The Goat Pen

Usually when I go it's about $2,500-$3,000. $1,500 for the class and $1,000-$1,500 for airfare, hotel, food.

Again, you don't work for the gov't. Any expenditure will be touted as excessive by whatever "watchdog" wants to latch onto it for a story. While the amount is not significant to those who travel to Vegas and know how these things can add up, the majority of the country doesn't travel to Vegas...or travel anywhere wider than 100 miles from their home, for that matter.

It's so insignificant in my universe that no one has even bothered to bring it up...not even with a joke.

It's interesting to us because we do these types of things for our company quite a bit.

Vegas is cheaper than most major cities. Chicago, San Fran, Wash DC, NYC are double the hotel room cost.

I think the issue for those chirping about it is that there should not have been an event in the first place. Fuck a Team Building, government workers should not feel good about where they work and austerity measures should be in place for every government worker from the Pres. on down to the janitor working in the Air and Space Museum.

As a result, if they would have expensed extra parfaits at a McDonald's outting in Bethesda someone would question why they were spending so much and why did they drive out to Maryland for it...they could have just taken the Red Line to the McDonalds by Union Station instead.

I would have to agree that any money spent on so called "team building" is a waste in any organization...

yep

aw, c'mon...when you have diversity training in conjunction with inclusion you have the whole monty...

team building for us is me picking up the bar tab on my American Express

Getting back to the discussion of Caribbean islands last week, we went to Jamaica (Negril) last month and Aruba week before last. Both OK in different ways (diving much better in Aruba, but Negril was more "real" in terms of land-locked activities), but I still prefer Cozumel. Anybody do any diving? If so, any good spots to share?

You're talking SCUBA, right? I need to get certified because I want to go to the Galapagos. A bunch of friends of mine have gone and they all rave about it.

My near death experience in St. Barths has slowed me down on getting certified.

My dad was into that stuff. The Keys, Cancun, Cozumel. At first I liked it but then he took me to see Jaws. Game was over.

Yeah, scuba. I've also heard the Keys are good, need to confirm as that would be an easier trip....

I'm surprised none of you said muff.

They would never give the credit of assuming that I was asking about that...

Because we know you weren't.

If you haven't done the Keys yet then do it now before BP fucks it up too. It's not Cancun or Cozumel but it's not bad. I once peed my pants when I suddenly came face to face with an eel peeking out of his hole.

So that's what caused the fish kill.

We saw an eel that had to be 8 feet long and bigger around than me in Aruba, hanging out under the ledge of a reef. Kinda unusual to see one not crammed into a hole with just his face showing. That thing could've taken your arm off...

so I piss more than 12oz at a time.

I know this because I went camping this weekend. Friday night it rained buckets and Saturday night it was almost freezing. In both cases I ain't getting up out of my tent to walk to the woods and take a piss, so I came up with this brilliant idea. I'd take a coke can, widen the hole at the top and then piss in it if I had to so I wouldn't have to get out of my tent.

So its like 3am, the urge hits me, I get up , stumble around and get my can. First, pissing in a coke can makes alot of noise so I was paranoid that guys in tents on either side of mine would hear me and give me that "I can't believe you piss in your tent" look the next morning at breakfast, so I'm like trying to just dribble it into the can but that is painful. Finally I say fuck it and just let go. Next thing I know, I've filled up the can, I've got piss on my hands and its falling out onto the floor of my tent. So I pinch it off and try to get my sweatpants back up holding a full can of piss in one hand...unsuccessfully and spill more onto my tent floor.

I unzip the rear door of my tent that faces away from the main picnic area and pour it out arms length from the tent. I used a dirty pair of socks to pick up the piss. Then I tried to wash my my hands with my water bottle. By that time, I was wide awake, cold and wet - water or piss? who knows. I might as well have just walked to the woods 200 feet away and did my thing.

Camping sucks

lol lol