34SP.com Memories
When I look back over my time working at website hosting company 34SP.com and even before – when I knew the team, but hadn’t started working here yet – I think fondly of the times outside of work when co-workers become simply: friends.
To say that the crew here is fun would be a huge understatement. To say that our outings are epic would equally be an injustice to the language and the outings. While we have spent numerous days and nights hanging out together doing various and sundry activities, there are three main events that really stand out.
1. Stuck in an Elevator
I have only ever been stuck in an elevator once. It was after work on a Friday. A group of 6 of us from 34SP.com were headed from work to the pub for a few well-deserved pints. We took the elevator from the 20th floor of Portland Tower down to the ground floor. At around floor 12 something happened. A lunge or a lurch and then a drop and a hard stop.
”What was that?”
”We just dropped two floors.”
”We’re stuck.”
Thankfully cooler heads prevailed and Daniel called via the elevator phone for help. We stood up for about 3 minutes, and then one by one sat down. Strangely we had already run out of things to talk about, or perhaps each person was engaged in their own thoughts.
”This sucks.”
”I wonder how long we’ll friggin’ be in here.”
Then I remembered that I had my laptop with me. At first I thought maybe I could connect to wifi and surf the web. Then I remembered that I had stuck the ‘Iron Man’ DVD in it the night before.
”You guys wanna watch Iron Man?”
”Hells yes!”
So we all watched about 45 minutes of Iron Man together in the elevator before being pried out by the building maintenance staff. After being ‘rescued’ we proceeded to the pub with a great story to tell about why we were late meeting the rest of the team. As we walked along, I realized that there was no other group of people I would rather have been stuck in an elevator with. Not even close.
2. The Beer Train (Our Monthly Outings)
Each and every month the whole 34SP.com team plus wags goes out for an outing. Sometimes it’s the dog track, bowling or carting – just anything really fun and relaxing. So there was this one time we went out and they all called it ”The Beer Train”. Now since I wasn’t familiar with this expression, I thought we would ride a train around and drink beer in the train. In fact, the beer train was an entire day-long excursion through the north of England and back – stopping at numerous towns along the way and partaking of a pint at a local pub before re-boarding the train to continue on the journey. Now needless to say, this creates a bit of a rowdy bunch of revelers on the train. It was probably the most fun I’ve had on a train. Period. You can view the pictures below to see some of the team both on the train and in the pubs.
3. Christmas Parties
It would take far too long to write down all the great times we have had during our end of the year (read Christmas) parties over the last few years. The basic premise is: hit the pubs for a few great pints then move along to an elegant dinner consisting of multiple courses accompanied by fine wine and then move along for a nightcap and dancing. I hope that the pictures give a sense of how great these evenings are. I do remember one incident quite clearly though.
We were having our soup course at the restaurant and we had all opened our crackers but there was one extra. Now keep in mind that these are ‘dress up’ events where one wears their nicest clothes to fit into the elegant restaurant atmosphere. So I am sitting there soaking up all the great doings and Tom our newest engineer at the time finds this extra cracker and holds it over his head – and then pulls it really hard. The prize came zinging out at light speed, flew about 6 feet across the table and landed in the middle of my hot soup – drenching my finest outfit with soup and goo.
After getting over the shock of the ”explosion” I started laughing. Then we all started laughing. You just couldn’t do that on purpose if you tried for a million years – perfect shot. Needless to say I cleaned myself off and continued to have one of the greatest times of my life with the greatest people on the planet – the team from 34SP.com.
The reason that 34SP.com is so great to work together with is that the people who work here are genuinely caring and giving. Ten years is only the beginning as long as we keep the spirit of companionship and comradery going. All the thoughtfulness and generosity that have blossomed in our outings simply confirm that when you need them, the 34SP.com team will be there for you. Here’s to the next decade!
