We are now only five days away from the first day of the Alliance Industry Summit (AIS), which means, even more importantly, we are now only five days away from CMEpalooza Trivia Night. I’m sure all of you who are attending AIS already have it highlighted and underlined on your calendars, but just in case there is anyone still on the fence about it, here are the Top Five Reasons You Should Attend CMEpalooza Trivia Night:
5. You will miss out if you don’t go, but you won’t miss anything if you do go. CMEpalooza Trivia Night will run from 6-7:30 pm ET on Monday, September 14, which fits in nicely between the AIS evening reception (5-6 pm) and your dinner reservations (sometime after 7:30 pm). I know there are some of you out there who prefer to eat early (some of you very early – I won’t name names, but you know who you are) but, c’mon, this is NYC! This is the city that never sleeps! No one is eating dinner before 8 pm. In fact, if you make a reservation at a restaurant in NYC before 8 pm, the restaurant staff will laugh in your face when you show up. It’s true! (note: It’s not true. What is true is that one of the great things about being in NYC is that there are plenty of late-night dining options available. It’s more than just a slice of pizza from Sbarro or takeout Chinese food.)
4. There will be snacks and refreshments available. OK, fine, yes, maybe 8 pm is a long time for some of you to wait to eat between lunch and dinner, but good news, we’ve got you covered! As with every other CMEpalooza Trivia Night that we have hosted, there will be free snacks and drinks provided. Yay! Do I know what those snacks and drinks will be? No! Will there be those little mini pigs in a blanket? Maybe! Will there be Bugles (everyone loves Bugles)? I don’t know, but probably not! All I can tell you is that there will absolutely positively be some sort of snacks and refreshments provided that you won’t have to pay for. Still seems like a good deal to me.
3. You can win prizes! And by prizes, I mean money. And by money, I mean cash. Cold hard cash. Scott usually dresses up in a top hat and tails like Mr. Pennybags from Monopoly and dispenses large stacks of cash to the winners while twirling his mustache and saying things like, “I say, old chum, you have absconded with all my greenbacks. How shall I ever pay for my dinner with Misters Carnegie and Rockefeller?” (note: Alas, most of that isn’t true either, though it did make me snort with laughter thinking about it. Except for the part about cash prizes. That part is true.)
2. You might learn something. Actually, I guarantee that you will learn something. Will that something that you learn be useful? Maybe. I suppose that depends on your definition of “useful.” At last year’s CMEpalooza Trivia Night, many people learned that Bruce Springsteen sang the lyric “Well, they blew up the Chicken Man in Philly last night.” Is that useful information? I’d argue yes. You never know when you might be at a cocktail party, sipping on a dirty martini, and one of the other guests asks you, “Excuse me. I’m terribly sorry to bother you, but would you perchance know where and/or when they blew up the Chicken Man?” Imagine the knowing smile you will be able to give then.
Also, we will have questions about CME stuff. Whatever.
1. It’s fun! (note: It is!)
CMEPALOOZA 