We worked with some great people this week and we had a lot of fun!

The Trade Show was a success; many of the major restaurant chains were there, all of which stopped by the booth for a FIFO Bottle demonstration and we received a lot of positive comments on both the booth and the bottle - apparently we were known as the squeeze bottle people, so that’s cool.

After the trade show on the last day we went over to the CNN building for dinner and we found out the Atlanta Thrashers (NHL) were playing in the stadium next door. We got tickets for the game which was tonnes of fun. It was a great game, the fans were really into it and there was always something entertaining playing on the big score clock.

I also had my first Chicken and Waffles experience this week. Pretty interesting combination. I had never heard of it before and I had no clue that Chicken and Waffles went so well together.

I haven’t been able to see much of Atlanta yet, though we are here for another couple of weeks, so hopefully we will have some time to check it out before we head out of town.

-Sean

On our second day in Atlanta, we realized that the CNN building is pretty much across the street from the Georgia Trade Show Center. Fiddy also knew a guy who worked there. We put two and two together and took up an offer for a private tour of the world’s most infamous newsroom.

The building is enormous, with a massive lobby full of people milling about, eating, chatting, and watching news. That’s because there are flatscreen tv’s everywhere. I’ve never seen more televisions. I think the basic idea is that anywhere you possible look, you’re watching CNN.

From the lobby we passed through the security checkpoint and entered the catacombs of the organization. There were offices, hallways, computer screens, water coolers - pretty much everything you’d expect from a normal building.

Then suddenly we arrived in the main newsroom floor, the characteristic red logo hovering multiple times overhead. Under that red glow, hordes of people milled over their reports, video footage, and keyboards, producing stories that are shown 24 hours a day all over the world.

You could say it was pretty cool.

We met a few producers and employees and continued our tour. We visited so many sections of the building and departments of CNN that I lost count. But it was amazing to see how many people can work together, like an oiled machine, churning out content day in and day out.

Ideally, it would have been great to have Sean and One Week Job featured on one of their shows, but unfortunately, their segment was already full for the day and they couldn’t fit him in.

But there’s a strong possibility he may wander the halls of CNN sometime in the next few weeks, as we’ll be in Atlanta for a while longer.

So instead, we got a shot of Sean *technically* on CNN…sort of. Still counts for something right?

I just finished my second day working at the NAFEM Trade Show here in Atlanta, Georgia. The trade show is absolutely massive - just when you think you have found a great parking spot, you realize you have another 15 minutes to walk until you get to our booth.

Trade Shows are pretty interesting. You get to say the same thing over and over again for the entire day, though each time you say it, you must show enough energy and interest as if it was the first time. After all, for the potential customer, it is the first time.

I like the interaction with different people. It’s challenging though, as I only know enough about the FIFO Bottle that I can get people interested in it, highlight the benefits, then when more serious questions start (such as price or location of distributors), I have to pass them onto another more knowledgeable coworker.

The FIFO Bottle is one of those things that seems so simple, but such a good idea you are left wondering how it could not have been invented earlier.

Sales often gets a negative association, because the perception is that they try to sell something to others that they don’t really need. While I’m sure there are salesmen out there like that, I have found that it’s not really about selling somebody something that they don’t need, it’s about finding the right people who will genuinely benefit from your product and connecting with them.

Another highlight: I was treated to a private tour of the CNN head office today, which was conveniently located across the street from the tradeshow centre. I will tell you more about that tomorrow.

Tomorrow is also the last day of the show. I finally lined up my job for next week today and it looks like I will be in Atlanta for a couple more weeks, though who knows, things seem to be changing quite often!

-Sean

This week is pretty significant as it will be my first One Week Job in the United States. Tomorrow, I am leaving for Atlanta, Georgia where I will be working as a Trade Show Salesman with a company called Fundamental Designs.

The product that we will be demonstrating is called the FIFO Bottle. What is a FIFO Bottle you ask? It is a plastic squeeze bottle for dispensing sauces. The thing that makes this bottle unique is that it is based on the First-In First-Out (FIFO) principle. You put the sauce in one end and it comes out the other end.

The pictures they have on the FIFO Bottle website will give you a better idea. Or, the next time you are in a Subway restaurant, just make note of the sauce dispensing bottle they are using - it’s a FIFO Bottle.

That was probably more than you wanted to know about plastic squeeze bottles, though it is pretty exciting for the company as they have recently developed some prototype bottles that allow for portion control. Portion control is obviously really important within the fast food industry as every penny is counted.

It is a huge trade show and we will be demonstrating the portion control bottles for the first time so there is a lot of potential for the company coming out with some great contracts.

I am looking forward to seeing the sales process in action and learning more about the techniques involved.

-Sean

Here it is, Sean’s week as an Advertising Executive at Cossette Communications in Montreal, Quebec. It was a great week, being able to hang out in a creative environment and talk with some insanely-motivated and inspiring people. Enjoy the episode!

Yesterday was the end to a really great week in Victoria, BC with The Boulders Climbing Gym.

Sebastian Powell is the gym manager at Boulders and I spent the majority of my time with him this week. He was very patient and I was able to learn so much from him and get to see many different aspects of climbing in only a week.

The first morning I learned how to put the harness on correctly, tie a figure eight knot, and use the belay devices, then that evening I was already sitting in on a lead climbing lesson. Lead climbing is where you clip yourself into the bolts on the wall with your rope as you climb up, whereas top rope climbing is when the rope is also attached to an anchor at the top of the wall and then down to your belayer. Usually, it is something that comes after you have been climbing for… well, I am not sure, but more than a week anyways.

I was able to learn a lot about the industry and all the different levels of certification through the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides (ACMG).

I helped out with the climbing teams, running warm-up and taking them through a training program at the end of practice, helped out with a kids birthday, cashed out and closed the gym, and on the last day I learned from Assistant Alpine Guide, Simon Robins, how to build anchors when outdoor climbing. Although, it was pretty cold and wet, we had fun and were able to test out our anchor making abilities with some repelling.

I really enjoyed climbing and it is a sport I will definitely be doing more of in the future!

Kimanda, the chair of the non-profit who runs Boulders was really great to us. I don’t think I have ever spent so much time in a kitchen before, nor had so much fun in one. Each night when Ian and I came home from work, we would spend a couple hours in the kitchen chatting with Kimanda - it was just that nice of a kitchen.

There is a great atmosphere at the gym and I enjoyed working with the kids. They have made the choice to be there and so are that much more motivated and have a positive attitude.

I realized this week how the climbing or in any organized sport for that matter, the activity serves as a means to bring people together, build relationships and participate in something together. Almost as if the climbing is secondary and that it is the sense of community and team that bring the kids into the gym everyday before anything else.

It reminds me of a theme that I have noticed throughout my experience. It is the people that we work with that make a positive work environment and help contribute to our overall job satisfaction. When I ask people what they like about their job, a common response I hear is the people they work with.

The week went quickly and soon it was time to say goodbye and head back to Vancouver.

I will be back in Vancouver for a few days and then it’s off to Atlanta, Georgia which will be my first One Week Job in the States.

I am pretty excited about it and it will be interesting to see how things go.

I leave for Atlanta on Wednesday and so will tell you more about what I will be doing for Week #29 on Tuesday.

Thanks again to everyone at Boulders Climbing Gym for such a great week!

-Sean

A Chinese Magazine called Ming Pao ran a story recently about One Week Job. The cover is pretty sweet, check it out…

One week on the East coast, the next on the West!

After spending a few days back home in Vancouver, before I knew it, it was time to hop on the bus and ferry to Vancouver Island. Kimanda, the chair of the non-profit that runs The Boulders Climbing Gym, met us in downtown Victoria with her dog, Boo.

She had rented a car for us for the week, though because my name was not on the insurance, we had to drive her car while she drove the rental. So before we knew it, Ian and I were cruising downtown Victoria in a new convertible Mercedes Benz, top down of course - even though it wasn’t the warmest of evenings.

Kimanda is awesome and we spent the first night chatting in her kitchen about all sorts of stuff. She is a public affairs consultant, aka lobbyist, for her day job, so needless to say she had some pretty interesting stories to share.

I had my first day on the job yesterday. My forearms and shoulders are quite sore today, though I imagine it will get easier each day as hopefully my technique improves.

This week, I’m following some members of the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides (ACMG) at the Boulders Climbing Gym. The ACMG is the certifying body for climbing instructors and mountain guides in Canada, and their standards are recognized as the highest in the world.

Sebastian Powell, the manager of the Boulders Climbing Gym, is a certified Climbing Gym Instructor and my boss for the week. He is a great guy and has been very patient in leading me through the proper technique and terminology of climbing.

This week I will be helping out with coaching, setting up and taking down routes, checking in customers, supervising the kids…

There are three teams that train at the gym and are organized into groups according to their commitment level to the sport determined by how many times a week they train.

I went through the training session last night with the Granite team, which I am guessing is the main factor to why my arms are so sore today!

I will be in the gym until Friday and then on Saturday I will get to accompany Simon Robins, an Assistant Alpine Guide who runs the outdoor climbing courses for the gym, to a nearby outdoor climbing spot. Hopefully the weather co-operates though the forecast is not looking too good.

-Sean

This week I will be in Saanichton, British Columbia (22 km North of Victoria) working as a Rock Climbing Instructor with The Boulders Climbing Gym. They run adaptive recreation programs, a youth climbing team, rehab programs for stroke and brain-injury victims, and climbing programs for youth of different abilities, including autism programs.

I have done some rock climbing before, though will definitely need some refreshing before beginning to tell others how it’s done. I am reminded of my week as a Yoga Instructor (Week #7) in Edmonton, Alberta, having not done any yoga before going into the week - I am looking forward to the challenge.

From the interaction with my contact at the gym, it sounds like a great atmosphere at the gym and I am excited to be a part of it for the week!

-Sean