guys think anyone would come? Or is this just too nerdy of an idea to catch on? What do you all think?
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Shakira Grand Slam
Posted on July 22, 2014 by Ching under Videos, Zumba.
Here’s some trivia for you. Did you know that Shakira has performed at three consecutive FIFA World Cup finals events? Oh, yes. And she was amazing all three times.
Here’s the proof.
FIFA 2006 (Germany)
FIFA 2010 (South Africa)
FIFA 2014 (Brazil)
All three songs are huge in the Zumba world. Seriously. Not just these three, actually. She has so many great songs that are perfect for Zumba. You could do a whole class of just all Shakira songs (though you’re not really supposed to do that). Just saying. I love Shakira! And, apparently I’m not alone. FIFA loves her too.
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