Friday, May 12, 2006

Vegas in a Nutshell

I cannot tell you how much I enjoyed Las Vegas. The conference was educational and enjoyable. The other attendees that I met were very helpful to me – especially as we are looking into purchasing new “tools of the trade.” Thankfully I attended this conference before we purchased anything. It was definitely enriching to me where I am today and where I want to go in the future. I attended several seminars that discussed Usability Engineers. At first I thought “Usability Engineer” sounded like a made up job; but, the more I learned, the more inspired I became. I’m not sure how to get there, but I’m going to head in that direction.

The “fun” part of the trip was just that and more. I have not slept less since Allison was a newborn. Actually, Allison probably let me get more sleep. I didn’t worry too much about that because I didn’t go to Las Vegas to sleep.

Monday night, after my seminars, we ate at the Burger Bar at Mandalay Bay. It was hands down the best burger I’ve ever had. We then went to “Mamma Mia.” It was a lot of fun – especially the first half and the finale at the end. We were singing along to “Dancing Queen” and dancing in our seats. We then visited other casinos and walked through their shops. I have never seen so many high end shops in one place in my entire life. You don’t shop on the Strip on a budget. It’s a good thing I’m not at my goal weight. There were so many gorgeous outfits in every window. (Un)fortunately none of those stores sold anything in my size. Our bank account was saved. The Bellagio was so beautiful. The flower garden was a sight to behold. The “dancing water show” outside was spectacular.

Tuesday I had the opportunity to get in some pool time. I used sun screen liberally but that was not enough. I am a lobster. I don’t know what other way to describe myself. The pain and itching I’m experiencing now reminds me of the rest and relaxation I experienced at the pool. I’d forgotten how wonderful it is to sunbathe.

Tuesday night we toured other casinos on the Strip. We went to the Venitian and Caesar’s Palace. We did our gambling at Caesar’s Palace. I ended up making 25%, but that only added up to $6.25. At one point I won $15. I should have stopped right then and there. Oh well…

Along with everyone else, Jeanne and I found ourselves eating dinner at 2am EST (11pm Vegas time) like there was nothing unusual about it. Tuesday night we ate at Mon Ami GABI in Paris on the patio. It was a perfect view of the Bellagio and we were able to watch the water show five times. The food was excellent and it was such a relaxing time.

We weren’t able to get to the Golden Nugget like I’d hoped. There just wasn’t enough time. I’ll have to save that for another trip. If I was there another day we could have, but I was ready to go home when I did. Las Vegas is definitely a land of sensory overload.

There were only two down sides to my trip – you couldn’t get a Diet Coke anywhere and my delayed flight to Roanoke. It is a sure sign that you are, in fact, in a land of sin when you couldn’t find a Diet Coke to save your life. I was anticipating racking up a lot of Coke Rewards (those lovely red caps) while I was gone. I only have about 266 more caps to collect before I earn my six can mini Coke refrigerator for work. Oh well… Las Vegas was no help for that. My flight out of Atlanta was delayed due to maintenance. Instead of getting in around 5pm, we got in about quarter to 6. I was hoping to be able to pick the girls up from daycare but it wasn’t meant to be. I still would have been able to meet the girls at daycare, but it took 25 minutes for our luggage to be unloaded. That was a long 25 minutes because I wanted to see my family. It all worked out in the end. Danny and I arrived home at the same time. The family was just as happy to see me as I was to see them.

Emma, Allison and their “Special Surprises”

Emma was excited to see what her special surprise was the minute she saw me. I was excited for her reaction, too. I got a Paris themed magnet story board for her. It was for Gigi and Jacque – two dog friends. It is something I would have loved when I was a little girl. When I pulled it out of the suitcase, I did not get the reaction I was anticipating. Instead Emma said, “I don’t want that!” She crossed her arms across her chest. “You’re not my best friend.” Apparently she was expecting candy or something to eat. I have some work to do teaching her about graciously receiving gifts. I had also bought both girls a bouncy ball with the Eiffel tower inside. Both girls were excited about that. Then, I pulled out an Olivia the pig pail for Allison. She just looked at it and then walked away.

The moral to this story is to only buy the cheap toys. They’ll think you’re the best parent in the world and it will save you $20.

Thankfully I got one gift right – Danny absolutely loves his Tiramisu chocolate balls.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I have really enjoyed eating my balls at work, and sometimes sharing them with others. Thanks so much for bringing them back!