What a Kool Gala - See you in Chicago!

Now that our team is back in San Jose, and has had a few days to let our keyboards cool off from the furious posting last week in Boston, it's time to recap the final event of eBay Live! 2007 - the always-fun Closing Gala.

Taking a cue from last year in Las Vegas when members started lining up really early to get in, our crack eBay Live! organizers put together a pre-party for those in line this year. As I walked by, it was like a mini-carnival. Clowns on stilts were roaming the line and cracking jokes, balloon-animal-makers and face painters were busy gussying people up, and jugglers were showing off their skills. A rock band was playing in the background, and snacks were being passed out to those waiting (it was very hard not to grab an ice cream sandwich as I passed).

But the most meaningful part came from the members themselves - just like last year, they applauded all us employees as we walked by to take our positions within the Gala. Let me take a second on that. From Meg on down, our employees really aren't kidding when we say that eBay Live! is our favorite time of year. Not only is it a ton of fun, but it's incredibly inspiring to meet all the members that are using the site to make a better lot for themselves. When you're flying back on that plane, you feel really good about working for a company that means so much to so many people, and it makes it easy to come to work in the morning. But Live! is also a ton of work - there's not only a huge amount of prep that goes into it, but each employee is working pretty much from before sun-up to past sun-down at the event. It's all definitely worth it anyway, but having the members show their appreciation for the work that you're doing in that way is pretty much indescribable. I can only really say thank you - it's appreciated far more than you know.

And then it was time for us to turn the tables on all the attendees. I've said before that the clapping tunnel (where all the employees line up and cheer as everyone comes in to the Gala) is my favorite part of the event, and this year was no different. I love watching the members soak it in - most were taking pictures or recording it on their cameras, others were slapping fives with all of us, and others were just kind of stunned. There are a few pictures scattered in this post. I was standing next to Griff most of the time, and I can only describe him as a human traffic jam. A bunch of folks wanted to take one last picture with him, so I apologize to everyone who has some random tall blonde guy in the background of their picture with Griff.