scene - mccarran international airport, on the floor by the lockers and vending machines, 6:23pm
probably since i was about 19, i have loved cirque du soleil. i saw them do a short performance on one of the late night shows and it was simply magic. ever since then, i have wanted to see them. i bought cd’s, saw the imax, but in all my visits to vegas (because seeing them somewhere else just wouldn’t have felt right!) i have never seen a performance. usually it was because of money, but if look deeper, maybe it was because i was afraid that it couldn’t live up to my expectations. in my mind it was this perfect theatrical event, and nothing is perfect, is it?
when i checked in to my room at treasure island, i immediately saw that i faced the mirage, which happens to have ‘love’ signage splashed all over it. calling my name. taunting me even. i was completely torn. ‘love’ is nontraditional for cirque, but it’s beatles music. i mean, it had to be good! but i knew cheap tickets were hard if not impossible to come by—it’s still too new.
being an event planner has it's perks
i mentioned to shauna that i had never seen them perform and she told me that it was an absolute must. she suggested i stop by the desk at treasure island to see if i couldn’t find any great single ticket prices. she must have known from my hesitation that i wouldn’t. and so it wasn’t long before we were both at the desk inquiring about various shows. in the end, she bought both our tickets to see love. i’m still not sure how that happened, but it was a very nice gift. even though i know it’s probably not a big financial deal for her to do that, what was most meaningful to me, was that she did it because she somehow understood how happy it would make me. she had no particular interest in seeing the show, but she knew it would be an extraordinary experience for me. and it was.
i'm in love
it was unlike anything i’ve ever seen. it can’t help but bring out an awe and wonder rarely present in adults. because, let’s face it. we’re kind of jaded . and as much as i loved the show, equally as powerful to me was the gesture.
the trade show itself was also a huge success. in this case, i measure that by the feedback from our agents. this show is different than any other show i’ve been involved with. our booth was to serve primarily as a place where our people could setup meetings with clients and prospects.
we had 140 in attendance, and monday and tuesday, our tables were packed. the advisors had nothing but rave reviews for the booth itself, which i understand has never before been true. the booth was buzzing with activity all day monday and for most of yesterday, which is exactly how it should be. there were no angry attendees, everyone had a table when they needed one, and as i understand it, there were some very productive meetings held.
the booth reception was also a great success . a first time for the company, we weren’t sure exactly what to expect, but it was near perfection. there were one or two minor complaints, and knowing that it is impossible to please everyone to perfection, i was actually quite proud of that fact. very rarely do i walk away from a show with less than 10 ‘do differently next time’ items, but i was struggling to come up with five.
the boss and i
we had a good advance team, and the execution was near flawless. it takes skill, but also a fair amount of luck to pull that off, but it seems that despite the rough beginnings of this trip, all was to work out well in the end.
i’ve moved now to mccarran airport where i’m finishing this post (i love airports with free wifi), and looking forward to arriving home. two more work days (both of which have been announced as ‘jean day’s – yay!!) before the long weekend, and then it’s only a couple more before my man arrives. i am ecstatic!
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