working in portland

I know many of my lovely readers (like, all 5 of them) know what I do for a living. For those of you who dont, I work in the marketing department of a software company specializing in network security software for k-12 school districts all over the country and abroad. I love my job and I love the people I work with. I am very blessed. However, most of you do not know that half of our marketing team resides in Portland, OR. Crissy and I handle everything from our main Downtown Bakersfield office and our boss (VP of Marketing), copy writer, graphic designer, and internet marketing specialist all live in Portland. We all communicate constantly through emails and conference calls everyday and this past week we were able to all meet together in Portland and have an intense planning session. We also had time for taking in the sights of Portland.

Team Building #1
Portland Rock Gym - After our plane arrived in Portland, we had a few minutes to check in to our hotel, then our boss picked us up and whisked us away to the Portland Rock Gym for some indoor rock climbing. So fun! It also showed us alot about our personalities. Me? Less analyzing - more doing. Straight to the top.





crissy and I


crissy, ileana (boss), and I


Team Building #2
Pittock Mansion hiking trails - After the rock climbing, we drove up in the hills to Pittock Mansion (beautiful) and hiked some trails.







HUGE slug...gross


We also had time to check out some of the sights on our own...

Pioneer Courthouse



Downtown Haunted Pizza
I have no idea why this pic is crooked, and I cant seem to fix it--so tilt you head if you really care


***The series of events that followed this dinner include us walking outside to a dark downtown, that seemingly changed in the few hours we we talking in the restaurant, and us wandering lost around the wrong part of town. We definitely stood out in our colorful sweaters and Ann Taylor shopping bags. Act confident. Is someone following us? I have no idea where we are. Dont pull out the map!
Luckily, we finally found an open restaurant, went inside, and called a cab. Crisis averted.

Rose Garden


My favorite part was just driving around all of the gorgeous neighborhoods. I LOVED every single house. Seriously. Our boss lives in an amazing area full of old homes with tons of charm and I was in love.

Ok, but seriously, we went there to WORK. And we did. ALL day on Thursday and Friday morning. Metrics, national and regional campaigns, Salesforce, ROI, budget, consistent marketing, target titles, direct mail, email copy and design, timelines, webinars, web demos....We were consumed with these topics. What resulted was a great planning session outlining our campaigns for the rest of the year and bringing problematic issues to the forefront. I love working with these amazing, talented, smart people. I am learning so much and am constantly being challenged.