Here at Triquestra, we pride ourselves on our diligence and dedication to delivering the best software. Come December, we add a new target to our laser-focused quest for quality – Christmas.
Around here, Christmas isn’t just a chance to eat mince pies, it’s also a way to win prizes. This year’s celebrations came with some extra competitive edge, with not two but three opportunities to score victory over our colleagues.
As always, we went out for a Christmas dinner at a local Auckland eatery to enjoy good food and company. And, as always, dinner was preceded by a fiercely fought contest. This year, we put away the child’s play of last year’s mini-golf, turned up the adventure dial and went axe-throwing. Upper-body strength and mental fortitude were tested as one by one the field narrowed to our CTO Mike Baxter and Product Owner Nevin Betts, with Nevin prevailing. We’re not sure Mike’s quite got over it.
Then last week we enjoyed our annual Christmas barbeque, during which the winner of the newly inaugurated Best Decorated Desk competition was announced. An intense battle played out between the traditionalists like Sales and Marketing Manager Victoria Crossfield, who went for the snow and simulated fireplace effect, and the modernists like Tech Analyst Tom deBorst, who brought in a young Pohutukawa tree and decorated it with toy New Zealand birds such as kiwi and piwakawaka (fantails).
The decision was made by voting, and when all the votes were counted the winner was Developer Joel Sevilla, with his beautifully crafted gingerbread village. Congratulations, Joel!
We finished up with a round of Secret Santa, with the usual TQ twist. Instead of simply buying a present for an allocated colleague, we do the competitive version where we can either take something from under the tree or take a present from someone who’s already chosen a gift. It’s a white-knuckle ride to the end to see if you’ll hang on to that gift you really want or be left with the one you’re going to have to give to your great-uncle.
