But on the other hand, you hate all of the bullshit that comes with traveling: packing; getting to the airport; getting checked in; boarding; flying; de-boarding; getting your luggage (if you checked it); getting to the hotel; connecting with your workmates; trying to get online in the hotel room; having awkward conversations with people you don't know simply b/c you're bound by the same industry/purpose/event; etc.
So it can be really fun, and not so fun at the same time.
I think Las Vegas, as a place, sums this idea up nicely.
Fun AND not-so-fun. Elegant AND Trashy--Las Vegas embodies it all.
Here's the good shit that happened during the trip:
Best fucking tempura shrimp appetizer of all time. On my birthday. GAWD ya'll. The batter? Insane. The sauce? Unprecedented. All consumed while we were at a primo table overlooking the strip.
I tried sake for the first time ever, and I liked it.
I got a free Happy Birthday "Bananas Foster" dessert, complete with an "on table fireworks display," which really merits its own posting and had everyone in the entire restaurant looking at our table. Because we were cool like that.
I won $210 on a nickel slot at The Venetian after only putting in $20 to play.
Nothing was stolen from my hotel room, nor was I mugged.
My coworker Paige and I got along famously and solved every problem our company has ever had. It's simple, yo!
So yeah, that was pretty much the good shit that happened.
Now, please allow a little photo essay that really has nothing to do with anything I just wrote:
Vegas, as seen by Karla May. January, 2007.
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The view from my room at about 7:30am. What's important to note about this photo, is that it's very typical. The excavation work. The cranes. The sort of TBD land, flanked by either brand new or dying properites. That's typical Vegas. What I love about this particular photo is that this IS Las Vegas. The old. The graveyard. The rebirth. The new. And the really lovely natural landscape that sort of unwillingly holds it in its embrace. Again: Very strange.
What fucking SUCKED about this whole situation is, despite the fact that I was on the 23rd floor, I could still hear--loudly and clearly--the "backup" beeps and the horns honking and the truck engines and all of the other fucking noise that accompanies an effort like this cranking up at--no shit--FIVE A. MOTHERFUCKING M.
I'm sorry: But that's not okay.
Okay, enough bitching. Let me tell you what what FAAAAAAAAAAAAABULOUS about our trip:
We stayed at a craptacular hotel at the ass end of The Strip. But the great thing about the place, was how hard they're still trying despite the fact that the fangs of death are trained on their jugulars.
My travelmate needed coffee. There wasn't as Starbucks within at least 1/2 mile of this place (which only reinforces how craptacular it was), so we had to make due with "
Jitters." So we would go there in the mornings before our conference sessions to feed her addiction. Jitters was next to a fascinating kiosk called "Dazzles." At different times, Paige and I remembered it as "Dingles" and/or "Drizzles," which cracked us up completely. But I digress... Here is just a tiny sample of what Dazzles had to offer the discerning shopper:
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SO hot. I like how the "Christ is King" pin and the "Oh Shit" and "Bitch" pins peacefully coexist in this tasteful display. I wanted to buy a bunch of these as presents for MY bitches, but they were $11 a piece! WTF? I wonder when the last time was that Dazzles actually sold anything.
3 comments:
Dude! I totally would have been willing to reimburse you for one of those "I [heart] Craps" pins.
And OMG, how cool would it have been if you won that Harley? I can totally see you riding that bad boy down Congress or some shit!
Hey KM
That's why the Vegas season was the only cool "Real World" to watch. Trainwrecks of the Lowest Common Denominator, baby. BTW, you can buy all that crap at the 290 Flea Market for about 1/4 the price, if you still want a few of those thumbsuckers.
Great timekiller: pondering ways to make your plane neighbor squirm when they see you for the first time. Five thumbsucking dolls would have worked.
I once hired an out-of-town Civil War reenactor for an event. His flight left shortly after the function. He decided to wear his uniform on the plane.....
Las Vegas is weirder than a Ouija board. It gives me the creeps. Fun creeps but creeps nevertheless.
I bet you are glad to be home.
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