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February 2, 2008 :: Orlando, Nevada & New York City


It's been a busy month since the last time I took a breather to write here. I've since successfully finished my third audit here in the kingdom of General Electric (1 year down!); flew down to Orlando, FL for our audit staff new year kick off conference; hopped over to Nevada (Lake Tahoe area) to celebrate my "big sister" Gina's 40th birthday; and finally settled down in my new apartment in New York City to begin big number 4. I'll be living here in Chelsea until the middle of May. I'm very excited to say that I'm working with NBC Universal (you may have heard of the TV shows / movies :) on their largest IT project...ever! Good times!

Orlando, FL: This year's January audit staff conference and dinner dance took place at the Sea World Renaissance Resort. The hotel was just "OK", but the events were spectacular. My dear straight girlfriend Megan joined me again this year for the ball (more affectionately referred to as the GE Prom). She almost didn't make it seeing as though there was severe weather in Atlanta, GA and all flights leaving from there were canceled! She had to drive with our friend Taufan for six hours just to get there on time. Luckily they both made it, though, and we had a grand time together!

Later that night I went out in downtown Orlando with the other GLBT auditors (and our favorite former auditor, January!). We went to the ever-popular Revolutions (formerly known as Southern Nights) and then headed over to what ranks as the strangest club I've ever been to, the Parliament House. This club was actually located inside of a motel! Totally odd...but really fun! Haha! We had a great time there, but when we were headed home, we had too many people to fit in the car so my friend Chang and I ended up riding in the trunk all the way back to our hotel! It was interesting. He told me, "This is what it's like if you're ever kidnapped." I was like, "Is that supposed to help me battle my claustrophobia or...?" :) It was worth it; anything in the name of fun!

Minden, NV: After a few fun-filled days of conference, the 400+ GE auditors fled to the four corners of the Earth to spend a few days at home or on vacation before kicking off the next four-month review. I headed west to Nevada for my "big sister"'s birthday party. Where she lives (a couple hours north of Las Vegas) is in the middle of redneck country; a fact that she's very proud of. This was my first true redneck birthday party, so I wasn't sure what to expect, but knew it would be a cultural experience to say the least. :) Gina and I have worked together for years and I've heard tons of stories about her son Willem and more recently, about her boyfriend, Don. It was awesome being able to actually meet these people and spend a few days out in "their world".

The main event on the night I arrived was the "pit party". They had dug a 4x4 foot pit with a backhoe (tractor) and made an enormous fire! A couple hours (and drinks!) later, the embers were good and red hot and they buried two turkeys and a pig's shoulder in the pit, sealing it up air tight, so they could cook for the next 12 hours. After digging the store up the next afternoon, we tried some of the meat before the party began...holy cow! I had never tasted anything so amazing and tender!

It was actually Gina and Don's birthdays (they were born on the same day, same year!) so since they were both 40, they had an 80's themed party. It was so much fun! We played SingStar 80's edition and Rock Band on the PlayStation ALL NIGHT LONG! We also did something I had never experienced before. They took empty SoBe (iced tea) bottles, punched a pin-sized hole in the caps, filled them with gasoline, put the caps on, and placed them on a hot bed of coals from a fire. The heat from the fire ignited the gas which created a huge flame and eventually exploded the cap off the bottle. The bottles themselves didn't break, but a mini explosion resulted which was so cool! I have videos of these "SoBe Bombs" on my Picasa site (http://picasaweb.google.com/MattJBrooks/080126GinaSRedneck80SBirthdayParty). Some are a little long, but make sure you watch a few!

New York City, NY: Because I find it amusing to go from one extreme in life to another (apparently), I moved to New York City for work the day after arriving home from Minden. Talk about culture shock, going from redneck country to the big city! I moved into an apartment in Chelsea with my colleagues for the trimester on the 29th of January. The place is wonderful: two bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a balcony on the 10th floor of the building! We have a great view facing east across the neighborhood. It's also a very GLBT-friendly area with plenty of bars and restaurants that cater to our community. Talk about feeling like you're at home!

So here begins the great New York City adventure. I'm sure I'll have plenty going on so I'll have to write more frequently this trimester even though I don't think I'll be doing as much outer-City traveling. Hell, you don't have to travel too far from here, though, to find something to write about! I'll post pictures of my apartment and the view on my Picasa site (http://pictures.brooksny.net); check it out soon!

Cheers,

M@
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