EMC World 2015: Viva Las Vegas, Baby!

It's that time of year again! Spring! Sunshine! May! Hooray! What else do these things mean? EMC World, my company's annual customer and partner conference in viva Las Vegas!

This was my second EMC World as well as Cody's second time traveling to Vegas with me. This time, he even got our friends Andrew and Dennis to come along so he could have company while I was working in the booth on the exhibit floor. They had such a "mancation" together doing things like visiting the Hoover Dam and the shooting range, eating deli at New York, New York, drinking in the hot tub, and then some.

Boys will be boys, am I right?

I blogged about EMC World 2014 a few times last year so most of you are familiar but for those who are not familiar, EMC throws this conference every year for 8,000+ attendees. They consist mostly of customers and partners and the show is full of sessions, keynotes, announcements, and awesome booths on the show floor.

FINALLY got myself a black skirt so I can rock my trade show uniform MY way!

We also always have a HUGE customer party on the last night and this year, the special guests were Fall Out Boy and One Republic. I was VERY excited about Fall Out Boy - they were one of my favorite bands in high school. I was able to snag a few extra badges so Cody and the boys could come along. Free booze, food, and a show? Yes please!

The booth this year rocked. It was GINORMOUS. It was over 20,000 square feet to be exact. We shared the booth with another division and together we dominated EMC World. Here are some snapshots from the booth, where I mainly worked at the various information desks and handed out giveaways and directed attendees around the booth.

Like CABSAT in Dubai, we had Scott performing magic in the booth

When I wasn't working, I made sure to see as much of Vegas as I could! One of my favorite moments was visiting New York, New York to see M&M World and the Coca Cola store. We sampled sodas from around the world there and it was interesting to taste what other countries consider a tasty drink. Some were rather delicious, though!

We also visited the Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat at The Mirage. I loved seeing the lions and tigers in the garden and the dolphins were so cute when they were performing. They'd do their trick and rush over to the employees to get their treat. They reminded me of puppies that way.

Another highlight was our last night there. We got tickets to see Zombie Burlesque at the V Theater in Planet Hollywood. We didn't know what to expect but it was an amazing show! The show took place in a time where zombies mixed with humans with no issue and spent their days like anyone else. The biggest message in the show was to live your life without holding back - along with the declaration that zombies love sex just as much as humans. Of course, it was a burlesque show after all!

There was so much talent on the stage - it was so much more than just your typical burlesque show. These girls were FIERCE! There was a ballet act, an acrobat on ribbons, and amazing singing. I absolutely loved it!

The boys quite enjoyed the show as well - gee, I wonder why?!?

While in Vegas, Cody and I found yet another great souvenir - we got our faces carved into clay! I love anything that involves portraiture so this was right up my alley. It was fun to see them carving and the final product is so great! Now I need to find some doll-size glasses to put on our miniature heads so they REALLY look like us!

Lastly, I was on a mission. I knew I needed to hunt down the Tatyana Boutique while in Planet Hollywood. When the show let out, I had 30 minutes to find it. THE HUNT BEGAN! When I spotted it, I nearly freaked out. The guys ventured across the way for a beer and let me do my thing - which was so nice, since I needed to make my way through the store more than once to take it all in. I told myself that since it isn't everyday that I get to physically shop in a store filled with dresses of my style, I wasn't going to be strict on my spending so I splurged and got two dresses and a belt. You can see one of my finds in a post from earlier this week here!

I was over the moon at the Tatyana Boutique! The lovely gal in the shop didn't seem to mind that I was there until closing and I so appreciated that! It was such a fun way to end the week!

So there you have it, another EMC World said and done. I love that I can take Cody along with me on some of my journeys. He can't come to all of them but he plans to come along with me to at least one more in the fall. Where are we going? Amsterdam! That is going to be quite the adventure! Until then, we will have to live off our Vegas memories from last week!