Meandering Missive: Las Vegas: SUNDAY Oct. 16 (Part 1 of 3)

Friday, October 21, 2005

Las Vegas: SUNDAY Oct. 16 (Part 1 of 3)

This will be a real exercise in self-control. As many of you know, I love to write about fun stuff and tend to ramble when I'm excited about and/or interested in something. *blush* However, since there's so much I saw and did on this trip, if I allowed myself to ramble I would risk putting my readers to sleep, earning the dubious "longest entry award" from Blogspot, or both! (heehee)

Please remember that ALL photos can be clicked on to give you a larger/better version of the image. :)

In a nutshell, I was in Sin City on Sunday, Oct. 16 thru Tuesday, Oct. 18 for the annual National Convention of SPJ ( Society of Professional Journalists), of which I've been a member since the mid-1990s. For the amusing background info on my adventures in getting this trip planned, which I won't go into much detail about now, please visit my Oct. 1 entry.

My American Airlines flight out of San Jose International Airport was at 1:15 p.m., but due to thunderstorms in Las Vegas and accompanying air traffic delays, we had to wait more than an hour in San Jose. However, because the airport needed our gate for other planes, mine spent most of that extra hour "sitting on the tarmac", waiting its turn to leave. The only thing worse than waiting in a terminal is waiting in a cramped airplane seat! HOWEVER, being the optimist, I want to focus on 2 cool things that came of it.

First, I had a very nice seatmate, Shelley from Chicago. She was on her way to LV for a "girls week out" that she and her friends enjoy there every year -- sans husbands or boyfriends, sans children! She also happened to be a player of bingo (one of my fave group games) and mah jongg (my mom's fave group game). LOL! Plus she brought a huge stack of "indulgent" magazines like People, Enquirer, etc. and shared them with me. A very friendly person. I hope you had a great trip and won some money, Shelley! :)

The second cool thing was a MONEY RAFFLE! You folks who fly often probably are laughing at my amazement, but I've never heard of this on a plane! About halfway into the hour on the tarmac, the flight crew announced a contest to pass the time. Everyone who wished to participate was told to get out a dollar and write their seat number on it. An attendant collected the bills in a bag and had one of the kids on the flight draw a bill. The person who contributed it won the WHOLE BAG!! :) I unfortunately didn't win the pot, which turned out to be $88 (Not everyone participated). Eight is one of my lucky numbers, but oh well. Maybe next time.

The flight to LV was uneventful. As we landed at McCarran Airport, I was mesmerized by the long row of palm trees (Mexican fan palms, to be precise) speeding by, and the way the plane's wing appeared to be pointing to them. I took a picture figuring the trees would be one long blur, but instead they came out pretty good!

The last time I flew to LV was about 6 years ago with my mom, and I swear I don't recall the animal "sculptures" rising from the floor of the airport! Either we didn't come by this area, or they simply weren't made yet. Being an art fan, I think I'd have remembered them. There was desert horned lizard (aka "horny toad"), some type of snake, and some type of creature I missed. Here's the hisser....

As you know from my Oct. 1 entry , I had to pay a pretty penny to stay at one of the strip's largest and lavish-est resorts: The Aladdin. I could've stayed anywhere on the strip (I prefer the thematic elements of Treasure Island, Excalibur, Luxor and Bellagio), but since the SPJ convention was at The Aladdin, I knew it'd be 100 times more convenient to stay at the same venue. And it sure was! :)

One of the things that impressed me about my hotel room was the "mini suite" nature of the bathroom. (You can tell I don't normally stay in fancy places! LOL) Upon opening the double French doors, a deep, long bathtub faced me. To the right was a long granite vanity; to the left was a recessed shower stall, plus a separate room with another door for the actual toilet (with happened to have a leaky flapper valve!). In one of the pix below, you'll notice my face (and camera) framed in the small round mirror. That was not accidental, but rather the result of careful photo composition! :)

Speaking of observations about my room, the following triad of pix reveals my eccentric love of all things inane. In fact, I'm probably the only person who'd think of photographing (for the sake of future blogging) these things. Well, okay, my LV counterpart Shari (and savvy founder of Shari.com might also be guilty of the same. *grin* As might my best friend "L", a.k.a Milgwimper; she who blogs at Some Like It Hot. (I'll write about Shari's and my ALMOST meeting in the next entry).

I don't know what types of moths they have in LV from spring through mid-summer. However, if they're able to fly up (or down) the sheer face of a high-rise hotel and finagle their way into a long, narrow vent and into hotels, maybe I don't WANT to know!

In today's litigious society, it's good to warn people about every possible safety hazard, but was this sign really necessary? The only time carpets are slippery is when they're still damp from the shampooing -- my carpet was as dry and rough as a bone! Perhaps the "slip n' slide" effect may result if hotel guests engage in activities that get the carpet damp all over again! But we won't go there!

And finally we have this sign for all the people who might otherwise REALLY get the carpet wet! Nevermind the fact that there's a whole closet in which to hang clothing, and nevermind the fact that I had to climb up on a chair in order to reach this sprinkler -- and then just barely! I guess at least one hotel guest (probably there to attend a Stupid Fest) caused a sprinkler deluge! BTW, the sticker says: "Contact with sprinkler will cause flooding."

A few programs/workshops took place Sunday afternoon for the early-arrivers, but unfortunately I didn't get there soon enough to take the one that sounded interesting to me: "Should I Stay or Should I Go?" The topic addressed when to stay or leave a media related job. It sounded like it was partly geared toward young professionals who'd outgrown their first job, but I'm sure it would have addressed folks like myself, who have experienced general burn-out after 8-10 years of being overworked and underpaid by various community newspaper groups. Then again, I already made the choice to go -- I now make my living solely by freelancing. Currently that's with one newspaper group, two Bay Area magazines and one website chain.

At any rate, the highlight of Sunday was the opening night reception form 7 to 10 p.m. at Aladdin's swanky Curve Lounge. I'm not even sure if you can visit the lounge without a reservation or a VIP status! However, I didn't need to worry this time; I was "with the group." Here's how our convention booklet described the gala:

The Aladdin's ultra lounge, Curve, will be closed to the public as journalists take over the place. Don't miss this great opportunity to network and take advantage of a delicious menu of Italian favorites along with scrumptious desserts and a hosted bar.

The buffet did include Italian food, but it also included Middle Eastern fare with a touch of Indian and Asian fare as well. Very nice selection and presentation! :) My fave food, was, of course, the Italian. I didn't take any photos because it was hard enough balancing my heaping plate in one hand and my icy cosmopolitan in the other! (I don't normally drink cosmos because I don't want to be seen as a "glam girl", but the bar didn't have the ingredients to make any of my fave "froo-froo" fruity cocktails like Sex on the Beach, etc.)

I did, however, score a delicious dessert platter shot! After a suitable break of walking, sitting and schmoozing, I went back for a treat -- right when a server set down a new, untouched platter! Unfortunately the succulent white and dark chocolate-covered strawberries were not on this platter, but you can see a tiny corner of them in the lower left. I didn't even realize that, because I was in a rush when I snuck this photo (not that anything's sneaky about a blinding camera flash) before anyone took anything. The yummies didn't last long -- I can personally attest to that! ;)

After the reception petered out, I found my way to a "practice" room where a handful of PATIENT croupiers were teaching people (mostly convention folks) how to play craps. I've never been able to figure this game out, but since this was a no-pressure situation with play money (chips), I took the plunge! The croupiers explained things too quickly for me to absorb it all (especially since I have trouble processing anything involving numbers), so I just kept asking over and over and staring like a deer in headlights. I also just kept playing. These guys will never see me again, so why should I care if they think I'm an idiot? %-D As it turns out, after about a half hour, I no longer felt completely lost -- only partially! And I definitely understood some concepts that previously were alien.

On the way back to my room (on the 27th floor), I noticed something that reminded me of a strange sort of still life on a table in the elevator waiting area. I don't know why, but I took its picture. I call it: "Still Life with Phone and Wine." ;D

I guess I was still wound up from the whole day and evening, because suddenly I hit upon the idea of photographing myself jumping on the bed wearing my clothes and boots! Or maybe it's because Tony, with whom I'd talked on the phone earlier that day, jokingly asked me if I'd been leaping across from bed to bed in glee. (I've never in my life stayed at any motel or hotel alone and was giddy from the indulgence of it all!)

This is where camera self-timers come in very handy! The first shot below is hilarious and so perfect -- I'm totally in the air. I think I almost hit the ceiling! (If not with my head, probably with my hair!) The second picture was snapped right as I landed (from another jump). If not for the fact that my hair hasn't fallen yet, it would simply look like I was standing on the bed with my arms and legs out. But in fact I had just landed from another jump! *giggle*

And that's it for the SUNDAY, OCTOBER 16 portion of my trip. I'll do separate blog entries for the 17th and 18th later, which will include purposeful programs, fantastic food, slutty slot machines and airport aggroness! (If I write anything else now, this entry will become WAY too long!) Any and all comments are welcome and always make my day. :) *blush*

Today I am feeling happy.

posted by ScaryShari @ 11:11 AM

1 Comments:

At 7:27 AM, Anonymous said…

damn but you write a lot! i didn't notice the sculture in the airport when i was there last month.. i will have to look a little closer next time!

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