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| We were here. |
Wednesday – Featured speakers
Wednesday was our presentation (we talked about Vanguard’s e-learning strategy)… it went very well – about a dozen people attended, all asking lots of questions. We were told we live in Shangri-La because we have so much going for us at Vanguard, and I believe that’s true to an extent. We’re well ahead of other organizations in some respects and way behind (and doing nothing to catch up) in others. I went to sessions on current trends, informal learning, and virtual worlds.
Wednesday night, Tamara and her family and I went to dinner at Rainforest Café. Sydney (at 2 years old) didn’t like the fake thunderstorms and frisky monkeys too much, but we still had a nice time at dinner (although I can’t say the food was all that good). After dinner, I walked around in the Marketplace area for another hour or so.
People watching can be quite fun there. There’s a service offered in the Wide World of Disney store that transforms little girls to princesses – so there are lots of little beauties walking around the part with their hair done with curls, and sparkles, and a tiara as well as a gorgeous costume, light makeup, and a little face-painting fun. They had some street performers playing music as well as varying musical enticements coming from all the storefronts and restaurants around the area.
After getting back to the hotel, I worked in my room for a brief time, then took a book out to read by the pool (till they turned off the lights at 11 pm – party poopers!).
Thursday – full on conference day
Thursday was another busy conference day. I attended anther interesting session on informal learning as well as a panel presentation where some academic types discussed the value of a degree for career success. It was a good day, but I was thrilled to get out at 5 pm – take a long walk to a local restaurant for dinner, and another long walk in the Marketplace. It’s just a crime to stay indoors when it’s not yet Spring at home and Florida is enjoying such beautiful weather.
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| Downtown Disney Sights |
Friday – Do I have to leave?
I was up way too early for the only presentation I intended to go to for the day – it was another interesting take on blending informal and formal learning by a consultant I respect. Then I walked through the empty streets of the Marketplace to get my exercise in for the day… and had a late breakfast / early lunch over there. Then it was back to my room to clean up and pack up. I decided to get to the train station a bit early just to be safe, turns out I had more than enough time to spare since the train was 1.5 hours late arriving. But now I’m relaxing in my little room and enjoying the scenery wizzing by.
The quiet little room, the clackety-clack of the wheels, the far-off blast of the train’s air horn, and low conversation and laughter from fellow passengers make for a nice travel soundtrack. Florida is surely a terrific place to visit, and I’ll be happy to go back anytime.
This is the life…
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