The last days of summer
I finally got a job early last week. I start at the end of the month. So, in protest of the end of my freedom ("The Man" is gonna own my time again), I went to Vegas for a couple of days to shake my fist at the establishment one last time.
It feels just like that last week of freedom before the school year resumed when I was younger. Trying to squeeze in one last day of fishing, one more day of sleeping late, one last game of kickball in the neighborhood going on until just after the sun set until we couldn’t see the ball anymore. One last hurrah at the lake, a final afternoon of water skiing, one final time to just absolutely waste an entire day and not feel any guilt or pressure.
Only now as an adult, I go to Vegas. I called my college roommate, Beef, and we set up the plan. Travel cheap, stay cheap, get the Casino to buy all the food and beer necessary for a final end of summer like rage-fest. We need our money for gambling. We’re going to Vegas. We’re gonna gamble constantly, we’re gonna drink to excess, we’re gonna be rude and obnoxious and leer at the cocktail waitresses and talk loud and and and and…
Anyway, that was the plan. What I really learned was the madman who used to wreak all of that havoc not so very long ago, has been replaced. Instead of the beer fueled mayhem of fighting with the cabbies, shouting down the pit boss, drinking so much so fast that large chunks of the day are forgotten (you hope!), engaging in behavior that would embarrass Teddy Kennedy, I have become …. I don’t know.
We did stay cheap, we did travel cheap. The entire trip including gambling, room, and board was under $100. We did gamble. We did drink beer. But we also ate 3 meals a day (it couldn't be helped, we were hungry), slept an appropriate amount every night, and in general tried to avoid feeling crappy the next day.
Oddly enough, we still achieved that late summer feeling. We avoided any of the time pressure that people place on themselves. We relaxed and did what we wanted to do and when we wanted to do it. There was no timetable other than the flight home. The low-stress nature of the journey made it a worthwhile trip. 2-3 days of Vegas is still all that I can handle.
Tomorrow I will give my review of the hotels and casinos we patronized. Lucky you.
It feels just like that last week of freedom before the school year resumed when I was younger. Trying to squeeze in one last day of fishing, one more day of sleeping late, one last game of kickball in the neighborhood going on until just after the sun set until we couldn’t see the ball anymore. One last hurrah at the lake, a final afternoon of water skiing, one final time to just absolutely waste an entire day and not feel any guilt or pressure.
Only now as an adult, I go to Vegas. I called my college roommate, Beef, and we set up the plan. Travel cheap, stay cheap, get the Casino to buy all the food and beer necessary for a final end of summer like rage-fest. We need our money for gambling. We’re going to Vegas. We’re gonna gamble constantly, we’re gonna drink to excess, we’re gonna be rude and obnoxious and leer at the cocktail waitresses and talk loud and and and and…
Anyway, that was the plan. What I really learned was the madman who used to wreak all of that havoc not so very long ago, has been replaced. Instead of the beer fueled mayhem of fighting with the cabbies, shouting down the pit boss, drinking so much so fast that large chunks of the day are forgotten (you hope!), engaging in behavior that would embarrass Teddy Kennedy, I have become …. I don’t know.
We did stay cheap, we did travel cheap. The entire trip including gambling, room, and board was under $100. We did gamble. We did drink beer. But we also ate 3 meals a day (it couldn't be helped, we were hungry), slept an appropriate amount every night, and in general tried to avoid feeling crappy the next day.
Oddly enough, we still achieved that late summer feeling. We avoided any of the time pressure that people place on themselves. We relaxed and did what we wanted to do and when we wanted to do it. There was no timetable other than the flight home. The low-stress nature of the journey made it a worthwhile trip. 2-3 days of Vegas is still all that I can handle.
Tomorrow I will give my review of the hotels and casinos we patronized. Lucky you.
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