It’s Labor Day Weekend!! And the Hotlanta RoundUp is in full swing! This year, the gay recovery convention and party has had over 350 registrants, and although I’ve had to work during the daytime events, I’ve had a wonderful time so far. It’s being held at the Georgia Tech Hotel & Convention Center, which is a really nice venue.
I headed over there on Friday evening after work, attended the Young & Fabulous meeting, and then stuffed my face during the opening reception (the chicken wings were delicious!) The speaker meeting afterwards featured a speaker who was called in at the last minute. He was probably about 50 years old, looked exceptionally young for his age, and was originally from Cuba, now residing in Miami. His story took us through his early days of drinking, partying, and failing at jobs and relationships. What he is like now is in complete contrast to who he was. He’s been sober for many years, is a respected member of the hotel industry in Miami, and has two sponsors and several sponsees who help him stay sober.
The entertainment for the evening featured a fun, variety show based on the Twelve Steps, and it was hosted by the exceptionally hilarious, Giselle, a drag queen in recovery. My friend, Kevin, was in the show, also in drag, so his boyfriend Dennis (not in recovery) came to the show to take photos. I sat with Dennis, and we watched, laughed, and sang along. Kevin came on stage and did this number for the Ninth Step, and sang a song about making amends. It was so entertaining! We had a wonderful time that night!
I got up Saturday morning and went to work. Meanwhile, at the RoundUp, workshops on stepwork and other aspects of recovery were going on all day. I got out of work, went to the gym for a quick workout, and then headed back to the RoundUp. I got there in time for the Countdown, which is a really fun activity where the speaker counts from One Day, to Thirty-Three Years, and as each increment of time is reached, the people with the corresponding time in Sobriety stand up. I have thirty-three months at this point, but I made a mistake and stood up at Three Years, when I should have stood up at Two. My response time was slow after a long day. :-)
Next was the speaker for the night. She was a straight woman whose story was FILLED with drama! How incredibly juicy! Her sponsors had been gay men, and her life had been riddled with so much insanity, that we totally ate it up! It really made my night!
At the same time all this was going on, this super-hot stud I’m seeing was having a party for those not attending the RoundUp at his place in Grant Park. As I often do, I wanted to squeeze in the RoundUp and make an appearance at the party. And because the party was attended by others in recovery, it was almost like going to a RoundUp event. So, after the speaker was done, I spent some moments saying Hello to people, including my good friend, Rand, and then I excused myself and snuck out to the party.
The party was so much fun! “J” and his roommates went all out with the food! Everything was great! We hung out, chatted, ate, smoked; and then around 12:15am, we went to the Heretic! I had no plans on going to bars/clubs this weekend, but I also was planning on doing whatever J wanted to do, so off we went!
Usually, when I go to the Heretic, it’s a Friday night, not Saturday, and the group there is usually an attractive crowd with a sprinkling of boys from Gravity Fitness. However, this was a Saturday night, and I knew no one. But that was cool because I was with my fellow non-drinkers. We ended the night by making a spontaneous, surprise appearance at the Eagle! I hadn’t been in a while and it was actually more fun than Heretic was!
On Sunday, I had to work, and after having a late night out, I was pretty beat. So, Sunday night, I stayed in a caught up on some needed rest. I caught up with the RoundUp people on Monday at one of the largest noon meetings at Galano I'd ever been to. The topic was Step Three: turning our lives over to the care of God.
After the meeting, everyone went to McClatchey Park, where members of Galano and attendees of the RoundUp converged for a cookout. It was a really great gathering of folks, and a wonderful way to end a long, productive, non-stop, and spiritually fulfilling weekend.
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