Showing posts with label vegas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label vegas. Show all posts
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Vegas Day 4: Au Revoir!
I woke on Saturday tired and with a heavy heart. I had not won big in Vegas. I would be returning not with a financial reprieve but with increased debt. Sigh. But I would be returning to my guys who I missed terribly.
Each time I've left NYC I've always thought, "Until we meet again!" But as we headed to the airport I thought, "So long, Vegas! Been there, done that, not coming back!"
On the last leg of the plane home, the others were sleeping, and I was left alone with my to do list for the coming week and my thoughts. The elephant on my chest had returned. When I looked in the mirror when we landed, my chest had broken out in a rash for the second day in a row. The previous afternoon had been while everyone else rested between activities, and again I was left alone with my thoughts. It seems I'm now able to externalize that elephant.
Back to life, back to reality...(sing the 80s song with me!)
What is important, though, is that I can look back on this milestone birthday and know that I spent it with my amazing best friends. Ladies, we'll always have Paris...I mean, Vegas.
I love you all. Thank you.
Each time I've left NYC I've always thought, "Until we meet again!" But as we headed to the airport I thought, "So long, Vegas! Been there, done that, not coming back!"
On the last leg of the plane home, the others were sleeping, and I was left alone with my to do list for the coming week and my thoughts. The elephant on my chest had returned. When I looked in the mirror when we landed, my chest had broken out in a rash for the second day in a row. The previous afternoon had been while everyone else rested between activities, and again I was left alone with my thoughts. It seems I'm now able to externalize that elephant.
Back to life, back to reality...(sing the 80s song with me!)
What is important, though, is that I can look back on this milestone birthday and know that I spent it with my amazing best friends. Ladies, we'll always have Paris...I mean, Vegas.
I love you all. Thank you.
Vegas Day 3: Slots of Fun
Friday was a big day for us. After sleeping in just a bit, we headed over to Caesar's to eat an early lunch at (Bobby Flay's) Mesa Grill. After checking out the menu but while waiting for it to open, I stopped at a $1 slot machine...
Sidebar #1: When I was in the 1st grade, my dad won a trip to Las Vegas, and I believe it was from a rat poison promo. He and my mom brought me back a slot machine pencil sharpener that really spun! I loved that thing. I wish I knew what I did with it. Anyhoo, he told the story about the Aberdeen manager walking by a $1 slot machine on the way to the bathroom, stopping briefly to put in a $1 and winning $100. I've always loved that story.
Sidebar #2: On Thursday night, Michelle was kind enough to accompany me around Paris and Bally's playing my mom's $20 (with no luck). I kept getting confused about which kind of machine we were playing, and when I happened to win a few credits here and there I would always ask Michelle, "How much did I just win?" to which she usually replied, "$4."
...Michelle tried to talk me out of losing my $1 in one spin. But I just took out that crisp $1 and hit the button. And lo and behold, three 7s. And the credits started racking up, and Michelle started getting excited, and I again said, "How much did I just win?" To which Michelle yelled, "$100!" immediately followed by Holly, "CASH OUT!" Which I did with a huge grin on my face. It was an amazing 30-second high. But, I do have to say that I hate that you get a ticket and not money back out of the machine. I sauntered over to the bill exchanger, put in my ticket, took that wonderfully crisp $100 from the machine, held in it my hands for five seconds with the biggest, stupidest grin on my face...and then turned and handed it to Michelle to pay on my airfare and hotel bill that I owed her. I wish I had a picture of the look on her face. It was awesome. Complete disbelief. Now, I have to confess that I had been dreaming of winning big in Vegas for weeks. No, not $100 big, B-I-G. So I had daydreamed about how I was going to spend it. And then I had downgraded the daydream to a lesser amount, and in that daydream I realized that the first thing I needed to do was pay back Michelle. So I had contemplated this move in advance of winning. It was a complete no brainer. And boy it was fun.
After a delicious lunch at Mesa Grill and browsing around the high end shops at Cesar's, we headed back to our hotel to get gussied up to go see Cirque du Soleil's "O" at the Bellagio. We looked so good that we actually got offered free tickets to clubs multiple times! That show was FANTASTIC! Still kinda like being on drugs, but much more my drugs of choice, ha! On the way out, we heard what presumably was a pimp or at least a sleazy promoter ask the guys behind us if they wanted to go to a strip club. I heard them reply with a very refreshing nope. The others went on to tell me later that these same guys had been talking about algorithms. Tee hee. More to come on this.
We stopped back by the hotel to change (apparently we can only be divas for a short amount of time), but before we headed back upstairs I was bound and determined I was going to play roulette. All day, and maybe part of the day before, I had decided that Black 22 was a winner. And I also decided I had to play while dressed up because that was part of the magic. Go with it. So I nervously approached the table after some consideration, handed over my $20, got 4 chips, placed 2 on Black 22 and 2 on Red 21. The wheel spun, the little ball went around and around, and that little bugger landed on 0. BUT, let the record show that at least 3 tables in the vicinity had hit Black 22 within the last 3 spins. So my instinct about the day and the number were right. I just chose the wrong time and table. Total bummer.
Next we got on The Deuce, a double-decker bus, to head down to Freemont Street. The bus took FOREVER. I had reached a zone of bleh, so I wasn't chatting up my seatmate, a regular ole' guy of about mid 50. His female friend, who was sitting in front of Michelle and Erica, asked him what the name of the bus was on Harry Potter. Well, I couldn't resist piping up, which led us into conversation. When I obligingly asked him why he was in Vegas and he answered for a math conference, Michelle and Erica simultaneously shouted out, "AHA!" They now had an explanation for the dudes earlier talking about algorithms over strippers. As he and his homies were getting off the bus, we heard one woman say to another, "Oh, you must be one of us; you're wearing Pi earrings!" I must be cooler than I previously thought.
Freemont Street was a complete bust as far as I was concerned. It's like the white trash cousin of the Vegas' strip, and that ain't saying much since Vegas is in fact Sin City. But we did get a cheap midnight supper at the Golden Nugget's cafe before getting back on The Deuce. If we thought the first ride was bad, boy were we in for a rude awakening. The ride back had obnoxious, smelly drunk people. Ick.
During this time I was talking to Julianna on the phone hoping we could meet up since she was in Vegas to celebrate her birthday. I was disappointed that our timing was off, but I did feel good knowing she was so close :).
Sidebar #1: When I was in the 1st grade, my dad won a trip to Las Vegas, and I believe it was from a rat poison promo. He and my mom brought me back a slot machine pencil sharpener that really spun! I loved that thing. I wish I knew what I did with it. Anyhoo, he told the story about the Aberdeen manager walking by a $1 slot machine on the way to the bathroom, stopping briefly to put in a $1 and winning $100. I've always loved that story.
Sidebar #2: On Thursday night, Michelle was kind enough to accompany me around Paris and Bally's playing my mom's $20 (with no luck). I kept getting confused about which kind of machine we were playing, and when I happened to win a few credits here and there I would always ask Michelle, "How much did I just win?" to which she usually replied, "$4."
...Michelle tried to talk me out of losing my $1 in one spin. But I just took out that crisp $1 and hit the button. And lo and behold, three 7s. And the credits started racking up, and Michelle started getting excited, and I again said, "How much did I just win?" To which Michelle yelled, "$100!" immediately followed by Holly, "CASH OUT!" Which I did with a huge grin on my face. It was an amazing 30-second high. But, I do have to say that I hate that you get a ticket and not money back out of the machine. I sauntered over to the bill exchanger, put in my ticket, took that wonderfully crisp $100 from the machine, held in it my hands for five seconds with the biggest, stupidest grin on my face...and then turned and handed it to Michelle to pay on my airfare and hotel bill that I owed her. I wish I had a picture of the look on her face. It was awesome. Complete disbelief. Now, I have to confess that I had been dreaming of winning big in Vegas for weeks. No, not $100 big, B-I-G. So I had daydreamed about how I was going to spend it. And then I had downgraded the daydream to a lesser amount, and in that daydream I realized that the first thing I needed to do was pay back Michelle. So I had contemplated this move in advance of winning. It was a complete no brainer. And boy it was fun.
After a delicious lunch at Mesa Grill and browsing around the high end shops at Cesar's, we headed back to our hotel to get gussied up to go see Cirque du Soleil's "O" at the Bellagio. We looked so good that we actually got offered free tickets to clubs multiple times! That show was FANTASTIC! Still kinda like being on drugs, but much more my drugs of choice, ha! On the way out, we heard what presumably was a pimp or at least a sleazy promoter ask the guys behind us if they wanted to go to a strip club. I heard them reply with a very refreshing nope. The others went on to tell me later that these same guys had been talking about algorithms. Tee hee. More to come on this.
We stopped back by the hotel to change (apparently we can only be divas for a short amount of time), but before we headed back upstairs I was bound and determined I was going to play roulette. All day, and maybe part of the day before, I had decided that Black 22 was a winner. And I also decided I had to play while dressed up because that was part of the magic. Go with it. So I nervously approached the table after some consideration, handed over my $20, got 4 chips, placed 2 on Black 22 and 2 on Red 21. The wheel spun, the little ball went around and around, and that little bugger landed on 0. BUT, let the record show that at least 3 tables in the vicinity had hit Black 22 within the last 3 spins. So my instinct about the day and the number were right. I just chose the wrong time and table. Total bummer.
Next we got on The Deuce, a double-decker bus, to head down to Freemont Street. The bus took FOREVER. I had reached a zone of bleh, so I wasn't chatting up my seatmate, a regular ole' guy of about mid 50. His female friend, who was sitting in front of Michelle and Erica, asked him what the name of the bus was on Harry Potter. Well, I couldn't resist piping up, which led us into conversation. When I obligingly asked him why he was in Vegas and he answered for a math conference, Michelle and Erica simultaneously shouted out, "AHA!" They now had an explanation for the dudes earlier talking about algorithms over strippers. As he and his homies were getting off the bus, we heard one woman say to another, "Oh, you must be one of us; you're wearing Pi earrings!" I must be cooler than I previously thought.
Freemont Street was a complete bust as far as I was concerned. It's like the white trash cousin of the Vegas' strip, and that ain't saying much since Vegas is in fact Sin City. But we did get a cheap midnight supper at the Golden Nugget's cafe before getting back on The Deuce. If we thought the first ride was bad, boy were we in for a rude awakening. The ride back had obnoxious, smelly drunk people. Ick.
During this time I was talking to Julianna on the phone hoping we could meet up since she was in Vegas to celebrate her birthday. I was disappointed that our timing was off, but I did feel good knowing she was so close :).
Vegas Day 2: 6156 is the Mark of the Devil
I woke up very tired and feeling very badly on Thursday morning. I started my day by popping Ibuprofen, Sudafed and another dose of Tamiflu...on an empty stomach. Shouldn't have been too much of a surprise that when I smelled the food downstairs that I got sick. Back to bed for me while the others ventured out for half price tickets for that night (dang you, Wayne Brady, for cancelling on us!). In retrospect, I think I had the advantage sleeping while they did all that walking. Thanks, girls!
We met up for lunch at Le Buffet (roll eyes), which I thought was good but I think I was in the minority on that one. Then again, me and massive amounts of food are always good. Next up, The Price is Right Live, a non-televised version of the show with a different host and announcer. Very fun even though none of us got to come on down :(. We were all set to have our picture made with the beauties after the show (Gail, the blonde, is from the Memphis/Tunica area), but the random older lady who was going to take it was not exactly camera savvy. As she is splitting our picture into two shots (yeah, because we're going to piece them together later? come on lady), Erica goes, "Aw, geeeez." Might not sound funny in print, but trust me, it was hilarious.
A little gambling, a roller coaster ride for Holly and Erica, and more walking later, and we decided to go to In-N-Out Burger for an early dinner before our 7:30 show. Unfortunately, we couldn't find a walking route, so we hopped in a cab. THE CAB FROM HELL. Now, the night before on the way to Rosemary's, Erica had been up front with the young cab driver who had absolutely no desire to talk with her or expound on her questions. On the way back from Rosemary's, Michelle was able to have a nice conversation with that driver. So when I got in the front and this cabbie started chatting me up, I thought all was well. I COULD NOT HAVE BEEN MORE WRONG. This &!@# started out by saying that us taking a cab to get a burger was "a dumbass" waste of his vehicle. Yep he did. But I thought he was just a gruff old man like so many I'd met, so I was just laughing him off. But when I was collecting quarters in lieu of no $1's to tip him (MORE THAN 20% I MIGHT ADD), he started mouthing off about not wanting to hear any change because we were not in Mississippi anymore. Oh yes he did, he insulted our intelligence and our state. So then Erica tipped him $0.30 in payment to his rudeness. Well dear heavens, he started mouthing off. I had heard enough from him so I just walked off. THAT MAN THEN PHYSICALLY BLOCKED HOLLY AND MICHELLE'S PATH AND LECTURED THEM. Just writing this has my blood pressure through the roof. I had every intention of calling the cab company and reporting him, but every time I thought about it my blood pressure spiked.
After recovering from this ordeal and enjoying the only cheap meal of our trip, we went to see Blue Man Group at the Venetian. Halfway through the show I turned to Erica and said, "I think this is what it's like to be on drugs."
We met up for lunch at Le Buffet (roll eyes), which I thought was good but I think I was in the minority on that one. Then again, me and massive amounts of food are always good. Next up, The Price is Right Live, a non-televised version of the show with a different host and announcer. Very fun even though none of us got to come on down :(. We were all set to have our picture made with the beauties after the show (Gail, the blonde, is from the Memphis/Tunica area), but the random older lady who was going to take it was not exactly camera savvy. As she is splitting our picture into two shots (yeah, because we're going to piece them together later? come on lady), Erica goes, "Aw, geeeez." Might not sound funny in print, but trust me, it was hilarious.
A little gambling, a roller coaster ride for Holly and Erica, and more walking later, and we decided to go to In-N-Out Burger for an early dinner before our 7:30 show. Unfortunately, we couldn't find a walking route, so we hopped in a cab. THE CAB FROM HELL. Now, the night before on the way to Rosemary's, Erica had been up front with the young cab driver who had absolutely no desire to talk with her or expound on her questions. On the way back from Rosemary's, Michelle was able to have a nice conversation with that driver. So when I got in the front and this cabbie started chatting me up, I thought all was well. I COULD NOT HAVE BEEN MORE WRONG. This &!@# started out by saying that us taking a cab to get a burger was "a dumbass" waste of his vehicle. Yep he did. But I thought he was just a gruff old man like so many I'd met, so I was just laughing him off. But when I was collecting quarters in lieu of no $1's to tip him (MORE THAN 20% I MIGHT ADD), he started mouthing off about not wanting to hear any change because we were not in Mississippi anymore. Oh yes he did, he insulted our intelligence and our state. So then Erica tipped him $0.30 in payment to his rudeness. Well dear heavens, he started mouthing off. I had heard enough from him so I just walked off. THAT MAN THEN PHYSICALLY BLOCKED HOLLY AND MICHELLE'S PATH AND LECTURED THEM. Just writing this has my blood pressure through the roof. I had every intention of calling the cab company and reporting him, but every time I thought about it my blood pressure spiked.
After recovering from this ordeal and enjoying the only cheap meal of our trip, we went to see Blue Man Group at the Venetian. Halfway through the show I turned to Erica and said, "I think this is what it's like to be on drugs."
Vegas Day 1: Le Annoying
Super early Wednesday morning we headed to the airport, where I was delighted to run into the Robbins. A few minutes later I was not so delighted when the button popped off my blue jeans in the bathroom. With my belts in my checked luggage and no safety pin to be found, I had to walk around half the day with my pants poking out. Beautiful.
On the plane, Erica had a bad bout of motion sickness, and my sinuses threatened to explode. Holly and Michelle kept up the momentum of being the normal people on the trip :)
Luckily our flights were like clockwork, and we arrived in Vegas on time. Courtney, Holly's sister, arrived pretty close on schedule also, and we hopped into the shuttle to head to the hotel. Total bummer, the advertisement on the shuttle completely blocked our view out the windows. Grumble.
We arrived at the Paris hotel and were met with a haze of cigarette smoke and Le Concierge, Le Toilettes, Le Journal, Le Buffet...LE GIVE ME A BREAK. We dumped our stuff and headed out to see the Bellagio fountain show across the street. "One" from A Chorus Line is still stuck in my head, but it is really cool. Next we hit up some stores before changing and grabbing a cab off-strip to Rosemary's Restaurant: http://www.rosemarysrestaurant.com/. Thank you, Michelle, you Frommers freak, for this amazingly delicious find. YUM!!
After a long day of traveling, we were all ready to hit our beds early. So when two of my coworkers called and woke me up at a ridiculously early time, I had to save face by saying I was sick. Which was true in that I had a head cold and had taken lots of Sudafed to fly and Tamiflu (and apparently that wine at dinner with those meds wasn't such a good idea). I would write about the sleep ping-pong match that occurred between Erica and me during the night, but that would result in a breech of contract.
On the plane, Erica had a bad bout of motion sickness, and my sinuses threatened to explode. Holly and Michelle kept up the momentum of being the normal people on the trip :)
Luckily our flights were like clockwork, and we arrived in Vegas on time. Courtney, Holly's sister, arrived pretty close on schedule also, and we hopped into the shuttle to head to the hotel. Total bummer, the advertisement on the shuttle completely blocked our view out the windows. Grumble.
We arrived at the Paris hotel and were met with a haze of cigarette smoke and Le Concierge, Le Toilettes, Le Journal, Le Buffet...LE GIVE ME A BREAK. We dumped our stuff and headed out to see the Bellagio fountain show across the street. "One" from A Chorus Line is still stuck in my head, but it is really cool. Next we hit up some stores before changing and grabbing a cab off-strip to Rosemary's Restaurant: http://www.rosemarysrestaurant.com/. Thank you, Michelle, you Frommers freak, for this amazingly delicious find. YUM!!
After a long day of traveling, we were all ready to hit our beds early. So when two of my coworkers called and woke me up at a ridiculously early time, I had to save face by saying I was sick. Which was true in that I had a head cold and had taken lots of Sudafed to fly and Tamiflu (and apparently that wine at dinner with those meds wasn't such a good idea). I would write about the sleep ping-pong match that occurred between Erica and me during the night, but that would result in a breech of contract.
Vegas: Prologue
I interrupt this adoption story to bring you the tales of Vegas. Have no fear, you can click on "adoption" at the bottom of any post and all the entries will be together for your reading pleasure.
A couple of years ago Holly, Michelle, Erica and I decided we wanted to take a trip to celebrate our 30th birthdays. We planned to do it in 2010 when 3 of us turn 30 (Michelle is a few days shy from being in 2010). But when we started researching, we found a deal to Vegas that expired this month. So there you go, Vegas in November to celebrate.
We were scheduled to fly out of Jackson on Wednesday, Nov. 11. Since it was an early flight, Erica and I planned to go down on Tuesday night. On Monday night, Elliott started running fever. Please note that Elliott had not been sick in a year and a half -- no joke. But let me have a trip planned that I could not get my money back on, and bam, sick. I took him to the doctor on Tuesday...FLU. OMG, I was so upset. What do I do? Do I stay and lose out on the money and on the celebratory trip? Do I go and feel like the worst mother ever? After MUCH crying and talking with lots of people, and with Doug assuring me I should go, I finally got in the van with Erica and headed to Jackson. Boy that was hard.
Insert private joke: Emily's Tamiflu
When we got to Jackson we headed to a costume jewelry store to get fancy for Vegas. With some baubles selected, we climbed back in the van...only to climb right back out. Flat tire. Many thanks to the kind gentleman who assisted us, though we all feel quite confident Michelle could have saved us pansies. Michelle came up with a plan for dropping the van at a tire store and leaving the key in the drop box. As Erica began to show the first signs of calming down, WHAM! New problem...iPhone locked in the van, the keys now held hostage in the tire store drop box. But our girl is industrious, and thanks to a good ole' pop-a-lock service, the phone was rescued!
To recap, we have one member of the crew with overwhelming mommy guilt for leaving her sick child, and one member who has had a flat tire, left her van to total strangers, and paid to have her phone rescued. Nothing Xanax-induced sleep can't correct!
A couple of years ago Holly, Michelle, Erica and I decided we wanted to take a trip to celebrate our 30th birthdays. We planned to do it in 2010 when 3 of us turn 30 (Michelle is a few days shy from being in 2010). But when we started researching, we found a deal to Vegas that expired this month. So there you go, Vegas in November to celebrate.
We were scheduled to fly out of Jackson on Wednesday, Nov. 11. Since it was an early flight, Erica and I planned to go down on Tuesday night. On Monday night, Elliott started running fever. Please note that Elliott had not been sick in a year and a half -- no joke. But let me have a trip planned that I could not get my money back on, and bam, sick. I took him to the doctor on Tuesday...FLU. OMG, I was so upset. What do I do? Do I stay and lose out on the money and on the celebratory trip? Do I go and feel like the worst mother ever? After MUCH crying and talking with lots of people, and with Doug assuring me I should go, I finally got in the van with Erica and headed to Jackson. Boy that was hard.
Insert private joke: Emily's Tamiflu
When we got to Jackson we headed to a costume jewelry store to get fancy for Vegas. With some baubles selected, we climbed back in the van...only to climb right back out. Flat tire. Many thanks to the kind gentleman who assisted us, though we all feel quite confident Michelle could have saved us pansies. Michelle came up with a plan for dropping the van at a tire store and leaving the key in the drop box. As Erica began to show the first signs of calming down, WHAM! New problem...iPhone locked in the van, the keys now held hostage in the tire store drop box. But our girl is industrious, and thanks to a good ole' pop-a-lock service, the phone was rescued!
To recap, we have one member of the crew with overwhelming mommy guilt for leaving her sick child, and one member who has had a flat tire, left her van to total strangers, and paid to have her phone rescued. Nothing Xanax-induced sleep can't correct!
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Vegas Baby!
I am super pumped about the pending destination celebration for the combined 30th birthdays of my 3 BFFs and myself. And after being on Cloud 9 all day about it, I realized, "Hey, Fattie, you could make a good push in the next few weeks and maybe feel a little better about yourself in Vegas." So I promptly looked at my calendar: 7 weeks until tentative departure. I am challenging myself to exercise MINIMALLY 5 days a week and to only treat myself to DP on Sundays. Still in negotiations with sugar, my arch enemy. Say a prayer for my motivation and time management, please!
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