Hello ladies and gents. π I was honestly unsure where to post this experience, but since it happened this morning (on a Saturday) I figured this is as good a place as any. π
So yes, today I attended a workshop featuring a select few government employees and tech specialists. And as a quick sidebar, who schedules their workshop on a Saturday? π Something about conflicts in schedules and timeframes, but super weird nonetheless. There was talk that a lot of experts missed the opportunity because of this lapse in management.
But whatever, that's neither here nor there. I managed to attend and this is my blog doing so. (yay!) π
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πΆ HILTON BOUND πΆ
So the workshop was healed in **Hilton: Double Tree **π². This is my second time being in this particular hotel, and both times have been amazing.
The hotel itself is as elegant and homey as you could imagine. I'll be honest, I felt profoundly out of place. π I'm just your regular tech IT guy, and while walking across the lobby I kept hearing talks about business deals worth hundreds of thousands and how someone backstabbed someone else.
It was surreal, to say the least. π
The workshop was healed downstairs in the hotel's conference section(? I) am not sure how to translate it into English. π
And yes, as you can imagine, it was pretty modern and fancy.
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The most impressive thing to me was the bathrooms. Each stall had three different types of toilet paper. π I've never seen anything like it. // forgive me that I didn't take pics of the toilet π€£
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πΆ THE WORKSHOP πΆ
"So what is this workshop about?" An astute question.
This was an international get-together where companies and governments from all across the Balkans met up to discuss various new Microsoft products - each related in one way or another to cyber security.
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Me and a colleague were representatives from the Ministry for Environmental Protection. π And as we registered we got a bag filled with goodies! // who doesn't like free stuff amirite?
- There was also a pen in the bag. And yes, both the backpack and the notebook were super good quality. Actually using both as we speak (or write/or read, whatever). So I'm happy to report Microsoft ain't no cheapskates! π
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We were split into two rooms, each dedicated to several different security infrastructure topics. I, as it so happened, was in the smaller room. π
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The first 2 hours were a general introduction and rundown of the event. We got to ask questions and highlight what we wanted to talk bout. These questions and topics were later reviewed in the Q&A portion at the end of the event. I've never done this Q&A format before, and honestly, everything went pretty smoothly and quickly all things considered. π
After the introduction and prep, we had a small coffee break!
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And what's a coffee break if it doesn't have cookies and juice? Nothing. Nothing, is the correct answer to that. π
On the left is my incredibly charming and friendly colleague, and on the right is the mouth-watering and pristine cookie. I have to say, I don't think I've had cookies this good in my life. π Both the chocolate chip and the puffy one (not sure what it's called, sue me) were delicious.
Apart from the amazing catering I was also able to network with a bunch of Microsoft employees. Being the charming individual that I am I managed to arrange meetings with several different sectors. π Bosses were quite a prod of your boy. πͺ
This is my only gripe about the whole event. The next portion lasted 4 hours! No breaks, no nothing. That's a long time to remain concentrated on anything, let alone a variance of topics that you may or may not be interested in.
I will say though, the presenters were excellent. π And the presentations themselves were well put-together and executed. The final one was a marketing pitch for Microsoft 365 and the new features they would be rolling out. (I would share them, but I'm under NDA, sorry)
The Q&A followed after which.... π₯π₯π₯ LUNCH!
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πΆ LUNCH TIME πΆ
After all of this, the good folks from Microsoft treated us to a real fancy lunch.
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They were held in one of Hiltorn's sky bars and was an overall amazing experience. I have eaten food at the main cafeteria of this Hilton, but this was I have to say a better experience. π€€
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The place was pretty fancy, and the staff was great. I ordered a shot of Rakia - which is a very potent alcohol over here, imagine Votka x 2 - usually one shot and you're set. π Now if you had three shots you'd be hammered. For a frame of reference if anyone ever tries it for the first time. But I digress, alcohol was not paid for in the package that Microsoft lined up, so I had to pay out of pocket. And the guy was so apologetic that it cracked me up. π I was like buddy it'sm not your fault.
The food was, of course, amazing. If I had to nitpick. The fruit was a little dry. π€ But other than that all else was perfect. The chocolate pudding at the end was so good, I took one home so mother could taste it. π
The stake I had was like butter and so tasty, I assume it was marinated for a long time? I dunno how they did it but it was amazing. π€€
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As you can see, I really love food. So this was a huge plus for me. πππ
Once we ate we shook some hands, nodded some heads, and slipped out before you know it. We were quite tired, and with the networking concluded and the food is eaten, there was little point in staying and chit-chatting.
So my boy dropped me off at home and the rest is history. π
Thank you for reading! π
Shout-out to the πPIZZAπ gang, π€ gang. π€
π Follow me on my HIVE blog π
Hope you are having an amazing weekend! π
Return from Microsoft π₯οΈ Cyber Security Workshop πΌ to ΠΠΎΡΠΊΠΎ's Web3 Blog
