Questular - Esade event

It's been a crushingly hot summer in Barcelona, or so I've been told. I spent August in cooler, wetter climes, cursing the clouds as Catalunya sweltered in the sun. So yesterday's downpour was greeted with joy and relief by my friends. But not by me. I watched the falling drops with a growing sense of doom. Mother Nature was fucking with my plans.
And what great plans they were. Questular, the app I've spent the last three years helping to develop, was throwing an event for Esade, one of Barcelona's business schools. They have opened a new campus in Sant Cugat, a suburb, and our location-based game that has people running around the city looking for clues was the perfect fit to promote it. A couple hundred people were gathered at the university, ready to play, and it was raining for the first time in months.
We drove out there, looking despondently at the dark skies unleashing their payload on the earth. Spain is the sort of place that cancels anything if the day gets partly cloudy, so we doubted whether it was even going to take place.
Then, as we pulled into the parking lot, things took a turn for the better. The day went from this:

to this:

We arrived to find an eager crowd snacking and drinking as they awaited us. They filed into a presentation room where we gave them an explanation of what lay in store.

Now, my job consists of getting up in front of people and talking, as does my hobby, so this should have been a cakewalk. But instead, after being handed the mic and making a brief introduction, I blanked. My lame jokes had gone over well but I was left standing on a dais in silent panic. Only a few sentences into a prepared presentation, I literally had no idea what to say next. Fortunately, Elise swooped in to the rescue and gracefully took up the relay. After righting the course, she passed it back to me and we were off.
The crowd was divided into teams, registered online and turned loose. The university had even provided rain jackets for the players. The groups set about solving their problems, which included answering questions about their environment and making videos.

Two teams trying to find the answer to a riddle

Players choreograph and film a dance routine

Elise stayed at the campus to monitor the clips and photos they were sending us, while I went to camp out in a bar in town to help with any problems in the field. It had been previously arranged that the bar would provide a refreshment to anyone who gave them an Esade drink ticket, but when I got there, the sullen staff was turning players away, denying any knowledge of this. A quick phone call was followed by a heated conversation between an annoyed Esade woman and a defensive bar manager and the problem was solved. Happy teams showed up intermittently, ordered a round and discussed the videos they had been making. First rounds were followed by second ones and soon the bar had turned into a party.

On second thought, maybe less free beer

A shuttle to take people back into Barcelona had been scheduled, so after a couple of hours, I nudged and prodded the groups to return to the campus to watch each other's creations, claim their prizes and get a lift home.
All in all, the day was a success. Both the players and university organizers were happy with the event which had gone off mostly hitch-free. The app performed as it should with multiple users logged in simultaneously. The questions were fun and challenging and the videos creative.
If this sounds like something you think your company could use, please get in touch with me at salient.green1@gmail.com. If this sounds like something I think your company could use, you will be hearing from me soon.

Holiday Rock Report

Let me begin at the end. I confess - guilty as charged.

I was meant to fly back from New York, catching a connecting flight in Montreal. However, my flight out of Laguardia was delayed, meaning I would miss the second one. I was afraid the Air Canada would put me on a plane to Amsterdam or Frankfurt with a third flight home, but instead, they put me on a direct flight to Barcelona landing almost an hour earlier than originally planned. Yay, right? Well, they switched carriers and I ended up on American Airlines which doesn't have touch screens on each seat, meaning I was stuck watching the crappy movie they chose (Tower Heist) on a screen in the middle of the cabin. What is this? the 90's? I demand that while stuffing my face with plastic wrapped cheese ravioli I be entitled to choose which crappy movie I stare at blankly.
Anyway, the awesome intercontinental caper that was my August was capped by a 2 Skinnee J's show at the Music Hall of Williamsburg. Having had so much fun in May, we decided to take advantage of my time in Brooklyn to do it again. Really, it was an excuse to hang out with each other once more, and a splendid time was had by all.
Opening for us were the Wau Wau Sisters, a singing acrobatic comedy burlesque show, if you have to label them, and I highly recommend checking them out if you ever get the chance. I'd caught their act a couple of years ago, so I knew what to expect, but it was hilarious watching the audience reaction go from confused to amused to OMFG I can't believe that shit as the two performers gradually ramped up the spectacle, culminating in a trapeze show that rocked the house.

There is talk of new music and further shows, and threats of no further shows without new music. We'll see how productive a part time band that stretches from the Pacific to the Mediterranean can be.

In the meantime, it's back to reality. Laundry and groceries followed by getting into shape after a month of gluttony and GETTING A JOB all lie in my immediate future. 

Hasta La Vista

My bags are packed and I'm about to embark on my transcontinental unemployment celebration (ie: vacation) so I'm not sure how much I'll be updating this.
Have a good month everybody, and if you're in New York on the 24th, drop by.