Where the heck did I leave off? This is what happens when I get too busy with work and such, I loose track of my stories. So, we arrive in Vegas finally! After getting off the plane the first thing anyone ever notices i8n the Las Vegas airport is the slot machines! They certainly know how to make you feel like you are in Vegas instantly. Our plane landed at the same time at Arik and Sam, so we needed to make our way down to baggage claim to go find them. As we were standing just outside the tram to baggage claim, we were looking up at the arrival board to see when their plan might have landed. Just then, this really rude guy starts pushing me towards the tram! Not even 5 min in Vegas and I am already getting shoved around, How rude!! Of wait, it’s Arik. I guess he found me first.
We do all of our initial hugs and greets on the tram and eventually get our luggage. Now it’s off to the shuttle stop. Here is where I give you Vegas hit number 1. Take a damn Taxi! You see, Arik bought their tickets for Vegas from Expedia.com, and apparently they got free shuttle passes. To keep everyone together, I got Amy and I tickets on the same shuttle. They were 5 bucks for each of us so $10 total. Then we sat and waited for the bus.
And waited
And waited
20 min later we finally ask one of the other bus drivers if he can take us and he does. Now we all pile on this very full bus with the windows all shaded and some really ugly carpet lined ceiling (think Farpoint, only worse (very inside joke)). We can barely see out of the windows to know where we are and we are in there for well over 30 min. The Sahara hotel is the last stop of course. Turns out a taxi from the airport takes roughly 10 min total and costs 12 bucks. (Really Lee, you got jipped!)
Since Amy and I were rooming with Lee and Missy, we waited with Arik and Sam to get their room. Then we were able to stow our bags until Lee arrived. I guess there are a lot of people checking in mid day on Sunday because the line for the front desk was huge! It felt like celebration 3 all over again! We get up to Arik and Sam’s room and they have a really cool view of this test track behind the hotel. Apparently for $10 you can take a sports car around this track. It looked pretty tempting but we had much more stuff to do. First on the list was some food!
One side of the Sahara has a whole Nascar theme to it (no, I don’t know why). So we thought we would try out the Nascar café. Seeing as how we knew that once Lee and Missy got in we would probably be getting some food as well, we opted for just some Nachos and Buffalo wings. Arik got the bright idea to get the wings full up buffalo style. Oh man were they hot. We were both sweating buffalo for the next few hours. Amy was doing her best to get some food in her but she was still suffering from a topsy turvey stomach. After trying our hand at a few Nascar trivia questions (and failing) we went outside to figure out what was next.
About 2-3 blocks away from the Sahara is the Stratosphere hotel. If you haven’t seen it, it looks a lot like a version of the Space Needle in WA. Except this one has a number of carnival rides on the top of it. We figured it would have one hell of a view so we started off towards it. Vegas hint number 2: Stay away from the newspaper machines that are filled with pr0n! As I was walking along the street, tactfully avoiding all of the people and porn pushers, I walk past one of these newspaper dispensers that has the call girl ad’s in it and my hand smacks into the corner of it, hard. I know it doesn’t sound bad, but I hit right on the corner and I had what looked like a bite mark on the back of my hand. After about an hour it even started swelling a little! Anyways, we made it all the way to the Stratosphere and are about to get in the elevator to head to the top when we get a phone call from Lee and Missy, they are in their hotel room and ready to meet up! Doh! So we make the trek back to the Sahara.
Amy and I move our bags into Lee and Missy’s room and start getting ready for the evening. We have tickets to see Avenue Q. This was playing over at the Winn hotel and casino. Apparently this was also the last show for the Vegas tour. Given that it was close to 7 and we needed to be there by 9, we needed to get going pretty soon. We caught the new monorail system from our hotel to the Winn. Well, soft of. The monorail station closest to the Winn was the Flamingo. This of course was only slightly shorter of a walk then if we were to just walk from the Sahara. Yet another lessoned learned. When we got to the Winn we figured out where the theater was and stopped off in a small deli for a snack before the show. It’s amazing how you can end up paying 7 bucks for a bottle of soda and bottle of water.
We got into the theater and the stage was open and set up great. I was so excited. I had bought the soundtrack to the show well over a year or two ago. You better believe I had already had the songs memorized. (I did my best to not sing out loud). If you haven’t seen the show, Avenue Q is a musical that, for the most part, makes fun of Sesame Street. It’s basically what would happen when you mix Sesame street and the modern ghetto. This makes for 2 hours of “oh my god” funny. With such classic songs as “What do you do with a BA in English” and “The Internet is for Porn.” (yes, that’s where the song came from) This is a must see for anyone! (except kids)
After the show, we thought we might just walk back instead of taking the monorail. I am sure that most of the people on the street thought we were drunk, but that would certainly come later (I think). It was a long walk and it almost wiped us out. Missy and Amy headed up to the room while the rest of us went to the Circle K to get some drinks. Hey, why pay 8 bucks for a cocktail when you can make it yourself for 3! While in the store, Lee and I had a small run in with a few gang bangers…… Well, at least they thought they were gang bangers. It was really just a few kids trying to act tough. (Ain’t nobody gonna mess with us!) We grabbed our booze and headed back to the room where Arik taught us the fine art of Texas Hold Em’ to prep me for Monday night. It wasn’t long till exhaustion set in (remember I only had 3 hours of sleep) and I faded out.
Next in Part 3: I love New York, Star Wars the Slots, Is that a fountain cause I have to pee, where is the thunder storm, and the Serious Andorian.
I am not even sure where I left off but I can tell you this, this last week has been non-stop. I think I am going to start with Friday. Last weekend was rough. We took the opportunity to relax at home Friday night, watch a movie, and maybe start some cleaning of the house. Overall it wasn’t too bad. We watched Herbie Fully Loaded. I really am an Old school Herbie fan and believe it or not, I liked this movie! It was very cute and had all of the typical Herbie elements in it. They took the opportunity to give Herbie a little more emotion through CGI and it worked out well. If you want a fun little family movie that will take you back to being a little kid watching your favorite bug come to life, check this one out.
Friday night took a turn for the worse when Amy started getting sick. Sure enough, it looks like she managed to pick up the stomach flu along the way. Due to this, we took Saturday nice and easy. We cleaned up the house and did almost all of the laundry. (You know, I don’t think we have ever finished all of the laundry.) Around 4ish we shipped Andrew off to stay with Heather and then finished up packing for the trip. We had to be very careful to hide the bags we were packing. You see, Charlie (my cat) doesn’t like it when we leave. He tends to freak out. So this time we closed all the doors and packed in secrecy. I think it worked, he knew something was going on, but wasn’t sure what. I really want to say that we went to bed early to prepare for the morning wake up, but we all know that never happens. Sure enough, with a 4am alarm, I went to sleep at about 1am.
With all the bags packed and everything ready to go, it took no time to get out the door on Sunday morning. We got to Dulles early enough to give us plenty of time. We parked in economy and I gave the truck a good kiss and hug, assuring it that we would only be gone three days. Now it’s all hurry up and wait. There was a small line for the tickets, a small line at security, although, the security checkpoint at Dulles was one of the coolest. They had this archway you had to stand in that does like a borg scan of you with sniffers and lights and such. It was the coolest bit of tech I have seen in an airport since the x-ray machine. At the gate we were stuck for the nest 1 ½ hours, thankfully I brought the PSP and Amy had her game boy. (we are such geeks) The current play list for the PSP is Midnight Club, Lumines, Midway Arcade, and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. I know I said I wouldn’t ever buy a GTA game, but in order to do any of the Homebrew stuff on PSP you need it. (And it’s not all that bad of a game, certainly not as bad as San Andres) Ahh they are calling our gate, next stop Los Angeles! 
We landed in LAX and now had 4 hours to kill. To be honest, most of this part is a blur because I was pretty tired. I remember walking through the airport and noticing the lack of anything good to eat. I was forced to choose from a McDonalds and a Wolfgang Puck (fast food version). Well, since the last time I ate Mickie D’s I got sick and swore it off for life, I guess we know where I was going. Thinking back now, I wonder if that was the right choice. I paid $7.50 for extremely runny eggs, greasy bacon, and some bread thing that I wasn’t sure what it was made out of. I really wanted to call up Wolfgang and bitch him out! Well we did find a way to kill off the hours, (even though Amy’s stomach was still doing loops) and the next stop was Las Vegas! Which will be continued in the next post.
Yup, here we are, the day after. I have to say, whole it wasn’t the worst birthday I have ever had, this birthday was not all that great. Like I had said before, work is getting crazy stressful so when it comes to weekends I am really looking forward to just relaxing and taking the time off. Lately though it seems like my weekends are just non-stop stuff till Sunday. With cleaning and errands and work etc.. Friday wasn’t bad, I got taken out to dinner by a friend and such, but… Right before that I had to ground Andrew for doing something bad at school. (Not gonna go into it, but it wasn’t all that bad) So this put me in a down mood for Friday night. 
Saturday I got to sleep in a little. When we woke up, we took our time and got things together for the Baseball game. Andrew did a great job and they ended up winning a very close game. After that we went over to Panara bread to sit and play on the laptops for a while. You see, Amy just got a new toy. A 12″ Powerbook G4. she loves it! It’s very tiny so it fits her well. It does have a small problem in that the touchpad is sticking up a bit, but it’s fully covered and can be fixed. After our lunch we decided to hit up the Apple store down at Tysons corner. A very nice store indeed. They actually do little workshops and such for people and it’s free to attend. Amy got a little lesson on her mac from the Genius bar. Shortly afterwards we decided we should just go home and relax.
Keep in mind that for the weekend, Andrew was still grounded. He complained endlessly when we went to the Apple store, was “bored” the whole time we were out. When we got home we watched a little Battlestar Galactica (You still suck Doc) and during that he was ok, but afterwards, when he had to go back to his room, he was Capt. attitude. This just caused me to get angrier which caused me to yell more which made me more stressed. By 11pm he was sent to bed and by 1am I was fuming. I didn’t sleep well and woke up on Sunday morning in a very grumpy mood.
Amy was nice enough to make me a bagel and Chai for breakfast. She had to leave shortly afterwards because she had to work. After a while of lounging and general waking up, I left to go to the store while Andrew stayed home to clean. I hit the comic store and the grocery store and just took my time being out. I did call my mom for mothers day. That phone call didn’t go well (not that many of them do.) When I finally got back home I needed to sit down and take a test for school.
I applied at a school called AIU. They specialize in online school. I had everything I needed to start except one class, but I could take one of their online tests and take care of that. Problem was, it was math. I hate math. The test wasn’t supposed to be that hard and was only 20 questions. I started it and from the first question I knew I was in trouble. The questions they asked were insane! I could see how, if you were trying to interpolate the escape velocity of a Saturn IV rocket from a mars atmosphere with 3000lb of nitrogen fuel and a 54kilo payload, then knowing this sort of math would seem prudent. But how many people in the world do that sort of thing. (I dare anyone to find the answer to that one) When the test was over it didn’t show what I missed, how many I missed or anything just a:
Sorry for the lack of updates lately. I have been a little overwhelmed at work. I get in early and end up having to stay late, and it’s usually non stop the whole time I am there. By the time I get home, I really either don’t want to sit at the computer or am too tired. I am hoping that we get a little extra help at work soon because I see myself getting burnt out really quick if I continue like this. Keep your fingers crossed!
On a lighter note, the plan for the Vegas trip is well underway. Tickets are done, room is done, all that left is to get out there and have some fun! I am really looking forward to this trip. I need a vacation like crazy. The downside is that it’s only going to be an extended weekend, but I will take what I can get. We are staying in the Sahara hotel on the strip and meeting up with Lee Missy, Arik, and Sam. Of course the original plan of meeting up with Amy’s dad fell through, but that’s ok, I know I will be meeting him soon enough. The trip isn’t for 2 more weeks so I hope to be posting before then. I believe I owe you a Baseball post. Till then!
No really! This weekend was actually a fairly busy one! Andrew has been on spring break this last week and finished it out on Friday with some good gaming. (: (He and I both of course) I have been doing a lot of DDO and he has really gotten into Americas Army. Amy got to go out with some of her work friends so that left just me and the kid at home alone. 
Saturday we had the joys of little league. I dropped Andrew off at 10am for that. Amy had another appointment that she had to run. This means that I get a good hour and ½ of me time! This usually involves me lounging on the couch and being a loaf, but hey, if that’s how I want to spend my time! Around noonish we go pick up Andrew and stop off for lunch at the 
After pool we went home for a quick break and then it was OFF TO THE CIRCUS!!! Yup, the 
Our seats were really good, right in front of one of the side rings and right next to the Vortex of doom. Amy managed to get some 
Sunday we got up and realized it was Easter. Since I am not much of an Easter person, I really didn’t have much planned. I went out and picked up some Starbucks and an extra surprise. They had a really cool egg hunt kit. When I got back I set up breakfast on the patio and hid some eggs for Amy and Andrew. They had fun hunting around for them. Even Charlie (my cat) got to get out and enjoy the weather. After that it was jump into spring cleaning mode. We went full bore and got tons of stuff cleaned! It feels great to have the place clean, like a moral boost! Now if we can just keep it that way!
I have had my computer, in its current incarnation for about 4-5 years now. Through those years I have done little spot upgrades here and there. Maybe a new video card, perhaps a new CPU. For the most part it’s stayed pretty much the same through all of this. I even still have a bunch of the old files I used for shout-casting back when I was with TSN. Well, I am sad to report that the beast has finally died. This really didn’t come as much of a surprise. It had been acting up quite a lot recently. The HDD would sometimes decide it didn’t want to register with the BIOS. The graphics card would decide that it wanted to reset itself at the most in-opportune moments. Overall things were just starting to run slow.
Friday evening was the clincher though. When I came home from work and went to turn on my PC, it came up to the Bios and would go no further. I tried swapping out memory, pulling the CPU, disconnecting the drives. Nothing worked. Ironically enough, just that morning a friend of mine dropped of a Microcenter ad on my desk and I saw a very nice PC that fell into my price range (I had been plotting to buy a new PC for a while now). After my tests I finally gave up and headed out to the store.
Within an hour I had spec’ed out a full system, including monitor, that fell in the price range I had planned on. I even got the full 3 year warrantee on it (covers in home repair). Now I know what some of you might be thinking. Why buy a system like that when you can build it yourself for so much cheaper! Your right, I could have found out what the best motherboard was (from the 8000 current manufacturers) and Checked into the best memory, type and speed, for that motherboard. Then start looking at the 150 different video cards that I could choose from…etc etc etc. And then after all of that I could spend a full weekend Installing and configuring and praying that I don’t run into some sort of compatibility issues. Or, I could spend an hour at Microcenter and get something all ready done and Covered by warrantee so that if a part DOES fry somewhere down the road, I get it replaced. I Build and maintain machines all day at work, Why would I want to do that at home too.
Friday and Saturday can probably get lumped together because all we really did is just relax. I played some DDO (Dungeons and Dragons Online) (I should be writing a review of that one soon eh?) and Andrew and I watched some TV. Amy worked on her homework and even got out with some of her friends. Andrew actually caught the cleaning bug and went to town on the house. I was very impressed (apparently so was he.) While Amy and I made a run up to the mall to get the oil done on her car, Andrew grabbed the vacuum and went over everything, and got his room in spit spot shape. Now if only it would last.
Sunday was our day out. We packed up the truck and headed for the wilds of DC! Yup, it’s cherry blossom time in DC and EVERYONE ON EARTH is there! Seriously, I don’t remember seeing it that busy out in the parks there. Of course it was a beautiful day to get out and see things. We parked at the International trade center and walked over to the American History Museum. We must have walked around in there for about 3 hours and I think only saw about ¼ of what was in there! Notable sightings were the Information Age exhibit with one of the first Apple computers. They also had an old IBM that is identical to one I still have in my closet. (I should pull that out and power it up.) Amy really enjoyed the First Lady exhibit. And the America on the move side was a lot of fun as well.
After the Museum we headed out to the area around the Washington Monument. The blossoms were full bloom out there and really a sight to see. Andrew got to run around the Monument and Amy and I finally got to sit and rest for a while. Around this time we figured it was time to head home. We still had some time in the day and still had some things to take care of. Everyone was pretty worn out so we even called it an early night and I remember sleeping like a rock. So why was I so dead on Monday?!?!
