Work Conferences

MeaghanandMichael · January 2010

Soooo, next week I will be in New Orleans for a conference/expo with my boss and my co-worker. We are at the conference from 8-4, but after that my boss mentioned he wants to hang out all night every night. Good grief.

Stories, inspiration, nonos on what to do at night with your boss and co-worker in a city none of you know anything about? Super bonus points if you tell me specific things in New Orleans to do.

Oh, they are both male, 42 and 31, married and engaged, love to drink. There must be something besides hitting the bars every night right?

Brie2010 · January 2010

I'm lame and would make up a great-aunt Hilda I had to go visit while I was in town. And then go to my hotel, order room service, and watch trashy TV in my PJs.

danieliza1127 · January 2010

When I travel for work, which used to be a ton, I don't spend every evening with the co-workers I'm there with. You certainly don't have to. I could see getting some dinner and drinks one night, but I think the majority of the rest of the time I was there, I'd do my own thing. Go shopping, read, go to the spa, etc.

FutureMrsTR · January 2010

Ugh, I know nothing about New Orleans, but I hate going to conferences with the guys from my office. We went to Vegas last May (going again this May) and we go to New York once a year too.

It's exhausting and I'm always the only woman which makes me a little nervous sometimes. I just stay sober (which I would normally do anyway because I'm not a big drinker) and try to get as much sleep as I can manage. I usually beg off late night activities with a headache, haha.

Unfortunately, my coworkers usually get plastered and like to overshare I now know things I really wish I didn't know about some of them.

kate51485 · January 2010

Yeah I think I'd avoid hanging out with them all night every night...sounds like they're a wee bit excited to fly the coop for a few days. On a semi-related note I am going to San Francisco in a few weeks for a work trip...by myself and I've never been there. I'm terrified. Lame.

opalsky007 · January 2010

The last conference I went to had multiple giant cocktail parties every night, hosted by different companies--we rarely even needed to go out. You might not wind up needing to find much else to do!

BecW2be · January 2010

I won an advertising award in NOLA way back in 2002, and we hit Bourbon St. to celebrate with 10 or so co-workers. I kept getting free congratulatory drinks, and at Coyote Ugly the bartender took me up on the bar for an acceptance speech re-do, then I jumped off the bar and twisted my ankle and ended up in the ER until 6am.

Don't do that.

I like the fake aunt idea. Or you could claim you can't drink for medical reasons, causing a flutter of false pg rumors to fly after the conference!

ScarletGem · January 2010

Yeah, I'm more with opal on this one. When we go to conferences, there's often booze provided in the evenings, and when there isn't we go out to eat/drink together. But my work group is pretty close, and often hangs out together outside of work anyway, so we're maybe not a typical crowd.

MeaghanandMichael · January 2010

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_work-conferences?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:9Discussion:467ed6dc-2512-4f5e-bd80-ebf96ce5f311Post:19e8a963-96a8-4d99-8838-339c8948e888">Re: Work Conferences</a>:
[QUOTE]Yeah I think I'd avoid hanging out with them all night every night...sounds like they're a wee bit excited to fly the coop for a few days. On a semi-related note I am going to San Francisco in a few weeks for a work trip...by myself and I've never been there. I'm terrified. Lame.
Posted by kate51485[/QUOTE]

EGGZACTLY. They are ready for all fun and games, and honestly, I am always so exausted after traveling that I don't know what I am going to be able to do. The BIG problem is that I work in a 'good old boys' environment, and if I act like a wussy girl, I am going to get shiit for it. Is that incredibly wrong? Yes. Is it what I feel I need to do to work my way up the ladder around these parts? Yes. Blaaaah.

opalsky007 · January 2010

Maybe you ought to duck out when you get tired with an, "Oh crap! I was supposed to call Mike! He worries so much about me."

They'll get drunk and forget all about it later.

MeaghanandMichael · January 2010

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_work-conferences?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:9Discussion:467ed6dc-2512-4f5e-bd80-ebf96ce5f311Post:0b776cae-df53-4ec6-9929-2032566ecd47">Re: Work Conferences</a>:
[QUOTE]I won an advertising award in NOLA way back in 2002, and we hit Bourbon St. to celebrate with 10 or so co-workers. I kept getting free congratulatory drinks, and at Coyote Ugly the bartender took me up on the bar for an acceptance speech re-do, then I jumped off the bar and twisted my ankle and ended up in the ER until 6am. Don't do that. I like the fake aunt idea. Or you could claim you can't drink for medical reasons, causing a flutter of false pg rumors to fly after the conference!
Posted by BecW2be[/QUOTE]

HAHAH holllly shiit Bec, that really sucks but it is truly hilarious now.
And yeah, they saw my antics at the Christmas party sooo I don't know how much preggo vibes I can send two weeks later.

laurenclaire1386 · January 2010

Depens partly on what part of town you're staying in. If you stay in the Quarter, there's a bar on nearly ever corner. Barhopping is an incredibly easy thing to do in NO.

This might sound weird and depressing, but the Holocaust museum is fantastically moving. They just opened it a couple of years ago and it's truly something to see.

There's a casino, a giant one, right on Canal, if y'all will be in the Quarter, and if a casino is your sort of thing. If not, there's the French Market. It's an open air market with all sorts of vendors that sell just about everything under the sun. I've bought lots of neat jewelry there and also some decorative stuff for the house.

You'll have a great time either way.

EDIT: Totally forgot about the Aquarium and the Zoo. FI and I went and did both last summer and had so much fun. It might be a little cold for the zoo, though.

MeaghanandMichael · January 2010

ooh Lauren, I was hoping you would pop your head in here! I remember you had great ideas before. And yes, Casinos are my guilty pleasure!!

laurenclaire1386 · January 2010

Do you know what hotel y'all are staying in? I can give you more details if I know what part of town y'all are in.

fangsiting · January 2010

You could go on a haunted history tour. I'm sure they are cheesy, but it would be something to do that wouldn't involve drinking or having to make conversation with your co-workers. There are ghost tours, cemetery tours, vampire tours. Tons of stuff like that.

ac_in_dc · January 2010

Usually when I go to work-related conferences the stressful thing is not spending time with my co-workers, but networking with folks from other organizations. Do you need to do that?

Either way, I think it's fine to strike a balance. Eg, join them for dinner but bail after that.

MeaghanandMichael · January 2010

Lauren we are staying at the Hilton right next to the Morial Convention center. I see we are a few feet from Harrah's on google maps, wooot!

And no, fortunately, I don't think I have to make friends with people as part of my job... but I would for personal reasons. I will see how it goes.

laurenclaire1386 · January 2010

Well, then you're totally set. Steps away from Harrah's, a short walk to the heart of the quarter and pretty close to the Riverwalk, which has some pretty darn good shopping and is also right by the aquarium. I'm now super jealous of your NO trip.

TurtlesAllTheWayDown · January 2010

When I go to conferences, they are for school, and the worst thing I do is sometimes skip lectures. However, the sales department at my company goes to conferences several times a year where they just have to schmooz - so each company holds parties, takes other people out to really expensive dinners, or else just stays out at bars or hotel rooms drinking until about 4am. Then they have to be on the floor of the conference doing more networking at 8am the next day. I don't envy them.

SarahPLiz · January 2010

I think you shold walk to Johnny's and get a Po-boy, then walk to Central Grocery and get a muffaletta (1/2 will do it), then go back to your hotel and gorge yourself on all the yumminess. Pralines and "bangs" (what we used to call them as kids) for dessert. Abita beer to wash it all down..

Ditto Lauren on the Aquarium and the Zoo. I haven't done a haunted history tour because I'm a wimp, but FI said we were doing one next time we go back. YOu can basically walk everywhere from where you are staying, but don't walk alone at night. Ever.

laurenclaire1386 · January 2010

Oh Jesus Lord Sarah, I totally forgot about Central Grocery and the muffaletta. I'm so insane about muffalettas that I only eat them from Central Grocery because everything else is an imitation. Sitting in the back at Central Grocery with a half muff (hah) and a bottle of Barque's is pure heaven.

thesuninherhead · January 2010

I go to lots of work conferences, but rarely hang out with my boss. I did go for dinner with my boss the day before I had to present at a conference, though, and I swear to god she was trying her best to get me completely wasted. She kept pouring extra wine into my glass, and then suggested we order another bottle (the one we did have was mostly consumed by me, she barely sipped hers) and did the same thing all over again, while boasting about her ability to hold her alcohol. I wasn't sure what to make of that, actually!

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