rollin' my dice in Macau

it has been an interesting last couple of days for the Freedom - a very innocent online encounter set off a chain reaction of events that lead to me attending a private party on the roof of the Grand Hyatt in Macau. let's rewind.

on Wed, i was 'Linkedin' to a local headhunter in HK. typically i'm not one to frequent the networking site, yet i was more than happy to accept the invitation of someone who could actually do something for me (unlike most people who simply treat it like Facebook with business cards). shortly after the virtual introduction, we met in-person and i was fairly impressed with their specialization in the digital marketing space. after a productive chat, i thanked them for their time and hoped i would hear from them in the near future.

24 hours 'near' enough? literally within a day, the hunter emailed to let me know they had already found a potential opportunity for me and asked if they could set-up a meeting for Friday. i checked my calendar (don't laugh), and told them to make it happen. turns out this company is HQ'd in Macau, with an office in both HK & mainland China, but requested for me to come to Macau to meet with their directors. it's only an hour ferry from home and they were covering the cost of transportation....basically a win-win for me as i had yet to visit the island in my travels. for those unfamiliar with Macau, it's essentially the Las Vegas of Asia and a former Portuguese colony.

time to put my interview game-face on. as per usual, i do some pre-meeting research on the company, relate my experiences to their core-service offering, and, reluctantly, shave my trademark stubble down to enhance professionalism. done. only thing left is to dust off the suit and i'm out the door.
check that.
on second look, it appears that i'll actually need to vacuum off my suit. apparently, since last wearing the styles, a certain pussycat has left a little fur love from top to bottom. of course, i could never stay mad at my little hairy baby....and after a quick clean-up, i'm good to go.

the ferry terminal for Macau is only a few transit stops away, and the company was nice enough to book me a 'super-class' ticket. this doesn't amount to much, aside from getting served a very simple snack consisting of a sandwich, juice, and some mystery jelly in a plastic container upon boarding, but i'm certainly not complaining. sadly, the day is fairly overcast so there's not much to see as we approach 'Vegas island', but i'm excited to see what this place has to offer. upon arrival, i'm met by someone from the company and quickly whisked away to their office.

i met with Director #1, and i can already tell that this isn't your typical interview. he begins by telling me about his extremely diverse background, a little about the company, and a lot about the changes he wants to make to it. we then take a tour around, and i'm essentially introduced to almost everyone in the place, which covers four floors. i am beginning to feel more like a boss and less like a recruit. my meetings continue with other various senior staff, where again it's less about me and more about the company roadmap and how i can already start to help....honestly, the strangest interview i've ever had, which is about to get stranger.

after chatting for 3ish hours, it's now 6pm. i mention this due to the fact that my return ferry ticket had been booked for 6. "no worries", they say, "we'll book you another one". apparently it's a busy night getting off the island, as the earliest they can get me out is 9pm. this is further complicated by the fact that my main director contacts also have a private black tie dinner they need to attend starting at 7:30pm. it's discussed, and the guys decide that they'll give me a tour of the island, on route to their dinner, and we'll figure out the rest as we go. cool, i got nowhere to be.

the tour is actually quite appreciated; a sort of inside look into the history & development of the island. it reminds me of what it would have been like to drive around the desert in Nevada before they broke ground on the Flamingo. i'm amazed by some of the properties and the sheer size of them, including a place called 'Galaxy' which is set to open this weekend. as we move around, it's clear that Macau is going to blow Vegas out of the water...literally, estimated to eventually be 10-times the size of it. for anyone that's been to LV, the thought of that is utter insanity. we finish our tour by checking out the Venetian floor, and make our way over to their gala event at the Grand Hyatt, which turns out to be an unveiling of a new high-end alcohol beverage. problem is, we still got time until my ferry departs, and my name isn't on the guest list. once again, i feel more like a 5-year partner than a 1st day candidate, as they tell me just to follow them up to the roof.

the event is fairly cool, nothing super lavish or blinged out, but i can tell there are some decent sized players in attendance. i only have about an hour to kill, but that doesn't alleviate some final moments of awkwardness. the guys start introducing me to some of the people in attendance, to which these party-goers naturally ask - "and who are you?".
i quickly wise up and casually/safely offer that "i'm with them". oh, and of course i'm fresh out of business cards. finally, the time comes for me to jet off...somewhat upset that i'll miss out on the first taste of the new booze. we shake hands, thus marking the official end of the 'interview', nearly 6 hours after it began.

back on the ferry towards home, only this time with a plate of rice & chicken feet? in front of me, and i start to wonder how a potential next interview could be topped by this one...? i'm going to go with taking the company Maserati for a spin, saying a few words at a shareholder meeting, and perhaps giving away one of their daughters at her wedding.....sounds reasonable, no?
Only in Macau, folks.