Everything here goes on and on. The bread and cheese: it’s prolific. Served everywhere and for every meal. The meat! There’s never an end to the variety and quantities served and eaten. Our tiredness: each day we’re more and more tired but the energy of the event(s) pushes us on.

The beer! Unbelievable. it never, ever ends. Served in glasses that we might drink juice from at home, the glass is replaced as quickly as we finish it, with the waiter marking hash marks on a coaster for each new one delivered in order to tally our consumption. You know how they draw four lines, then cross diagonally to indicate the 5th? Well, I will not reveal how many “5’s” a certain two of us had in a very short time before moving on to the next place or function where we continued mounting up our 5’s.

The multitudes of people! At the IDS show floor we are packed like sardines. Crammed into the aisles, packed in the food court, clumps of us at crosswalks, long lines to the train etcetera. It all reminds me of visiting Disney World on Christmas or New Years Eve, both of which I have done. It starts to drive you crazy with all these people.

The exhibition itself: it goes on and on, floor after floor, building after building. Honestly, no one could prepare me for this event. People kept saying, “You won’t believe it. It’s amazing. It’s huge!” All of the above is true – – but to a degree much greater than those words described.

Each day snowballs on to the one before and I feel like I’m on the Tea Cup ride at Disney. When I went on that ride with my friend, Chet Spivey from Ivoclar, he turned that wheel so fast and so fast and so fast that my head literally spun and I laughed uncontrollably screaming for him to stop but loving every minute of it. That describes the IDS and this experience.

I’m fortunate to say that the laughter among colleagues is something that doesn’t end: the tireder we get, the funnier everything is and the harder we laugh. It goes on and on, and thank god for that! Because along with that laughter and comraderie comes passion. And it’s that passion that drives this company. The people who work for Ivoclar are passionate about our products, our role in the company, and the company itself. I have worked for two amazing companies: 3M and Ivoclar Vivadent and each one, at the time I’ve been a part of them, has a group of people that invigorates and energizes me. An organization’s most valued asset has to be its employees – – it’s team – – in order for this passion to exist and I’m lucky to be able to thrive in an environment such as this!