First time writing. Go easy on me...everyone is over 18 too.
I said goodbye to my girlfriend and landed in LA, hot and feeling really gross after 11 hours of being fed airline food and breathing the recycled air. Most importantly I'd managed no sleep on the flight. That is not completely true as at one point in the flight I became so tired I began to nod to sleep only to wake up with a start just moments later. Thanks brain. Thanks a lot. From then on I was wired. Wired thinking about my first trip to LA. Wired thinking about having to deliver a presentation in front of hundreds of people tomorrow!
Within an hour of landing I had grabbed my bags, navigated security and jumped aboard one of those mini bus services. Not quite a taxi and not quite a bus but only 25 dollars to take me to my hotel. This whole trip was organised by my employers and they were going to pinch pennies wherever possible. They already had to fork out for the flights, hotel and my per diem. So an actual private taxi cab was just pushing it too far. Really I didn't care, I was out of the office and heading towards one of the biggest expos for our industry and I was in Los Angeles!
A project we had been working on for a couple of years had been picked up by a major publisher. I was there to meet with our publisher liaison, work through the Expo, deliver a presentation and show the world what we had been working on. The responsibility had fallen to me by default. While I'm not the most out going person in the world of the introverted nerds I work with the management felt I was the best option and least likely to fuck this up.
What could go wrong? The presentation was set out and had been rehearsed to where even I could make it look natural. The product was going to do the rest and for once I really was proud and confident of the work we had all done.
From the bus I gazed out of the window watching the palm trees as they passed, Swaying black silhouettes against the beautiful dusk sky.
The convention centre was down town and the management in their wisdom had found me a hotel down town. If they'd have asked I could have told them down town was horrible (everyone knows this) and I'd rather be an hour Uber ride away than staying down town. But they didn't so my Airbus rolled into The Ramada Inn just a couple of blocks from the Convention Centre.
Hours later I was laying in my bed staring at the ceiling. Jet lag forcing my mind to stay wide awake despite being exhausted. I'd tried all my usual tricks, a long shower, crack one off and a shot of whisky from the mini bar but street noise being that annoying factor that made it impossible for a light sleeper to drift off. A honking car, a screaming drunk and I am wide awake. The next day was to be the first day of the Expo and I'm running on zero sleep. I knew I should have gotten there a day or two early, acclimatized and been fresh. The anxiety alone was enough to keep me awake.
Its OK, I can power through.
I spotted Jeff waiting for me across the foyer of the conference centre. He was, at a guess, in his mid to late forties with chiselled features a strong jawline and longish hair. Not enough to tie back but enough so he had to keep tucking it behind his ears in order to keep it our of his face. He reminded me of Jeffrey Dean Morgan, that guy from The Walking Dead. Kind of rugged, kind of fresh and clean looking. Clearly he was in to taking care of himself but not in an immaculate kind of way and it was pretty obvious he worked out regularly and life in California had given him a healthy glow compared to my pasty white skin. He was dressed casual but really smart in that every thing he was wearing seemed new and deliberate. I was glad I resisted the last minute nerves that told me to wear a suit.
"Good to meet you man! Welcome." Jeff shook my hand firmly and before I could return the greeting said "Sorry dude but you look exhausted."
"Ha! Yeah, nice to meet you too. Sleep hasn't been my friend....Jetlag is a killer." I said with a shrug. "But don't worry I'm ready to do this."
"OK...YOU don't worry. We'll get you some coffee and steer you through this morning and the presentation. After that you can sit back, I'll take over for the afternoon and you can coast the rest of the way home. Sound good?"
"Perfect Thank you so much." I said with relief. The idea of carrying this whole event while exhausted was really weighing on me but within moments of meeting this guy I felt in safe hands. We walked around the expo, finding our booth and introducing ourselves to the technical staff.
By lunch we were celebrating. The morning presentation was amazing, everything went smoothly and from what we could tell people were really excited about what we were doing. Jeff offered to treat me to lunch.
"You smashed it, man!. Congratulations, this could mean big things for you, right? I mean, the reaction you go today. Those guys back home are going to be pretty pleased."
"I hope so! What a relief. We did so much prep it was hard to see how it could have gone wrong aside from some technical problem. I'm lost for words at how well it seemed to go. And thanks for your support too. I wasn't looking forward to doing that after a sleepless night. Next time I'll get here a couple of days before, reset the clock a little."
"For sure, where are you staying? I heard it was right next door."
"Yeah The Ramada, its OK but you wouldn't believe the noise. I think someone was being killed on the street last night."
"That's normal Downtown, I'm surprised there wasn't a body in your room. Is this your first time in LA? Nobody stays Downtown if they can help it"
"It is and I knew that but I didn't book the hotel. Its fine, couple more nights. No big deal" I said.
"Look, why don't you come and stay with me? I've got the place to myself, the wife has gone to her family's vacation place in Ojai and my daughter is at college so I have plenty of space. And besides it'll be cool just to hang out and you'll see a little more of the city." Jeff said cheerfully.
"No, Its okay. I don't want to intrude and besides I'm just a couple of blocks away from the expo here." Yeah I said I didn't care if I was an hour away but I was being polite.
"So! Look, you've come all this way you cant only see in one square block of Downtown and the airport. We've got a beautiful place in Santa Monica on the Palisades, the pool. You'll love it."
Jesus, I thought, what an offer. "Errrr OK! If its not a big deal. Sure."
"Done! OK lets smash this afternoon and we'll head to The Ramada for your bags" Jeff threw down some money for the lunch and started gathering his belongings. "I'm excited man, this is going to be cool getting to know you."
The rest of the day flew by. Jeff took over fielding questions from journalists and bloggers while I got to coast through it being tech demonstrator. Before I knew it we were picking up my stuff, checking out of The Ramada and making our way to the Palisades.
