Let's see where I left off on the blog...oh yes! I last wrote the day before I left to go to Nashville for the Summer NAMM show. I left on Tuesday evening (after working a full day in the office) and took a red eye flight to Nashville. I arrived around 8AM Wednesday morning and heading off to the hotel and convention center. I was extremely lucky to be able to get into my hotel room at 8AM and was able to shower and freshen up before reporting to work. Even though they did not need me to report until the afternoon, I was there so I showed up early. Since the show did not officially open until Thursday, Wednesday was a lot of getting things together and making sure everyone in registration knew what they were doing. In registration, we had a lot of help from people who work for the convention center. They were all so sweet and caught on very quickly. It was an experience for me not to be the lowest man on the totem pole. I was actually helping to fix problems and was able to override errors and answer questions. I was also the only NAMM staff that was actually on the line the entire time. I could get people through the line quickly and efficiently (at least I think so). That night, I went out with some people to work. We enjoyed a nice dinner in downtown Nashville and then went to check out some of the live music in the bars on Broadway. It was nice to just hang out and have a good time.
The show started bright and early Thursday morning. Most of the next three days were a blur of people and work. I know that on Thursday I went to lunch with Dr. Piechocinksi and Chels which was wonderful. Dr. P was in town just for the day to visit and come to the show and Chels is now living in Nashville while doing her internship with Jupiter (one of their brands, Mapex, was actually exhibiting at the show). It was great to catch up. Here is a picture of Chels and I outside Demo's (the restaurant we went to)
Don't we just look so professional! This NAMM show was very different than the winter show which I have attended 3 times before. I only spent cumulative of about one hour on the actual show floor. In the past I spent 4 days from 10-6 ON the show floor walking around. I kept telling everyone this was my easiest NAMM show and I was actually WORKING this one. Friday night was the first ever Top 100 Dealer Awards. This is an event to honor 100 of the top music stores in the country. There were 12 category winners and then the coveted Top Dealer of the Year award. This was a new experience for everyone and there are definitely improvements to be made for next year but over all it went extremely well. I was working behind the scenes for the entire event so I did not see how it came out on stage but my job was to present the winners with their actual trophy (they got a decoy on stage) and lead them to the area to take a photo with our CEO and Chairman then figure out of they wanted their trophy to be shipped to their store or if they wanted to take it with them. So many of the winners were so surprised and excited to even be nominated. It was great to see people so excited about music. The Dealer of the Year came off the stage with tears in her eyes. It meant a lot to her and her store to be called the top dealer out of over 100 stores. I don't think anyone at NAMM realized how important this honor would be.
Saturday night I went out on the town with some people from work. We had a really good time. We went a little off the beaten path of downtown Nashville to some places that some of them had gone to in the past. We ate a fantastic dinner at a place called South Street Smokehouse and hit up some of the bars in the area of Music Row. It was a great way to cap off the show and my internship as a whole.
Playing shuffleboard at Losers...a bar near Music Row...right next door to Winners...often frequented by country stars after a long day of recording.
biggest but most delish tater tots ever!!!!!
The next morning I had a nice relaxing morning and then prepared myself for the trip home. Chels picked me up at the hotel and we went out to eat and then to her apartment to hang out before she had to bring me to the airport. The flight home was uneventful and my mom was waiting for me in San Diego at the airport when I arrived! It was so strange seeing HER pick me up at the airport in California. Monday I went to work where I had a going away party. Mom came to the party and was able to meet a lot of the people I had been telling her about as well as see my office. I was touched by all of the kind words that everyone had to say about me. I realized I am really going to miss everyone at NAMM. It was an incredible company to work for and I hope that I can find something half that great for my first REAL job. That evening, Mom and I met my cousin Steven and Aunt Denise (who was in town visiting Steven from NY) in Del Mar for one final dinner. It was probably the perfect place for my last dinner in California. We ate as a seafood place right on the beach where we had an outdoor table and we were able to watch the sunset. It was also great catching up with Aunt Denise who mom and I hadn't seen in 11 years.
The next morning we packed up the car and took off back to Indiana. There are so many stories I could share from our adventures home but this blog is all ready freakishly long since I missed 15 days of blogs. I will just say that we had a great time. Points of interest along the way were Las Vegas for a lunch date with Billy, one of my best friends from high school, Yellowstone National Park, Mount Rushmore, and Crazy Horse. I was so excited to be able to cross some things off of my bucket list along the way. Mom and I wanted to make the best of a cross country trip because neither of us know when we might be able to take the time to do it ever again. Since you are not getting stories, here are some of the pictures of our adventures:
Standing in front of the unfinished mountain sculpture of Crazy Horse in South Dakota
Wide open desert!
Grizzly bear at the bear and wolf exhibit in West Yellowstone, MT
Standing in front of one of the hot springs at Yellowstone
My two other travel buddies...Mr. Met and Fidget
MOUNT RUSHMORE
Billy and I in Vegas
