going to vegas to meet an elvis impersonator

Friday sucked.  I didn’t do too much, I just woke up funny and was menstrual.  I woke up at 5, went, “What the hell?” and then went back to sleep.  Then some bill collector person called the wrong number at 5:55, and I must have been pretty mean because they promised to take my number off the account and never call again.  My alarm was set for 6, 6:15, and 6:30, and I didn’t end up out of bed until 6:40.  Luckily, my work is alright with me coming in at 8:15 or else I would have been screwed.  I usually enjoy my morning commute, but Friday morning, I was just super tired.

Sorry for all that complaining, now I’ll try to talk about all the stuff I’ve neglected to post about in the last three weeks.  Hokay, so, I got to Las Vegas on a Saturday, and hung out with my Dad and slept at the Southpoint (it’s probably about 10 minutes away from the Strip on a day where there’s no such thing as traffic).  The next day, I moved into David’s house I met Liz (David’s wife), Jenn (Liz’s daughter), Maddy (Jenn’s daughter), and Irene (David’s mom).  Most of my first week of work, I ended up sleeping over at the Southpoint because I could hang out with my Dad, watch hockey, and only have a 10 minute drive to work in the morning.  It was pretty nice because I was still adjusting to both pacific time and the time I had to get up to make it to work by 8 am.

Work has been pretty interesting so far.  I’ve learned that the more time I spend in the lab, the faster my day goes.  Just so you know, “the lab” is more of a nickname for the area than anything.  There are no test tubes or beakers, just a bunch of slot machines, slot machine parts, testing equipment, and power tools.  Oh, and I guess there are regular tools there, too.  Most of the time I can find something interesting to do there, whether it be figuring out how to solder a chip onto a circuit board or test a slot machine.  One of my favorite tests is the one where you hit play on the slot machine and then zap it with a cattle prod to make sure it doesn’t do anything funky.  And it’s just fun.  I’m still not quite sure why this is safety test to make sure the human body won’t change the function of the machine because a cattle prod puts out 30 kV of electricity while the human body puts out a max of 10 kV (or so I’m told, I’m still convinced I’ve managed to store more static electricity every time I touch anything metallic).  I actually have my own cubicle, but I don’t like being in it a whole lot because it seems like the only thing there is to do there is learn how to use AutoCAD.  AutoCAD is a good thing for me to learn and all, but there’s only so long I can sit on the computer and not get tired.  Especially if I didn’t have caffeine that day.  I’ve also had a few mini projects to work on, which have mostly been things that other people needed done, but didn’t have the time to do.  On the bright side, every time I go to work, something different is going on and I can usually find something interesting to do.

Phew, that was a lot of typing.  Now, back to my first week in vegas.  I saw the penguins lose in the playoffs, and drowned my sorrows in a bean burrito.  The last night my Dad was in Vegas, we saw Jersey Boys, which was FANTASTIC!  The show is about Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons and there are so many good songs in it.  Some songs I didn’t even realize were Four Seasons songs, like December 1963 (Oh What a Night!) and Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You (think Heath Ledger in 10 Thing I Hate About You).  All in all, it was a great show, and I’d see it multiple times given the chance.  Then, my Dad left, so I was kinda bummed out, considering I don’t know anyone out here.

So, while I was sitting, twiddling my thumbs, trying to figure out exactly what I wanted to do the first weekend I was here alone, Amy either texted or emailed me about making hotel arrangements.  So, I was all, “Oh, cool, when are you coming out here?” and she said, “This weekend!”  This was a lovely coincidence considering I was still pretty bummed out about my Dad leaving.  I picked up Amy at the airport on Saturday, and I don’t think I stopped moving until Wednesday evening.  Amy and I did the abbreviated tour of Las Vegas, seeing almost every casino on the Strip.  We also saw Beatles LOVE (the Cirque du Soleil show), and Amy cried at the end (and apparently a few other times during the show, but I was a bit distracted then).  We also rode the roller coaster at New York New York… twice, and I cried at the end (well, actually tears were forced out of my eyes by the wind).  We also watched the Bellagio fountain show twice.  We also walked about a bazillion places and Amy has the pictures to show it.  For that matter, I think I have some of the pictures on my camera, too.  I should probably put them on my computer and send them to her at some point…

So, after that whirlwind week of working and sightseeing, I was super tired on Friday.  I hung out for a little with Liz and David and then went to bed for what seemed like the first time in a while.  Last weekend was also my first paycheck.  I was pretty practical with how I spent my time, too.  I went grocery shopping, I figured out how to get free yoga lessons, and I went to Target with Liz and her daughter.  About the free yoga, since I have a YMCA membership from Jim’s family membership in D-ware, they gave me a temporary membership to the YMCA of Southern Nevada.

Last week, I watched the finales of several reality tv shows with Liz, including Celebrity Apprentice (Go Brett Michaels!), Dancing with the Stars (Go Evan Idon’tremberyourlastnameeventhoughyouwonthegoldmedalforiceskating!), and American Idol (Go, actually, I didn’t really care who won…).  I also started yoga, which is very relaxing.    Since it’s yoga through the Y, the class is basically two old ladies, a few middle age ladies, and me.  On Tuesdays and Thursdays, it ends right around sunset, so outside is very pretty on my drive back to the house.  In fact, on Thursday, I was so relaxed and taking in the scenery, I drove right past a turn I was supposed to make and only realized it when I saw a street sign I didn’t recognize.

Friday, I went to the local mall, which wasn’t too spectacular, and learned how to play Texas Hold’em (no, not at the mall, David plays in tournaments and taught me).  And yesterday, I did yoga and I went to the strip to check out the fashion show mall.  It was huge, and I was a little overwhelmed.  I still found my Elvis wedding dress that can be seen in my other blog.  Today, I went to church and then hung out at the pool (not at church, at David’s house).  I also finished my Craig Ferguson book.  I love that man!

Sorry for the long post, I just wanted to let you guys know what I’ve been up to.  I promise the next post I make will have some pictures to spice things up!

‘ello again

I’m reinstating this blog for my Vegas internship!  Yay!  I feel like One More Time should be playing because it makes sense.  I moved into the house I’m gonna be living in today, and it’s big.  They gave me my own room with my own bathroom that includes my own shower, which is pretty crazy.  I’ll take some pictures later, but right now, I’m super tired.  I just wanted to make sure everybody knows that I’m still about and I will update again when I’m not so sleepies (probs some time tomorrow after the Penguins game).

<3 Maria!