The last trip of the year

Thankfully I just returned from my last out of town trip for the year. I got home around 10:45 last night and was up bright and early so I am completely useless at work and quite sleepy. I do, however, have some things to share and since my brain won't even begin to focus on work I thought I'd entertain my few readers. : )

I went to Las Vegas for the third time since January. I am over Las Vegas. For the most part the only redeeming thing about the city, for me, remains the fountain and gardens at the Bellagio. Frankly I could stand out there and watch the thing for hours.

Here's my list:

1. I discovered a German restaurant on this trip. Sadly my first time there was after a long day of travel, a meeting, another meeting and starvation because I hadn't eaten anything but a half a bag of chips all day. Under different circumstances I would love it, as would the Hubby. It was divided into two dining rooms, one for those who wanted a more quiet, traditional dinner and one for those who really wanted to experience the flavor of an authentic Oktoberfest. The tables were long tables with benches and the entertainment was a group that played Oktoberfest music, much of which encourages drinking. It had a full bar but the preference of course was beer served in huge litre steins. I was transported back about 20 years to when we lived in Germany. The food was pretty good too and by that I mean fairly authentic. It was very, very loud and raucous.

2. We somehow ended up at the same restaurant the next night and it was completely different, not as crowded, a little more quiet. What marked this trip was that one of our party, a new person with the company, literally disappeared after excusing himself to the bathroom the minute we walked in the door. We spent the rest of the evening conjuring up what happened to him and trying to figure out how the Mafia could possibly have kidnapped him from the bathroom; there was no blood; no sign of struggle. He showed up late the next day with some excuse of not feeling well, but hello, when you're with a group of people you work with and you're out of town and out on the town, you tell someone you're leaving.

3. I feel I have broken into the "inner circle" of this new industry I'm in. Surprisingly it is very, very clique-like (and reminds me of high school) and while some embraced me early on it has taken others longer to accept me. I was embraced, literally, but the old guard and even given a cigar as a token of acceptance.

4. I played the slots again, the only thing I will attempt in Vegas. I lost $5 but that was over the course of the 4-day trip, so I think I did pretty well. I'm still sad they just give you slips of paper now and you don't hear the magical sounds of quarters dropping into the tray.

5. I tasted pot stickers for the first time, something I've been wanting to try since my friend Keri raved about them and seemingly lives on them. They are quite tasty. At the same restaurant I was a little amazed that shark fin soup cost $55. Really? Half a hundred dollars for a bowl of soup? WTF?

6. I've discovered I might have a few flaws. Yeah, I know, it's hard to imagine, but it's true. I tend to call people I know 'honey' and 'sweetie.' I don't do this to everyone I know but usually when I'm in 'mother-mode' I do it. Like, 'Honey, don't worry about that,' or 'Sweetie be careful.' This might annoy people. I also find that as much as I say I don't want to be a prima dona, I think I might act like one from time to time. When I go to a trade show and am visiting a vendor's booth I sort of expect to be acknowledged. I am mindful of when they are dealing with customers and I do not expect them to break away from that and talk to me. However, when I go back repeatedly and am told the person is 'busy' I start getting my panties in a wad. Not because I am so eager to speak with that person but because that same person will be the one calling me in a few months fussing because we didn't write anything about them.

7. The Boy lost his second tooth while I was out of town. He lost the first one when I was out of town in May. I realize in the big picture of life this may not be earth-shattering, but it made me sad just the same.

8. As always the Hubby did a great job of holding the fort down while I was gone, which is always a little more difficult when school's in session and you have to get the kids to school on time, get homework and baths and dinner AND now scouts for both; though the Girl did opt out of this week's meeting because I wasn't there.

9. I had given the girl instructions before I left to make sure the Hubby took his medicine (because she likes feeling important) and to nurse his skin cancer wound (she overheard the Hubby talking about it so of course had a million questions). The first night I was gone I was talking to her on the phone and she asked me who she should call first if Daddy passed out. Ok, this freaked me out that she would be worried about such a thing, and I'm still not sure why she thinks he would pass out, but I guess it's better to be prepared.

10. I witnessed a lot of disgusting behavior during the week. At the airport a grown man was sitting there reading his book and picking his nose. Granted, it's not uncommon to see men (and women) do this driving down the road, why they think they're invisible at that time is beyond me, and the actual picking wasn't even the worst part. Yes, you guessed it, if you're squeamish don't read any further. He was ingesting the items he extracted from his proboscis. Not once, not twice, but for like 30 damn minutes. I guess he didn't have enough money to buy the snack on the plane.

11. One of my brothers-in-law and his wife were in Vegas the same time I was. I know this because the same brother-in-law had been calling our house for weeks under the guise of asking about the Hubby's health and then seguing into a sales pitch for pre-pair legal marketing schemes. The Hubby never wanted to talk to him so after I'd say, no, he's not home or sorry, he's mowing the grass, I had to make polite chit chat. So he found out we'd be in Vegas the same time and wanted to get together for dinner. I told him I was working and most often that also included dinners/meetings etc. in the evening. Plus it's not like I really wanted to visit with him, I mean it wasn't like it was one of you who'd I'd totally have made time to hang out with. Anyway, I avoided seeing him at all; I'm sure I'll be talked about in the family circle.

12. While I was gone the Hubby had a an event with my family. Well, actually the Girl had an event with my sister. My Mom always thinks she's doing my Hubby a favor and helping him out tremendously by having him and the kids over for dinner once while I'm gone. This is usually something the kids don't like (because she doesn't pay attention to what they do like) and it's usually just a pain in the ass. But he went. The conversation came around to what the Girl's been watching on TV and my sister, yes, the very one who doesn't have the best track record as a parent, said something like I can't believe you let her watch that! The Hubby of course said, I can't believe YOU would even questions my parenting skills. Then it went back and forth disguised as light banter until the Girl looks my sister dead in the eye and says, you're just mad because you know I don't really like you. OK, I'm not really pleased that she'd say something like that because technically my sister is an adult and it wasn't very nice, but I still have to secretly give the Girl kudos.

13. The Hubby will be going out of town next week again, this time for 3-4 days. I am curious to see what it's like with the shoe on the other foot. I will file a report on that later.