What's Your Recipe for The Good Life?

What better way to kick off the Good Life Festival blog then to award one lucky GLF'er an ALL-inclusive hotel stay and events package (valued at $1,500) to the JI Group's Good Life Festival in St. Maarten!

The events package alone includes the "White, Sandals & Stilettos" Mansion Party, the "Sweet Escapes All-Day Getaway" to St. Barts and the "Battle of the Sexes" Beach Party. The ALL-inclusive hotel package at the Sonesta Maho includes unlimited meals and drinks. The resort also boasts a spa, two freshwater swimming pools, a disco, casino and so much more! Give us your Recipe for The Good Life and we'll give YOU all this for FREE!

Here's how the contest works: Submit your ingredients for The Good Life (don't forget to tell us how to mix them), a photo and voila! you've been entered to win 6 days and 5 nights of sun, style and sophistication. Be creative! Be descriptive! But most importantly, be on time! Entries must be received by 11:59 PM EST on Sunday, February 10, 2008.

E-mail your recipe, a color photo of yourself, your full name, contact information and a blurb about you to goodlifefest@gmail.com. We will also accept video submissions.

Don't wait to book your trip! Book now, get reimbursed later.

The Good Life is just a click away...

-v. kathryn



Contest Rules

Late entries will not be accepted.
Your work must be original.
One submission per person. We will not accept duplicate submissions.
We reserve the right to not publish materials we deem inappropriate. Read more on "What's Your Recipe for The Good Life?"!

Think St. Maarten 2008

I missed out last year. A booked trip to the Bahamas led to a regretful decline of the attractive offers to attend the Joint Interest Group’s inaugural spring festival. Although Atlantis (and the hotel we actually stayed in) was fun, I know the girls’ annual trip to the Caribbean would have been crazy if we were traveling with young professionals instead of with retirees and small children. We also wouldn’t have been the only tourists at a jam-packed Bahamian nightspot called Charlie’s, but that’s a story for another day.

Point is, I can’t tell you about the wonderful time I had at Spring Festival 2007 or how beautiful St. Maarten was, nor can I upload tons of pics from my digital cam to show you what (or who) you missed out on. Nope, I can't even hint at things that happened in St. Maarten, but need to stay in St. Maarten.

What I can do is share with you the words and images of last year’s vacationers, the Good Life Festival pioneers if you will. These trendsetters were the first to experience an overseas JI Group production. They had a blast and partied like rockstars. Best of all, they’re going again this year and this time they’re bringing friends and friends of friends.

Below you will find their first-hand accounts and pictures (what a good looking bunch!), prompting you to email HR tomorrow to announce that you will be out of the office and the country from Wednesday, April 23rd to Monday, April 28th. Yes, even you i-bankers.

Welcome to the Good Life Festival Blog.

-k. michelle

From partying like rock stars in open air nightclubs on the Caribbean Sea to yachting to St. Barts with new friends and playing football in the soft white sand, the JI GROUP was able to deliver that "wow" factor everyday. -Kecia, DDS

Amazing!.....trip was absolutely fantastic!!!!....far beyond my expectations!!...I've never had such a well-executed trip anywhere. The JI Group did their thing. I had a wonderful time with some down-to-earth folks...truly unforgettable. -Dwight, Electrical Engineer

St. Maarten '07 was one of the best vacations I've been on. Great people and a gorgeous location. We departed from various parts of the U.S. and when we arrived in St. Maarten it seems like we instantly became friends. From rounds of beach football to evenings of dancing at the open air venue on the water, Bliss, the fun did not stop (even when it started raining). -MM, TV News Reporter

The crew was great, the sights and sounds of St. Maarten were stunning and the daily events were fascinating. I won't miss the St. Maarten Spring 2008 trip. -William, Corporate Lawyer

BEST VACATION YET! St. Maarten '07 was the best group vacation I have ever been on! The whole trip was perfect. It was the perfect balance of people with personalities that totally complimented each other! We had a group of people who didn't know each other when we got off the plane, and by the end of day 1, we were all fam! When they say ALL-INCLUSIVE, they mean it!!! We took "PARTY LIKE A ROCK STAR" to a whole 'nother level. This trip was the definition of living the "FABULOUS LIFE!" -Phillipa, Web Developer/Event Planner

I would like to say it was the best of the best on this trip. What you had was good looking women and good looking men, all professionals from around the country coming together to party. There were no men with egos and no women with attitudes. When you check your bag you check that too at the airport or on the bus to the hotel. To all of you hardworking professionals thinking about doing this trip, join us. Pump your brakes on everyday life. Let's get together and create memories and have A TASTE OF THE GOOD LIFE! -Derek, Hospital Administrator

To encapsulate the experience into words: daily island hopping, the fusion of music, sumptous food, endless activities, top rate, non-stop nightlife and most importantly new found friends. Your best bet is to take the journey yourself and create your own story. And remember to check all your reservations at the door because "What happens in St. Maarten stays in St. Maarten." -Marsha, AVP, PMO, Derivatives IT

St. Maarten 2007...what a fabulous vacation getaway! The fun started the moment we landed and didn't stop until we were back on the plane headed back home. But really what made this a Rockstar vacation was the group of great people on the trip. Young professionals that know how to have fun! Hands down one of my best vacations and definitely one of my most memorable. -RM, TV Anchor

Read more on "Think St. Maarten 2008"!

"The Good Life" by EL (1.1.08)

This morning I rise
at the scheduled time
only to realize that my
sole obligation for the day
is to throw my cares away
all meetings would convene
on beaches of soft white sand
anyway.

I look at my blackberry pearl
void of a signal
and decide my iphone
will only be useful
to capture stills
or moving visuals.

My wardrobe will
consist of a bathing suit,
towel and sandals.
But my laptop and grip
bereaved
as I am no longer in need
of their mobile, digital
companionship.

I am finally free
from all that constrains me
all that detains me
and keeps me too busy
to find my personal sanctity

I was nearly forgetting
how to appreciate
my surroundings
when everything
around me
in surround sound
was like a cacophony
that overpowered
and nearly drowned me

Now I am floating
on a glass bottom boat in
the middle of the Caribbean Sea
jumping head first into oceans
pregnant with tropical life
swimming among brilliant colors
darting and weaving before me

All the while
the sun like a playful child
beats on my back
bronzing my skin with its
natural replenishments
as its cousin the wind
wisps past my smile
reminding me that
the air is alive

Carrying on its heels
the rhythmic pentameter
of the steel pan
with its feverish drummer
creating as many sounds
with the sweat that
dripped from his brow
as his sticks that
he beat out loud

I can now be found
swaying to the infectious music
while sweet juices drip
from the mango
to my finger tips
leaving a shine on my lips
all amidst
an outer-body experience
that has overtaken
my waist and hips

I am in the moment
trying to burn this feeling
of solitude in my mind
taking time to notice
each bird of paradise
before this utopia
is left behind.

Realizing that all the hard work
the struggle, the grit, and grind
affords me a luxury suite
with a balcony
overlooking the sea
wrapped from due east to due west
that's all mine,

Lined with beautiful people,
reclined seats,
bountiful food,
and glasses of wine
allowing us to
be enveloped by
the warm breeze
as we watch the
sun shimmer
as day turns to night

Ahhhh...
So this is what it really
means to live
when you are truly living
- The Good Life.

© 2008 EL

Read more on ""The Good Life" by EL (1.1.08)"!