Nashville, Tennessee

(NOTE: This post was created August 1 and recently posted).

Good morning lovelies. I am currently in Nashville, TN for a summit for my job. So far it has been a blast. I have heard so much about my job being the "and all be all" and I actually got to see it in action. Over 2000 people from all over the country and world are here at summit. It was an overwhelming experience seeing how BIG of a movement my job really is. I am already thinking about summit for next year which will be in Orlando.

When I first started working at my job, the first thing I had to do was sign up for summit. All of expenses my wpaid for me to come to this week long professional development. The months in between have gone past extremely fast and I cannot believe I am actually here. My journey started out Monday morning to to an unfamiliar airport (BWI). My flight was supposed to leave at 2pm and it was delayed. The flight actually left Baltimore at 2:40 which I wasn't exactly happy with since I had another flight to catch in Atlanta. When I finally get to ATL, I had dash through the airport in order to catch my next flight. I was running like a chicken with his head cut off because, i didn't have the
boarding pass to my next flight. I thought all of my tickets would have printed out at BWI but they didn't. I walked up to a Delta clerk to help me and she told me where to catch my next flight. When I got to the terminal, they were already boarding. I stood in a long line with Standbys to get on the flight. They kept calling people for my flight and I was sweating bullets thinking about what would've happened if I got left. My thought process was getting the best of me as I was in line. So much negative skipped through my mind. When they called on me, I told them my situation and they found my ticket, asked for my ID and I was on the flight. I was literally saved by the bell. My flight reached TN at about 5:45pm. I had to go to baggage claim to pick up my bag and went on my merry little way to the hotel.

I was going to take a cab but instead, I got on the shuttle for the hotel. The shuttle wasn't exactly what I was used to. Instead it was a chartered bus that costed $40 round-trip. I took a seat on the bus and we were on our way. When we arrived to the hotel, my mouth dropped. This hotel is something I have never experienced before. It is a resort. It's sheltered in but its like a huge space. Balconies, spas, pools, gyms, boat ride within the hotel, clubs, and restaurants fill the Gaylord Opryland Resort. I have been here going on three days and feel like I am in Pandora, it's beautiful and all but I want to experience life outside of this sheltered place.

Last night was when I got to experience the resort for what it offered and a little bit of the outside life. After the sessions of the day, my co-workers and I had dinner at a restaurant in the hotel. After our group dinner, a coworker and I went on the boat ride, which was country music themed. During our ride, the tour guide told us about a water show that went on in the next concourse. After the ride,we ran over to see what the big fuss was about. I was mesmorized to say the least. The show lasted about 30 minutes with water jumping and "singing" to various tunes. We ended the night going to a bachelorette party for one of our co-workers. This bachelor party was cute and extremely PG. There weren't any strippers just co-workers and country music. A few of us however, decided we were not sleepy. We took a cab to the local Waffle House that was just over the highway. When we got there we met Misty, the ghetto waitress with no teeth. She was as sassy as she wanted to be. I adored her. After our food, we decided to call a cab to take us back to the resort. I called the cab and I received a text message stating the cab would be on its way. Thirty minutes passed and we decided to walk. As we were walking along the highway, I saw a taxi coming around the bin. I kid you not a few a seconds later, I recieved a phone call from our taxi driver. I picked up and he asked "Did you call for a cab?" I stated "yes, but we expected you to be here a long time ago so we decided to walk". In his angry voice he said "You were supposed to call to let us know" and presented me with the dial tone. I couldn't help but laugh. That night I went to bed around three and I had to wake up before 9 am for breakfast and sessions.

The next day we actually got to venture out to Nashville. We left around 6:30pm and went to eat at BB King's Blues House. We had to negotiate with the bouncer at the door to let us in for a decent price. Twelve of us wanted to eat and he was charging $5 per person. For some reason, people were having BFs (Bitch Fits) about the money. Instead the bouncer brought down the price to $20 for the collective group. Steal, right? While at BB King's we got acquainted with the singing group Burning Las Vegas. They were the bee's knees literally. We a grand time with them. We spent the whole evening with them and even sang and danced. And how could I forget to mention the food? I was in heaven with soul food. I ordered chicken fried chicken with white cheddar macaroni. That food was orgasmic. LOL. WE ended our night venturing to Hooter's to use the bathroom and then to Coyote Ugly. From what I remember from the movie, women danced on the bar and what have you. From outside, Coyote seemed booming. They played very loud music and my co-worker swore it was packed. We showed our IDs and went down the stairs. WE opened the door...and there were only about 10 people in there. LOL Plus the music was not as loud as when we outside. The only interesting thing at Coyote Ugly was witnessing my first body shot. I was in awe. We left Nashville and went back to Pandora.


The last day on Pandora, we had a Gala. We celebrated the excellence of fellow colleagues and partied to a live band from New York. I got to meet fellow New Yorkers and dance the night away. As a unit, we are some dancing fools. We left the Gala (at least me) with swollen feet. From the Gala I went to a bar in the resort and hung out with my co-workers. We went to the bar, which was not as great as when we went the first time and hung out in my friend's room. When I returned to my room, I decided to stay up and pack my clothes for my early (6:35 am) flight to Atlanta. When it hit around 3 am I decided to take a nap and woke up later than I expected. I ran to check out and ran for a cab. When I got outside, I and another man were waiting for a cab. I decided to share it with him. I found out he was on the Board of Directors. Needless to say my ride to the airport was free.

My overall experience in Nashville was fun but hopefully in the near future, I get to experience the REAL Nashville.