Johnny is always encouraging us to do more teamwork activities outside of work. Usually it’s paintballing or hiking, but this time I suggested that we participate in the LA City Race: Pasadena Scavenger Hunt. I’ve experienced this race once in Hollywood a few years ago, but it was quite a challenge because I knew nothing about the area. This time, I thought we would have the home court advantage since Pasadena is local for us. And there were the four of us (Johnny, Rob, Va, and myself) to better our chances. We had about 3 hours to complete 24 questions.
The rules were simple – we could use laptops/smartphones or even call a friend for answers (just like the lifelines on Who Wants To Be a Millionaire). The only thing that wasn’t permitted was for our team to split up. Once we received our packet of clues and riddles, we started right away with the bonus half of the clue, as that part was timed. It was fairly easy. We got to explore Old Town Pasadena in all its architectural glory and tempting shops – hunting for answers to the clues we were provided. NZXT came in 3rd place for the bonus points section. We were pretty excited! Next was to complete the other half of the clues. This half was a bajillion times more difficult than the bonus round. But we were up for the challenge. The clues mainly consisted of riddled historic backgrounds to the city we were in. There was a lot of Googling and calls to many friends at this point. By the time we had to meet up and submit our answers, we were exhausted and guessed the last answer we were missing. It was only a matter of time before they finished calculating scores and determining winners. Out of 13 teams, NZXT placed 8th.
All in all, it was a fun team experience. It wasn’t about winning (would’ve been nice though), but about team bonding — and physical endurance. Did I mention it was Skyrim weather in California? You know: cold, gloomy, and partially raining? Just a food for thought.
Signing off,
Tina H.
