Automattic’s 2016 Grand Meetup

I work for Automattic, a company who’s entire workforce works remotely around the world. Once a year, we all get together for a week packed full of work, planning, socializing, and fun!

This year we were in Whistler, near Vancouver, British Columbia. It was the home of the downhill skiing events in the 2010 Winter Olympics.

This was my fourth “Grand Meetup”. When I was hired in 2013, the company was only about 185 people strong. Now we’re over 500!

Automattic 2016. It’ll take you all day to find me!

The Grand Meetup week is so packed full. The daily schedule starts with breakfast at 8 and the last events of the day often roll into tomorrow. It is tempting to think, “Aww I just need a nap, I’ll be back.” But no! I didn’t want to waste a second. It is a bit like a big family reunion. I always have a strong feeling of “these are my people” when we are together. I have so much in common with them, even if they live thousands of miles away, with cultures and food I’ve never experienced. I drank cocktails, stayed up late, hugged and laughed, and even danced at our big party on the last night like I was 20 again.

View from my hotel room

We had some free time away from our meetings and projects and classes to explore Whistler and area. While other coworkers were zip-lining and mountain bike riding or hiking, I was still healing from a leg injury. Luckily for me, my good buddy Mikey was also looking for a lighter activity, so we spend the day doing the Peak to Peak gondola ride that connects Whistler and Blackcomb.

The day started out sunny, but soon the peaks were clouded over. The peaks of both Whistler and Blackcomb had a restaurant/coffee shop, so we relaxed in both, and did the long peak to peak span twice. In one direction we went right under a double rainbow!

See the marmot? There were many of them on the peaks!

I took so few photos from the rest of the week. But luckily my good friend Steve is a party photographer extraordinaire. You should see his blog and photo collection for a good feel of the week: https://allmyfriendsarejpegs.com/2016/09/25/automattic-grand-meetup-2016-whistler-canada/  I so rarely share photos of myself, but here are a few nice photos he took of me that hopefully he won’t mind me sharing:

By Clicky Steve – https://allmyfriendsarejpegs.com

By Clicky Steve – https://allmyfriendsarejpegs.com

By Clicky Steve – https://allmyfriendsarejpegs.com

By Clicky Steve – https://allmyfriendsarejpegs.com

By Clicky Steve – https://allmyfriendsarejpegs.com

By Clicky Steve’s camera – https://allmyfriendsarejpegs.com

Here are a few more candids found on my phone from the week:

And a couple shots of the final party:

And here is a picture of most of my team:

Now I’m off to a new team, trying out new work with our VIP partner sites for a few months. Always new challenges and adventures! Love it.

I’m already looking forward to our Grand Meetup in 2017!