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Illumina Dodgeball Week Recap

most photos courtesy of ILMN’s awesome photographers

What a way to start off the summer! To celebrate the opening of the new sports arena, work decided to throw the first ever dodgeball tournament. 16 teams, 11 people each, each team hand drafted and headed by a VP or senior VP. Dodgeball mania caught fire across the campus. A single elimination tournament starting on monday with the first round best out of 3, the playoffs best of 5, with the winner having a chance to take on Illumina’s senior management in an winner takes all on Friday at a company happy hour.

Each day more and more people came out to check out the games at lunch and everybody was treated to quite a hilarious sight. The costumes and dance intros provided the humor but once the whistle blew the competition really picked up. Our team name was “Barnyard Dogs” , named after our captain S.Barnard and well, here were our costumes…

To clarify, that ain’t me and the costumes were decided by the captains, and when your captain is a VP in the company it’s wise to sometimes just follow along. With a face mask we could barely breath through, and absolutely could not see through  (let alone dodge a ball), it was pretty evident early on we were not going to be in it to win it.

Now I haven’t seen Dodgeball starring Ben Stiller, but I hear the rules of the tournament were the same as the ones in the movie. Each team started with 6 players on the court (at least 1 girl). If you caught an opponent’s ball, the opponent who threw it was out and you get to bring in a guy off the bench.

Actually, funny side story here. The last time I got slightly competitive at dodgeball I got a concussion and temporary amnesia. I forgot some pretty important facts. That happened a good 6 years ago but I swear my memory’s steadily deteriorated ever since.

Back to the present.

Match 1 (best of 3): Someone recorded it on their iPhone here. It was incredible, down 3 people to 1 in the pivotal and deciding 3rd game, our team had 2 miracle catches that resulted in a mano a mano duel with me and the senior VP of development. After getting knocked out early in game 1, I got a chance to redeem myself by hitting the SVP square in the chest to squeak by a game 3 victory.

Playoffs (best of 5): Our team did not have great throwers but everyone on our team could catch which we found out to be the golden strategy. Catching a ball is a 2 person swing because the other team loses a player and you gain a player. Somehow we blew through our next opponent in 3 straight games which set up a duel with my boss’ boss’ boss’ team. Fun times.

In the semi-finals we played the big, bad, neon color coordinated Hit’n Run team. In a best of 5 games, again it came down to a elimination game 5 to determine the outcome. Boundaries came to our aid as the other team continually shot themselves in the foot by stepping over the lines, thereby disqualifying themselves. In each round we were heavy underdogs (fitting with our team name and costume), but here we were, miraculously heading to the finals!

Finals: Exhilarating…company happy hour and almost the entire company’s out here to watch the finale. Palms are sweaty and nerves get the better of me. After putting on the one piece spandex suit I trudge out of the bathroom, only to realize I gotta go pee! Perhaps that’s TMI but man it took forever to get off.

I don’t really remember what happened in the finals except that it again it was a total team effort. Timely catches and a few lucky bounces here and there and before we knew it we were up 2-1. In the final frame our catching again saved us. Who’d have thought…underdogs to champs.

Illuminati: The opportunity everyone in the company was aiming for. A chance to peg our SVP’s and CEO. We couldn’t believe when our CEO came out in a Captain America costume and gave an impassioned speech about Illumina’s best having to step in to save the sanctity of dodgeball from the “evil” (and newly minted) champions.

Apparently they hadn’t been watching us too closely, cause as exhausted as we were after throwing out our arms for 2 best of 5 series earlier that day, we gave them a doggone whooping! DeMarco’s 1 vs 4 comeback to beat the executives was a highlight to remember.

Before the first game, I got tired of waiting for the senior execs to finish scheming so I grabbed a ball and pegged a SVP in the behind. That makes it 4 SVP’s I’ve tagged over the course of the tournament. If my team and I receive pink slips on Monday…it was well worth it!

Will he_5 copy

ILMN Basketball: Get Your Game On!

ilmn basketball

End of March Madness’ll bring about a whole other round of excitement around here at work. Orthopedic surface + acrylic backboards = awesome! Double rim (boo).

Viewable by 2/3 of the company offices so no more 1+ hr lunches (boo)…hopefully more intense games now that the other guys’ll have some people to impress. Sand volleyball courts on the right (but who cares about those), and large grass field in back (for ultimate!).

Move over Biogen Idec, here comes Illumina!

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We’re moving! New buildings, new desks, new cafe, smaller gym (to be remedied) by the end of the year. Fun times.

Softball ILMN season ended a little quietly, a few weeks ago. Our team did pretty well and definitely peaked at the right time, winning our first preseason game against Sekisui Diagnostics.
Last year I learned how to play right field, and this year they had me playing left field, center field, and short stop at different times. Lowlight of the season was hitting my own pitcher twice in one game. He promptly quit pitching and my punishment was pitching for the rest of the season. I tell ya, pitching to people who hit right up the middle is a pretty frightening thing!

Unfortunately we ran into a superior fellow illumina team the next week. They ended up winning it all, beating fellow rivals Trilink and Quidel. Working with young and extremely athletic coworkers is a nice hidden bonus. Keeps the pounds off I guess.

Been starting air alert again. one of my coworkers has been doing Spartacus workouts for the past few months and gained enough inches to dunk quite comfortably now. Granted he’s ~6’4″-6’6″ but still, got me itching to get back into it. Will post updates on how that progresses.

Move over Biogen Idec, here comes Illumina! Move over Biogen Idec, here comes Illumina!

Tales of the office: New Toys

Kept hearing a zipping sound around the office like one of those little RC cars today. It was zipping up and down the hall and through the cubicles but always at least one cubicle row over. My coworkers are always buying new toys: ipads, iphones, nerf guns…it’s a fun office. Kept going all day though, intermittently, like ever 15-20 minutes.

Finally the childish part of me wants to join in on the fun. I hear it revving in the distance and I get up to hide behind a cubicle corner. Just as it’s about 5 ft away I decide to get a glimpse before jumping out and picking up the car.

Along zooms a new coworker on his electric wheel chair. TG for slow reflexes.

ILMN Winter Party

Earth. Fire. Water. Air

This year our company decided to go the professional party planning route and boy did it make a difference. Last year we had bottlenecks and a shortage of food but this year all was well. Located at Culy Warehouse, the party was sectioned off into 4 areas and each had an element theme. I did not take many pictures but hanging out with coworkers combined with an awesome atmosphere made for a great night. Each room had their own signature dishes. Earth had some gourmet sandwiches and casino games; Fire had steak, portobello mushrooms, and pulled pork sliders along; Water had korean bbq, sushi, and spicy kao chicken; and Air had…well air.

Air was pretty neat because they sectioned off a part of the street and we had lounge chairs and tables out in the open air which made for a much more relaxing atmosphere to talk. The highlight of the night had to be when one of my coworkers suggested to our group to “bump” into our CEO and talk with him. He reasoned that if he went up with just another person they’d only get to say a few words before someone else would say hi and derail the conversation. If we went as a group however, we’d stand a better chance of talking to him for a bit longer.

He was right! We made our way over and ended up chatting with Jay Flatley for a good 15-20 minutes. Numerous couples and employees came and said hi to Jay and he was always courteous but after a few words would turn back to our group and resume the conversation with us. Here’s a guy who heads up one of the brightest life sciences companies in the area, probably worth in the vicinity of 3/4 of a billion dollars, and he was incredibly down to Earth. We talked about a whole range of things, including our expected move down the street (link). What a thrill!

Fire: Dancers!

 

Earth: Chiyo tried leaving the table by going all in. Blackjack.

ILMN Winter Party

After Part

A few coworkers stayed downtown and partied the rest of the night away at various clubs. I took the opportunity to test some of my gear with the city skyline. Chiyo graciously agreed to play along.

attempting light writing at Seaport Village

Nikon 70-210mm f/4

nikkor 35mm f/2