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On September 6th, 2008 I met Charisse & her friend Irving at the Mandalay Bay Hotel & Casino. She got a suite that night because she was throwing a 25th birthday party for herself. I asked her if I could crash there after my going away party and she said it was cool. Charisse told me that she told Joseph (the guy she’s dating) to bring a few friends to the party. I had noticed earlier in the day that he put a bulletin on Myspace talking about the party and to call him. I thought that was wrong. She said I hope he only brings a few friends. If he brings a lot of people, I’m going to make them go. I changed into my bathing suit. We headed down to the Mandalay Beach. I’m glad that I had the opportunity to go to this pool again. It’s just the best pool in town. We found some seats on the beach area then headed to the wave pool. Charisse couldn’t believe that the waves were so powerful. We stayed there for a little while. Next, we went to the lazy river. All of us just floated around. Irving said that Charisse and I weren’t being lazy enough. I guess we were going too fast. The jets just move you along. We found a inner tube. Charisse took it and I held on the side and laid down in the water. It was nice to just float around the river. I wanted to get some dinner. We walked to Border Grill. I ordered a carne asada quesadilla. Charisse & Irving left because Charisse needed to buy some alcohol for her party and get her laptop for music. I waited for my order. I guess I looked tired because the waiter gave me a water. He said You’ve been out at the pool all day, huh? I said Yes, thank you for the water. I wasn’t at the pool all day but for like two hours. Being in the sun for a few hours usually gets me tired. I received my order and went up to the suite to eat. I ate and then got ready for my party. Charisse came back with a bunch of alcohol. I told her I was leaving for the party. She said she would probably come and Irving might too.
I was running late to my own going away party. The tavern was only a few minutes away from Mandalay Bay. Michelle called me to see where I was. She let me know that she was there along with Clark, Tabby and Beazus. I went inside Sierra Gold and saw everybody. The bar was really dead. I think it was because it was really early (only a few minutes past 8 pm) and there was a UFC fight on tv. More people kept showing up. Rainee, Ivy and Josh were the next to show up. Ivy was really sweet and bought me a compass for my trip. I thought it was funny since I don’t have a sense of directions. She didn’t know that though. We moved over to the pool table area since we had more people. Tabby was taking pictures. We were having an ugly face contest. I think Kori won the ugliest face contest.
My pick for the Ugliest Face contest
I couldn’t think of anything good though. Wroderick dropped by. I haven’t seen him for a few months. Kori and Phil came and we decided to move over to the lounge area. There’s a few tvs and big couches in this big room.
Craziness in the lounge
It was great to see old friends. I went to junior high school and freshman year in high school with Kori. I haven’t seen her in years. She has a 5 month year old baby named Kyan. She looked great. Her husband’s dad knows my dad since he’s a doctor. I talked to her for awhile catching up on life. It was nice talking to everybody. I was drinking a little. Mel and Moe arrived. I met Mel and Wroderick a long time ago on a bbs called Multi-comm. We were called goons. Later on, Therese came and she joined the goons. I hadn’t seen her in a few years. Jin came with her friend Marcus. I used to work with her at Guest Services long ago. The last time I saw her was at our friend Jerry’s going away party. She looked awesome. She lost a lot of weight. Robert stopped by as well. He works at the box office. Josh bought me a chocolate cake shot. Me, Josh and Beazus did a shot at the same time. Those drinks are great!
Rainee, me and Robert
Alex came soon after and then Edgar as well. Mel, Moe, Wroderick and Therese wanted to go somewhere either a bar or dancing. They decided to head to the goth club Vector 21 at Goodtimes. I said I would meet them in an hour or so. Jin bought me a Sex on the Beach. I stopped drinking after that. I figured I should sober up if I wanted to drive to the goth club. I drank a big glass of water and just chatted with people. I paid for my bar tab. I told the lady that there should have been two drinks on there, not one. She basically said it’s all good. So, I left her a nice tip and signed the receipt. Slowly, everybody started going home. It was a good party. I thought more people would show up. Everybody always say they’re going to come, but they don’t end up showing up. At least a lot of my good friends came. So, I was happy. One of my best friends Brandon didn’t show up. I told him he was a loser. He’s always busy and he’s also really religious so he doesn’t go to bars. A lot of people who couldn’t make it, have made plans with me to go somewhere before I leave. I did invite some to my other going away party, which is on September 20th. I only invited some friends and family.
I was sober and drove over to Goodtimes. I found the group easily since they were at the back of the club drinking and talking. I couldn’t believe that Wroderick was dancing. I’ve never seen him dance before! I danced for a few songs. I saw a guy wearing a gas mask. I thought that was funny. I tried to take a picture of him, but he had left already.
Dancing over at Vector 21
The songs started getting all aggressive. I told Therese I didn’t want to dance coz the music was too angry. Therese bought me a drink. But, Wroderick spilled it over me and Mel. I only drank a little since it was way too strong. Yuck! Everybody wanted to go. I asked them if they wanted to check out my cousin’s party at the Mandalay Bay suite. I texted her to make sure it was fine to bring some friends. She said Sure! So, Mel and Therese followed me in their cars. I forgot people were following me and they didn’t make the light. I called them just to meet in the lobby at the Mandalay Bay.
We all met in the lobby and then I had to find the right elevators up. The higher floors require a key to gain access to the rooms. The room was on the 60th floor. I saw my cousin Nathaniel there. I also saw Joseph. They were waiting for somebody with a key. I said I had one and we headed up. One of the girls said you better prepare yourself. I didn’t know what they meant. It was lot of people I’ve never seen before and a lot of them wearing black shirts. So, we walked in the room. The living area was filled with people with black shirts probably about a dozen people. I had no clue who these people were. I figured it was probably all Joseph’s friends. He’s into death metal and likes to wear dark clothes. I found Charisse in the bedroom. I introduced her to my friends. I asked her what was going on. She said that room has Joseph’s friends and her friends were in the bedroom. I said Aren’t you mad that he brought so many people? She said No, as long as they stay in that room and don’t make too much noise. Of course, they also had to smoke outside the room. She told me that somebody had ordered pizza with Room Service. She told them that she never ordered it. She said she had moved all the food that the hotel charges into a cabinet, so nobody would touch it. The alcohol that you have to pay for was off limits for everybody. I was trying to get a drink, but it looks like all that was left was beer. I told my friends that this was like being at the goth club. My friends seemed a little freaked and said they were going home. I said Sorry to them. I went to go lie down in the bedroom. I was just really tired and wanted to sleep at this point. It was like 3 am. I did say hi to Charisse’s friends. I knew a few of them like Victoria and Mao.
I fell asleep somehow even though it was so noisy. I kept waking up and hearing people talking. Charisse said they were heading to see if they could get in the Foundation Room. I knew they couldn’t since it’s only open to the public on Monday. But, I didn’t say anything. I was just crashed out. I woke up at around 5:30 am to go to the bathroom. There was Charisse’s friend on the bed. Then, two people on the chairs in the room. I changed and then went back to sleep. I woke up around 10 am. Joseph and Charisse’s friend was cleaning up. I guess some other peole were sleeping on the couch and Joseph slept on the floor. I was still mad that Joseph invited a bunch of people. I didn’t say anything though.
Charisse & Joseph
Joseph, Charisse and I went to lobby. Charisse checked out of the room. We all parked on the same floor. Charisse said she’d see me at the BBQ party on the 20th. I said Yes. Joseph said something about the party. I just ignored him. I was definitely not inviting him to the party. I was pissed about his behavior. So, we said good-bye. I drove to EVOS. It’s a place that serves food that has less calories. The place air cooks their french fries.
I took a picture of the sign outside of EVOS. Michelle told me about this place awhile ago. I just never went there since it’s in Henderson. I decided since I was on the east side of town, I should check it out. I went inside to order. I felt like having a burger. A young lady was taking my order. Then, a guy who worked there said Are you associated with somebody? I said What do you mean? He said one of the employees saw you taking a picture so I was wondering. I said No, it’s for my blog, I write about different places. I looked at the lady taking the order and she rolled her eyes. I thought it was funny too. But, maybe they thought I was a big reporter or something. When he said Are you associated with somebody? I thought I’m not with the mob. I heard him tell the other co-workers and they laughed. Maybe I should have said I was with the Las Vegas Sun. Maybe I would have gotten a free meal. I ordered a EVOs Freerange Steakburger Meal. I went with the Mango Guava shake which was recommended by my server. The restaurant has four different kinds of ketchups. The choices were Cayenne Firewalker, Mesquite Magic, Garlic Gravity and Orginal Americana. I got all the choices except for the Cayenne Firewalker. I didn’t feel like eating anything hot today. I waited for my order. I got my food and went to sit down.
The shake was very delicious! The burger was a good size and tasted great. The fries were light, but didn’t come with too many fries. I was so stuffed after that meal! I grabbed a nutrition fact sheet on the way out. It was less calories than other fast food restaurants. But, I still ate a huge meal. I didn’t eat that much the rest of the day. I headed home and relaxed.
Update on the Joseph situation – (It’s a little long.. just figuring out why there were so many of Joseph’s friend at the party – skip it, if you want!!),
Oh yah.. on the Joseph’s friends situation. So, I wrote Joseph a message on Myspace saying that was rude and disrespectful bringing that many people when Charisse said to only bring a few friends. Also, it was HER party and she bought all that alcohol for her and HER friends. I just thought it was wrong of him to post it on myspace so everybody would know. He wrote me back saying that he respects my opinion. He felt bad that so many people showed up. But, his friends did pitch in with alcohol. He only told a few friends and they told people and it spread like wildfire. He said that he’s invited friends to other people’s parties and they didn’t have a problem with it. He said as long as they didn’t create any drama and chipped in for alcohol, he didn’t see anything wrong with it. I just told him it was fine as long as they chipped in. It’s just wrong that his friends would tell other people about it. Charisse wrote me later on. I told her that I’d see her at the party, but I didn’t invite Joseph because he made me mad for inviting on those people. She told me he apologized to her saying he didn’t know it would be so many people. She said she was glad I had her back (backing her up in any situation). She said a lot of her friends have given her opinion on him and she appreciates it. But, she is still giving him a chance. I didn’t say anything about breaking up with him. I just didn’t wanted him to know that it was rude. He’s a nice guy. So, as long as he treats her right and she’s happy, it’s fine. I don’t like anybody being mean to my friends or family.
I picked up Michelle from work on September 2nd, 2008. We were car pooling to the Smith & Wollensky event for Concierge, Bell Desk, Front desk and VIP. We arrived about 7 pm. We parked in the parking lot behind the Rosewood Grill since the valet was full at the restaurant. Michelle and I went inside the restaurant. We saw Ivy and Josh. We had to stand in line to register for the event. The restaurant was having a drawing. So, I wrote my information down on a card. Downstairs, there was appetizers. It was shrimp and a little pork roll. All of us headed upstairs to find more food and a table. The place was filled with people. I didn’t think there would be so many people at this event. We saw some people who used to work at TI. So, we joined them and used their table space. After I had my appetizers, I went to search for more food. I found a room with Caesar salad and the desserts. I got a salad and went back to the tables. I had a Sex on a Beach drink. I ate my salad. I wanted to see if there was more food in the other room. There was a line for the meats. It was beef at the first one. I saw people made sandwiches with the bread. So, I did that as well. Then, I got some turkey at the next table. The last table had different cheeses, crackers and blueberries and raspberries. I got some cheese and fruit. The sandwich was really good. Marie came to the party as well. It was nice to see her out, since we haven’t hung out with her outside of work in a long time. We had a good time taking a lot of pictures.
Everybody ended up on the dance floor. I was just drunk. I had a lot of fun. Josh was even dancing. He doesn’t really dance much.
The dance floor had a lot of people. It was swing, pop and R n’ B music. It was great dancing with everybody. I had a great time at the party. It was fun to eat good food, dance and drink with my friends.
Ivan ran the Human Race 10K (which is about 6.3 miles) on August 31, 2008 in London. It was called Run London. It’s a race that competes with other people doing the 10K run around the world. It looks like London did a great job.
Ivan’s time was 58 minutes and 0 seconds. That’s a great time!
The results of the run of Ivan
I think it would have taken me 3 hours to finish 6.3 miles. I don’t run because I have bad ankles. Jogging on the treadmill is good enough for me. I’m so proud of him! He did an awesome job. Ivan thought he did better since he kept passing up everybody. He wanted to beat the average London time. The time was 57 minutes and 44 seconds. He was only 16 seconds off! He ran for under an hour in the rain. That’s quite an accomplishment!
I went to Tabby’s Bachelorette Party on August 29th, 2008. Tabby knew nothing about her bachelorette party. She did know we were meeting at the South Point. We were heading to Stoney’s Rockin’ Country for the big party. The theme was Tabby’s Last Rodeo. It’s a country bar. After work, I headed to South Point to meet Michelle in her room. Some of the girls got a room, so they could crash there after the party at Stoney’s. It was early when I got there around 4 pm. It was only Michelle and Taylor in the room. We were watching tv in the room. I also talked to Ivan since I couldn’t get online to chat to him on Skype. Karen called Michelle around 2:30 pm and said she was getting ready. It takes her awhile to get ready though. Michelle’s mom Debbie was getting off work soon. She was going to head over to the hotel after she got ready. Debbie got there around 5 pm. We were still waiting for Karen to get there. Everybody was hungry. We were trying to decide on two restaurants Baja Miguel (a Mexican restaurant) and the cafe.
We went downstairs to get a table at Baja Miguel. Karen was driving to the hotel. We told her to meet us at the restaurant. We all sat down and told the waiter that we were waiting for somebody else. We got two orders of chips. It came with three different dips: salsa, bean dip and guacamole. The bean dip was my favorite. It was really good. I think we were waiting for about 5 minutes or more and nobody came over to take our order. Finally, Debbie got a waiter to help us. He assumed we wanted to wait for the other person before we ordered. She was about to order and then the guy started helping a lady out with putting together two tables. How rude! We all ordered after we got his attention again. I got a combination plate with cheese enchiladas and a beef taco. Karen finally showed up when we got our food. The enchiladas were a little hard. So, I had to cut them with a knife. The food was decent. I ate so much food.
We all went upstairs to the room. Michelle set up all the details with the bachelorette party. There was a pre-party at the South Point room at 8 pm. Taylor thought it would be wise for us to get ready. Taylor is really good at doing hair and make-up. She said she would do our hair. She teases the hair and gives the hair volume. Taylor did Karen’s hair first. Karen started curling her hair afterwards. I was up next to get my hair done. It’s a process getting it done. But, it looks really good. My hair is fine so it needs volume. Michelle got her hair poofed up last. I got my make-up done by Taylor. She’s awesome at doing make-up. I had red eyeshadow and also some glitter. Taylor did Karen and Michelle’s make-up as well. Michelle wanted all the girls to wear matching shirts or something similar that said Bride’s Posse Yee Haw. Michelle made my shirt with a iron-on transfer on my black tank top. We all got ready for the party. I had a short jean skirt on with my tight black tank top and black boots.
Everybody looked really good in their outfits. Tabby got off work at 6 pm. She went home to shower and eat. She arrived at the hotel room after 7 pm. Taylor got started on teasing Tabby’s hair. She has really thick, long hair. Michelle gave Tabby a pink hat with a tiara that lights up. Also, she had cute false eyelashes for her. Other girls started arriving around 8 pm.
Michelle and her mum Debbie
Michelle bought champagne, beer and margarita mix. Tabby opened up the champagne and we had a toast. The champagne was a bit strong but tasted alright. Michelle made up this oath stating that we would keep everything that happened at the bachelorette party at the bachelorette party. It was printed on glossy paper. It was a cute idea.
We left the room to head to Stoney’s Rockin’ Country shortly after 9 pm. Michelle brought the beer in the cooler. The plan was we were going to drink some beers before in the parking lot. It’s down the street from the South Point. Debbie drove me, Tabby, Michelle and Karen there. I was thinking of taking my car in case I wanted to leave earlier. But, Debbie said she would take me back to the hotel if I wanted to come back. She wasn’t going to be drinking very much.
We arrived in the parking lot at Stoney’s. This bar is really packed on Thursdays since it’s Ladies Night. Ladies can get any drink for $1. I’m glad the parking lot wasn’t that full. I don’t like big crowds like that. It’s hard to move around and it takes forever to get a drink. We drank a beer in the parking lot.
Tabby, Michelle, Taylor, Karen and me
A few more girls arrived to the party. Everybody went in. There was a cover charge of $5. The bar had a lot of people but it wasn’t packed. The place is a huge place. There’s a realy big dance floor. In front of the dance floor, there’s two big screens that shows videos of songs that are playing. We decided to get a drink. Karen really wanted a few of us to do chocolate cake shots. It’s a shot that tastes just like a chocolate cake. You suck on the lemon that has sugar on it. Then, you down the shot. It’s soo yummy! One of the girls wanted to find a place to sit. There was a few couch areas and it fit almost everybody. So, it was a good spot to hang out in. Michelle brought a deck of Dare card games. Basically, you pull a card and do the dare. If you complete the dare, you get points. I don’t think anybody really was keeping track of their points. Everybody just thought the dares were fun. Everybody kept buying Tabby drinks. I had a Nuts and Berries next. It’s creamy and fruity at the same time. All the girls were playing the dare game. It was a lot of fun. I pulled two cards.. but I didn’t really feel like playing. One card said Get the bouncer to laugh at anything. I can’t remember what Karen had to do. But, she had to kiss a random guy. She picked a guy who was sitting at the next couch. I guess she liked him because she kept kissing him later on. Also, they talked a few times that night. Tabby had to find a guy to give her $10 to contribute to her party. She felt desperate doing this. But, she actually found her first boyfriend in the crowd. He gave her the $10. He wanted to keep the Dare card since he was giving her money. Tabby and Taylor went to dance a few times.
The bar plays music where you can do line dancing. The music is mostly country but sometimes they play some rock music.
Short Video of Tabby & Taylor dancing
It was hard taking the video above because the dance kept going backwards and then forward. I was a little confused. So, I only took a few seconds of video. Michelle’s dare was that she had to find a guy to say “I’m not a normal guy and sex isn’t important to me”. She actually found somebody to say that to all the girls.
Tabby & Michelle wanted to ride the mechanical bull. Michelle was up first. She had a difficult time trying to get on the bull. A big guy put her on the bull like she weighed nothing. It was funny. The guy shakes the bull to make the girl’s boobs shake. I was on the side so I didn’t have the best view. When, she fell off she tried to pull her skirt down really fast.
Michelle on the bull
Tabby rode the bull next. She was a bit drunk already. I think it’s hard to stay on the bull. You’re supposed to put one hand in the air and hold on to the bull with the other. Tabby was doing this. Unbeknownest to Tabby, her butt crack was showing. It wasn’t a lot. It was funny but everybody thought it looked cute. Tabby couldn’t hold on to the bull. It looked like she threw herself off. But, I think since she didn’t really try to stay on the bull she got thrown off.
Tabby riding the bull
Michelle’s mom previously said she would ride the bull. But, I think she changed her mind. A lot of people were watching the girls ride the bull.
Karen had to find a nerdy guy to do a shot with. We found one guy. He said he’d do the shot, but he’d be around and just find him. I think we might have scared him because we couldn’t find him a few minutes later. Karen found another willing guy. He didn’t look nerdy at all. But, it didn’t really matter on all the specifics of the game. She ordered a blowjob shot at the bar. She took the guy to the couch. I didn’t know what she was doing. I thought they were going to take shots together. I read the card wrong. She was going to take a shot with the guy. I’m almost sure the guy didn’t know what was going on. Karen was putting the shot between his legs. He must have gotten scared or something.. because he dropped the shot and only the whipped cream remained. Karen still went down and put the shot in her mouth and drank the whipped cream. She was pissed because it’s an expensive shot that was wasted. It was crazy though. The guy looked rather embarassed afterward.
Tabby seemed really drunk. I guess one of her friends said that she would make sure Tabby had a drink in her hand at all times. Actually, she would have like 5 drinks at a time.
She would give some to Michelle or Taylor to drink. How nuts! Tabby was having a great time. She was posing, laughing, dancing on the table and talking to random people.
I was a bit drunk myself. I had a Sex on the Beach. I forgot how good those drinks taste! I was dancing to country music. I didn’t know what the heck I was doing though. Karen and I would go out there. I tried to follow the steps. I really didn’t care if I was doing it right. I just tried to do it. It was actually a lot of fun!
Tabby pulled another Dare card. She had to find a guy to take off his shirt and show his muscles. Michelle, Tabby and I were trying to find a guy who would actually do this. At one point, Tabby said what about that guy. I went to go grab the guy. Michelle and Tabby had moved on because they wanted to find a guy with some big muscles. I told the guy he should do something for me. I brought him to the girls. We told him he needs to take off his shirt. He took off his shirt but not all the way. I said we need to see your muscles. He took it off and flexed his muscles for us. It was too funny.
It was a really good night. A few people left. Michelle told me we were going to leave. It was only about 12:20 am. Tabby was hungry. Debbie drove me, Michelle, Tabby, Taylor and Karen to Del Taco. I ordered two small green burritos. Michelle ordered a bunch of food for Tabby. She was really drunk. We went back to the hotel room. I think everybody was really tired at this point. Taylor went home even though she was welcome to stay in the room. Tabby ate her food real fast. She said she felt better. I ate my food as well. I was just really tired. I didn’t want to drive yet since I was still a little buzzed. Tabby and Karen were on one bed. Michelle and Debbie were going to sleep on the other bed. I laid down on the edge of the bed. It was perfect for me sleeping sideways. I didn’t have a blanket though. They had this decoration thin blanket but it didn’t really cover me much. I was watching tv.. and I got really tired. I was planning to get up and leave but I just couldn’t get the energy to do that. So, I finally put some of the blanket on me and fell asleep.
I believe we woke up around 10 am. Most of the girls decided to take showers. We were trying to comb our hair out. You have to do it with a wide toothed comb to make the hair smooth after that hair teasing. It took a little while. We all decided to go eat in the cafe for breakfast. There was a little line. Tabby waited in line. Debbie, Michelle, Karen and I walked to our cars in the parking garage to put our bags in our cars. I came back and Tabby was at the front of the line with Karen and Debbie. Michelle was checking out of the room. It was nice to hang out and get some food in our stomachs. I had a nice scrambled egg and bacon croissant sandwich. It was pretty tasty. Almost everybody was having coffee to wake up. I only drink french cappuccino at work to wake up every now and then. I don’t like the taste of regular coffee. We finished around noon and then all went home. What a great, fun night!
Alisa invited me to come over for dinner on August 20th. It was a last minute thing, so I didn’t have any extra clothes with me. I would have to go back home, get changed and then go to her house (which is far from where I live). I told her I would have to pass this time. She told me I could borrow some of her clothes. Beazus, Alisa’s sister, is now living in Vegas with Alisa and her husband Jay. We were going to head to the mall before dinner. I met Alisa at her house at 4:35 pm. I tried on different pants to match it with the shirt I actually bought her for Christmas. It’s a shirt from my sister-in-law made from her company called Feminine Line. It’s a great, cute shirt. I found a pair of comfy beige pants. I think they’re meant to be capris but they’re almost full length on me. Alisa says she uses them as workout pants. The outfit actually looked good together. I had some brown flats in the car so I wore those. Alisa even let me borrow a small purse. I usually bring a bag to work since it fits so much more than a purse. Alisa drove us to the Galleria Mall. I was trying to find a specific gift for Ivan. I think I found something good. I’ll have to come back to the mall and decide what to get.
I tried to find small nalgene bottles to hold different liquids (for the trip) at Dick’s Sporting Goods. I didn’t find anything though. Alisa, Beazus and I all shared a jalapeno pretzel with cheese from Auntie Anne’s. It was just so good.
Me & Alisa at the mall
We went to a few clothing stores. I was trying to find a nice lightweight dress. I didn’t find anything good. Alisa got a few links taken off her bracelet so it would fit better. We went back to Alisa’s house.
Beazus started making the pizza and Alisa helped make the salad. Beazus said she forgot to buy pepperoni. I was watching the Food Network channel. There was an ice cream contest playing on tv. We al ate salad while watching Iron Chef. The salad had nuts, cheese and mango. It tasted great. The pizza had red peppers and mushrooms on top. The pizza tasted really good. I love pizza. Jay came over to talk and watch tv. We watched all of Iron Chef to see if Mario Batali won the Mango Challenge. Alisa’s doggie Polly started acting crazy. This dog is so hyper. She was biting me on my wrists (not too hard) and then jumping over me. I’m was thinking what is wrong with this dog. She’s just so lively. I love hanging out with Alisa and her sister. We always have lots of laughs and a great time. Alisa said I could keep the pants. I asked her Are you sure you don’t need your workout pants? She said she has lots of workout pants. She has a lot of clothes. She loves working out and has the biggest workout DVD collection I’ve ever seen. I went home at 9 pm since I had to work in the morning.
It was going to be a night of bowling and Rocky Horror Picture Show on August 16th. I picked up Robert since he lives close by. We headed to the Gold Coast to meet people at the bowling alley. Near the entrance we saw Steve and David (Chubb’s roommate). Chubb was playing an arcade game in the arcade at the bowling alley. We all headed up to the alley but nobody else was there. I thought we should wait to see if anybody else would show up. I was hungry still. Robert and I walked to the snack bar. I got a pepperoni pizza and fries. Robert got chili cheese fries. My pizza was actually good. I recently had my fillings fixed and a tooth pulled out. Sometimes it feels weird eating food because of the new feelings. This was the case when I was eating the pizza. The fries were nice and hot. I tried to call Mel & Shawn. They originally thought of the bowling idea with Rocky Horror. There was no answer so I left a message on Mel’s phone. I was thinking of calling Michelle since she said she might show up. But, I figured she’d just arrive later on. I decided that we should get a lane since it was already almost 9 pm. It was me, Robert and Steve bowling.
Me & Chubb at the bowling alley
I called Joseph to see if he was headed to bowling. I think he forgot about it. He said he would stop by. I told Robert I was going to beat him. He said he wasn’t that good. I used to bowl a lot before. But, I haven’t bowled in a long time. I don’t think I was really concentrating enough. I was bowling okay but not too good. Robert was bowling really good. He beat me the first game with 153 and I got a 104. Joseph showed up. I told him he could play with us since we had started our second game. I was trying to beat Robert the second game. But, he got some many strikes in the row. He beat me again at 168 and I bowled a 129. At least I was being consistent. Chubb, Steve and David left at this point. We said good-bye to them. Joseph wanted to sit out the last game. I was determined to beat Robert. I came really close. He beat me 124 to 116. We were both tired from bowling three games. Robert didn’t feel like going to Rocky since he was tired. I said we could go to a bar. Robert doesn’t really go out much. He said he hadn’t been to a bar in 12 years. So, I was trying to think of where to go. Joseph said bye to us. I think he was going to meet some friends at the Art Bar.
Robert said we could still go to the Rocky Horror Picture Show. He said He could just sit down and watch. The Rocky Horror Picture Show is shown at the theatre and they have a cast who acts it out. The audience is supposed to participate as well. I thought it would be better if we went with more people. I was trying to think of some bars we could go to. I remembered that I always wanted to check out the Beauty Bar which is downtown. I couldn’t remember where it was though. I was thinking I could find a Las Vegas Weekly and it would have the address on there. But, the place I was thinking of was closed. I opted to find a 7-11 instead. Then, I could find a phone book and get the address and phone number. We found a 7-11 and there was two cop cars. The cops were talking to a guy who had no shirt on. Robert asked Do you want me to come inside with you? I said I’m fine. I didn’t care if there was cops there. I’m not sure if that’s why he said it. I wrote down the Beauty Bar, Art Bar and Ice House Lounge. All three places are bars in the downtown area. Robert called the Beauty Bar to find out their cross streets. The guy at the bar told us the directions and told us not to park by the gates or we could get towed. We found a parking meter. Robert tried to put money in it. It had 2 hour minimum on it. But, it didn’t take money at this time of the night. Ok, we thought that was weird.
Robert and I walked to the Beauty Bar. The guy at the door told a lady that the band that was supposed to play had to cancel for tonight. I think it was a punk rock band. We walked in the bar and it was a punk rock crowd. Robert ordered us drinks. I told him I wanted a Mai Tai. So, we both got a Mai Tai. The two drinks came out to $14. Robert gave a tip of $6. I told him that was a big tip. He said not really. I said the normal tip is $1 per drink. He said at least she might remember us and make us good drinks next time. I guess that’s true.. but that was a bit generous. We were in the back room since the main room was pretty crowded. At the front of the room, there’s a lady who does nails. Then the seats are nice pink couches and some of them have hair dryers over them. How cute! The back room was empty and dark. The DJ was here mixing music. The walls were glittery and pink. There was a great picture of a girl on one wall and a guy on the other. We chatted for a little while.
Me & Robert at the Beauty Bar
I told Robert we should check out the Fremont Street Experience. So, we were wasting time before the midnight show. Later on, I thought about fried twinkies. I said to Robert that there’s a place that has fried twinkies. He was really excited about that. I finished my drink and we were out of there. We kept walking and looking at the signs to find the fried goodies. I couldn’t remember what place had them. Finally, we found Mermaids. The casino serves fried oreos and twinkies for 99 cents. They also have chocolate dipped bananas, fries and hot dogs. Robert and I went to the end of the long line. It was really hot. It was actually cooler outside. I told the lady I wanted a fried oreo and a fried twinkie. Unfortunately, they were out of fried twinkies. I got fried oreos. It came with three fried oreos. Robert got the last order of fried oreos. We were disappointed since we both really wanted to try the fried twinkies.
We ate the fried oreos. The oreos had sprinkles and powdered sugar on top. They tasted really good. I know they were so bad for me though. It was like a donut around an Oreo. Oh, yum! We didn’t get to see the Fremont Street Experience since we were waiting in line for a long time. We walked back to the car and I drove Robert home. It was a fun night.
The girls from work wanted to do the Stripper 101 class at the V Theatre on August 2nd. The people who were planning on going were me, Rainee, Marie, Michelle and her mom Debbie. Rainee had to cancel at the last minute since she was going out of town. I invited my friend Alisa. She had to cancel as well. I tried to get Charisse to go, but she couldn’t make it. Michelle invited her friend Tabby. Tabby and Marie cancelled because they both didn’t feel well. Stripper 101 is a class where an instructor teaches you lap dance moves and moves on the stripper pole. I met Michelle and Debbie at the V Theatre at the Miracle Mile Shops located in the Planet Hollywood Casino & Hotel. I picked up the tickets and then went to the store to get a Monster energy drink. I was tired, so I needed something to wake me up. The tickets came with a free drink. Michelle and her mom each ordered a slushy margarita drink. We had to a sign a liability waiver. We went inside at 6 pm. It’s located in the back room. We walked in the back of the V Theatre. At the time there was the Fab Four Live show going on. The room was dimly lit and all the chairs were facing backwards to the stage. I thought it was weird that there wasn’t much light in there.. but it’s supposed to be dark like a strip club. All the girls straddled the chairs. The room looked full. There was a few bachelorette parties and Debbie was celebrating her birthday. The instructor’s name was Kindra. She worked in strip clubs for 10 years, so she had a lot of experience. The first part was learning different moves on how to give a proper lap dance. Michelle and I kept laughing because we were supposed to be sexy and touch our bodies. It was hard to hear the instructor since the show was loud. Also, a few Mexican women kept talking loudly. The instructor was funny. She was great at showing us the moves. There was a good move that had a roll, a snap and a hip dip. I forgot the name, but I remember how to do it. We got pictures taken if we wanted to do it. Debbie and I declined to do the individual picture. We wanted to do the group picture though. Michelle took a nice individual picture. The room was pretty loud. All the girls were having a great time. The next part, we learned two moves on the Stripper pole. The first was the squat spin. It was actually easy to learn. The second move was called the Fireman’s Spin. Basically, you have your hand high on the pole and you go around the pole. Then, you throw your outder leg onto the pole and it makes your legs spin down the pole like a fireman. It’s sooo much fun! I kept doing it because I enjoyed spinning around so much. It made you dizzy though! Kindra told us we would get a certificate with our Stripper name on it. She gave us a list with suggested Stripper name. We checked out the list. Debbie picked Elektra. I liked Jasmine. Michelle came up with Vixen. Kindra asked how many x’s she wanted and she picked three. We also got to pick up a page with general notes of the class and a fortune cookie. It was a great class. You get to learn, laugh and be sexy. It’s a really fun class. It’s perfect for bachelorette parties.
How did the fortune predict I would have fun at the class?
We checked out our pictures. Michelle’s individual picture was really cute. The group picture wasn’t good. We didn’t end up buying any pictures.
On August 3rd, Maria was having a birthday party at my parent’s house. Maria is the daughter of my brother and sister-in-law. She was turning 2 years old.
Maria must put on her make-up
My mom cooked a lot of food. There was chicken and pork BBQ and of course, her famous shrimp tempura. Kara brought salad (she makes awesome salad!), 10 layer dip (my brother made it) with chips, strawberries with cream and chocolate chip cookies. Charisse made brownies. Kara’s mom, Karen brought her delicious signature dish baked ziti. There was so much food! I ate so much baked ziti. Karen knew I loved her pasta and told me to save some for later. I’m glad I did! I ate way too much food! Everything was so good, I kept eating more. There was a lot of people there that I haven’t seen in a long time. My brother’s friends Scott & Stephanie, Dennis & Kelly, Rocco and his wife and Joseph came. It was greating seeing Kara’s family – her mom Karen, dad Richie, sister Dena and grandma Mimi and Uncle Kim.
Me, Kara & Karen
Maria & Maya chilling on the pink chair
There was a bunch of kids in the house at one point. The kids always seem to entertain themselves by playing games and running around.
The adults were playing board games. They played Apples to Apples for awhile, which is always fun.
Playing Apples to Apples
Maria opened her gifts and wanted to play with the toys.
I played one round of Apples to Apples. My brother, Arsenio asked if we wanted to play another game. He brought Balderdash and Sequence as well. I suggested that we make two teams and play Cranium Wow. Cranium is so much fun because there’s a variety things you do. It’s a long game though. I like when you draw with your eyes closed, sculpt different things and act like characters from popular culture. It was cake time. Maria didn’t blow out the candles though.. Kara did it for her. She had a cute Dora cake. The kids were all playing the Wii at this point. I had a great time at the party. There’s more pictures from the party on Flickr.
I was at work on Monday, August 4th. I came back from break to get my iPod. I usually take a nap on my break so I listen to Ocean Surf to help me relax. Brandon says there’s a surprise for you. He covered my eyes and took me to the surprise. It was a fruit basket. I’m like who is this from? It was a lovely gift from Ivan.
How sweet!! I took it home and shared it with my parents. The fruit was soo delicious.
I met Alisa and her sister Beazus at Stratosphere on July 24th at 11 pm. It was Beazus’ birthday.
We were going to the nightclub Polly Esther’s. Alisa’s sister was in town for a few days. I invited Charisse. I told her to bring a friend if she wanted to. She was running late, as usual, since she had to pick up Victoria. Alisa had a friend who had a hookup with the club. Charisse told me she invited Joseph and he was going to be there soon. So, I thought we were going to get in for free and the wristband (for the $40 all you can drink for the whole night). Alisa met up with her friend (I forgot her name) and she had a friend with her. Alisa’s friend had a friend at the door so he waved us in. I told him my cousin Charisse and her friend were coming as well. He said it’s fine for her to come in for free. We went inside. I love the Brady Bunch display where you can be Alice in the middle square.
Alisa’s friend was talking to her friend about the wristbands. We went to get money for the wristbands since we would have to pay. We figured we’d get one $40 wristband and then just buy drinks for the other people. We go back inside the club. It turns out the wristband was going to be $20 each and we had to buy five of them since we told them how people we had in our party. Joseph (the guy who changed my tire) met us at the club with his friend. He was going to buy one wristband. I was a little peeved because I thought it would be free or we’d only have to buy one. The guy who was selling it was being a jerk. Alisa kept apologizing. I know it wasn’t her fault since she didn’t know. I was just mad at the situation. We find out that we only have to buy two wristbands since Joseph bought one. Alisa and I bought one. So, Charisse finally arrived with Victoria. We told them that we’d buy them drinks and they could just pay the tip for each drink. We were at the bar waiting to get served. The lady at the bar ignored us and kept helping all the men. I was mad. I said just coz we’re not a guy, this stupid lady (I know I said something more colorful haha) isn’t serving us right away. I was in a bad mood. It was great to finally have a drink. I got a Blue Hawaiian. I just needed to relax.
We danced a lot. It was a mix of pop, hip hop, 80’s and rock. The DJ was playing some good songs. Beazus met a cute guy and they were chatting all night. Victoria also met an Irish guy. It was a great night. Alisa, Charisse, Beazus and Victoria are all so fun. Alisa’s friend was so standoffish all night. She looked really manly in her shirt. Charisse had a hat on. Random people kept wearing her hat.
Charisse & an Australian guy wearing her hat
I kept trying to take the hat back. I was thinking I hope she doesn’t get lice. Hahaha. Charisse was trying to find Victoria outside of the club. Joseph and I went to meet her. We were thinking about getting some breakfast. It was 4 am in the morning. We went to the Stratosphere cafe. Thank goodness for 24 hour cafes. I invited Alisa and her sister to go. Beazus actually needed to get to the airport by 5 am. Charisse, Joseph and I went to the cafe. We were waiting for Victoria and the Irish guy to come. We weren’t sure if they would make it or not. We were just chatting and trying to decide what to order. Victoria and the Irish guy arrived. I ordered some pancakes and bacon. I was craving some bacon for some reason. We had a great time chatting about life. Joseph really likes to talk. He had some great, interesting stories to tell. The food was really good. I didn’t get home until 6 am.
I met up with my friend Robert on July 25th to have dinner and go watch a movie. I hadn’t seen him since October 2007. We met at the Cannery Casino & Hotel. We at the the Italian restaurant called Vino’s Ristorante and Deli. We chatted and got caught up with each other’s lives. We both ordered the Chicken Vesuvio. It was so tasty! We hurried to get our tickets for X-files: I Want to Believe. Originally, we were going to watch The Dark Knight at the Imax. But, I forgot to buy tickets early and the theatre was sold out. I liked the movie. It had a good plot and some action. I think I missed some stuff because I was confused on Mulder and Scully’s relationship. Robert thought there would be aliens. I wanted a spooky movie, but it was a little twisted.
I went to Alisa and Jay’s house for a BBQ on Sunday, July 26th. I got to meet Alisa’s dad and her parents-in-law. There was also her friends and Jay’s friends there. We were watching great shows on the Travel Channel. It reminded me how I’d love to see the Angel Falls sometime in Venezuela. The food was really good. There was a great 3 layer dip with chips. There was also beef ribs and burgers. I ate so much food. It’s great to hang out to chill and chat about life.
I haven’t talked much about my future traveling plans. I’m going to be doing a RTW (’round the world) trip with Ivan in a few months. We’re traveling to Southeast Asia first. Ivan and I will be staying in hostels and couchsurfing. I am pretty excited. I’ve read a few great RTW blogs, books and seen a great documentary on backpacking around the world. It has given me some insight of what it’s like to go backpacking around the world. I am also a bit scared. I guess it’s the big unknown. I haven’t done anything so bold in my life. I’m basically quitting my job and going traveling for a year. I know some of my family and friends probably think I’m nuts. I tried to take a Leave of Absence at work but they only allow a month, unless it’s military or maternity. Of course, if I do come back to the company within 6 months, I’ll still have the same hire-on date. At least that’s good.
I still have so much to do in Las Vegas. I have to pack things up for storing. I’m going to spend lots of time with family and friends. I still have lots of things to purchase for the trip. I’m constantly looking at different products I have to buy online and comparing prices. I bought my big backpack The North Face W Terra 40. It’s 40 Liters (2,400 cubic inches).
My long W Terra 40 backpack
It’s going to hold a lot of stuff. I don’t know how heavy it’s going to be since I don’t have everything yet. I don’t even know how to pack this thing. REI has great advice about packing at this site. I’m so glad that Ivan has been a HUGE help. He’s traveled to many places before. So, he has helped me with what to buy and told me about great books and blogs to read.
Here’s some great resources if you’re thinking of backpacking -
Books:
The Rough Guide to First-Time Around the World
Vagabonding: An Uncommon Guide to the Art of Long-Term World Travel
Documentary:
A Map for Saturday is a great documentary about a RTW trip. A guy named Brook quits his great tv producer job to travel the world for a year. He chronicles the trip and his feelings. It also includes other backpacker’s views and feelings about traveling. It’s a great movie and very well made.
Websites:
Backpacking / budget travel advice
Vagabondish – The Travelzine for Today’s Vagabond
Art of Travel
Traveler’s Health
Budget Globetrotting
Blogs:
RTW Trip
Around the World Travel Blog
Reading about the different areas you’re going to be exploring helps out. Right now, I’m reading Southeast Asia on a Shoestring
I’ve been trying to save money. It’s been hard for me. I’ve given up buying books, mangas and anime. I did buy Bizenghast 4 the other day. It’s such a beautiful story with awesome artwork. I just have to read what happens next! I’ve been trying not to spend as much.
I know there’s going to be things I’ll have to deal with on the road. I’m going to miss my family and friends. I will be keeping touch with them with Skype, the internet and a blog. Of course, the comforts of home may be another thing. I have an open mind. I’m looking forward to the adventure to come. I’m going to learn and explore new places. I’m going to embrace the unknown.
Alisa and I met my cousin Charisse at BRAND Steakhouse in the Monte Carlo on July 10th. We were there for an open bar event. I also wanted to check out the new restaurant. The decor in the lounge area is very nice. They have big brown couches and long tables. We grabbed a table since we arrived early. The free drink was Canadian Club, which is a whisky. I had a lot of whisky in Scotland. I asked the waitress what would go well with whisky and she told us ginger ale, 7-Up and Coca-Cola. We decided to get whisky and ginger ale. It tasted good.
Alisa, me and Charisse having fun
We all talked about life and my trip to England and Scotland. It was great to see my friends again. The next drink I got it with 7-Up. It had more flavor with the 7-Up. We went outside later on to say hi to Alisa’s cop friends who work on the Strip. Of course, our table was taken after we left. So, we sat at the bar. We tried the whisky with Coca-Cola this time. It tasted great with Coke. Too bad we didn’t get this at first! There was a guy who started talking to Alisa. I think he liked her. Charisse and I were talking to an Irish guy. He had such a thick accent. I’d have to think about what he just said for a second and then I knew what he was saying. The open bar ended at 9 pm. Everybody cleared out after that. We sat down at the table with Mike. Mike seemed to have liked Alisa. Alisa’s married though. Mike is a local who works at United doing computer work. We talked for a little while. We were tired and decided to head home. I had a great time with Alisa and Charisse.
