HP Tech Forum - Day 2

Today I went to the other opening session....and if I thought the one from yesterday was cool...this one blew me out of the water. There was a cover band playing when we first walked into the ballroom, it was setup for over 2000 people....the room was huge. There were flat screen TVs lining the ceiling, and the lighting was amazing. When the band was finished playing, the VJ for the event got things going (or at least going as much as you can for a corporate event) with a rap song about HP, and there were dancers jumping across the stage. I admit it was a little cheesy, but still pretty fun, and I was enjoying it at 830 in the morning!


I spent the day in sessions, that while for me were pretty cool, for everyone else a tad boring if I went on and on about them, so I won't.

I'll skip right to the after work activities. We were invited to an AMD hosted Happy Hour at the House of Blues, so we joined that for a bit. It was quite amusing when most of the guys from our group showed up in solid, very sherbet colored, shirts. So, of course we broke out the camera for a few quick snapshots.


Dinner was the highlight of the evening. We walked over to the Four Seasons and dined at Charlie Palmer Steakhouse. Turns out that my boss, and a few others at the table, are very much the wine connoisseurs, so we also enjoyed some fabulous wines with our meal. I had shrimp cocktail for an appetizer, and also did a little trade with Finney for something new. He ordered the oysters, and asked me if I wanted one. I, at first, said "No thank you, I don't eat oysters", but then changed my mind in my effort to continually try new things. I hadn't ever had one before, so I was up for the ride.

He fixed the first one up for me with something, I honestly have no idea what was on there, but I just put it in my mouth and swallowed it. I was then told that I was supposed to chew it, so he fixed me up another one. This one was also dolled up with the horseradish and all the other crap that goes on it, so in the end...I chewed it....it was kind of slimy and muscle-y....but didn't really taste like much. So....I tried it, and I don't need to again. :) I ordered the halibut for my entree, and it did not disappoint....it was delicious!! Almost everyone else at the table got the Surf & Turf....the lobster was divine. For dessert, I nibbled on some of the creme brule that was all over the table, and then waddled out of there one full girl.


I went to the poker table for a little bit after dinner, and after a few hours at the 1/2 no limit table, managed to walk away with $5 more than I sat down with, so no crazy big wins for me, BUT that's better than losing. :)