I had the opportunity to visit Barcelona for a team meetup this month. Amazingly, bits of Spanish from my long-ago university days somehow managed to re-emerge in my brain, ocasionally even forming sentence fragments that seemed to be at least partially understood. For various reasons, I didn’t take as many photos throughout the week as I’d planned, but during our last day, we played tourist and the camera came out in force as we explored two of Gaudí’s masterpieces, the Sagrada Família and Parc Güell.
My team at Automattic is the Theme Team, and I love that we’re more commonly known by our portmanteau, Theam. We got together in British Columbia this month for our team meetup, and it was great to hang out in person with the people I chat with every day online.
We collaborated on the next iteration of the exciting Components starter-theme generator project and didn’t let the mostly grey, wet weather stop us from enjoying some of Vancouver’s nature, food, and cultural highlights.
indoor-garden
We took advantage of a break in the weather to brave heights at the Capilano Suspension Bridge Park. While I’ve been here several times and it’s admittedly touristy, I always love coming with new people and seeing their faces when they first catch sight of the narrow, wiggly bridge — and then the Cliffwalk!
One of the things I love about working at Automattic is that my colleagues are also my friends. I’m so glad I got to spend some time with you in person, my friends, and in my own country to boot. I hope Canada treated you well. Sorry about the weather, eh?
Earlier this month I took an extraordinary trip to Hawaii. The entire Automattic theme division met for its annual gathering on the island of Kauai – a meetup locale rather different from last year’s Charleston ice storm. I stayed on in Hawaii a bit longer, getting a few more days to enjoy this beautiful place.
As cliché as it may sound, Hawaii was simply magical. Sea turtles silently crawling up the shoreline on Poipu Beach, scenery as stunning as it gets, and an unforgettable helicopter ride around Kauai – including the waterfalls where the famous arrival scene from Jurassic Park was filmed. It rejuvenated my soul and provided sustenance to carry me through the rest of this vicious winter.
There is something special and surreal and intense and wonderful about getting together and living with your colleagues – who hail from around the world – for a couple of weeks throughout the year.
And this particular trip was extra-memorable. Trapped on Isle of Palms in South Carolina during a freak deep-south ice storm, we battled closed bridges and slick icy stairs/streets/sidewalks, fought through weather-related transatlantic travel mishaps, cooked enough pasta for an army and barbecued All The Things in lieu of the planned restaurants, and eventually made it into Charleston to see some sights five days later than expected.
Despite challenges, it was an amazing meetup. There was a lunch picnic in front of a cozy fire, long chats about everything under the sun, brainstorming sessions, and raucous games of Cards Against Humanity. During the last few days of van rides I heard more belly laugh-inducing Han Solo/Chewy repartee than over the past ten years.
When the key bridge reopened after several false starts and we finally made it into downtown Charleston there were gluten-free bakery wonders and vegan delights. And we collectively ate more fried southern food than most of our stomachs had ever experienced before, with mixed results.
It was a week to remember forever. Thank you to my funny, smart, warm-spirited colleagues – and friends – for making it so.
Kathryn Presner 