las vegas
alas, not to me.
it's strange how real and solid the giant hotels and eiffel tower and castles look, but how fake, how much like painted backdrops the real mountains look behind them.
it's some kind of super stimulus effect i guess, everything in the strip is bigger, brighter, shiner, blinkier and much more real than the real things.
but when you touch the statues at cesar's palace and lean on the rocks by the waterfalls, it's all just fake plaster and resin. hollow.
today i put 1$ on blackjack and played until i had 3$.
i narrowly avoided the small man in the leprachaun suit hawking out front of the fake irish themed casino. that was a close call, i had to dodge one of the hawker-pimps with the discount hooker coupons on one side and cling onto MissTrish's arm.
"you'll feel better once we have some dollar shots of bailey's" she assured me.
there are cycads, palms, lantanas, oleanders and that nice pine with the long soft needles.
i went and saw the flamingo hotel's flock of captive flamingos.
i was not looking forward to coming to las vegas at first. the only gambling i have ever enjoyed was going to the horse races and putting dollar bets on the horse with the funniest name with friends after highschool. even then, i wasn't into the gambling, i just liked watching the horses run and the crowd get excited.
i don't like resorts, tourists, buffets, or the other luxury trappings of vacations.
i talked to people at work, and my family.
"it is actually impossible to not have a good time in vegas. don't worry. you will enjoy yourself despite all that" was the general advice.
after the wedding, we are heading out to see the desert. i plan to make friends with a joshua tree, a chuckwalla and a road runner.
we'll visit the hoover dam, and then the grand canyon.
i'm having a good time.
now, it's time to change into a cocktail dress and go to dinner.
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