Work and such things

Here goes my first ever Red Frog Events update! Hold on to your seats because there's a lot of stuff I've got to say about it!

So it's my second week at RFE and things have been going so, so well. I can't believe this is my job! We've only been in orientation so far, but we've learned so much about the events we run and everything. And yes, Poppy, I finally know what I'm actually doing besides just drinking from the keg and eating Skittles.

Basically, we're put on different teams for the duration of our internship. Everyone has about seven or eight teams, spread throughout all the different events as well as some of the office stuff. We were given a survey on Friday that listed just about every possible team (43 in all) and we had to rank them 1-43, based on how much we were interested in them. I elected to do a lot of different writing teams because I definitely enjoy that and I figured it would be fun to make participants, as well as my fellow Tadpoles (the name given to us interns, as opposed to the full-time Frogs), laugh through text, as often as possible. My teams are CoffeeTalk (the daily work update/info newsletter), Warrior Dash (www.warriordash.com) Monthly Newsletter, Email communications, Great Urban Race (www.greaturbanrace.com) Masterminds team (tracking times for the events, setting up packet pick-up, etc.), planning team for Great Urban Race Los Angeles, and the planning team for Warrior Dash Maryland. I don't know if that makes a lot of sense, but it's kind of a lot to take in all at one time. Most of those will be throughout the internship but some are only until the event actually happens and then you're done planning it obviously. Every Tadpole also has phone and tour shifts every week. Phone shifts consist of sitting in the Phone Pods and answering customer service calls. Tour shifts are when we give tours to the interviewers as soon as they arrive, prior to their actual interview. Anyone who comes to visit me can get a tour for sure, so book your tickets now!

That brings me to travel… I get to travel 4 (and maybe 5) times throughout the internship, which is really exciting! My first trip is for the very first Urban Warrior Dash (www.urbanwarriordash.com) and is set in the very center of San Diego. I'm so excited to go to this one because it is the first of it's kind, plus the fact that usual Warrior Dash is set in the middle of nowhere (Mechanicsville, Maryland? Smithsville, TX?) but this one is right in the center of the city and actually starts in PetCo Park! That's probably the one I'm most excited for. It's March 3rd, and I think I go the Thursday before and leave on Sunday because set up is generally one day since it is in such a large city. My second trip is to Warrior Dash Georgia, which is April 13, so I get a pretty large break from traveling. Warrior Dash crews go on Tuesday before the event and don't leave until Sunday, so it's a pretty long week. We basically have to set up the whole race and festival area, and apparently it's a lot of work but also a lot of fun. My third trip takes me back to California! Great Urban Race Los Angeles is the very next weekend after I go to Georgia, but it's a much shorter trip. The only real work happens on the day of the race (Saturday) but we arrive on Friday and leave on Sunday. I'm also really excited for this one because only two of us Tadpoles go along with the Frogs assigned to it. My last trip is May 18th, to Maryland. Another Warrior Dash, so another long trip. I'm excited because I think my four are pretty widespread and send me to some really cool places I've never been to. I think this travel is one of the best parts!

As for the people, it's a blast working with them. Everyone is generally in the 21-25 age range, and I'm surprised that probably 75% of the people moved to Chicago just because of this job! I guess I kinda did the same but without the job part, but still, I know it takes a lot of guts! There are 45 of us Tadpoles and since most everyone is new here we all hang out together after work too. Everyone came to my house one night to party, and that was really fun. The 5th floor of our office has a bar with two kegs so we also like to hang out up there some nights. Everyone is fun and outgoing and I honestly feel like I have 45 new friends!

Okay, I think that's all I have for right now, but there will certainly be more updates as I get into my actual work. Hope everyone is doing well, I'll talk to you all soon!