Today I met someone who lives in Las Vegas and likes Cormac McCarthy. I thought this might not ever happen and that I truly was in an intellectual wasteland.
Yesterday, a Facebook friend; truly a friend of a friend of real friend, wrote me about her love for McCarthy's writing despite reading a certain depressing book that is quite popular right now.
Now, I still need to work on a few misguided people that will eventually realize the error of their ways.
And, in an unintentional vindication of other sorts...a friend shared a random newspaper clipping about the film version of The Road with me recently where I learned a fascinating fact. Can anyone guess which Appalachian Trail-notorious state is featured in the film's post-apocalyptic scenes of dystopian despair? If you guessed Pennsylvania, you are correct. How hilariously awesome is that?? Read the trail shelter registers just out of Palmerton, Port Clinton, and Boiling Springs circa 1999...my own personal triumph of the human will.
Showing posts with label vegas updates. Show all posts
Showing posts with label vegas updates. Show all posts
Thursday, January 07, 2010
Thursday, December 03, 2009
Everybody Knows This is Nowhere
November. Friends, family, and food. A good month, and lots to be thankful for, despite the melancholy that comes with confronting another year's passing in Las Vegas.
Early in the month, I did something completely out of character and had a girl's weekend in Vegas with some old friends from high school. This actually involved things like walking up and down the Strip, eating at celebrity chef restaurants, nickel slots, shopping,and one Michael Jackson dance party (um, yeah I was responsible for that last one.) It was a fabulous time and I just want to note here that I am capable of "being fun", wearing makeup AND a dress simultaneously, and doing "girly stuff". Yeah, I know you doubted me, but that's cool.
Later in the month, we had the in-laws in town and got to spend some quality time catching up. This weekend was full of eating yummy food (complete with Italian accordion players), walking the dog, talk about real estate, love at Love, and a few winning hands of video poker on Fremont Street. It is fun to see the city through the eyes of a tourist and putting together an agenda for the weekend was really fun. I'll definitely be back to Firefly at the Plaza, Twin Creeks at the Silverton, and just for shock value the Hash House (kill the DJ, though!!)
Most recently was the highly tradition-wrought holiday of Thanksgiving. After seventeen heated conversations about methodology and best practices for brining a turkey - we finally got our bird prepped, the fridge packed with groceries and beer, and the iPod queued up with some good cooking music (somehow this became a classic rock-themed meal). My sister and her husband arrived on Thursday and we kept them distracted with learning how to play cribbage as we cooked and baked. I also surprised my sister with a toast to her recent academic accomplishments and I think she was extremely happy to have surpassed a major landmark in her career. I am very proud! Because no family visit is complete without a little sibling rivalry we also ended up playing (what is now a tradition, I suppose) a poker tournament that naturally I ended up losing all my money in (darn lucky river card!). The rest of the weekend involved more football than I ever need in my life, but I did learn about the Florida Gator chomp (?) and some shot called Sex with an Alligator. I'm positive this will come in handy! During an escape from the Mandalay Bay sportsbook, my sister and I snuck away to see the Bodies exhibit which has forever changed me. I mean you are really missing out in life if you cannot immediately conjure a mental image of the complete human skin lying in a glass box. Now, this is burned eternally into my memory. Yeah, totally.
So, now it's officially holiday season. I'm very happy to have had such fun in November and I sincerely thank everyone for coming and spending some time with us in Vegas. But, I have to say a mellow Christmas doesn't sound half bad. So there's the update, just in case you were "wondering what it's like down here". Hope you all had a lovely Thanksgiving. Cheers!
Early in the month, I did something completely out of character and had a girl's weekend in Vegas with some old friends from high school. This actually involved things like walking up and down the Strip, eating at celebrity chef restaurants, nickel slots, shopping,and one Michael Jackson dance party (um, yeah I was responsible for that last one.) It was a fabulous time and I just want to note here that I am capable of "being fun", wearing makeup AND a dress simultaneously, and doing "girly stuff". Yeah, I know you doubted me, but that's cool.
Later in the month, we had the in-laws in town and got to spend some quality time catching up. This weekend was full of eating yummy food (complete with Italian accordion players), walking the dog, talk about real estate, love at Love, and a few winning hands of video poker on Fremont Street. It is fun to see the city through the eyes of a tourist and putting together an agenda for the weekend was really fun. I'll definitely be back to Firefly at the Plaza, Twin Creeks at the Silverton, and just for shock value the Hash House (kill the DJ, though!!)
Most recently was the highly tradition-wrought holiday of Thanksgiving. After seventeen heated conversations about methodology and best practices for brining a turkey - we finally got our bird prepped, the fridge packed with groceries and beer, and the iPod queued up with some good cooking music (somehow this became a classic rock-themed meal). My sister and her husband arrived on Thursday and we kept them distracted with learning how to play cribbage as we cooked and baked. I also surprised my sister with a toast to her recent academic accomplishments and I think she was extremely happy to have surpassed a major landmark in her career. I am very proud! Because no family visit is complete without a little sibling rivalry we also ended up playing (what is now a tradition, I suppose) a poker tournament that naturally I ended up losing all my money in (darn lucky river card!). The rest of the weekend involved more football than I ever need in my life, but I did learn about the Florida Gator chomp (?) and some shot called Sex with an Alligator. I'm positive this will come in handy! During an escape from the Mandalay Bay sportsbook, my sister and I snuck away to see the Bodies exhibit which has forever changed me. I mean you are really missing out in life if you cannot immediately conjure a mental image of the complete human skin lying in a glass box. Now, this is burned eternally into my memory. Yeah, totally.
So, now it's officially holiday season. I'm very happy to have had such fun in November and I sincerely thank everyone for coming and spending some time with us in Vegas. But, I have to say a mellow Christmas doesn't sound half bad. So there's the update, just in case you were "wondering what it's like down here". Hope you all had a lovely Thanksgiving. Cheers!
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
I'll Be Your Baby, Tonight
Rock and roll lives.
Yes, Las Vegas is probably one of the worst places in the country to follow live music. The clubs are big and corporate. The fans are more concerned with pyrotechnics and celebrity sightings than what type of guitar the musician is playing. There is more security than Fort Knox. Beer is outrageously expensive and of course you can't smoke.
But, one thing Vegas does well, is throw money around and The Joint at the Hard Rock is nothing if not state-of-the-art. It's probably a treat for musicians to play at (though the huge plasma screen TVs are a downer for some), and the sound is an audiophile's dream come true.
So Bob came to town and we went to see him. We braved the high ticket prices, the pitfalls of parking, the crappy tap beer, and the iPhone maniacs trying to sneak videos all night long while big scary security guards shined flashlights in their faces. (Really adds to the mood, thanks guys!)
No stranger to Dylan concerts, loyal fans know that no Dylan show is the same as the last Dylan show you saw. Sometimes he's bluesy, sometimes he's kinda country, and other times he's just surly and never even shows his face to the audience. It's okay. He's a legend. He's allowed to do whatever the hell he wants.
But this concert was different. Dylan always reinvents his work in his live shows, rarely faithfully reproducing th hits the way some fans yearn for him to do. In fact, he seems to take some pleasure in remaking these songs from our subconscious into new and unfamiliar pieces that become less touchstone and more a nagging sense of deja vu. But Dylan outdid himself. He was back and he was, well, he was hot. I don't purely mean sexually alluring, although I am sure some in the audience were pleased to see him make some moves for a change. I mean that from the first note, the whole place was electrified and Dylan himself radiated, yeah, it looked like he was totally enjoying himself. Not only, did the band (including Charlie Sexton) rock, but Dylan rocked, the audience rocked, we all rocked. Together, like in the shared artistic experience that only live performance can provoke. It was Dylan covering Dylan and making the old new and the new new-er and remaking us as an audience in the process.
Of particular note, were the songs; Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat, Don't Think Twice It's Alright, Ballad of a Thin Man, Highway 61 Revisited, All Along the Watchtower, and a version of Like a Rolling Stone that was genius. (Yeah, the version you are thinking of is genius, but this reinterpretation was simply amazing. The song lost none of it's intellectual profundity, but gained teeth - and an unforgettable beat.)
The Las Vegas paper may have called Dylan's voice a "croak" and his fans the "middle-aged office crowd", but I prefer to go gentle on the ignorant journalists of this city (one mis-referenced the seminal Dylan album as Blonde AND Blonde). For us, as the brave, clever, lucky few that got to see Dylan this weekend, we saw an artist - at 68, no less - play one of the best shows of his career.
Shhhhh...it's a secret....Rock is not dead.
It just blew my mind.
Yes, Las Vegas is probably one of the worst places in the country to follow live music. The clubs are big and corporate. The fans are more concerned with pyrotechnics and celebrity sightings than what type of guitar the musician is playing. There is more security than Fort Knox. Beer is outrageously expensive and of course you can't smoke.
But, one thing Vegas does well, is throw money around and The Joint at the Hard Rock is nothing if not state-of-the-art. It's probably a treat for musicians to play at (though the huge plasma screen TVs are a downer for some), and the sound is an audiophile's dream come true.
So Bob came to town and we went to see him. We braved the high ticket prices, the pitfalls of parking, the crappy tap beer, and the iPhone maniacs trying to sneak videos all night long while big scary security guards shined flashlights in their faces. (Really adds to the mood, thanks guys!)
No stranger to Dylan concerts, loyal fans know that no Dylan show is the same as the last Dylan show you saw. Sometimes he's bluesy, sometimes he's kinda country, and other times he's just surly and never even shows his face to the audience. It's okay. He's a legend. He's allowed to do whatever the hell he wants.
But this concert was different. Dylan always reinvents his work in his live shows, rarely faithfully reproducing th hits the way some fans yearn for him to do. In fact, he seems to take some pleasure in remaking these songs from our subconscious into new and unfamiliar pieces that become less touchstone and more a nagging sense of deja vu. But Dylan outdid himself. He was back and he was, well, he was hot. I don't purely mean sexually alluring, although I am sure some in the audience were pleased to see him make some moves for a change. I mean that from the first note, the whole place was electrified and Dylan himself radiated, yeah, it looked like he was totally enjoying himself. Not only, did the band (including Charlie Sexton) rock, but Dylan rocked, the audience rocked, we all rocked. Together, like in the shared artistic experience that only live performance can provoke. It was Dylan covering Dylan and making the old new and the new new-er and remaking us as an audience in the process.
Of particular note, were the songs; Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat, Don't Think Twice It's Alright, Ballad of a Thin Man, Highway 61 Revisited, All Along the Watchtower, and a version of Like a Rolling Stone that was genius. (Yeah, the version you are thinking of is genius, but this reinterpretation was simply amazing. The song lost none of it's intellectual profundity, but gained teeth - and an unforgettable beat.)
The Las Vegas paper may have called Dylan's voice a "croak" and his fans the "middle-aged office crowd", but I prefer to go gentle on the ignorant journalists of this city (one mis-referenced the seminal Dylan album as Blonde AND Blonde). For us, as the brave, clever, lucky few that got to see Dylan this weekend, we saw an artist - at 68, no less - play one of the best shows of his career.
Shhhhh...it's a secret....Rock is not dead.
It just blew my mind.
Friday, March 27, 2009
Blame it on Thunder Road
It's been a long time since I have checked in. I skipped writing about our Christmas trip to Denver and basically February flew by uneventfully. I should mention that there was a great trip to Mojave National Preserve where we got to see the Camper Van Zinda. March came quickly and, well, here I am on my way to another hellishly hot Vegas summer. So did I miss anything while I was obsessively listening to Thunder Road? Let me know. Here's an update about my recent trip to Seattle, and I promise to try to do a bit better at keeping up with things.
Saturday, December 06, 2008
Happy Holidays from Vegas!
It's that time of year again and we are sending out a greeting from the desert! We have posted our annual holiday letter so if you want to know what the highlights of the year were you can check it out. Happy Holidays to our friends and family!
Tuesday, September 09, 2008
An Exercise in Futility?
In my never-ending quest to find hope in the city of Las Vegas I have recently tried to humor the good folks putting on the Las Vegas Farmers Market. No, it has not been lost on me that we live in the Mojave desert and nothing grows here. But, hey, I am trying. These are nice folks that drive from California and presumably the produce is fresh and farm-raised.
But tonight I lost a round. After we went and picked out some fruit and a nice loaf of bread there was a huge commotion. My friends, the people of Las Vegas have once again shown their character. Someone, right in front of everyone, in broad daylight, robbed the cashbox at the Farmer's Market and ran to a getaway car. You just can't make this stuff up.
Wednesday, March 05, 2008
One Day at a Time
So, I have been really busy with work. Since I started last May I have been really working hard to learn everything I can so that I can try to do a good job in my first professional position as a capital "L" librarian. On average last year I was traveling every other month and I ended up completing five presentations at national conference and collaborating on a crazy but ultimately published book chapter. For reasons I won't go into here, my job has been quite the uphill struggle. It didn't help that the president of the university as well as state senator Harry Reid happened to be interested/involved in my first digital collection. These challenges at work in combination with adjusting to life in Las Vegas has made for a interesting past 2 years.
But, things are finally coming together. At the end of March we should have a project that I can honestly say that I worked on start to finish and that I am really proud of. The grant I helped write might actually get funded. I just got notified that the first real article I've worked on has been accepted for publication, and I even got a silly, minor, but appreciated award at work.
On the personal front, I feel cautiously optimistic. Las Vegas is never going to spontaneously combust and reincarnate as Portland. I am always going to be out of place here and I need to just accept it. But, I am starting to feel like maybe we have made a few friends that we actually trust and who somewhat share our values. I like my yoga teacher. There is a decent burrito place nearby. And I got a bike so I can get out of my car for a change.
If I can just hang in there and get this project at work finished I think that I will be able to take a deep breath and feel like the work has paid off. We booked a campsite for Memorial Day at Kodachrome Basin in Utah and we found a new hot springs to explore this summer. I hope to be able to hang out with my sis a little more often in California. Next year we are having our family get together in Sedona, which will be great fun. Mount Whitney will be awesome, if we get the permit. I just need to take it one day at time...and hang in there.
But, things are finally coming together. At the end of March we should have a project that I can honestly say that I worked on start to finish and that I am really proud of. The grant I helped write might actually get funded. I just got notified that the first real article I've worked on has been accepted for publication, and I even got a silly, minor, but appreciated award at work.
On the personal front, I feel cautiously optimistic. Las Vegas is never going to spontaneously combust and reincarnate as Portland. I am always going to be out of place here and I need to just accept it. But, I am starting to feel like maybe we have made a few friends that we actually trust and who somewhat share our values. I like my yoga teacher. There is a decent burrito place nearby. And I got a bike so I can get out of my car for a change.
If I can just hang in there and get this project at work finished I think that I will be able to take a deep breath and feel like the work has paid off. We booked a campsite for Memorial Day at Kodachrome Basin in Utah and we found a new hot springs to explore this summer. I hope to be able to hang out with my sis a little more often in California. Next year we are having our family get together in Sedona, which will be great fun. Mount Whitney will be awesome, if we get the permit. I just need to take it one day at time...and hang in there.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Hereby Resolved
So, back around the New Year I proclaimed that our trip back to Wisconsin and to Taos, NM had taught me that things change everywhere and that I needed to not be hung up on all the places in the world that I could be, rather focus on the place I am. So, it is hereby resolved that for every complaint about living in Las Vegas that I make on this blog from here on out must be matched by TWO positive comments or observations. So, here goes....
First, my weird, bizarro drive to work today (the negative): As I crossed Valley View and drove east on Desert Inn over the I-15, there was a bunch of honking and red break lights, so I slowed down. Much to my surprise there was a crazy man throwing rocks at cars, flipping off drivers, and flinging a car bumper around in the middle of the right lane. Hmmm...not sure what the story is with that...but maybe he was having a hard day. I do not want to become that crazy man- so here are my two positive comments, as promised.
The first positive thing is my discovery of the Very Vintage Vegas web site. Not only is this blog the work of Jack Levine ("Uncle Jack"), an friendly and engaged Las Vegas community member, the site is the source for real estate showcasing Mid Modern architecture and the downtown arts community. A sampling of recent posts covers historic preservation, local authors, worst MLS photo of the day, and even dogs! Fabulous. This is a true community resource and I think I know where I can finally put my house-hunting energy.
The second great thing about Las Vegas that I really need to highlight is the Las Vegas Springs Preserve, which is just a superb new environmental education center with tons of interactive exhibits, botanical gardens, and walking paths. They also have a great website. Just go there, really!
Last weekend, I also was invited to a Bunco party. Not something I had ever experienced before but the fast-paced dice game, with lots of mingling, good food and wine, and constant laughter made this a really fun night. While I'm not a permanent member of the club, I just subbed for the night, I will be glad to provide my services any time in the future- especially since I left a winner!!
...By the way, that's THREE positive things...this isn't as hard as I thought!
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Take Your SXCXS One Spot Over Please!
I don't know where else to turn, so thank goodness I have a blog to vent my frustrations. So as you know, I live in the godawful city of Las Vegas. Here is one of the millions of reasons why a majority of the people here are total joke. A bad joke.
We live in a condo complex, with our apartment located towards the back of the place. Not a lot of the apartments are occupied (all those foreclosures, etc.) so we have ample parking available to us, with only about 5 cars using 8 covered parking spots. So, as residents of over a year, we are classified as "long-term" residents and have fallen into a routine with the parking. Not life or death here. It's not rocket science. It doesn't even really matter- except that there are very few stable things in Las Vegas and my parking spot was one of those things.
I park next to my husband. Our neighbors (a couple) park next to each other and we are all happy. Then we had to have a new person join the mix. An apparently quite confused and disoriented person. A person that has a low-end Mercedes with a license plate that says: SXCXS. If you haven't guessed already, one of the billions of Las Vegas realtors. Now, let's pause a minute. If you are truly a "success" would you live in a crappy condo? Don't answer that.
So Ms. Success decides she wants my "usual" parking spot and every day parks in that spot. So, Aaron and I both move over one spot. The next day, Ms. Success is in my NEW spot. So Aaron moves, yet again, and we park next to each other, again. Then she resumes stealing my spot. On the weekends, she mixes it up and steals the other couple's spots. WTF? I just don't get it..pick a darn spot and park the darn car in it. Repeat. It isn't that hard.
No we don't have assigned parking and I am well aware that this is a petty complaint, but there is a thing called basic neighborly-ness. You know, like just trying to fit in with the group of people you live around. Maybe being slightly respectful of them, their norms, their lives. Maybe trying to incorporate yourself into the group as a peaceful, if not positive member. Whatever. Don't expect it in Vegas.
Saturday, December 15, 2007
Happy Holidays from Vegas!
It's that time of year again and we are sending out a greeting from the desert! This picture isn't of our tree, we aren't even getting one this year, but it kind of sums up what it is like to have Christmas in the desert! Hope you are all well and we will keep you posted on our long journey to the frozen tundra!
We have posted our annual holiday letter so if you want to know what the highlights of the year were you can check it out. Happy Holidays to our friends and family!
We have posted our annual holiday letter so if you want to know what the highlights of the year were you can check it out. Happy Holidays to our friends and family!
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Democratic Debate Tonight at UNLV!
Yes, that is right! All day CNN has been broadcasting live from the field outside the library building. Free t-shirts, Express Yourself booths, press, press and more press! We faculty were just glad to get a parking spot and not be harassed too much by security.
Today at lunch there was a suspicious package that shut down Maryland Parkway, but all in all it has been a relatively smooth day. There are about a million people from the various candidate's supporting groups out in full force with signs and banners. I guess we should have made something like, "Librarians for the Cat-Friendly Candidate" to wave around!
Only about 1,000 seats in Cox Pavilion were open to the staff/faculty/student lottery, and I did not get a ticket. Too bad. But, there have been cameras and press crawling all over, so keep your eye peeled, I may yet make it on the national news!!
Las Vegas in the limelight for something besides OJ and lead-infused poker chips? I'll take it! Watch the debate and hopefully we can get this country back on the right track!
Today at lunch there was a suspicious package that shut down Maryland Parkway, but all in all it has been a relatively smooth day. There are about a million people from the various candidate's supporting groups out in full force with signs and banners. I guess we should have made something like, "Librarians for the Cat-Friendly Candidate" to wave around!
Only about 1,000 seats in Cox Pavilion were open to the staff/faculty/student lottery, and I did not get a ticket. Too bad. But, there have been cameras and press crawling all over, so keep your eye peeled, I may yet make it on the national news!!
Las Vegas in the limelight for something besides OJ and lead-infused poker chips? I'll take it! Watch the debate and hopefully we can get this country back on the right track!
Friday, November 09, 2007
Rocking Out with the Old Crow Medicine Show
Last night was the show, and after calling all the hard core bluegrass junkies I know (unlike Denver, in Vegas that is basically two people), we made plans to meet at the Canyon Club at the Four Queens Resort and Casino on Fremont Street.
We walked around the casino, but we weren't in the mood for slots, so the club itself seemed like the nicest place to be. We settled into a table and ordered dinner and beer. Lots of beer. The place was dead for the first hour we waited at the bar before the show, so we got primo seats with a great view of the stage. There was this slightly crazy cocktail waitress that waited on our table and kept asking us repeatedly every time she brought our beers, "Are you mad at me?"
It was merely odd at first. Then, I got some cash out at the ATM (in Vegas your choices are $5000, $2000, $1000, or $500 at a time- unless you try hard to find the $20 screen. Even so, I still never get used to the fact that if you ask for $100 you get one bill) and I paid for a round of drinks. The waitress took 30 minutes to come back with my change! I think she honestly thought she might just "tip herself" with that big bad Benjamin. She couldn't have been too bright though, people in a club in Vegas who choose to drink Pabst Blue Ribbon are not the types to forget about their change!
At 8:00 the lights dimmed and the band came on. They started off with "Big Time in the Jungle", which got the crowd going strong right out of the shoot. Then they played a bunch of new songs and hits like "Down Home Girl" and "Tell It to Me". I think they were jazzed on playing in Vegas and kept riffing on the casino/Vegas/Gram Parsons theme during the between-song banter. They played two full sets and it was obvious after the first break, that they would be going out with a full on bluegrass mosh pit. These guys could ROCK! With the exception of a couple Modest Mouse shows deep in my memory, I have never seen a band play so fast! It was awesome.
The place was packed after the intermission with all varieties of rocks root weirdos, alternative cowpunks, and crunchy granola types. Where did these people come from? It's not like you seen these folks on the Strip or shopping at Prada! Apparently, they might have all been from out of state because Aaron determined that the couple next to us flew all the way from Billings, MT just to see the show.
So, bottom line is that I have satisfied one of my life goals by hearing "Wagon Wheel" performed live and I actually had a really fabulous time hanging out with friends in Las Vegas. Amazing. If you haven't been here before, I highly recommend Fremont Street. It is the Strip alternative and it is the Old Vegas. The Canyon Club was a good venue, the tickets were affordable, and the band was in fine form. Yes, I bought a t-shirt to commemorate my first OCMS performance and it is a gem! (Plus, I had a lovely hangover today, as an additional souvenir)
What are you waiting for? Go download some music!
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Birthday Weekend in Vegas
My birthday and my sister's both fall in the month of October and since she just moved to L.A., we decided to celebrate this weekend and go out for a night in Vegas. They left after work and got in in late on Friday night after a somewhat hellish drive on the I-15. When they arrived, we cracked a couple beers, opened our presents, played dice, and ate the devil's food cake I made until about 1:30 in the morning.
We woke up on Saturday and decided to hit the road to Valley of Fire so that my sister could see some of the beautiful scenery that makes living here bearable. Aside from the usual road rage I exhibit when driving through the Spaghetti Bowl to get out of town, the drive to the park was uneventful. Aaron and Andy discussed politics the entire way, so I had to enforce a smackdown on all political topics, at least until we got out of Valley of Fire. We went to the visitor's center and drove the scenic drive, and then did a little bit of hiking, although we were limited by Pocky's bum knee and couldn't really make our guests truly suffer on anything epic-length. Next we drove down along the Lake Mead shore and into Boulder City for lunch at MIlo's and some beer. Erin set the pace by ordering two beers for herself in the first round! (She got an Pyramid Apricot and a Guinness to make her variation on a black and tan).
After returning home we relaxed a bit and then got ready to go down to the Strip. Don't ask me how we ended up at the Star Trek Experience at the Hilton...but somehow, my sister decided that it was a good idea and who am I to argue with someone on their birthday? We did the rides (which were pretty good and amusing) with live actors and lots of special effects. Then we hit the gift shop and the theme restaurant for some food and the featured cocktails. Our table started with a Borg Sphere, which included 10 oz. of liquor and came steaming in a massive fishbowl. We were all pretty loopy by the time we left. I even got harassed by one of the alien guys (Aaron says in was a Ferengi, but whatever)...
The city blocks in Vegas are very long and we ended up walking in a huge circle in a dust cloud looking for a place to gamble. One would not think it would be so hard to find such a place...but we walked through a construction site, past the closed (and soon-to-be-imploded Frontier) and past a strip mall with nothing but a very neon Denny's before we got to the Wynn. We walked around a bit, past the Maserati dealership, but once we were exhausted we went to the sports book to rest our feet and have some more cocktails. After a few drinks and a race that I really should have put some money on, since I kept predicting the winners, we went to the slots. Lady Luck smiled on Andy and he hit a nice hand on video poker, so that made everyone happy. Having accomplished our main objectives, we went home and played some Texas hold 'em before Erin made us go to bed.
This morning we got up and finished off the cake before heading over to the Peccole Ranch disc golf course. This gem is one of the only positive things we have found in Vegas, and makes our neighborhood somewhat more enjoyable. Little did I know, Andy is actually quite accomplished at disc golf and I ended up humiliating myself as I hit every single tree and light post on the course and kept calling the discs, "frisbees".
After a great Mexican food brunch, we said goodbye to my sister and sent them on their way. Unfortunately, they hit a major wind storm and had to drive through sand and overturned semis all along I-15 back to L.A. There is also a major fire in Malibu, near where they live, so they may not be making this commute again anytime soon. It was a great weekend and we spent a lot of time laughing ourselves silly, which I guess is basically the best part about having a sister.
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Online Traffic School- the Fifth Circle of Hell?
So, I got a traffic ticket from a very wholesome (in a LDS kinda way) cop here in Vegas. He pulled me over after "failure to obey a traffic signal" (i.e. I ran a yellow light). As if there aren't fifty million other aggressive, dangerous, drunk, high, and enraged drivers he could be targeting at that very moment and possibly save a life!!! No, he doesn't pick the scummy meth-head in the piece of crap beater swerving all over the place- he picks me, driving to work at 6 am, in my nice clean Xterra to pull over. He gave me a lecture, a ticket, and told me I could reduce my offense and the points on my license by attending online traffic school.
So, here I am at the library (my home computer does not support the IE version I need for online traffic school) and traffic school does not support Mozilla. I have five hours of reading, quizzes and pop up boxes that say, "You must spend 17 minutes and 23 seconds in this section before proceeding". (Even though I got the questions right).
So, thank goodness I have a blog to post to as I fight to persevere in this very hellish form of boredom. Wish me luck.
P.S. I got a seventy-four, which is passing and I learned that there is a severe drunk walking problem in Vegas. If that doesn't surprise you, here is another terrifying fact- 25%, yes a quarter of Nevada drivers have been in a collision in the past year. Great.
So, here I am at the library (my home computer does not support the IE version I need for online traffic school) and traffic school does not support Mozilla. I have five hours of reading, quizzes and pop up boxes that say, "You must spend 17 minutes and 23 seconds in this section before proceeding". (Even though I got the questions right).
So, thank goodness I have a blog to post to as I fight to persevere in this very hellish form of boredom. Wish me luck.
P.S. I got a seventy-four, which is passing and I learned that there is a severe drunk walking problem in Vegas. If that doesn't surprise you, here is another terrifying fact- 25%, yes a quarter of Nevada drivers have been in a collision in the past year. Great.
Monday, September 03, 2007
It's a Grind Rocks. Starbucks Doesn't.
This weekend I have been trying to work on the CDT GPS project, which requires me to use my work laptop and a decent wireless connection. I have been trying to poach free wireless from my neighbors, but it has been spotty at best and after losing my work a couple times, I decided to spend Labor Day morning at a coffee shop to try and get something done. If you live in Las Vegas, here is my advice: skip Starbucks and go to It's a Grind.
Starbucks: Corporate. Requires a credit card to sign up for their T-Mobile hot spot, requires purchase of a pricey beverage, and at the Sahara/Fort Apache location has very little seating with no electricity. Plus the clientèle totally annoys me. Big-sunglass clad women in designer sweat suits rudely demanding non-fat, sugar-free caramel, two Splenda, extra shot, vanilla lattes and screaming at their bratty little children...you get the picture.
It's a Grind: Still a franchise, but at least we know the owner and over-the-top friendly employees by name. Dog-friendly patio at the Desert Inn location (biscuits and water are provided), FREE wireless, plug-ins inside the store, and six great kinds of fresh-roasted coffee. Plus they are featured in the hilarious Showtime series Weeds, which is practically reason enough in and of itself.
Neither store comes close to the legendary coffee shops that I seek out in real cities, (insert favorite local shop here...) but if you have a choice I strongly suggest choosing It's a Grind over Starbucks- especially if you are in the Summerlin/Lakes area of Vegas.
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Consumed with my "orthodog"
A week ago, Monday the 19th of March, Pocky was out for a routine walk in the planned community (Peccole Ranch) near our house. Because the area has walking trails and is off-limts to cars with lots of grassy areas, there are always many dogs out for a walk and some playing. My husband, Aaron let Pocky play with some other dogs, much as we do everyday either at our daily dog park visit or on a walk in Peccole. While playing, Pocky cut a corner and tripped (almost looking like he fell in a hole). Aaron noticed him start limping and they made their way home.
After I got home, I checked the leg and thought it could be his hips or arthritis, but not really knowing, we decided to call the vet in the morning if the doggie asprin and rest did not improve Pocky. In the morning he was no better, and we took him in to the vet at six am.
The vet told is that he needed to put Pocky under sedative, so that he could do a full range of motion test. Dogs tend to hold the leg stiff when they are in pain and the vet can't get a good look at the leg function. So, we agreed and had him admitted for the tests and X-rays. The vet mentioned that he suspected that it could be an ACL injury, but we were hoping for other news since that was the most serious and the most costly procedure.
Later in the day, our fears were confirmed and the vet knew for sure that it was a cruciate ligament injury. This injury requires a referral to an orthopedic specialist and another consulation. We went home with a sore and scared dog and soon we were as worried and upset as he was.
There is a ton of information on the Internet on the TPLO surgery, the various older stifle surgeries and the recuperation process. There is also an active listserv orthodogs that has many members. We started wading through all the information which started to make us even more terrified. As if the price alone wasn't enough. A traumatic surgery that cost $3000? yes, we had some hard conversations ahead of us.
Ever since last week, I have been totally consumed with my "orthodog" and his prognosis. I even set up blog to follow the long ordeal, Pocky's TPLO Surgery.
UPDATE 4/15: Pocky was doing great and went to the vet to get his sutures out. On the way home he got excited leaving the vet and somehow, don't ask me???....injured his other knee in exactly the same way!! Insane. We cannot do anything surgically for four weeks anyway, but this is really a bummer.
Thursday, December 14, 2006
Happy Holidays from Vegas!
In case you didn't get a card in the mail, I'll sum up the year's events here and send out my greetings for happy holidays!
Hello from Sin City. It is month eight in Las Vegas, Nevada. The holidays are gonna be rough this year with no family near by and no snow to frolic in. The library is going to be closed so we may head up the road towards Colorado or we may take a trip to Death Valley (doesn't sound too merry does it?) and camp out for a few days. We also found a new yoga studio so it is possible we might just go on a week-long yoga binge during the week I have off. This is a slow time for the casinos, but I hear things pick up for Christmas Day and through New Year's.
I am still enjoying the job. By the end of the year I will have launched my first digital project at UNLV (Showgirls) and that is exciting. Aaron is keeping busy and he has been assiduously studying the world of homeowners associations. Here is his current reading material: Privatopia
There may be a lawyer in him, yet.
Pocky loves the exploring around here and has made lots of friends at the Desert Breeze dog park. We take him into the desert quite often and he loves to boot around in the wide open spaces. There is supposed to be about 6 inches of snow up on Mt. Charleston this weekend, so we will have to arrange a pilgimage up to roll around in the white stuff and dream of Colorado and Wisconsin.
We have been looking into the real estate market and planning our next move in April. We will either rent a house in order to get access to an actual yard and area to grill in, or we may explore the housing market. Since, I still can't imagine actually becoming a real resident here it has been hard to look at houses. Plus it means agreeing to life "behind the walls" in a gated community which makes me sad to contemplate. Downtown Vegas is more arsty and hip, but there are still too many shootings down there for me to be completely convinced about becoming an urban pioneer.
We've made friends with lots of folks from the library and their families and it is great to have others around who understand the culture shock we are going through. We have taken some camping trips, hikes, and hit a few of the local bars. Check out the Freakin' Frog : it is the closest Vegas comes to a beer lover's oasis.
Hope you are well and that the holidays bring out the best in everyone. We miss our friends and family, we remind you to got o your local library, and keep in touch!
Hello from Sin City. It is month eight in Las Vegas, Nevada. The holidays are gonna be rough this year with no family near by and no snow to frolic in. The library is going to be closed so we may head up the road towards Colorado or we may take a trip to Death Valley (doesn't sound too merry does it?) and camp out for a few days. We also found a new yoga studio so it is possible we might just go on a week-long yoga binge during the week I have off. This is a slow time for the casinos, but I hear things pick up for Christmas Day and through New Year's.
I am still enjoying the job. By the end of the year I will have launched my first digital project at UNLV (Showgirls) and that is exciting. Aaron is keeping busy and he has been assiduously studying the world of homeowners associations. Here is his current reading material: Privatopia
There may be a lawyer in him, yet.
Pocky loves the exploring around here and has made lots of friends at the Desert Breeze dog park. We take him into the desert quite often and he loves to boot around in the wide open spaces. There is supposed to be about 6 inches of snow up on Mt. Charleston this weekend, so we will have to arrange a pilgimage up to roll around in the white stuff and dream of Colorado and Wisconsin.
We have been looking into the real estate market and planning our next move in April. We will either rent a house in order to get access to an actual yard and area to grill in, or we may explore the housing market. Since, I still can't imagine actually becoming a real resident here it has been hard to look at houses. Plus it means agreeing to life "behind the walls" in a gated community which makes me sad to contemplate. Downtown Vegas is more arsty and hip, but there are still too many shootings down there for me to be completely convinced about becoming an urban pioneer.
We've made friends with lots of folks from the library and their families and it is great to have others around who understand the culture shock we are going through. We have taken some camping trips, hikes, and hit a few of the local bars. Check out the Freakin' Frog : it is the closest Vegas comes to a beer lover's oasis.
Hope you are well and that the holidays bring out the best in everyone. We miss our friends and family, we remind you to got o your local library, and keep in touch!
Tuesday, December 05, 2006
Papa Was a Rodeo
The Kelly Hogan and the Pine Valley Cosmonauts reference is to a great song written by Stephen Merritt (Magnetic Fields) that I highly recommend and before you get bored with the name-dropping, self-referential nonsense--I declare that I do have a point!
For the first time in seven months, for the first time since I moved to Las Vegas...I finally feel at home. And this is all due to the fact that it is Rodeo Time. Most Las Vegans dread this time of year as a mess of parking snafus and aromatic odors. But not me! The National Finals Rodeo takes place right on the UNLV campus, literally in the athletic fields across from the library and I LOVE it. There are cowboy hats spotted all over the place, the billboards advertise Jack Daniels, and there are horses and cows within in spitting distance of my parking spot. It is great.
Maybe it was growing up in Denver with the National Western Stock Show and Rodeo every winter, or having horses as a teenager, or maybe it is just that the best and most interesting musical acts since Vegoose are here in town, but I am totally digging it. Last Friday I went and saw Shooter Jennings at the Hard Rock and Jack Ingram did two nights at Mandalay Bay's House of Blues.Even more exciting: there is cheap beer in every casino and the dress codes include jeans. So, I thought I would share my joy and say: "Long live the Rodeo!" I can't wait until next year, I am going to get front row tickets!
For the first time in seven months, for the first time since I moved to Las Vegas...I finally feel at home. And this is all due to the fact that it is Rodeo Time. Most Las Vegans dread this time of year as a mess of parking snafus and aromatic odors. But not me! The National Finals Rodeo takes place right on the UNLV campus, literally in the athletic fields across from the library and I LOVE it. There are cowboy hats spotted all over the place, the billboards advertise Jack Daniels, and there are horses and cows within in spitting distance of my parking spot. It is great.
Maybe it was growing up in Denver with the National Western Stock Show and Rodeo every winter, or having horses as a teenager, or maybe it is just that the best and most interesting musical acts since Vegoose are here in town, but I am totally digging it. Last Friday I went and saw Shooter Jennings at the Hard Rock and Jack Ingram did two nights at Mandalay Bay's House of Blues.Even more exciting: there is cheap beer in every casino and the dress codes include jeans. So, I thought I would share my joy and say: "Long live the Rodeo!" I can't wait until next year, I am going to get front row tickets!
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