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The fun at T.R.A.F.F.I.C. Down Under
continued during the post-conference activity day Friday (Nov.
21), a day that was finally blessed with perfect sunny weather.
The action got underway with a morning Learn to Surf
session.
Above:
At first the domainers were saying "Hey, this surfing stuff is
easy."
Then they found out they had to do it on the water!
Below:
Rick Latona (left) and Dan Kimble give it a go.
Soon after everyone was back on dry land and just before they
headed to an afternoon outing to the Currumbin
Wildlife Sanctuary, four domainers experienced an
extremely close shave - literally.
Take
a close look at (left to right) Ammar Kubba, Merlin
Kaufmann, Dan Warner and Michael Robertson. Just
minutes after this photo was taken by Jay Westerdal each of
these gentlemen was sporting a much different look than the one you
see above.
This hair-raising (and
snipping) event was hatched at the show's tropical island dinner
party the night before when Thought Convergence COO Ammar Kubba approached
Fabulous.com COO Dan Warner about soliciting
the crowd for a donation for cancer research. Warner told Kubba if
he could get attendees to contribute $10,000 he would shave
off all of his hair. Kubba started working he crowd and within minutes
he met the goal and over the next 24 hours it was far surpassed with
a total of AUD$25,000 (about $19,000 U.S.) in the pot.
True to his word, Warner kissed his locks goodbye.
Above:
Howard Neu wields
the clippers as Dan Warner's hair falls to the floor.
Further
down the line you see Ammar Kubba and Micheal Robertson
in hot seats of their own.
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At
left: The end result - Dan may have to answer to the nickname
"Cue Ball" now, but he can easily disarm any
hecklers with one question - "How much money did
you raise?"
The original fund raising goal was easily
eclipsed when Kubba agreed to face the razor
himself as did Fabulous.com's Business Development Director Michael
Robertson and domainer Merlin Kaufmann. Robertson got his
hair cut into a mohawk (you see his Fabulous teammate Jen Sale doing
the honors in the right hand photo below).
Kaufmann allowed his beloved beard to go
under the blade (see the left hand photo below). The experience was
so traumatic Kaufmann had to calm himself with a round of pina
coladas as soon as the ordeal was over! |
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While
Kaufmann (above) got out of a hairy
situation relatively unscathed, Kubba took
the opposite tack, apparently deciding to heed the old maxim -
no pain, no gain. |
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Since his
head is already clean shaven, Kubba allowed the hair on his legs to be
yanked out
with wax strips! Kubba had to look away when Susan Prosser pulled the
trigger (photo below).
That could not have been fun but all four men agreed that it was
well worth it to help such a good cause. Kudos to them as well
as to all of the donors who backed them with their generous
donations.
With a beautiful afternoon now waiting outside, it was off to Currumbin for an up close and
personal encounter with Australia's unique and wondrous wildlife, a
story that is best told in pictures.
Domainers
head into the unspoiled beauty of the Currumbin Wildlife
Sanctuary.
There
were kangaroos everywhere and they loved people (especially those
carrying food!)
I
wouldn't want to have to pay the Worker's Comp
insurance bill for this crocodile feeder at Currumbin!
Jay
Westerdal (Thought Convergence) feeding the lorakeets
(and lending his head as a landing pad for one of the brilliantly
colored wild birds).
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What
would a trip to Australia be
without seeing the cuddly koalas? |
Unfortunately
we lost a good man at
Currumbin. Sean Stafford failed to heed
the "Don't Feed the Pythons" sign! |
The Currumbin trip the was the perfect way to end an
unforgettable week. The next morning it was off to the airport for
the grueling ride back home. Yes, it was filled with delays and
misadventures, just as the flights over had been, but this time I
didn't even care. The week Down Under had been so delightful that
nothing the airlines could subject me to was going to tarnish those
memories!
Congratulations to the Fabulous.com team on a job
spectacularly well done. I know that going into it you all said this
was going to be a one off event but I have a feeling you are
going to be subjected to considerable arm twisting on that
score in the months ahead!
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