Wednesday, October 27, 2004

Vegas, Bad Luck, Good Luck

It's just over 36 hours since I got back from Vegas and I'm still feeling it. Still, I'm in much better shape than I was yesterday morning. Man, I hate redeyes (until the trip home this past March, I probably haven't been on one in almost 10 years), but I opted for the non-stop and full day home before returning to work over traveling all day. I'm still not convinced that was the best decision.

We were ostensibly out in Vegas for the Lucky 7s Frisbee Tournament, but I think most people were really just using it as an excuse to go to Vegas. That's fine by me, I wanted to play some disc this fall since I never got around to finding a team for Sectionals. And I can't say that I minded going to Vegas. Especially with this crew. We appropriately dubbed our team "Shenanigans."

The tourney was a lot of fun, but clearly not the highest priority for some people. For one thing, THE SOX MADE THE SERIES! When we were scheduling flights back in September, we already knew that the tournament was happening during the first games of the World Series... but I don't think any of us considered that the Sox would be playing. We had a bunch of Sox cheers, and received a bunch as well, including a "1918" cheer, but also several GO-SOX! from other teams. Most of us were also exhausted from the flight out, getting to bed late, and having to get up and get ready for a 9:05 start. And, of course, there was the whole Vegas thing. One of our numbers didn't show up for the 2nd day, preferring to spend it making "donations" to the local economy.

Highlights and lowlights:

  • Got out of the office a bit later planned... to find a flat right front tire. F. Fortunately made it home after filling it at the local gas station, getting to the airport without further incident.
  • We had reserved rooms at the Flamingo. Turns out they were overbooked. Well, sorta. So we ended up at the Luxor on the first night and back at the Flamingo for nights 2 and 3. I have to say, much nicer bathroom at the Luxor, but I'll take the truly smoke-free rooms at the Flamingo. (The Luxor rooms were supposed to be non smoking rooms, but I'd have a hard time believing that.)
  • We watched the first two Red S... I mean, World Series games from the hotel room. Awesome. It was reminiscent of the 2002 NFL playoffs when we watched the Pats beat the Raiders in a Foxboro blizzard from Tampa, FL. It was great to see other fans around the city. I bought a hat in the airport so I could represent.
  • I was trying to stay away from beer Sunday night -- I figured I'd have a better chance avoiding getting sick or having a hangover. Did you know that the only place you can buy booze on the strip is at the ABC store in the Aladdin? $6.99 for a 375ml bottle of Early Times bourbon. I had a few Wild Turkey Rocks as well at the bar and tables. Let's just say the plan failed.
  • 3 nights, 3 days, 6 frisbee games, 2 World Series games, one 3-mile hike, 14 hours of sleep.
Y'know, I think I've pretty effectively burned out any Vegas bug I might have had before this weekend.

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