Ok kids! First of all I'd like to state that Wifey is not allowed to read this post. I can feel the disapproval already! I don't think I can handle it and then see her later this week. So Wifey if you're reading, turn the computer off, go make some tea and knit something! You can read it after I'm gone on Saturday.

So yes, Texas was where I made the transition from person who enjoys having a good time frequently toooo... legend.

Essentially the meeting was the same as last year. The company (that sounds so ominous) held us hostage for two straight days of meetings at a luxery hotel. This year was the Hyatt Regency, of which they rented the entire thing. Great hotel with fantastic service.

The first night I got there it was really late and I was exhausted from travelling all the way from McMurray. So I went to my room and tried to relax. Well that involved having a shower and shaving. Well somehow I managed to cut my face so bad that my room looked like a crime scene! You could actually see the marks from two out of three Mach 3 blades, once the blood stopped gushing long enough. Unfortunatly this make me look like I had some horrible zit or something gross on my face for the next two days of meetings. I can't say I was terribly impressed with this situation.

The next day was full of meetings, meetings and more meetings. Then the fun began with an outdoor "Texas rodeo". In typical Texas fashion there were probably 50 to a 100 gas heaters set up throughout the grounds to keep us warm. The food was great, the drinks were plentiful and the mechanical bull tossed absolutely everyone almost immediately (no I didn't bother trying).

Next day... meetings, meetings, meetings. Then the dinner and dance. Dinner was great. The band! Wow, the band was phenomenal! They were able to do just about anything anyone asked them to do from Usher, Justin Timberlake, The Eagles, AC/DC, etc. Whatever the company paid them was SO worth it. The party kept jumping till late into the night.

The next day I went with a few friends into Austin where we had arranged to rent a vehicle for a couple days and reserved hotels. During the day we spent our time at this INSANE outlet mall in a place called San Marco's. Only outlet mall I've ever seen with a Gucci, Armani, Kenneth Cole, Cole Haan etc. I ended up getting an insane steal of a deal on a gorgeous pair of Cole Haan shoes and bought Sister yet another Coach purse (I've got to stop with the purses, I'm spoiling her).

That night I had said that I really wanted to go have a nice meal at a good restaurant. My friends all agreed but weren't sure where we should go. So I called my Concierge and asked for recommendations. She recommended a restaurant that sounded good so I asked her to make us a reservation.

When the Manager met us at the door I figured something was up. It took me until the next day to realize that having Visa Concierge make a restaurant reservation for you probably made them think we were high rollers of some kind. Well we met the Executive Chef, the General Manager and the Manager, as mentioned previously. The meal was fantastic as was the service. We had Mussles, Oysters and shots of ice cold Grey Goose, crab and artichoke dip, steak and lobster, scallops, two bottles of wine, a couple glasses of sangria and port to finish.

For 6 of us, all this incredible food (and more, I don't really remember what everyone else ate) came to a little over $300US. We thought this was an insane deal and tipped the waitress overly generously (see two bottles of wine and shots). That's when things got interesting.

We decided to go to a club on the "legendary 6th St." Well we didn't fully realize how completely committed to partying Austinites were until we realized that 6th St. is closed to traffic all night! The whole street is bar, after bar, after bar. The eight of us (our numbers grew at the restaurant) went to one bar together and that's when my buddy and I decided to split.

*Wifey, if you're reading this, STOP NOW!*

The rest of the night is an incredible blur. All I know that 'for sure happened' is the following. We went to over seven bars. Danced, danced, danced. I drank Grey Goose and Cran all night. Decided I wanted to smoke so bought a pack of Davidoff cigarrettes (didn't remember this until the next morning when going through my pockets I found a matchbook with used matches). Ended up dancing on a raised platform in some random bar with possibly the most gorgeous girl I've ever seen (I have pictures). Lost my hoodie with my company logo on it (thank God, I hope this was relatively early in the evening) including the aformentioned pack of cigarrettes. Visited a bank machine took out $100US (I'm hoping no other charges pop up on my Visa), proceeded to spend $60, not including the money I'd originally allocated to this venture. Paid some random homeless guy (well I think he was homeless, quite honestly I don't remember at all) to walk me back to my hotel cause I had NO idea where I was. I do vividly remember him holding me back as I almost made a wrong turn into oncoming traffic though so whatever I paid him, if I did, was absolutely worth the money. Almost got kicked out of the hotel (possibly a result of showing up with a homeless guy). Woke up the next morning in my bed drunk.

So yes, according to the people at work I have now attained legendary status. Thank God the smoking was a one off thing and nothing seriously bad happened. Talk about stupid. I've decided that the next time I go out, especially in a foreign city, I'm going to be MUCH more responsible. So Wifey's going to be travelling with me from now on. That way she can take care of the credit cards and make sure I get home ok.

Sorry Raph, can't afford to take you too.

So to wrap up this massive post I'd just like to let everyone know that I went snowboarding for the first time today. It was... well it was. Didn't really enjoy it all that much but it was the first time. Before I left the hill I booked another lesson for tomorrow and extended all my rental equipment. That way I HAVE to go back tomorrow... if my poor body can get itself out of bed.