Almost as soon as it started, it’s over...

We’re back from Vegas. It was my first time staying at NYNY. It’s not bad, but not my favorite. It’s a good thing I had no time to lounge in their hopelessly pathetic pool area (off-Strip hotels have better pools than NYNY). But it is home to Nine Fine Irishmen, one of my favorite restaurants on the Strip. It’s got close access to cheap transportation – both the tram at Excalibur for trips to Luxor and Mandalay Bay, and across the street from the MGM Grand where the Monorail will take you north along the Strip all the way to the Stratosphere.

NASCAR weekend was great. It was funny because my sweetie (being very tall) would be able to spot drivers amongst the hoards of people, and I would dart and sprint to zero in for the signing. I got Jimmy Johnson's and Kyle Busch's autographs on his race ticket -- who then (by an amazing coincidence) took first and second respectively on Sunday's Nextel Cup race. My sweetie must have the good karma – it’s the only explanation.

A couple things I learned on this trip:

Mount St. Helens burps every time I travel. I can't help but find this an incredible coincidence. It spewed steam and ash both when I left for DC back in September and AGAIN the very night we arrived in Vegas. My brother called to inform me as we were waiting outside Nine Fine Irishmen for a table (30 minute wait) watching my dad play video poker. Being a native, I witnessed the 1980 eruption. I saw the ash fall all over Portland. But I was a kid. Is it too much to ask the mountain to make sure I’m in the state before it puts on a show?

Pairing the word “slots” with anything is ALWAYS funny. Cheap slots, loose slots (is that a double entendre?), 2-for-1 slots (don’t you have to pay extra for that?), red hot penny slots… any phrase with the word “slots” incited much hilarity.

I can ride a roller coaster 367,000 times and still get nervous and clammy every time I ride it.

Tanning oil is not sunscreen. Ooooch.

My parents are as craaazy as I think. Fortunately they’re mostly harmless.

My sleep schedule is off. Waaaay off.