google dance (a recap)

I was looking forward to this event because it was a lot of fun last year, but lots of the UXers didn't go or were out of town this year. It just wasn't the same.

On the up side though, it didn't look like all the set-up was going to come together in time, so I e-mailed Anne, one of the coordinators, to see if they needed any help. It turns out they did. I got to distribute t-shirts to Googlers, which is a total madhouse. We even ran completely out of shirts. But I had a lot of fun - I always have fun when I get involved in setting events up. It kind of brings me out of my shell. I think I'll volunteer for more things like that. (I also got a "STAFF" shirt, which rocks.)

But back to the event itself - there were arcade games everywhere, pool tables, product demo stations, shaved ice vendors, beer and wine, and some good food. I didn't stay for the DJ and the dancing - my feet were tired from standing up for so long handing out t-shirts (that ankle still isn't at 100%), and I still had out-of-town guests to get home to.

The amount of fun I had behind the scenes reminds me how much I enjoyed being the self-appointed social coordinator at my old job, setting up get-togethers and retro shirt days. And it just occurred to me that my mom loved that too - she actually had a business for a while setting up conferences and events. So it must be in my blood. That makes me happy.