Looking back

All right, I've just finished my first night of sleep back in my own bed in Athens, and I've gotta say, I'm not nearly as refreshed and/or rejuvenated as I'd hoped I'd be. Oh well, there's always time for a nap this afternoon I guess.

I wanted to share a little about what we did at the conference since the last real update, so hold onto your hats, here we go:



Back on Tuesday we went to Aon's reception at the House of Blues. It was packed! The opening act was a U2 cover band, so I went absolutely nuts. And Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, the headliner, was great too. Their lead singer looks like a shorter version of Will Ferrell, no joke. The slideshow above has all the pictures I took from it.



Then after we went to a morning session or two on Wednesday, a bunch of us skipped the afternoon sessions and headed to the San Diego Zoo. Now, I'm not usually a huge fan of zoos, but this one is pretty cool. It's got lions, tigers, bears (insert witty comment here), pandas, polar bears, koalas, elephants, giraffes, and yada yada yada. The list goes on and on. This slideshow ^ first has a photo shoot with our coordinators Peggy and Fran. Without them, none of this opportunity would have been possible, so a huge shout-out to them!

After ordering some awesome pizza from Ciro's Pizzeria on 6th and Market, Then we headed to the Conference Center for something called "Cirque Dreams." For the record, I have no idea how anyone has the ability to do the tricks these people were doing. I can't even really describe them all either, so just use your imagination. I couldn't get any good pictures because of the lighting, however, so only a few pics in the slideshow are from there.


Instead of heading back to the hotel to pack like common sense would have said, we wrangled our way into an invite-only party hosted by Sedgwick CMS. It was at the Sweetwater Saloon in the Hard Rock Hotel and Lounge. More to come on that later. Jamie called just as we were walking in, so I had to enter after our whole party had already gotten in. Jonathan, a student at St. John's, had the invite, and he had already gone inside. Here's a transcript of how my conversation with the door guy went:

[guy in front of me gets rejected because he doesn't have an invite; acts incredulous; pulls out multiple business cards stating he is some VP of some large corporation; door guy turns him around and directs him out of line]
Door Guy: Who are you here with?
Me: I was with that group of kids who just got in here. I had to take a phone call so I couldn't go in with them.
Door Guy: So you don't have an invite. [statement, not question]
Me: No, but one of the guys who just got in does.
Door Guy: Let me see your ID.
[checks it over; finds it satisfactory]
Door Guy: You'll have to talk to him. [points at Sedgwick executive taking up invites]
Exec: Who are you and what are you doing here?
Me: I'm one of the college students attending the conf-
Exec: You said "college"?
[I nod hesitantly]
Exec: [smiling] Then get your ass inside!

I felt so cool. And once inside, we realized that the whole bar was open. Not just beers, not just bottom-of-the-barrel well drinks, but Crown, Grey Goose, Belvedere and Chopin. I have no other words to say about that. When last call came (at 11:20, no less!!!), we headed outside to figure out what to do. We never did figure that out though. So we climbed palm trees and ran up stairs like Rocky. Check them out down here.



Then it was lights out. Until breakfast the next morning, where only a select few students actually made it. And that was that...

What an incredible, words-can't-begin-to-describe weekend and week. I hate reality where you have to pay for drinks and food. I guess we were pretty spoiled and lucky...

And we're off

Back to the land of paying for drinks and food...

Jungle risk management

Risk management lessons from the African bush. Lesson: If you don't dynamically and effectively manage your risk..."you become lunch." Ways NOT to do this: head-in-the-sand, camouflage, agility reliance, etc.

PS: Cheetahs are sweet!

The last free meal for a while...

The final remnants of our glorious student crew. The last memories from an awesome experience. There's so much else to say and write, but I'll hold off until I can sit down with my computer. Be waiting, and I'll see you all - you Athens folk at least - very soon!

Some breakfast table wisdom and another day's wrap-up

But first, your daily slideshow. Near the end I went San Diego scenery crazy, so enjoy!

We had our sponsoring professor breakfast this morning, and there were a few nuggets of wisdom passed around our table that I wanted to share with everyone.














First of all here's my sponsoring professor; he was really busy and could only be here for two days. Such is life.

Our table consisted of myself, several other students, a guy named Rick who is currently in the industry and Dr. Charles Bennett from St. John's University's College of Risk Management (check out all his designations here). Here are the things we talked about.

• Lead with questions. A direct offshoot of From Good to Great that I keep mentioning. Rick said, "Don't be afraid to say you don't have all the answers. Just tell them you'll find out the answers or let them know how to find the answers for themselves."
• Differentiate yourself as a leader. The Chairman of insurance broker Willis, Joe Plumeri, differentiates himself by his wardbrobe and his personality. He rocks a short, pink tie like nobody's business, and he is one of the most boisterous, engaging, piercingly sharp people in any room. This picture doesn't have a pink tie, but believe me, he was working it last night. And his tie knot was HUGE. Ridiculous. But the takeaway here is that, to establish yourself as a leader, you have to find ways to differentiate yourself from the rest of your employees. Not in an arrogant way, but in an identifiable way that is at the same time endearing and empowering. Like wearing one of these to work like I plan on doing.

• Talk shop: Don't just focus on talking business all the time. Talk college alma mater football, talk golf, talk politics (with a splash of humor to keep from stirring the pot too much), talk current events, talk music, talk anything. Be personable and persistent. Not annoying.

And since I've delayed posting this, I'll recap the day so far also.

• The aforementioned sponsor breakfast.
• Morning session on speaking risk management. It was all about how to communicate the urgency, the effectiveness and the relevancy of risk management to your boss, to your colleagues, to your employees and to your friends. It's a dynamic profession, and it's exciting. Don't believe me? Just ask!
• THE MOST BORING KEYNOTE PRESENTATION EVER (!!!) for lunch. It started with a terrible spinach salad and ended with a dry, monotonous keynote presentation. Proof positive that, even if you have a Presentation Zen-style PowerPoint that is engaging, funny and informative, you are the one who makes or breaks the presentation. Ouch...nails on a chalkboard. I don't want to talk about it anymore.
• Had an "educational roundtable" discussion which basically involved a hypothetical ("based-in-fact") case study of a junk foods company. Successfully cemented the fact that I will never be an employee benefits office because I can't deal with workers comp cases. Booooring.
• Wine and cheese reception in the exhibit hall where we had our choice of chardonnay, cabernet sauvignon or (gasp!) merlot. I hadn't seen anything but the former two all trip, so it was a decent change. I also got a hole-in-one on the virtual Tiger Woods golf game, but the video was of me following that up with a splashdown right of the same hole. Oh well.
• Reception sponsored by the nation of Bermuda (yes, that's right) and their "capital of risk" financial campaign. Sushi, quesadillas, "Dark 'n' Stormy"s, prime beef cuts and all...great stuff.
• We're heading to the House of Blues to check out Aon's reception with Big Bad Voodoo Daddy as the headliners. I'll let y'all know!

For now, here's Garr Reynolds' take on a handy career advice book:

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Call this my multimedia post

It seems like it's been forever since the last time that I actually wrote about anything on here. So I'll give you a little rundown with some text, a few slideshows, and some videos. Enjoy!

Here are some pictures from yesterday and last night. You'll see me with childhood friend and almost-graduated U of Bama student Vanessa Rolf. There are also some from the "Aquatic Odyssey" and the AIG-sponsored dessert reception at PetCo Park.

1. Went to the Aquatic Odyssey where they had mermaids, a girl with water fountain fingers, a live band, eight bars, more tables of food, two bars made of ice and thousands of risk management and insurance professionals. For the record, never ever drink a dry martini -- or any martini for that matter -- at a rate faster than calm sip. Trust me.
2. We got to walk on PetCo Park's infield grass and dirt. Well, we actually followed the security girl while she kicked other people off the field and took pictures when she wasn't looking. They also had a pretty sweet wiffleball cage and some amazing bananas foster. with Myers's Rum. Awesome.
3. Crashed something fierce on top of my bedsheets and woke up around 3 feeling awful cold.

These are from Monday morning through Monday night, tracing the breakfast, keynote, exhibit hall, dinner(s) and Hootie concert. The day just kept getting better.

1. Woke up at the crack of dawn for breakfast and Chris Gardner's keynote about breaking cycles. Quite possibly one of the most engaging presenters I've ever experienced. I got a book signed and a picture...I felt special.Yes, I rocked a bow tie. And it looked good. And the only other guy with one was also a Marsh employee. Good karma.
2. Yes, I rocked a bow tie. And it looked good. And the only other guy with one was also a Marsh employee. Good karma.
3. I love Marsh. Period. 'Nuff said.
4. Shmoozed around the UGA Night reception in the Hall of Fame Room at PetCo Park. It was sponsored by Willis, another global broker juggernaut. Filet mignon burgers are great, by the way.
5. Headed over to Marsh's event at Dick's Last Resort. I met two UGA grads at the earlier reception, so we palled around the city over to Dick's. They're corporate headhunters (insert vaguely villainous music here).
6. Came back and got pumped for the HOOTIE AND THE BLOWFISH CONCERT!!! It was awesome! Not only did they play all of their huge hits, they also threw in some "Get Down On It," "Champagne Supernova," "Losing My Religion," and a few more covers. I went absolutely nuts when they said our Athenians R.E.M. were the reason they started a band. I lost my voice as soon as I ran in the door (and I do mean ran).

And I'll leave you with some of the concert videos that I took. It was splendid.

The opening song



Hootie playing "Losing My Religion." That's me in the background screaming and losing my mind. Oh, Athens.



What a defining, classic song. Sorry I could only get 36 seconds of it for you guys.

Talk to y'all soon! As in...tomorrow probably!

Being stalked by Good to Great

Above is the current RIMS president Janice Ochenkowski giving part of her opening remarks. And she just referenced the book From Good to Great by Jim Collins. So for you ILAD kids...it'll follow you wherever you go.

We're VIPs in PetCo Park!!!

AIG sponsored a dessert reception for all the insurance people at the Padres' PetCo Park. They had bananas foster, my favorite dessert in my whole life! So we all ran onto the field while the security people tried to kick is off. And yes, that IS real baseball dirt on my shoes, thanks.

They have a bar made of ice!

I mean, I've heard of an ice block, but an ice bar?! This is insane! There are mermaids, girls with fountains of water coming from their fingers, ribbon dancers...oh my!

Thoughts from the first day or so...and the first installation of my picture slideshow

Picasa slideshow from my first two days so far. The pictures are from Evan (my roommate) and my walk along the marina boardwalk and our group's day trip to Coronado Beach. There's one picture I'll pull out of there and comment on below, so check that out also. Watch the pics, and I'll have a little commentary below.

And the lucky picture is...


That's me at the top of the steps mugging for the camera. Yes, I'm giving a thumbs-up. We're at the Hotel del Coronado at Coronado Beach right outside San Diego. The guy fading into the background behind me is what we like to call "tragedy." He's wearing a Kobe Bryant jersey, cut-off camo cargo shorts, hunks of product in his hair and lots of trashy tattoos up and down his arms. It's too bad you can't see him in all his glory. But, hey, I guess I can't say much because he's staying at a baller hotel on a resort beach in San Diego. Must be nice.

Beyond that, here are some impressions I've got from my first two days:

• If you're ever invited to attend a free conference, GO TO IT! We've already had an open-bar reception, and there is at least one more per day for the next four days. The wine selection may not have been great, but I'm not complaining. The going rate for our hotel room is upwards of $450 per night, it's all free, it's in a great location and everyone's incredibly nice. So if you get the chance, hop on it pronto.
• I've always heard the California girls are the best girls in the world. But if they were a football team, they'd be the Hawai'i Rainbow Warriors so I could shout "Overrated!" at them. They just don't compare to this...or this...or simply the average night in downtown Athens...not even close. Guys, hear me on this one: WE HAVE IT SO LUCKY. You have no idea. I can say I've been to the West Coast where the "beautiful people" are (not LA where the fake plastic people are though), and Athens tops it easily. Stay as long as you can.

• "Fratty" in Athens means ambiguously gay or old most anywhere else especially here. I only found one other guy with a swimsuit above his knees on the beach today. Nobody had Croakies, no one rocking Sperrys (hardly any flip-flops either, if you can imagine) and no visors. Every guy had a tight t-shirt and board shorts on. Nothing wrong with that, just an observation. No short shorts outside UGA, I guess.

And that's all I've got time for right now, but I'll keep it coming tomorrow!

More pics from SD

My view looking up from a poolside lounge chair at the palm trees. You better love this pic, Adam!!! This is also the new background on my phone.

More palm trees, but now in front of our hotel building. This is the North Tower, and my room is on the 11th floor around the other side looking half out on the bay and the city. By the way, here's a link to our actual hotel, the San Diego Marriott Hotel & Marina.

Not that I am looking for nice guys or hosting such an event, but maybe they were inviting me. If so, I hear nice guys finish last, so I think I'll pass.

This is the Hard Rock Hotel/Lounge/Cafe. Apparently it's "the" place to be in SD, but there was a private party so we couldn't get in.

The views from our room and the pool

Here's our pool that sits between the North and South Towers. Those tent things in the back are the various spas and massage facilities. And to the right, just outside the frame, is a fake waterfall with a bar on top of it.

One of the many views from our 11th floor balcony.

Looking out over the marina from the balcony.

San Diego skyline...

This is a random fountain across the street from our hotel. There are actually trolley tracks that go through it. Interesting...

This place is incredible! Definitely the nicest hotel I've ever stayed in.

We're here!

The airport knew we were coming! Some interesting things to write about the trip so far, so look for an update soon! It's beautiful here!