Work conference in Sydney; colleague left :(

Just came back last nite yesterday from a 2-day PKF conference in Sydney. I flew to Sydney on Sunday afternoon with some colleagues. We stayed at Rydges North Sydney for 2 nights (Sunday & Monday night).

The 2 day conference was held in one of the conference rooms in the Rydges hotel. On the whole, was quite fulfilling. The materials covered were not really new, but the conference taught me to take a different perspective on things. All together, about 12 people, from various parts of Australia, attended the conference. The presenter was the head of tax, or one of the heads of tax, in PKF Sydney. The conference gave me & my colleagues an opportunity to get to know other people from the other PKF offices in other major cities in Australia - Sydney as host, Melbourne, Perth, Adelaide & Gold Coast. The guys from Perth, in particular, were friendly & talkative. All of us stayed at Rydges, except the Sydney people. We ate a lot. Rydges North Sydney provided buffet, all-you-can-eat breakfast & lunch. So I ate as much as I could, & I think I gained some weight during my stay in Sydney.

Dinner was not paid for by work, so we ate out on Sunday & Monday nights.
On Sunday night, just a few hours after arriving at Rydges North Sydney, I had dinner with my Brisbane colleagues at a nearby pub. We saw the Perth guys at the pub, but at the time we didn't know who they were because the conference would only start on Monday. It was after I got back to the hotel, that I saw my room-mate & recognised him as one of the guys at the pub!
On Monday night, as a group, we (minus the Sydney people, who had homes to go back to) headed out on Monday night for dinner at one of the waterfront restaurants at Kings Wharf. I can't remember the name of the restaurant, but will recognise it the next time I'm in Sydney. I had the BBQ ribs, & it was tasty. Monday nite was fun - one of the highlights of the Sydney trip.
Rydges North Sydney, while not 5 stars, was reasonably good. But come yesterday evening, it was time to say goodbye, so we all headed to the airport together. The PKF conference finished early yesterday, & that gave us a chance to leave the hotel early to avoid the rush hour traffic en route to the airport. We did just that that, & had time to burn, so we hung out at the airport for a few hours. We chat for a bit, before heading our separate ways.

I don't know when I will get to attend another such conference inter-state - this thing doesn't happen often. But I would certainly welcome it. I'd be happy if it was once a year. Now that would be good.

Unfortunately, when I returned to work today, I found out that one of my colleagues, Chris, had left yesterday. It's sad that someone whom you see every morning, whom you greet & sometimes have a chat with, will no longer be around. It happened so suddenly & unexpectedly - the decision to leave was apparently a mutual decision on both sides. But anyway, life goes on, I guess. I will try to get his email & keep in touch in some way. Hope he's well & all the best with finding a new job.