Thursday, February 28 2008

MindComet Takes on Email….and Miami

Yes, it is true, we multi-task! We were attending the MarketingSherpa Email Summit in Miami earlier this week and managed to get out and see the town a little too.

It was a great time, learned a lot, had some fun and managed to overcome VARIOUS obstacles including:

1. Huge South Florida Power Outage
2. Balloon Artists
3. Lack of Sunlight
4. Snakes and Gators
5. Forest Fires
6. Driving in Downtown Miami
7. Valet Parking
8. NO Cheese
9. Gas Station Bathrooms
10.Groundhog day radio stations

I know, I know. You are asking what the heck is she talking about? Let me explain:

Huge South Florida Power Outage - 3 million people were affected with an outage after a failed switch and fire at an electrical substation triggering widespread blackouts across the state.

Balloon Artists - they were EVERYWHERE. I guess people in Miami are impressed by people who can use hot air and twist things. We even had a gift given to us...(ok ok, the Tazmanian devil, tinkerbell and guy on a bike were cool balloons...i should have asked for my coral reef with dolphins, then we would have been able to see their real skillset)


Lack of Sunlight - the high everyday was in the 80s with clear skies and bright rays of sun but we were stuck inside from 8am-6pm =(

Snakes and Gators - You know those kiosks that have exotic animals, well we were stalked 2 nights being told we could conquer our fears with just one pic...no thanks!!

Forest Fires - On the ride home Tuesday night it was pitch black on an empty road and on the horizon was a huge cloud of smoke, as we got closer it was about a 1 mile deep, blazing forest fire on the right of the highway, so scary to see upclose and personal.

Driving in DT Miami - YIKES, the road signs STINK! Everything kinda looked like this...


Valet Parking - they really have NO idea what is going on, if you are going or coming, they just want your keys and $$$.

NO Cheese - we had fajitas with NO CHEESE...WHAT? It was actually pretty good =)...must have been the margaritas.

Gas Station B-rooms - NO COMMENT!

Groundhog day radio stations - we were not familiar with the radio stations so we scanned and these were the top 2 songs over...and over...and over...during 12 hours of driving:

-With You - Chris Brown (boo is every other word...nuff said)
-Teardrops On My Guitar - Taylor Swift (most monotone singer ever!)





Anyway, we had a great time learning all about email marketing and meeting some great new contacts in the industry...including our new friends at MarketingSherpa and MarketingExperiments. We look forward to implementing everything we learned and attending the Email Summit in 2009!

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Tuesday, February 12 2008

Maasricht Carnival 2008

Carnival in The Netherlands is a cross between Mardi Gras in New Orleans and Halloween in the States--which provides a backdrop for one heck of a party! This annual celebration in the charming Dutch town of Maastricht packs the streets with elaborately costumed celebrants, fantastic compilations of pop hits and traditional folk music blasting from venues scattered about town, and miles and miles of parade floats. For me, this was a weekend to remember and trip that I'll look forward to repeating sometime in the near future!

Watch my homemade video...

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Wednesday, February 06 2008

Greetings from The Netherlands! - Part Two


I never made it to Gouda last night as it was freezing cold and pouring rain, so I'll go ahead and share a quick photo from Delft! Beautiful...wish you were here!

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Tuesday, February 05 2008

Greetings from The Netherlands!  - Part One


City: Delft
Meal: pankcake met bacon en kaas

Loyal Cakeplow readers will know, I love to report on strange foods and customs I discover on my MindComet journeys. This week I am back in the Netherlands, and more enamored with the country than ever. I am lucky enough this trip to have a little more time than usual outside of the office, so I've tried to visit every town and village I can get to for exploring.

Yesterday a local friend and I found our way to Delft, about 15 minutes from Den Haag by train. The chilling winter sunset held off just long enough to allow for a quick walking tour of the churches and canal streets before ducking into a cafe for shelter. As I sat and thawed, I was thrilled to see one of my favorite Dutch snacks on the menu--big savory pancakes! We ordered a bacon and cheese pancake served with butter and powdered sugar on the side. Het verbazen! (Amazing!)

Tonight I'm on my own and plan to visit Gouda. Look for my report tomorrow and each day this week, and as a special treat, I'll post a video montage of my trip to Carnival in Maastricht this weekend!

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