GPUG Amplify South Africa 2018 - Preconference Day 1

Thursday, May 17, 2018

The new morning found us having breakfast at the hotel's restaurant. Prior to breakfast, David and Jennifer stopped by my room to drop off the Australian imports, mainly Allen's Chicos and Cadbury's Cherry Ripe. I also had to unload a Microsoft MVP jacket for David, which I had been storing for over a year.

With Jennifer and David Musgrave

Shortly after breakfast, we proceeded to leave the restaurant and take a walk around the premises. The Montecasino complex is primarily a 5-hotel complex with a casino, any number of restaurants, bars, business meeting rooms, a performing arts theater, and even a movie theater, all designed to provide a unique experience that can be enjoyed by families and business visitors alike.

The Piazza

The place has inevitable Las Vegas air and flair, comparable to that of The Venetian hotel. Proof of it is the styling of the buildings and overall décor.

With Jennifer and David

I met up with my Mekorma colleague in South Africa, Adriaan Davel. Adriaan is a Senior Software Engineer and reports directly to me. It was good catching up with him and we were both able to plan out some Mekorma-related work activities for the week and get to talk about dinner plans.

With Adriaan Davel

Later in the evening, the third contingent of international visitors arrived at the hotel. This time is was Alicia Weigel from Rockton Software and Katie Froeber and Angie Ryan from GPUG. The ladies checked in and went to freshen up and, after a few minutes, joined in downstairs for some drinks before dinner.

From left to right: Mariano Gomez, Alicia Weigel, Jennifer and David Musgrave, Katie Froeber, Angie Ryan, Pieter Cornelius, Deon Dalebout

Deon left for the evening as he had a 2-hour commute back to his home. Pieter joined us for dinner, but left before we ordered dinner was served as he had already ate. We all left for The Metropolis Grill and Bar (The Met Grill) inside the Montecasino complex as everyone had early morning activities planned, so something close was appropriate.

Mariano Gomez, David Musgrave, Jennifer Musgrave, Katie Froeber, Alicia Weigel, Angie Ryan

Katie, Alicia, and Angie had plans for a safari the following day, and David and I would be spending a day with the Braintree development team, covering a number of topics of interest to them.

Until next post,

MG.-
Mariano Gomez, MVP