vegas/dream in vegas [long post]
I suppose in the grand scheme of things my Vegas trip was relatively tame, but I had a lot of fun, did not get tired of it as many said I would, and definitely want to return many times.
Thursday I woke up with a cold, which was very ominous. I made it through Stretch & Massage and kind of Ballet on Thursday morning, but sat out of Modern so I could have a shot at making it through Company. (In Ballet I couldn't turn to the right - I kept stumbling over when trying to do so. When I woke up that morning a gland on the right side of my throat was swollen, so I guess the was affecting my equilibrium on that side. I had no trouble turning to the left.) I came home and sat on Thursday, skipping Pilates at night.
Friday I woke up stressed because I didn't run any errands to get ready for my trip on Thursday, since I was trying to rest. I got all of my errands done in time to take myself to lunch at AZ/88 though, and the stress went away. I had a Caipirinha with lunch, remembered that I forgot to buy socks and underwear at the mall, returned and bought them, then drove to Tyler's where Valerie picked us up and took us to the airport. I got through security at 3:30 so because the flight was at 4:15 I immediately went to the bar and had a double Bacardi and diet. We then went to the gate and Russ saw me there (he is a bartender at Forbidden whose bday is today and I knew he would be in Vegas this weekend as well). Turns out he and Gergana (his beautiful Bulgarian girlfriend) were on the same flight. I chatted with him a bit, then we boarded.
We arrived at the time share on Friday with only about 20 minutes to get dressed to make it to Zumanity on time. (Tyler and his friend Dani went with me.) Zumanity did not impress me. We went to the early show (7:30 pm) because the earliest dinner reservation I could get at Tao was 10:45. I hope that the later show is either raunchier or populated by a younger crowd, because the people attending the early show were pretty old in general, and were way too easily entertained by jokes that were really not that dirty, and were fairly juvenile. Had about an hour between the show and dinner, so we walked around New York New York for a few minutes and got a slice of pizza because we were very hungry. Walked the strip FOREVER to the Venetian where Tao is, waited about 15 minutes in the lounge for our table where I started drinking heavily, surprising even the bartender at the rapidity with which I downed my drinks.
I didn't eat much because I wasn't that hungry, but Dani gave me a couple bites of her rare filet mignon and the endorphine rush it gave me almost killed me. Ruth's Chris anyone? Finished dinner with some peppermint tea which made me feel a little better. We then took the Deuce to... wherever Studio 54 is (some ghetto hotel that's been there forever) because Kelly texted me and told me she got me on the list there. There were hookeers walking around outside. The VIP host said I was not on the list which was embarrassing because while I hear Studio 54 is fun, we were not in a nice place. Went back to New York New York, got a drink, and Russ texted me that he talked to his friend at Blush at the Wynn and got the 3 of us on the list there. But Dani and Tyler didn't want to go on another wild goose chase understandably, so I went alone. Russ' friend was at the door and let me in and gave me a cover voucher which was sweet. THE PLACE WAS SO NICE. According to the guy's business card, it's a "boutique nightclub". It's kind of like a cooler, bigger 6 with a sweet ceiling and awesome patio. We drank there for a while then Russ wanted to gamble so we went to a roulette table in the Wynn and I drank free drinks while he gambled and we talked to Gene, a very large man also playing at the table. Taxi back to hotel where I ate Tyler's chicken nuggets and went to bed.
Inexplicably woke up initially around 10 on Saturday, medicated myself with what turned out to be a winning combination of singulair, claritin D 12 hour, 1000 mg vitamin C, 2 aleve. We went to the market in the time share and bought breakfast foods and I bought a bottle of champagne and orange juice. My cold felt much better after eating due to the pills, and I proceeded to drink all but one mimosa's worth of the champagne. Walked the strip, got a cocktail at some outdoor thing, walked through the Forum Shops, then ate a late lunch at a French steakhouse in Paris. The food was pretty good and the wine was good. Went to H&M in Miracle Mile because Dani and Tyler wanted to, but they found this H&M unsatisfactory so we took the Deuce to some shopping center south of the strip. They dropped me off at the CPK there where I nursed a long island at the bar while talking to the guy next to me who turned out to work VIP food service at the Bellagio and who lived/worked in Vegas for around 15 years (Doug). They collected me and we waited FOREVER for a Deuce back to the strip. T&D did not want to go out with me that night, but instead wanted to ride the roller coaster at New York New York. So they left me on the Deuce, at which point it got stuck in Saturday night strip traffic thus causing me to be stuck on that godawful tourist trap for about an hour. Behind me were elderly Canadians who pronounced Tao "tay-oh" and in front of me was some equally inane Southern woman. FINALLY got off of the Deuce and power walked to the hotel where I ate some chips and bean dip and got ready to go to Tryst. I looked incredibly good in the new clothes that I bought specifically for this purpose, combined with my excellent hair and makeup. I was incredibly exhausted at this point, and my hands were shaking. Timing was working out though because Russ was not yet at Tryst.
The deal was that Russ had another friend that worked at the Wynn that could get us into Tryst but I had to find additional ladies to come with me to offset the number of males (2 if you've lost count; this trip taught me the importance of ladies in large numbers). As I didn't have a chance to network with random strangers during the day on Saturday, my plan was to simply show up at Tryst with the hopes of finding a group of ladies to join. This is exactly what happened. My cab driver actually spotted them! I chased them in where they were standing by the line, I regaled them with my winning personality, and they agreed to let me join them. They were then invited to get into the middle of the line by some guy behind the rope, and they talked him into letting me in with them. So now I had fought my way into line. They then began trying to convince a host to let them pass the line, which I was trying to locate Russ, who was gambling and waiting for a drink to arrive. Before he arrived the ladies worked their magic and I was suddenly on the other side of the line. Fatal Flaw Alert! I should have hooked arms with one of them because the host then walked them up and wrote out cover vouchers for them, but some bro instinct kicked in and I separated from them to try to find Russ. I couldn't so I went downstairs and paid my cover (ouch), got a hand stamp, then walked back up. Russ and G were at the end of the line, unable to locate his friend. After two attempts I found a lady host who listened to me while I tried to convince her to let Russ and G pass the line. "Are they joining your table?" "Uh, I don't have a table, but I was just in there? :-/ " Lady Host 1 calls over Lady Host 2 who recognizes the name of Russ' friend and then tells Lady Host 1 it's her call and walks away. Lady Host 1 ponders it and then tells R&G she can line pass them but they'll have to pay cover (I expected their combined beauty to be of greater import, but then again, this was Vegas). So we go downstairs, pay, fight our way through an immense crowd at a bar in the club, get shots and drinks, make a pit stop, then go stand on the patio with a stories-tall water fall, dance, drink further... drink further, dance, then leave (Tryst was very nice and pics will come soon). I realized that while getting ready I had not felt exhaustion, but rather legitimate withdrawals because when I started drinking again I became very calm and clear headed.
Russ again wanted to gamble so we went to the same roulette table with the same dealer as the night before. Gene eventually materialized and it was a gay repeat of Friday night. Gene and I had to pee and he took me up to his room where I peed (alone) and then he did, and then we went back downstairs (VERY NICE ROOMS IN THE WYNN). I was still going strong and wanted to go to a lounge or after hours at Drais, however R&G wanted to go home, so I shared a cab back to the time share with other residents there and got a free ride out of it.
Woke up around 12:30 Sunday and transcribed the dream below on Nicole's facebook. Sat around, ate something? We eventually went walking and shopping (i bought a beautiful Diesel dog tag and D&G bracelet), cashed in Tyler's $50 time share gift at the Flamingo, ate at Cheesecake Factory, went home and packed. We had the time share Sunday night as well, and Russ was staying Sunday night with plans to go to Mix at Mandalay, but I chickened out of changing my flight and went to the airport with T&D. Travel home was standard. I sat still all of Monday after 12 hours of sleep. My cold did not return. I was such a machine!
Dream:
Clancy Terry wrote at 12:20pm
so somehow i'm awake, but that benefits you because i'm able to tell you about the dream that i just had:
instead of our current residence, we lived in an old house in tempe. your dad decided to take matters into his own han... Read Moreds, and bought a house right next to the one that we lived in. I came home and many people were milling about in the front yard of the "new" house, and you came traipsing out the door and informed me of what happened, and that your stuff had already been moved, but mine was still in the previous house (which your dad had not sold). i then walked through the newly purchased house and was thoroughly disgusted as i am by all such houses in tempe. then somehow, i'm not sure if there was a transition, i was in a much larger, nicer house where women were being murdered. i remember a couple details about the carnage... hmm... some had their throats cut, while others were alive but had pins with feathers attached to them inserted into their throats and faces.
then someone was coming after me, so i ran out of the house and into the parking lot? anyway, i got into my car (an audi... lexus? something like that) and sped home, eluding my chaser. however when i got home you in... Read Moreformed me that i had to help your dad understand a textbook for a class that he was taking. basically i had to read the pertinent chapter and prepare a lesson plan, but a more extensive one than is typical. essentially i had to do all of the thinking for your dad, because you told me that in the material that i wrote, i had to include all possible analysis of the subject matter, which had to be inferred from the text (what was spelled out in it wasn't enough). after giving me these instructions you and i parted ways, presumably to allow me to begin work, however i didn't. it may have been at this point that i found myself in the murder house, but i can't quite remember.
Thursday I woke up with a cold, which was very ominous. I made it through Stretch & Massage and kind of Ballet on Thursday morning, but sat out of Modern so I could have a shot at making it through Company. (In Ballet I couldn't turn to the right - I kept stumbling over when trying to do so. When I woke up that morning a gland on the right side of my throat was swollen, so I guess the was affecting my equilibrium on that side. I had no trouble turning to the left.) I came home and sat on Thursday, skipping Pilates at night.
Friday I woke up stressed because I didn't run any errands to get ready for my trip on Thursday, since I was trying to rest. I got all of my errands done in time to take myself to lunch at AZ/88 though, and the stress went away. I had a Caipirinha with lunch, remembered that I forgot to buy socks and underwear at the mall, returned and bought them, then drove to Tyler's where Valerie picked us up and took us to the airport. I got through security at 3:30 so because the flight was at 4:15 I immediately went to the bar and had a double Bacardi and diet. We then went to the gate and Russ saw me there (he is a bartender at Forbidden whose bday is today and I knew he would be in Vegas this weekend as well). Turns out he and Gergana (his beautiful Bulgarian girlfriend) were on the same flight. I chatted with him a bit, then we boarded.
We arrived at the time share on Friday with only about 20 minutes to get dressed to make it to Zumanity on time. (Tyler and his friend Dani went with me.) Zumanity did not impress me. We went to the early show (7:30 pm) because the earliest dinner reservation I could get at Tao was 10:45. I hope that the later show is either raunchier or populated by a younger crowd, because the people attending the early show were pretty old in general, and were way too easily entertained by jokes that were really not that dirty, and were fairly juvenile. Had about an hour between the show and dinner, so we walked around New York New York for a few minutes and got a slice of pizza because we were very hungry. Walked the strip FOREVER to the Venetian where Tao is, waited about 15 minutes in the lounge for our table where I started drinking heavily, surprising even the bartender at the rapidity with which I downed my drinks.
I didn't eat much because I wasn't that hungry, but Dani gave me a couple bites of her rare filet mignon and the endorphine rush it gave me almost killed me. Ruth's Chris anyone? Finished dinner with some peppermint tea which made me feel a little better. We then took the Deuce to... wherever Studio 54 is (some ghetto hotel that's been there forever) because Kelly texted me and told me she got me on the list there. There were hookeers walking around outside. The VIP host said I was not on the list which was embarrassing because while I hear Studio 54 is fun, we were not in a nice place. Went back to New York New York, got a drink, and Russ texted me that he talked to his friend at Blush at the Wynn and got the 3 of us on the list there. But Dani and Tyler didn't want to go on another wild goose chase understandably, so I went alone. Russ' friend was at the door and let me in and gave me a cover voucher which was sweet. THE PLACE WAS SO NICE. According to the guy's business card, it's a "boutique nightclub". It's kind of like a cooler, bigger 6 with a sweet ceiling and awesome patio. We drank there for a while then Russ wanted to gamble so we went to a roulette table in the Wynn and I drank free drinks while he gambled and we talked to Gene, a very large man also playing at the table. Taxi back to hotel where I ate Tyler's chicken nuggets and went to bed.
Inexplicably woke up initially around 10 on Saturday, medicated myself with what turned out to be a winning combination of singulair, claritin D 12 hour, 1000 mg vitamin C, 2 aleve. We went to the market in the time share and bought breakfast foods and I bought a bottle of champagne and orange juice. My cold felt much better after eating due to the pills, and I proceeded to drink all but one mimosa's worth of the champagne. Walked the strip, got a cocktail at some outdoor thing, walked through the Forum Shops, then ate a late lunch at a French steakhouse in Paris. The food was pretty good and the wine was good. Went to H&M in Miracle Mile because Dani and Tyler wanted to, but they found this H&M unsatisfactory so we took the Deuce to some shopping center south of the strip. They dropped me off at the CPK there where I nursed a long island at the bar while talking to the guy next to me who turned out to work VIP food service at the Bellagio and who lived/worked in Vegas for around 15 years (Doug). They collected me and we waited FOREVER for a Deuce back to the strip. T&D did not want to go out with me that night, but instead wanted to ride the roller coaster at New York New York. So they left me on the Deuce, at which point it got stuck in Saturday night strip traffic thus causing me to be stuck on that godawful tourist trap for about an hour. Behind me were elderly Canadians who pronounced Tao "tay-oh" and in front of me was some equally inane Southern woman. FINALLY got off of the Deuce and power walked to the hotel where I ate some chips and bean dip and got ready to go to Tryst. I looked incredibly good in the new clothes that I bought specifically for this purpose, combined with my excellent hair and makeup. I was incredibly exhausted at this point, and my hands were shaking. Timing was working out though because Russ was not yet at Tryst.
The deal was that Russ had another friend that worked at the Wynn that could get us into Tryst but I had to find additional ladies to come with me to offset the number of males (2 if you've lost count; this trip taught me the importance of ladies in large numbers). As I didn't have a chance to network with random strangers during the day on Saturday, my plan was to simply show up at Tryst with the hopes of finding a group of ladies to join. This is exactly what happened. My cab driver actually spotted them! I chased them in where they were standing by the line, I regaled them with my winning personality, and they agreed to let me join them. They were then invited to get into the middle of the line by some guy behind the rope, and they talked him into letting me in with them. So now I had fought my way into line. They then began trying to convince a host to let them pass the line, which I was trying to locate Russ, who was gambling and waiting for a drink to arrive. Before he arrived the ladies worked their magic and I was suddenly on the other side of the line. Fatal Flaw Alert! I should have hooked arms with one of them because the host then walked them up and wrote out cover vouchers for them, but some bro instinct kicked in and I separated from them to try to find Russ. I couldn't so I went downstairs and paid my cover (ouch), got a hand stamp, then walked back up. Russ and G were at the end of the line, unable to locate his friend. After two attempts I found a lady host who listened to me while I tried to convince her to let Russ and G pass the line. "Are they joining your table?" "Uh, I don't have a table, but I was just in there? :-/ " Lady Host 1 calls over Lady Host 2 who recognizes the name of Russ' friend and then tells Lady Host 1 it's her call and walks away. Lady Host 1 ponders it and then tells R&G she can line pass them but they'll have to pay cover (I expected their combined beauty to be of greater import, but then again, this was Vegas). So we go downstairs, pay, fight our way through an immense crowd at a bar in the club, get shots and drinks, make a pit stop, then go stand on the patio with a stories-tall water fall, dance, drink further... drink further, dance, then leave (Tryst was very nice and pics will come soon). I realized that while getting ready I had not felt exhaustion, but rather legitimate withdrawals because when I started drinking again I became very calm and clear headed.
Russ again wanted to gamble so we went to the same roulette table with the same dealer as the night before. Gene eventually materialized and it was a gay repeat of Friday night. Gene and I had to pee and he took me up to his room where I peed (alone) and then he did, and then we went back downstairs (VERY NICE ROOMS IN THE WYNN). I was still going strong and wanted to go to a lounge or after hours at Drais, however R&G wanted to go home, so I shared a cab back to the time share with other residents there and got a free ride out of it.
Woke up around 12:30 Sunday and transcribed the dream below on Nicole's facebook. Sat around, ate something? We eventually went walking and shopping (i bought a beautiful Diesel dog tag and D&G bracelet), cashed in Tyler's $50 time share gift at the Flamingo, ate at Cheesecake Factory, went home and packed. We had the time share Sunday night as well, and Russ was staying Sunday night with plans to go to Mix at Mandalay, but I chickened out of changing my flight and went to the airport with T&D. Travel home was standard. I sat still all of Monday after 12 hours of sleep. My cold did not return. I was such a machine!
Dream:
Clancy Terry wrote at 12:20pm
so somehow i'm awake, but that benefits you because i'm able to tell you about the dream that i just had:
instead of our current residence, we lived in an old house in tempe. your dad decided to take matters into his own han... Read Moreds, and bought a house right next to the one that we lived in. I came home and many people were milling about in the front yard of the "new" house, and you came traipsing out the door and informed me of what happened, and that your stuff had already been moved, but mine was still in the previous house (which your dad had not sold). i then walked through the newly purchased house and was thoroughly disgusted as i am by all such houses in tempe. then somehow, i'm not sure if there was a transition, i was in a much larger, nicer house where women were being murdered. i remember a couple details about the carnage... hmm... some had their throats cut, while others were alive but had pins with feathers attached to them inserted into their throats and faces.
then someone was coming after me, so i ran out of the house and into the parking lot? anyway, i got into my car (an audi... lexus? something like that) and sped home, eluding my chaser. however when i got home you in... Read Moreformed me that i had to help your dad understand a textbook for a class that he was taking. basically i had to read the pertinent chapter and prepare a lesson plan, but a more extensive one than is typical. essentially i had to do all of the thinking for your dad, because you told me that in the material that i wrote, i had to include all possible analysis of the subject matter, which had to be inferred from the text (what was spelled out in it wasn't enough). after giving me these instructions you and i parted ways, presumably to allow me to begin work, however i didn't. it may have been at this point that i found myself in the murder house, but i can't quite remember.