"We've lost respect for decency, when one can turn our world into an antpile..."
-Blue October- (Kangaroo Cry)
Good morning everyone. It's a lovely 36 degrees here in San Marcos, America right now as I begin this post, but I did live through the first day of the new year despite suffering 2 'unders' not covering by 1 1/2 points each and not covering a point spread by half a point - I... HATE... FOOTBALL... Okay, I hate it right now, but I'll probably be watching it again tonight. The lyrics above are brought to you courtesy of Blue October, which is my favorite band for those of you who are new to 'Bikini Hill' - be sure to check them out if you have never listened to them before.
Okay, so now we're rewinding two weeks (and more) and we're starting my recent holiday trip to Las Vegas. For starters, if you have been sleeping through the last month of blog entries that I have made, I HATE how sleepy San Marcos, America is during the month-long break between the fall and spring semesters. One way to combat this is to take a week-long trip to Las Vegas, the city where I lived for two years as a poker dealer (2005-2007). I began this trip with $1,000.00 to spend on playing poker and betting football, the majority of it coming courtesy of my coworkers and friends from Harper's/Slackers/The Veranda. I asked to be scheduled off at work from December 16th-26th, with my trip taking place from the 18th-24th. My last workday before the trip was Saturday, December 15th, which was the last day of graduation ceremonies at Texas State University (my alma mater), and pretty much the last day that San Marcos would see any signs of life until New Year's Eve (not completely true, but pretty much)... :) On Sunday, December 16th I went to San Antonio to hang out with my dad (on very little sleep), and I was treated to the misery of watching my Pittsburgh Steelers lose ANOTHER CLOSE GAME this season, this time to the Dallas Cowboys. NOTE: The Steelers will not be participating in the playoffs this season... This was followed by a trip back to San Marcos to change into respectable clothes for my "company work party." Our work party started at Rocky's ($2.50 you-call-its), then made its way over to the Black Rabbit, and after this quick pit stop we headed down the street and finished out the night at Zelick's. Being as tired as I was, I opted to drink Vodka and Red Bull all night (a drink which I NEVER drink) because of the RED BULL... All of this is relevant to my trip to Las Vegas because I was still tired pretty much all day long on Monday as I packed. I was also tired on Tuesday as I began my trip, which began with lunch courtesy of my dad (I'm already ahead on the trip), and then arriving at San Antonio International Airport at 1:30 p.m. At the airport I had my shaving cream and Brut confiscated by the TSA because the containers were over 3.44 ounces (back to even for the trip)...
The waiting game began after I cleared security, because all that I wanted to do was get on my flight to San Francisco, which wasn't taking off until 3:39 p.m., and this is because I wanted to SLEEP as much as anything. The flight was on United Airlines, and it was on time. For those of you who are new to the blog (AGAIN, GEEZ)... :), I booked the roundtrip flights on United, with a six-night stay on the Strip (at the Quad - formerly Imperial Palace) for $388.00. Not only did United give me an assigned seat (I'm used to flying Southwest), but they IMPROVED IT by giving me an exit-row seat before takeoff because the plane wasn't full, thus giving me my own section of seats and more leg room for the long flight (winning again). At this point I should add that one of our Harper's customers gave me GREAT ADVICE - I did not check any luggage on this trip. I took two carry-on backpacks with me, thus avoiding luggage charges and having to check and wait for luggage (more ahead on the trip already). I slept most of the way to San Francisco on what was maybe the most comfortable flight of my life, and then I... GOT... TO... SAN FRANCISCO... Immediately after departing the plane, I discovered that my flight to Las Vegas was already delayed an hour and a half, and this was in addition to the hour and a half layover I had given myself to make the trip run smoothly (back to even again). The BEST PART came after we were rushed to board the plane so that the travelers with connecting flights in Las Vegas could make their other flights, the captain comes on the intercom (I SERIOUSLY thought this was a joke at first). The captain states that he is ILLEGAL to fly us to Las Vegas... He then explains that he had piloted the original flight from Washington, D.C., which stopped for fuel in Kansas City, and then fought headwinds to San Francisco. Sometime after he had boarded our flight, the tower informed him that he had already worked for over eight hours that day, and the FAA "frowns upon" (okay, those are my words) pilots working overtime (they don't allow it at all)... SOOOO, after it took them an hour to find us a pilot from the on-call pilots, we departed for the desert. This of course came after SEVERAL complaints from other passengers and not being informed of anything that was happening during the course of the hour wait - I felt SO BAD for everyone who had connecting flights... NOTE: During my stay in Las Vegas I met a Delta pilot, and on-call pilots have to be at the airport within two hours of being notified that they are needed, FYI... So anyway, EVERYONE misses their connections with the exception of the people who are flying to Cleveland (and their plane is being held specifically for them as we arrive at McCarran International Airport). I ended up checking into the Quad sometime after midnight (there was no wait at the registration desk, being very early Wednesday morning, and I'll get back to this in a later trip post).
Okay, now that I've arrived in Las Vegas, we'll keep you in suspense until next time, because this post is getting pretty long. I hope that you have a great day and I'll see you again tomorrow!
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