I would like to share an event from my life while working in L.A. during the Summer - Autumn of 2001

Hello all! I am brand new to Steemit as of today, and I think it is quite cool what is happening here. Once I heard about Steemit, I knew I had to be a part of it, especially since it is still in beta.

As a well-traveled man, I have found myself in some very unique, and sometimes dangerous situations. In the end, I am grateful for what I have experienced thus far in my life, and most of those experiences would make for a great novel, or film - or so I have been told. I have many stories that I could tell, but for now, I am going to focus in on one. There is a lot to say in this story, so I have decided to break it up into multiple posts so that it is easier to digest.

For now, I will start with a bit of an introduction. Without giving away too much information that would allow someone to identify me, I am 40 years old and I work in the marketing department of a Fortune 500 company. I have traveled to over 30 countries and have visited all 50 states. I love what I do, and I do what I love. I have been in this industry since the day after I graduated from college. Due to the nature of my work, I have had the pleasure of working with a variety of high-profile individuals ranging from CEO's to celebrities to politicians. Most of them are very down to earth, "normal" people just like you and I, while others are just into some really strange shit - to be blunt.

During the Summer of 2001, I moved out to LA with some friends to take my first job as a graphic designer at a very prominent advertising agency. My skills were quickly recognized and I was instantly taken under the wing of the rest of the team. This team was composed of some very talented individuals who had been in the industry for quite a long time, and were very well connected with the "California Elite". Well, it just so happened that the weekend after my start date, there was this massive mansion party at an undisclosed location, not too far from where our office was. Before I go any further, I just want to make it clear that I know how to party. The University that I attended is notorious for hosting ginormous bangers that everyone and their mother would show up to, and completely tear the place down. To sum it up, I have seen some shit - and done some shit. However, there was nothing at the time that could have prepared me for the things that I was about to witness at this mansion party.

One of the conditions of my invite was that I was not allowed to see where we were going while driving, which kinda fucking freaked me out. I understood though, as it was made clear to me that I was going to see some high-profile people at this party and I was instructed not to approach anyone unless they approached me. This made me feel a bit unsettled and nervous, but I was excited as a mother fucker. Here I was, just a kid from Nebraska, with a fresh degree on my way to mingle with celebrities and the movers and shakers of society. I was fucking pumped.

So, there I sat in the back of my boss's loaded SUV with a black bandanna over my eyes on my way to a Hollywood mansion party. When we arrived, I was allowed to take the bandanna off. I had never seen a house so beautiful or enormous in my entire life. It was like a cross between a cathedral and a shopping mall with a gorgeous Mediterranean theme. The house belonged to a very successful musician and producer - I cannot say who.

So, to skip over many minute details, we arrive inside and everyone is dressed to the fucking nines and wearing masks. The main room where everyone was hanging out was unbelievably gorgeous. I found myself looking around the room, admiring the architecture as opposed to trying to spot out the faces of celebrities that I would recognize - which was difficult because everyone was wearing masks. Here we were looking like normal scrubs. Not one person paid any attention to us. After a few minutes of taking everything in, my boss instructs me to follow him. We walked along one wall of this giant room where we came to a long hall with black and white checkered floor tiles with red velvet walls and these massive chandeliers. The hallway seemed like it went on forever, kind of like the ones you would see at a fancy hotel. As we made our way down the hallway, I began to smell marijuana and the sound of laughter and loud voices coming from a room off of the hallway. We approached the doorway of the room where there was a table set up with security. I stayed back while my boss talked to them and they checked over a list. We were quickly let in and inside was a private party where no one was wearing masks. In this room was virtually every celebrity that was hot at the time. Ranging from actors to actresses to pop and rap artists - and even a country music singer along with movie directors/producers and music producers.

There was this huge glass table that was suspended from the ceiling with chains that help a copious amount of cocaine and a few other substances that I could not identify. There was crazy shit going on like women making out with women and men making out with men. There was a section in the far end of the room with a bunch of expensive looking couches where people were openly having sex while making animal noises. Despite the fact that we were normal people, none of these people had a problem with the fact that we were seeing this take place. They were incredibly casual about it. It was the most bizarre thing I had ever seen in my entire life, and as I said before, I have seen some shit. My boss was already caught up in a conversation with someone who I did not recognize, but later learned that this man pretty much bankrolled a bunch of blockbuster films - most of which are now American icons in film. He was an older man and he was dressed quite modestly - we will call him Ted. The only thing that made him stand out was the fact that he had two VERY YOUNG looking girls on either side of him, both of which were railing lines of blow like it was fucking going out of style.

As I sat silently observing and listening in on the conversations around me Ted turns his attention to me and asks me what my name was and what it was that "gets me off". I turned to my boss in confusion and gave him a "what the fuck" kind of look. They both laughed and Ted rephrased his question.

"Do you want something to drink or something? What do you like?" he asked with a laugh. I asked for a beer and everyone began to laugh even more. At that point, I was offered a few lines of blow and a few shots of I don't know what the fuck that was. Needless to say, I took all that was given to me, because you know, I am at a fucking party in Hollywood. After a while, I was nice and loose and began to engage in conversation.

"So how is it that you came to know all these people?" I asked my boss. Everyone kind of looked at each other and then my boss simply said, "Mutual interests" cryptically, with a smile. The way he said it implied that it had nothing to do with business, and it kinda made me feel like I did not want to know. After a few hours my boss tells me he is going to bring me home because there was an after party that I was not allowed to attend. Naturally, I asked him why and Ted chimes in "It's an acquired taste" before my boss could answer.

Both my boss and Ted shared a smile as I asked "What is an acquired taste?"
To which Ted replied, "Blood..."

I am going to end it right here for now, but I will be posting more of this if anyone else wants to read. I will also answer any questions provided that you do not ask for names, dates, locations or any thing else that could personally identify me.