Live Auction

I went to my first live auction today at work and it was a really interesting experience. I am not sure how similar or different this is compared to a real auction, but it was nevertheless very fun. The person who was actually vocally calling out the price and trying to push the price higher, whats he called; an auctioneer? Anyways, he was REALLY good. He spoke so fast, I don't think I've ever met a person who spoke so fast in my entire life. And he adds these little comments in here and there, while trying to raise up the prices, its quite entertaining. Its funny to watch what gets the highest bidding prices. A bunch of them were quality time spent with big bosses. :)
All this for an excellent cause.
I even got a number. Its like a number assigned to you to identify who you are as a bidder. The number printed on a thick board like sheet of paper and there is a wooden handle. Think about those people on strike or picket-ing. Same idea, except a little smaller. I did not bid though. A lot of things were outside my price range, unfortunately.