Our trip to the COMMON conference this year was both business and pleasure. We brought out the entire team to Orlando, FL to bond and celebrate. After delivering a record quarter (3x over the same period last year), we had to kick loose just a little bit, so we can come back even better and stronger!

I have to say the trip was packed with a ton of adventure… making the The Hangover look like a kid’s movie.

So, in no particular order, here are some of the “outlandish” things we ended up doing (at least the ones I still remember):

• Wild Pool Volleyball. There is still a dispute about who won which game, but without a doubt it was one of the best times we had. The pool at the The Loews Royal Pacific Resort is amazing!
  
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• Great food, drinks, and cigars… all while discussing important business with customers and partners. This is how business gets done.
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• Mardi Gras Parade. Oh the things I had to do to get those bead necklaces. Enough said.
  
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• Ping Pong Championship. It was intense and sweat was pouring as we kept spinning, chopping, and slamming that ball! Ping pong is such a great workout!
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• COMMON 5K Run. My personal goal was to finish the run in 25 minutes, but I ended up doing it in 27 – I think the time difference threw me off… I got up at 3am my time for this! Without a doubt, Rob Ferguson on our team is the fastest runner we have. But I (miraculously) managed to beat him ;). He missed a turn and took the longer route … Haha! Got you! :)
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• Playing 5250 Breakers on a Huge Big Screen TV… It’s Profound Logic’s Breakout/Arkanoid Knock-Off with an IBM i Modernization Theme … Thank you to David Russo, Antonio Ruballos, and Glenn Hopwood for making this game a reality!
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• Extreme Dance Dance Revolution Competition – I love that game! I thought I was good, but Tricia Smith totally beat me. I want a rematch!
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• Connecting with a ton of customers who seem to be really excited about what we do. It was such an amazing feeling to hear the buzz about Profound Logic throughout the conference!
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• Being Officially Knighted as Lord of the Universe by the King at Medieval Times. I felt very special! :) Thank you Profounders and thank you King Arthur! I will try to rule fairly and responsibly.
  
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• Spending time with important execs as a Panelist on Application Modernization at the IT Executive Conference.
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• The Wanted Concert … Live… ok, we were all tired and we missed the entire concert. But still it was cool to be present there…. These guys are huge.
• Attending and delivering tons of great fun and educational sessions on IBM i, the platform we love. Profound delivered 17 sessions in total! Thank you Scott Klement, Brian May, and Rob Ferguson. In one of my sessions, I juggle oranges and then I throw them at my attendees. If you haven’t seen my session on Juggling IBM i Modernization Efforts, you must attend!
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• Trying Duff beer at Moe’s Tavern (from the Simpson’s)
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• Being entertained by Cirque du Soleil (with Profound fully participating in the show – of course!). Here is a Cirque du Soleil clown messing with Jordan Antonoff’s head.
  
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• Unveiling Profound UI 5.0, with some “kick-ass” capabilities never seen before in the world of computing!
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• Hopping from Island to Island and experiencing the interactive attractions at Islands of Adventures.
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• Fence Climbing (a late night activity proposed by my friend Roy ... Thank you! I had fun). David, I was going to invite you to participate, but then I remembered what happened last time we tried to climb a fence ;).
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• Punching Some Bags (the Arcade Game). I have been trying … for years … to beat Ben Smith’s score. Some day it will happen! Until next time.
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• Intense workouts at The Loews Royal Pacific Resort’s “deluxe” gym.
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• Plank competition on the streets of Universal Studios! Jordan, I am so glad you accepted a draw. But you better keep practicing ;).
  
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• Devouring food with my bare hands and sipping wine while watching the tournament at Medieval Times – a very interesting experience!
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• Riding the biggest and baddest rides at Universal Studios. Getting thrown around, soaked from head to toe, and blasted 100’s of feet up into the air is pretty darn cool!! So glad we had fast passes.
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• Crazy Luau Party hosted by COMMON. So great to see customers, IBMers, and competitors let loose after a long conference.
  
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• I should mention that Sky Diving was on the agenda ... but has been postponed. I promise we will get to it some day.
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• Oh, and how could I forget… We made a Horror Movie using a professional camera crew! Starring myself and other team members at Profound (of course!!!). Universal Studio’s Disaster!
  
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• And last, but not least. We still managed to get a lot of work done during the day.
  

Great times! But in the end, the best part for me was chatting and sharing moments with the amazing people who make up our team, some of whom I barely get to see in person. I feel lucky to have all of you in my life. And I appreciate everything you do. Let’s kick some butt, Profound!