Our Own Amazing Race

Yesterday my office held our own version of The Amazing Race. Did we have a good time?


Everyone meets in the office kitchen for the lo-down.


First task - take Fred, the free downtown Halifax bus to Citadel Hill.


Everyone piles onboard.












The CEO awaits with the official kick-off.
















One lucky member of each three-person team got to run up the stairs by the Town Clock carrying a water balloon and counting the steps.














My manager (at right) and her team wait for their photobooth pictures to develop.

I don't have any pictures yet of the other challenges, which included eating six suicide-hot chicken wings, finding six features at Public Gardens and finding several names at the Old, Old Cemetery at the corner of Barrington and Spring Garden Road.


During the meanwhilst, I hung out with the two rickshaw guys waiting to take each team to the grand finale site. Both university students, the guy at left is a future power engineer. The guy at right is a future urban planner.


First team to arrive - from investments.


My manager's team - close on their heels. Pink Powah! They ended up winning the race, due to a penalty given to investments.



After a brief wait, the other teams started running in.


This would have been my team - but my sweet little dog got overly joyful Monday when I got home from work. She ran full speed into my injured knee, the one I fell on, fifteen years ago, had surgery on and still had a torn ligament. Now it's completely shot.


First team that needed a beside-the-rickshaw runner.


Yellow team had another runner. It's scary when the rickshaw first tips back.


The royal blue team thinks it's scary, too.


The less-ruthlessly-competitive investment team.


Final rickshaw ride - before I got to ride in one all by myself!


There was a final fishing challenge before everyone did their own version of Irish step-dancing, as encouraged by real dancers.


Here's my Worker Bee team. That's me with my gram's cane - fits me perfectly.


The Worker Bees did a group Irish dance that they learned on the spot.


Those Bees are buzzin.


The one who adores dancing more than anything watched and clapped. I was totally impressed with how well everyone did.


Of course, the whole event was just an excuse to gather at the pub afterward. I sat at the investments table - and the CEO decided he'd sit next to me. Because that's just the kind of office I work in. We're fun, not stuffy.


I was awarded a fairy godmother prize for my rickshaw station. I granted everyone at my table their wishes - and today, the guy who'd sat across from me said his wish had come true. "I wished my kids would be asleep when I got home. And they were. It worked!"