Is anybody out there?
Wow. When I logged on to lj tonight there was nothing there but a single phrased entry from Justin. Just one entry. And it wasn't even a sentence. IT was a phrase. I suppose I'll just have to make up for it with one of my ridiculously and infamously long entries which I know you all look so forward to and are probably pausing to get a cup of tea and some cookies while turning your phones off so as not to be interrupted. Good thing I went to Vegas this weekend or I might have a harder time writing this too long of a journal entry.
This was the weekend of Jessica's bachelorette party and being the excellent maid of honor that I am I booked us a couple of rooms in Vegas. I think we knew we were going to go to Vegas for the bachelorette before she was even engaged. And I'm glad we did. It was as fun as it's ever been.
Friday started out fantastically with an early flight that Jen D., Carrie and our very own bride missed. They were able to get on the next one and were only about an hour and a half behind us which was really fine because D-Lo was coming in an hour after us and we were going to wait for her anyway. We got to the Excalibur where we were staying and stowed our luggage when I had a brilliant idea. We needed to start the weekend off right. We needed a Phat Tuesday drink. WE all bought refillable mugs and found a place for lunch. I don't really remember what we did after that bought soon enough we found our way back to the hotel and were able to check into the rooms where we all crashed for a few hours since none of us had had much sleep the night before. We got up and got ready and strangely enough I was the last one ready to go. Normally, I'm one of the first but somehow I wound up doing everyone else's makeup so that sort of put me behind schedule. I had fun though and over all I'd say I did a good job. We hit a mexican restaurant in NY NY for dinner then went to the RumJungle for a drink. A few of the girls made the mistake of ordering margarita's at dinner and those wound up being the crappy vegas kind of margaritas and they felt a bit ill from the sugar. I picked a specialty one and somehow got myself a free upgrade in the tequila. Not a bad way to start the night.
We had our drinks at the RumJungle while we waited for the dance music to kick in. WE got there early to beat the cover but htat meant a short wait while they transitioned from restaurant to nightclub. Jess did a few silly bachelorette dares and we managed to pass the time. I think the music came on just in time though. OF course, right before it did, Courtney decided to go out for a smoke and I had to wait for her to get back so she knew where we had gone. IN the meantime, I did get hit on by a few guys. The music really wasn't too bad and the girls make Jessica go and bring a couple of guys over to dance int the middle of the group. One wound up near me and turned out to be quite chatty. Not much of a dancer, I guess, but still very social. He would have been cute too if he'd had hair but he was bald as Phil Stacey. I did wind up dancing with him later and it was fun but I was alright when the girls came and said they were ready to leave. Well, Courtney had already left with a boy to go have a smoke and never come back (that was a drama for me but she was fine- one of the others wound up finding her in the lobby playing slots) and D-Lo was on her way to the Imperial Plaza (aka Palace) with the cute friend of the guy I was dancing with. Everyone was a bit tired when we got to the hotel except me and I refused to go to bed at 2 in vegas. We can go to bed at 2 in denver. None of that, thank you very much. So I made us go down to a bar in the excalibur to have a drink. The boy courtney had found that was following her liek a puppy bought us all a drink and we chatted with some random people, had them right strange notes in my travel journal, and finally called it a night around 4. Much better.
We only slept til about ten and Jen W. informed me that the front desk had called and someone had found my credit card in the bathroom and turned it in. Since I'd never been to the bathroom downstairs I'm assuming I left it at the bar and somehow it managed to find it's way into the bathroom. I had been keeping it in a pack of gum with my cash, $15 at left at this point, and must have forgotten to give it back to courtney after the dude paid for our drinks. I went and picked it up and called to report the situation and it looked as if no one had used it. I guess we were alright. I left it open because that was the card the rooms were on but cancelled it when I got home last night in case someone had written down the numbers to use on the internet where they don't ID (vegas was anal about id'ing this year. Especially with credit cards. Alcohol, not so much but if you were using a card to pay for that drink...) We decided to get lunch at the snack bar by our elevators and then to begin our day correctly one more time with another phat tuesday run. We got our drinks and decided to do one of those media opinion things where you watch a pilot episode and rank it and they give you a bunch of coupons. All but Jen W got invited back for a discussion group the next day where they actually pay you $50. We figured since we were still in the MGM we should get another Phat Tuesaday before going to the pool. WE added a shot to this one since it wasn't quite so early. We went straight to the pool and I'm thinking I made a mistake with that plan. No water, hot hot vegas sun, and a very alcoholic drink was not a good combination. I basically got my sunscreen on and passed out. Not fell asleep but passed out. I woke up a few minutes before we decided to go in and I needed those to regroup and check the quesiness of my stomach. It really was more of an alcoholic induced sun stroke then a too much alcohol situation but I needed to get inside and chill for a bit. I drank some water when i got in and laid down on the bed while everyone else got ready (Well, Jess and I did) and felt much better when it was my turn to take a shower. By the time I was doing people's make up again I was feeling 85% healthy. We'd settle for that.
On the way in from the airport we'd seen a bilboard for Poly Esthers and a bartender had talked about it earlier and that it was cool but they were having a harder time getting people in and we thought it might be a good place to try since we love the concept of Poly Esthers and if they were still trying to get people in the doors than it might not have a three hour wait to get in. And, we found out it was a ten dollar cover, not a twenty, before 11:30. The only downfall was it was in the Stratosphere. WE figured we'd have dinner at the cool diner at that hotel and then go to the club. We should have had plenty of time even with our late start getting ready but the monorail had issues and we were delayed. We did meet some fun dudes though. They were older and there for a bachelor party but they were a lot of fun and made the monorail issue a lot funnier than it probably would have been otherwise. We barely made it to the restaurant before it closed and didn't make the cheap cover but decided to go to the club anyway. I know I love to dance to 80's so I fiugred it was a good bet. And it was. They had 70, 80, 90's and 2000 rooms and the rooms were way cool. We tried the modern day room, which was by far the most crowded, but after a few songs went to the 80s where Jessica and I finally decided to brave a drink,praying our stomachs were not really as delicate as they were pretending to be. They were fine. The bartenders jumped on the bar right as we were getting our drinks and started to pour free shots so we took advantage of a couple of those. And that was where I met the best and hotteset bartender. I remember tilting my head back for the shot, making eyecontact and being completly unable to look aways. Gorgeous. He served our drinks throughout the night and had the personality to match his looks. LOt's of flair when making the drinks (think Cocktail) and a smile to double any girl's tips as well as a very lighthearted and funny manner. Never spoke but didnt' need to. Super impressive. I danced with one guy early in the evening who was pretty drunk and not very good but both of those qualities made him amusing so I didn't mind a couple of dances. HE was good looking and smelled amazing so why not. I love 80's music because when it's good, I don't mind at all dancing by myself. It's not like booty music where you would prefer occasionally to be asked to dance. It's almost more fun if your by yourself unless the guy is also an 80's dancing fan and knows how to dance 80's together. Not to easy to find. Near the end of the night I caught the attention of one of those guys whom I had seen dancing nearby for most of the evening and he came and joined our group. He'd mostly been dancing with this girl and at first I was surprised she was missing but not too upset because he was hot but a few moments later she appeared with another guy i'd seen around. Trying to figure out relationship dynamics is a tricky and uncertain science but after a bit the second appearing guy started to dance and talk to me while the original guy sort of left the group and returned to the girl. This guys name was Danny, just moved to Ft Lauderdale, was tall, dark, and very handsome, and had an excellent sense of humor. We discussed our fondness for 80's dancing and that we loved it because it was the kind of dancing where you didn't have to be cool. In fact, the dorkier you are, the better. He and his friends were leaving shortly after he started to hang with us but he did get my email. Not that I'm expecting him to use it but I wouldn't be opposed...
Courtney had come to dinner with us thta night but bailed on the dancing and gone back. Well, she didn't have a room key and the hotel wouldn't let her in the room so she was just hanging out. Beign the wonderful big sister that I made her tough it out. However, about 2ish she sent a text message (which we got around 2:30) saying she really needed help. I had just got a drink when I got it but she wasn't returning my texts so I decided I had to get back. A couple of the girls were ready to go back with me when they finished their drinks so that's what we did. About the time we were ready to leave I finally got a hold of her and she was fine but really wanted me to come back to let her in. The club was open for another hour and I sort of debated because I was having a blast- I was not ready to call it quits but the other two were willing to go and I figured I'd punished her long enough. However, I guess the reason she had needed help 'badly" had been because an old creepy guy had been following her around the casino. When I talked to her she had finally gotten rid of him but only after using his money to win $70 which he let her keep so when we got back I told her she owed me a drink for ending my night early when she was eaerning $70. We went up to the room to change then back to the bar we'd been at before where we discovered we had made friends with Joe the bartender the ngiht before. He recognized us and then treated us all to a shot after serving us our drinks. A wash apple, shot I think. IT was good in any case. I somehow managed to get the guy next to us to buy Jen D and I a shot of whiskey before he left to go and smoke pot with the random guy that had sat next to him. Then cournty picked up an Englishmen who invited us over to the bar right acroos the poker tables. Somehow, before we made it completely to the blokes, as they became known, courtney managed to meet a dude from canada and I started talking to his older and cute brother. it turns out he'd been to Australia and that was a snowboarder and we had a great time chatting it up for three or four hours. It was pretty sad when someone mentioned it was 7:30 and I caught a glance of the exit and realized there was sunshine coming thru. We decided to pretend we didn't see that and it was still four in the morning. All the other girls disappeared and my canadian and I (mike is his name) were driven from the bar by the "Blokes" when they started to sing "You've Lost that Lovin' Feelin" to us in a very Top GUn reminiscent sort of way. We decdied to go swimming so we went up and changed and I bought us a cup of coffee (he'd bought me a few drinks earlier) and went to the pool where we were informed it wasn't open for another 30 minutes or so. No biggie. we wondered into the gym area and had weight lifting competitions. We made it to the pool for a bit but it opened at ten and check out was at 11. Before I went up I got his number with tentative plans to hang out later and the posibility of him sharing a cab with us since his flight was around the same time and he was going to the airport solo. I think I got up tot he room at ten til 11 and still had to pack and shower because I"d actually been in the pool. Jessica went downstairs and did self check out which bought us some time and I managed to get my stuff done. However, the "Blokes" had bought my sister an uncounted number of drinks and she was falling down drunk. The girls were kind enough to take care of her while I got our stuff together although they couldn't get rid of "her bloke" who was laying in our bed saying he had to say good bye to courtney. Eventually the chaos was able to move into the hall and down the elevators where bags were stored and lunch was found.
We had that appointment to earn $50 so we went to that, got our farewell Phat Tuesday and then split up between those that wanted to stay at the hotle and relax and those that wanted to go shopping. I was completely jazzed up and was with the "Let's keep moving Group." I called my canadian but he didn't answer and I figured he was probably passed out or at the Body World's exhibit which he had planned on going to and I also consisdered seriously he would never return my call and it would be jsut another awesome vegas weekend memory. First stop was the hotel formerly known as the Aladdin and my art galleries. There I found my favorite art dealer, Josh, who was at the Godard gallery instead of the Wyland one where he's alwasy been before. Josh I lvoe because he's always polite and friendly to me when I walk in and treats me as a potential customer. Bonus that he's cute. We chatted a bit and he remembered me and gave me his new card. And I wandered the two galleris for awhile. Then D-Lo called and said the hotel wouldn't let her get her bags because they were under my name and we had lost the ticket and since her flight was before ours I was going to have to go back to the hotel to get her bags for her. I debated the timing of walking back then or going to caesars palace with Jess and nan and Jen and decided it made more sense to just go back. So I did. I tried to sit and hang with them but I started to doze so I decided to wander. As long as I was moving I was wide awake. I made my way to the pool and I'll admit I was keeping my eyes open for my new friend when my phone started to ring. It was funny because he called right as I was looking for him. It turns out his flight was at five, not nine, and he was getting ready to board the plane. We chatted for a few minutes and he said he'd text me his email address. Which I got this morning.
We managed to get to the airport with no problems and plenty of time but we were all hitting exhausted. I fell asleep waiting for the plane and on the way home, despite it being one fo the most uncomfortable planes ever. Well, I more passed out then fell asleep. Luckily for me I had the day off today since we didnt' get in til midnight . Slept til ten, had lunch with my mom, picked my car up from the shop, and watched House reruns. Overall a great end to a great trip but it definitely doesnot make me anxious to return to work tomorrow. And I got my schedule and I will be working at my third location with no indication if this is my permanent one and I have to close on wednesday which means no yoga and at least partially missing trivia. And definitely missing trivia tomorrow. Ruins my whole week.
Alright, I do have to get up at a reasonable time tomorrow so peace out y'all. Hope my entry didnt' make you as tired as my weekend made me. Although, if it made you half as happy as it made me, it might not be a bad trade.
This was the weekend of Jessica's bachelorette party and being the excellent maid of honor that I am I booked us a couple of rooms in Vegas. I think we knew we were going to go to Vegas for the bachelorette before she was even engaged. And I'm glad we did. It was as fun as it's ever been.
Friday started out fantastically with an early flight that Jen D., Carrie and our very own bride missed. They were able to get on the next one and were only about an hour and a half behind us which was really fine because D-Lo was coming in an hour after us and we were going to wait for her anyway. We got to the Excalibur where we were staying and stowed our luggage when I had a brilliant idea. We needed to start the weekend off right. We needed a Phat Tuesday drink. WE all bought refillable mugs and found a place for lunch. I don't really remember what we did after that bought soon enough we found our way back to the hotel and were able to check into the rooms where we all crashed for a few hours since none of us had had much sleep the night before. We got up and got ready and strangely enough I was the last one ready to go. Normally, I'm one of the first but somehow I wound up doing everyone else's makeup so that sort of put me behind schedule. I had fun though and over all I'd say I did a good job. We hit a mexican restaurant in NY NY for dinner then went to the RumJungle for a drink. A few of the girls made the mistake of ordering margarita's at dinner and those wound up being the crappy vegas kind of margaritas and they felt a bit ill from the sugar. I picked a specialty one and somehow got myself a free upgrade in the tequila. Not a bad way to start the night.
We had our drinks at the RumJungle while we waited for the dance music to kick in. WE got there early to beat the cover but htat meant a short wait while they transitioned from restaurant to nightclub. Jess did a few silly bachelorette dares and we managed to pass the time. I think the music came on just in time though. OF course, right before it did, Courtney decided to go out for a smoke and I had to wait for her to get back so she knew where we had gone. IN the meantime, I did get hit on by a few guys. The music really wasn't too bad and the girls make Jessica go and bring a couple of guys over to dance int the middle of the group. One wound up near me and turned out to be quite chatty. Not much of a dancer, I guess, but still very social. He would have been cute too if he'd had hair but he was bald as Phil Stacey. I did wind up dancing with him later and it was fun but I was alright when the girls came and said they were ready to leave. Well, Courtney had already left with a boy to go have a smoke and never come back (that was a drama for me but she was fine- one of the others wound up finding her in the lobby playing slots) and D-Lo was on her way to the Imperial Plaza (aka Palace) with the cute friend of the guy I was dancing with. Everyone was a bit tired when we got to the hotel except me and I refused to go to bed at 2 in vegas. We can go to bed at 2 in denver. None of that, thank you very much. So I made us go down to a bar in the excalibur to have a drink. The boy courtney had found that was following her liek a puppy bought us all a drink and we chatted with some random people, had them right strange notes in my travel journal, and finally called it a night around 4. Much better.
We only slept til about ten and Jen W. informed me that the front desk had called and someone had found my credit card in the bathroom and turned it in. Since I'd never been to the bathroom downstairs I'm assuming I left it at the bar and somehow it managed to find it's way into the bathroom. I had been keeping it in a pack of gum with my cash, $15 at left at this point, and must have forgotten to give it back to courtney after the dude paid for our drinks. I went and picked it up and called to report the situation and it looked as if no one had used it. I guess we were alright. I left it open because that was the card the rooms were on but cancelled it when I got home last night in case someone had written down the numbers to use on the internet where they don't ID (vegas was anal about id'ing this year. Especially with credit cards. Alcohol, not so much but if you were using a card to pay for that drink...) We decided to get lunch at the snack bar by our elevators and then to begin our day correctly one more time with another phat tuesday run. We got our drinks and decided to do one of those media opinion things where you watch a pilot episode and rank it and they give you a bunch of coupons. All but Jen W got invited back for a discussion group the next day where they actually pay you $50. We figured since we were still in the MGM we should get another Phat Tuesaday before going to the pool. WE added a shot to this one since it wasn't quite so early. We went straight to the pool and I'm thinking I made a mistake with that plan. No water, hot hot vegas sun, and a very alcoholic drink was not a good combination. I basically got my sunscreen on and passed out. Not fell asleep but passed out. I woke up a few minutes before we decided to go in and I needed those to regroup and check the quesiness of my stomach. It really was more of an alcoholic induced sun stroke then a too much alcohol situation but I needed to get inside and chill for a bit. I drank some water when i got in and laid down on the bed while everyone else got ready (Well, Jess and I did) and felt much better when it was my turn to take a shower. By the time I was doing people's make up again I was feeling 85% healthy. We'd settle for that.
On the way in from the airport we'd seen a bilboard for Poly Esthers and a bartender had talked about it earlier and that it was cool but they were having a harder time getting people in and we thought it might be a good place to try since we love the concept of Poly Esthers and if they were still trying to get people in the doors than it might not have a three hour wait to get in. And, we found out it was a ten dollar cover, not a twenty, before 11:30. The only downfall was it was in the Stratosphere. WE figured we'd have dinner at the cool diner at that hotel and then go to the club. We should have had plenty of time even with our late start getting ready but the monorail had issues and we were delayed. We did meet some fun dudes though. They were older and there for a bachelor party but they were a lot of fun and made the monorail issue a lot funnier than it probably would have been otherwise. We barely made it to the restaurant before it closed and didn't make the cheap cover but decided to go to the club anyway. I know I love to dance to 80's so I fiugred it was a good bet. And it was. They had 70, 80, 90's and 2000 rooms and the rooms were way cool. We tried the modern day room, which was by far the most crowded, but after a few songs went to the 80s where Jessica and I finally decided to brave a drink,praying our stomachs were not really as delicate as they were pretending to be. They were fine. The bartenders jumped on the bar right as we were getting our drinks and started to pour free shots so we took advantage of a couple of those. And that was where I met the best and hotteset bartender. I remember tilting my head back for the shot, making eyecontact and being completly unable to look aways. Gorgeous. He served our drinks throughout the night and had the personality to match his looks. LOt's of flair when making the drinks (think Cocktail) and a smile to double any girl's tips as well as a very lighthearted and funny manner. Never spoke but didnt' need to. Super impressive. I danced with one guy early in the evening who was pretty drunk and not very good but both of those qualities made him amusing so I didn't mind a couple of dances. HE was good looking and smelled amazing so why not. I love 80's music because when it's good, I don't mind at all dancing by myself. It's not like booty music where you would prefer occasionally to be asked to dance. It's almost more fun if your by yourself unless the guy is also an 80's dancing fan and knows how to dance 80's together. Not to easy to find. Near the end of the night I caught the attention of one of those guys whom I had seen dancing nearby for most of the evening and he came and joined our group. He'd mostly been dancing with this girl and at first I was surprised she was missing but not too upset because he was hot but a few moments later she appeared with another guy i'd seen around. Trying to figure out relationship dynamics is a tricky and uncertain science but after a bit the second appearing guy started to dance and talk to me while the original guy sort of left the group and returned to the girl. This guys name was Danny, just moved to Ft Lauderdale, was tall, dark, and very handsome, and had an excellent sense of humor. We discussed our fondness for 80's dancing and that we loved it because it was the kind of dancing where you didn't have to be cool. In fact, the dorkier you are, the better. He and his friends were leaving shortly after he started to hang with us but he did get my email. Not that I'm expecting him to use it but I wouldn't be opposed...
Courtney had come to dinner with us thta night but bailed on the dancing and gone back. Well, she didn't have a room key and the hotel wouldn't let her in the room so she was just hanging out. Beign the wonderful big sister that I made her tough it out. However, about 2ish she sent a text message (which we got around 2:30) saying she really needed help. I had just got a drink when I got it but she wasn't returning my texts so I decided I had to get back. A couple of the girls were ready to go back with me when they finished their drinks so that's what we did. About the time we were ready to leave I finally got a hold of her and she was fine but really wanted me to come back to let her in. The club was open for another hour and I sort of debated because I was having a blast- I was not ready to call it quits but the other two were willing to go and I figured I'd punished her long enough. However, I guess the reason she had needed help 'badly" had been because an old creepy guy had been following her around the casino. When I talked to her she had finally gotten rid of him but only after using his money to win $70 which he let her keep so when we got back I told her she owed me a drink for ending my night early when she was eaerning $70. We went up to the room to change then back to the bar we'd been at before where we discovered we had made friends with Joe the bartender the ngiht before. He recognized us and then treated us all to a shot after serving us our drinks. A wash apple, shot I think. IT was good in any case. I somehow managed to get the guy next to us to buy Jen D and I a shot of whiskey before he left to go and smoke pot with the random guy that had sat next to him. Then cournty picked up an Englishmen who invited us over to the bar right acroos the poker tables. Somehow, before we made it completely to the blokes, as they became known, courtney managed to meet a dude from canada and I started talking to his older and cute brother. it turns out he'd been to Australia and that was a snowboarder and we had a great time chatting it up for three or four hours. It was pretty sad when someone mentioned it was 7:30 and I caught a glance of the exit and realized there was sunshine coming thru. We decided to pretend we didn't see that and it was still four in the morning. All the other girls disappeared and my canadian and I (mike is his name) were driven from the bar by the "Blokes" when they started to sing "You've Lost that Lovin' Feelin" to us in a very Top GUn reminiscent sort of way. We decdied to go swimming so we went up and changed and I bought us a cup of coffee (he'd bought me a few drinks earlier) and went to the pool where we were informed it wasn't open for another 30 minutes or so. No biggie. we wondered into the gym area and had weight lifting competitions. We made it to the pool for a bit but it opened at ten and check out was at 11. Before I went up I got his number with tentative plans to hang out later and the posibility of him sharing a cab with us since his flight was around the same time and he was going to the airport solo. I think I got up tot he room at ten til 11 and still had to pack and shower because I"d actually been in the pool. Jessica went downstairs and did self check out which bought us some time and I managed to get my stuff done. However, the "Blokes" had bought my sister an uncounted number of drinks and she was falling down drunk. The girls were kind enough to take care of her while I got our stuff together although they couldn't get rid of "her bloke" who was laying in our bed saying he had to say good bye to courtney. Eventually the chaos was able to move into the hall and down the elevators where bags were stored and lunch was found.
We had that appointment to earn $50 so we went to that, got our farewell Phat Tuesday and then split up between those that wanted to stay at the hotle and relax and those that wanted to go shopping. I was completely jazzed up and was with the "Let's keep moving Group." I called my canadian but he didn't answer and I figured he was probably passed out or at the Body World's exhibit which he had planned on going to and I also consisdered seriously he would never return my call and it would be jsut another awesome vegas weekend memory. First stop was the hotel formerly known as the Aladdin and my art galleries. There I found my favorite art dealer, Josh, who was at the Godard gallery instead of the Wyland one where he's alwasy been before. Josh I lvoe because he's always polite and friendly to me when I walk in and treats me as a potential customer. Bonus that he's cute. We chatted a bit and he remembered me and gave me his new card. And I wandered the two galleris for awhile. Then D-Lo called and said the hotel wouldn't let her get her bags because they were under my name and we had lost the ticket and since her flight was before ours I was going to have to go back to the hotel to get her bags for her. I debated the timing of walking back then or going to caesars palace with Jess and nan and Jen and decided it made more sense to just go back. So I did. I tried to sit and hang with them but I started to doze so I decided to wander. As long as I was moving I was wide awake. I made my way to the pool and I'll admit I was keeping my eyes open for my new friend when my phone started to ring. It was funny because he called right as I was looking for him. It turns out his flight was at five, not nine, and he was getting ready to board the plane. We chatted for a few minutes and he said he'd text me his email address. Which I got this morning.
We managed to get to the airport with no problems and plenty of time but we were all hitting exhausted. I fell asleep waiting for the plane and on the way home, despite it being one fo the most uncomfortable planes ever. Well, I more passed out then fell asleep. Luckily for me I had the day off today since we didnt' get in til midnight . Slept til ten, had lunch with my mom, picked my car up from the shop, and watched House reruns. Overall a great end to a great trip but it definitely doesnot make me anxious to return to work tomorrow. And I got my schedule and I will be working at my third location with no indication if this is my permanent one and I have to close on wednesday which means no yoga and at least partially missing trivia. And definitely missing trivia tomorrow. Ruins my whole week.
Alright, I do have to get up at a reasonable time tomorrow so peace out y'all. Hope my entry didnt' make you as tired as my weekend made me. Although, if it made you half as happy as it made me, it might not be a bad trade.