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Well, I imagine some may be sick of the excessive Box posts of late, but I didn’t have the net while away, so had to get them all up when I returned… Well here’s another for you, although it will be brief… Oh but just quickly, photos are coming, however they all tend to be of buildings and such… nothing inappropriate unfortunately.  Just have some technical difficulties to tend to then feel free to browse at your leisure…

So, yeah, the title of this post may suggest I have something figurative to discuss today.  But in actual fact, I just witnessed the blind leading the blind.  Seriously.  I thought that my eyes were deceiving me (yuss!), but it really was like some kind of blurry fairytale (not quite there, but ok!)…

Don’t get me wrong – I love blind people.  Hell, my eyes have been deteriorating for years and I am a full time spectacle wearer.  I just found this to be most fascinating, as one was definitely playing the lead role in their uncommon duo.  At the time, they were actually struggling with navigating over some speed bumps but I’m pleased to say they were successful in the end.

I don’t wish to be offensive, and apologise if my views (oh!) are short-sighted (two-for!), but what are they gonna do?  Read this?

Alright, I’ll stop…

Box

It’s about time too!  I went downstairs and took a seat at an empty blackjack table, being dealt by some crazy old Asian lady who I could not understand at all.  She was great though, as within 5 minutes (I kid you not) I was up $115… Now I know that’s not much, but for a small timer like me it felt good, especially considering the absolute lack of success I have had so far!  I think 4 of my first 8 hands were blackjacks, but instead of riding the run I decided to cash out.  The only issue now is that I have a wad of USD that I am unlikely to get rid of before I come home, so will have to wait for that rate to drop back. 

After cashing out, I went out through the Tropicana to see what it was like.  Despite being close by I had yet to go in as it doesn’t really have the same attraction as other places.  And sure enough when I went in it did little to change my impression.  It did however connect me to the Excalibur where I took a seat with a lovely black lady whose name I could not pronounce.  She was dealing Spanish 21 – a slight variation on blackjack that I didn’t really understand… but, I played, and I won… now all of a sudden I think I was about even with Vegas for the trip!  Well, give or take (more give) $50… While on a bit of a buzz, I took the tram down to the Mandalay Bay.  I hadn’t been in here yet on this trip either so it was good to have a look around.  I went up to Mandalay place and had a look through some shops, culminating in a visit to a shaving store where the man gave me a demonstration of some shaving products, on my hand… huh.

I then continued through the walkway to the Luxor, finally seeing the inside of the Pyramid!  I knew there was somewhere that you could do that, but had not yet discovered where… well, I have now!  It was cool, but this just so happened to be the one time that I left my camera back at the hotel.  Ugh… oh well, I got a bit lost wandering around the Luxor (although did find the TMNT arcade game) but eventually made my way back through Excalibur to home base.  My thinking being that I am now in a much better financial position, but I will check my map to see if there was anywhere else that I needed to go… well, having just done that, I think I am done… I know I still have a night to sleep, and the morning here before I’m off, but I would like to take this opportunity to thank Vegas for another outstanding experience.  It has been memorable, but I am ready to return home.  Not so much to work, but other people, ya know?

This will be it; I hope it hasn’t been as boring as I suspect it probably has…

Box

As you will notice, I am spending considerable time in my room today, but blow me.  Sometimes a man just needs a lie down.  Not much to report, but the dinner I just had at the MGM was incredible.  I am so full… It was pricey, sure, but was a massive plate of turkey, mashed potato, pumpkin, stuffing, beans, cranberry… mmm… it was at a classy establishment though, so all was cooked amazingly… I had a couple of wines with it also, and have since had a few beers too, so am feeling slightly tipsy…

I feel like such a veteran of Vegas now.  People even approach me to ask for directions, and I know what to tell them (although this could be because I am wearing my UNLV tee…) Good times.  My farts stink real bad(ly?)

So yeah, I ate this feed, ogled some girls, then considered where I would like to spend my last gambling money.  And you know what?  I decided on Hooters… I walked back and took a seat at the seated BJ table with a cool guy dealer, and a couple of good karma players.  This is the only table at Hooters that has a pairs side bet.  In fact, I have found very few side bet tables in Vegas, but there are a couple here.  One is betting that your first two card total is 20, and the other this pairs one.  A little different to back home, and when I arrived no one was playing it, but when I picked up pairs on maybe 40% of my hands I got the table going.  Didn’t take long to get some money behind me and I decided to stand up when I had to pee.  Now I’ m here, and am thinking I will head back there soon.  Or maybe retry craps? Anyway, last night in Vegas… Time to roll…

So it’s not quite night time, but I decided to take a quick break.  Not that I have much to report, but it has been an enjoyable day… Before we get started, I just would like to point out that the Strip is long.  Like, very long.  And I already knew this, and so do SS and SDC, but just so people don’t get the wrong impression when I complain about how much walking I did, I wanted to get that out there… Oh, and it’s real hot out too… Ok, on with the show…

I walked up the east side of the strip through MGM, Paris, but otherwise avoiding the temptation to play (too early)… I made sure that I got a few more pics but also realised I am fast approaching the limit of my memory.  Lucky I am such a genius and left the cable to hook up to my laptop back home. Ugh.  But never mind, I had already (side note: Cowboys cheerleaders are hot…) taken the important ones, so really am just getting the final few.  Obviously the whole point of this morning stroll was to make it up to the Wynn – a place I had not yet been into.  Well, this place is fucking sexy… all the stores along the walk in are designer labels, and then you arrive in this garden area which is all lit up and pretty like.  I tried to find some dude taking a photo of his hot wife so that I could do the same and plead ignorance, but I was out of luck.  I continued into the casino where I searched for an appropriate place to donate the rest of my money, but I guess not completely surprisingly, the table limits were a little out of my range.  I mean, I am content with my lack of success, but I’m not willing to likely play 4 hands before calling it a day; I mean, it was only like middayish…

So in the end, I didn’t play there.  But I stand by my decision, and am happy to say that I was able to visit.  I then decided to make sure I went to the Rio, so continued walking along (Kelly Clarkson makes my pants tighter) the other side of the strip, stopping for a quick bite at Stripburger, which wasn’t nearly as sexy as I thought it sounded.  Food was good though… I kept walking up through Treasure Island, then past Caesars before I spotted my destination.  The plan here was to find a decent location on the strip where it would allow a bargain taxi to Rio.  Of course my retarded self figured that it didn’t look that far (a common Vegas error) so decided to walk it.  Granted, it really wasn’t THAT far, but in the heat, I quickly began hurting in the brain and wetting in the pits…I was able to see several homeless folks around the freeway entrances though, which was a bonus.

Anyway, I made it, finally, and headed inside in search of a beverage.  I quite liked the Rio.  It was big, and had scantily clad cocktail waitresses.  However none of the tables really appealed.  Maybe it was the long walk or something, but I just wasn’t into it.  I did wander round and appreciate what was going on, but did not play.  I had a brief chat with the Rapid Roulette lady, then admired as one of the cocktail waitresses ascended to a platform and danced all hot and shit.  I then headed over the road to the Palms which was ok… Obviously the main attraction here is the Playboy casino, but I was devastated to see that it does not open until 8pm.  It was highly unlikely that I would be there till then, so again I just had a look around, searching for a decent looking table, but having no success.  So, I finally made it to these places, but turned a bit douchey and just walked away.  I figured a quick moment to regroup would do me some good, so caught a cab with a suicidal driver (let’s just say cabbies are not getting much work this week…) back to Hooters. 

I was on my way to my room when I noticed the lonely looking craps table.  This had been another thing I had to do while here, so I went up to the friendly gents, pointed out my amateur status and we got started.  For the record, I have less luck at craps than I do with anything else.  Wow.  The were great at explaining how it was supposed to work and helping me place bets to better my chances, without putting too much down.  It seems to be the kinda game where you can win fast, or lose faster.  I did the latter.  Had a couple of small wins, but down $50 within a few minutes, I took my remaining cash to the single deck blackjack that I got into a bit the night before.  Finally, some success!  Not much, and I was feeling it so should have stuck around to test my luck, but after I won back the craps losses I came up here, to write this. 

Two things to finish this post:  I expect to soon head over to the MGM for a final play and some decent thanksgiving feast.  Had it recommended by the depressed cabbie, so I’m sure it will be good.  Tonight I expect to be quiet as I gotta get up early for travel all day tomorrow! 

And to finish, a quote!  Obviously these things became famous from our last trip, but unfortunately this has not been able to happen this time around due to me having no one to say funny things to.  But I did overhear a bunch of stuff on my journeys, a lot of which was humorous.  Unfortunately for some reason or another I have not been able to remember them, but this one is still fresh; brief and maybe not that funny, but fresh.  Some American kid to his mom, looking at the water features (primarily waterfalls) at the Mirage: “how do they make the water go down?”  Clearly, the concept of gravity has yet to make it to the States… All right, I’m done for now.  Need more beer…

Busy day… Didn’t quite get through all I had intended to accomplish, but I have today to finish those things off.  As it is, this is how yesterday played out:

I headed south to the outlet mall yesterday morning.   This thing was massive, and so I set about making some purchases.  Turns out I must have thought I had been winning on the tables, as I spent a shitload.  The inner woman in me bought 4 pairs of shoes, 2 belts, 6 pairs of socks, a jersey, 4 fragrances (not all for me), 2 tees (more on this shortly), and a new suitcase to carry it all home in… Things are cheap, what can I say?

So I won’t go into too much detail about the place, except figured I would mention the tee purchase as I was a little uncomfortable.  It didn’t occur to me until I was actually completing the transaction that maybe the brand of the store I was in was uh, primarily aimed at dark folk.  The music should’ve been a hint, but I was apparently oblivious.  The dude at the counter did kinda look at me funny, but I was sure I had seen the brand around before, and that it was skate related.  That could account for the blaring hip hop too, but I will need to check their website to confirm just how retarded I will look when wearing these things.  They’re cool looking shirts, so I dunno… Anyway, when I got home and tried them on they are ridiculously oversized, thus supporting my theory of darkness.  I got mediums to be safe, but since being here I have bought 4 medium tees and they each vary greatly in size, so I am relying on the drier to help out a little here…

I’m sure that wasn’t interesting for anyone, but it’s what I had to say about shopping.  So after I ate at a pizza place in one of the food courts, I caught a cab back to the Hotel.  At this point I realised I had been then for over 4 hours… sick I tell ya… But with plenty to do, I quickly tried on a bunch of stuff, then headed out to try and make downtown prior to the basketball.  Traffic was a bitch, so it was costly, but definitely worth it.  This is where the classics are along the Freemont Experience:  4 Queens, Golden Nugget, Plaza, Fremont… Very impressive.  Before the mega complexes along the strip were built, this was the home of gambling.  And everything is neatly compacted into a highly accessible row of buildings.  No 10 minute walks between casinos!  And heading down toward the Plaza (where you have the infamous neon of the cowboy dude and chick) there are a bunch of strip clubs too.  Unfortunately I just didn’t have time… It’s a very different scene and table limits are considerably lower for the most part.  It is aimed at the old school players, and seemed to be doing a good job.  It was packed… I stopped for a few spins of roulette at the Plaza and had a little success but not enough to make up for earlier losses.  Got some pretty cool pics too so will have to post those some time…

By this stage it was getting on a bit so figured I should make that move to Thomas & Mack.  Again, it’s quite a cab ride, but I get there with plenty of time to spare so I pick up my ticket, grab a beer and purchase a UNLV tee to show my allegiance for the evening.  Without having a particular college fave, I figured I may as well make it UNLV going forward too, now that I have been to a game (and love Vegas).  Unfortunately for them it didn’t go so well… they hung in there for 3 quarters, but in then end lost by 20 odd I think.  Louisville is a good team though, so I imagine they won’t be too discouraged.  There was a lot of animosity between UNLV fans and Louisville coach, Rick Pitino.  I hadn’t realised the history here but a dude behind me kindly explained why that was.  It was pretty cool when he was introduced and the stadium went nuts.  The other impressive thing was the student section where they obviously try to contain all the drunkards.  This was where the chants were loudest, and simple but highly effective arm motions were most commonly executed.  Can’t explain here, but it looked cool… Oh and of course the cheerleaders were great…

But, as previously mentioned, they lost… I was aware that the Hard Rock was reasonably nearby so after getting my bearings, I headed there.  It was about a 10 minute stroll through hip hop blaring traffic.  One particular vehicle chose to play the soundtrack to an adult film I believe, and by the sounds of it, the poor girl involved was being viciously attacked.  It was funny though…

Anyway, the Hard Rock was as cool as ever.  The great thing is how they play fantastic music while you gamble!  So of course I continued the theme of the day with some roulette while chatting with the delightful (read: hot) table supervisor, Sam.  I didn’t stick around for too long as I was getting cold and hungry so again returned to home base for some cheese sticks and clam chowder (how American of me).  It was getting on a bit, but decided to try my luck on the single deck blackjack offering.  This was a lot of fun, and I sustained my money for some time until they had a dealer change and I was promptly wiped out.  Ugh.  So I decided against heading to the Palms that night, and called it a day.

And now, it’s Thanksgiving!  I gave thanks to my dick first thing, then wrote this bad boy.  The Turkey Day football is on too, but I will soon get up and shower, then think I will walk to the Wynn.  I will likely write one more post tonight before it’s home time (!!) tomorrow.  Gotta catch I think an 11 o’clock flight to San Fran before the long one home… sigh… oh well, will touch base (among other things) later…

Vegas Baby!!  Oh it’s good to be back… although I wish I had attempted to write this last night when it was fresh in my mind as, despite being by my lonesome, it seemed to be an eventful (but brief) night…  On with the detail:

The flight from Seattle was good.  As soon as we left the northwest the weather miraculously cleared up, but not before offering spectacular views of Mt St Helens and others I forget the names of.  Such a flat country… such cheap call rates (sorry, inside joke)…  A few bumps along the way, but we made good time and I was becoming rather giddy as we approached McCarren.  Flying in, the buildings look spectacular, as you may notice from the photos.  I charged through the airport and caught a cab to Hooters!  I checked in and headed up to my room which, despite my expectations, is actually kinda nice.  Old, but nice…  I’m up on 17, with cool views out to New York New York, The Luxor, and Mandalay Bay; as well as adjacent Casinos Tropicana and the MGM Grand.  Good times.

Oh, I forgot to mention too, so damn hot here!  Coming from Seattle where it rained on and off the whole time and was exceptionally cold, this has been a godsend.  Cloud count to this point is a cozy zero, and as I walked south towards the sign yesterday I was sweating ridiculously.  On that note, I successfully made it to the sign!  We hadn’t previously done that, so it was semi rewarding, although I suspect the novelty of this has worn off for most.  It is a long walk from any of the casinos, and is situated in the middle of the strip.  But there are no lights or anything to allow people to get across to see it, so you just kinda run between the cars over 3 lanes of traffic.  Oh well, I made it, got some photos (including a gentleman who was obviously posing for some limousine ad) then made the stroll back. 

I chose to bypass playing at the Mandalay Bay and went in for my first gamble since ages ago at the mighty Luxor, where I  had previously not.  It was ok, but the dealers were kinda crabby.  Well the first at least, so I took my money elsewhere.  Faired a little better there, then decided to carry on.  It’s ok in there, but nothing spectacular.  Well, compared to the outside anyway.  I continued through Excalibur and New York New York without stopping, then on to play a little more at Monte Carlo.  I managed to prolong my stay for a couple hours, but overall Vegas was getting up on me, and a Russian dude at the table was making me nervous.  I decided at this point to return to sample the local tables at hooters.  Again, some good play, and I did everything right, but the cards just weren’t coming my way.  Had some good people at the table though and the feel was all right so realistically (I have convinced myself) I was just paying for some entertainment.

But after that showing it was off to find more places to play.  I went to the MGM for a bit, saw the lions, Centrifuge, and took my seat at supposedly a hot table.  Unfortunately I scared the other player away kinda quickly, but was joined shortly by a good group.  We had some good runs, until some butt munch came and sat to my right (I was on the end).  He complained to me that he was down 7k which made me feel much better about my situation, but then the first two hands he took (essentially, my hands) went: A,A, so split, and BJ, BJ; followed by 7,4 playing a 7, and of course he doubled for 21.  Ahhh!!  I freaked out a bit and walked away.  A little drunk by now, I stumbled around the unfamiliar Planet Hollywood Casino which was Aladdin previously.  It was very cool in there, but all lower tables were full so I did just walk around.  I then went to Paris, and caught the water show outside the Bellagio.  As impressive as always; I got some good photos if I do say so myself.  I then went in to play a few hands with Tommy from Hong Kong.  It was during the next half hour as Tommy completely butt fucked me that I realised I should slow just how much I was contributing to Vegas.  He annihilated me, consistently drawing 10’s as I think 90% of my hands were 12-15.  Ugh. 

So again I left depleted, and went up to Caesars for a looky.  I managed to not take a seat, but walked for a while and decided it might be time to eat.  Looking for familiar ground, I went back to Hooters, took a seat at the bar, and began playing the electronic 25c blackjack.  The bar girl was obviously lovely and we had some good chats.  She made a straw-choco-nana (I just named it that) smoothie for herself which I tried and promptly spilt all over myself.  I was, of course, back on the beers as well, and sampled a tasty bleu cheese burger.  Unfortunately at this time I was approached by a German dude who was also in Vegas by himself.  At first the concept seemed interesting as we could hang out, get drunk, and have freaky German anal sex, but this guy was a total douche.  He kept going on about how much he didn’t like Vegas, and as I became drunker and less tolerant of his bullshit I started snapping at him a bit.  Seriously, what an asshole.  He also continuously brought up the fact that American beer was shit, and that he had to keep requesting a lemon to suck on between swigs.  I suspected lovely Hooters girl wasn’t a fan either so we started exchanging looks of “when the fuck is this guy gonna leave?!”

Turned out he really wasn’t.  So I took it upon myself to promptly down the rest of my beer, cash out what was left of the money I put in the bar machine, and run away.  I tipped well, and headed upstairs via the Hooters store.

It was kinda early I admit, but I wasn’t gonna play anymore and was feeling well tipsy so called it a night.  Had a decent sleep (must highly commend Hooters on their pillow choice – very nice) then awoke to write this.   Have a fair bit to get through today: heading to the outlet mall as soon as I have cleaned myself, then plan on going to the downtown casinos.  Tonight I am going to a college basketball game at Thomas & Mack (UNLV vs. Louisville), and while in the vicinity may pop into the Hard Rock.  And assuming things are going well, will cross the strip to the Rio and Palms (Playboy casino!).  Good times…

Then, Thanksgiving tomorrow! 

I’m not yet in Vegas, but I happened to have a spare hour or so prior to boarding.  That’s right!  Only an hour!  I’m getting good at this… Enough time to make good use of, but streamline enough to avoid boredom and drinking too much at the bar…

I woke bright and early today.  Had asked Joni to wake me up around 6, but my exceptional body clock beat her to it.  Oh wait, I first need to discuss yesterday… my bad…

I went for a walk along Alki beach which is one of those beaches that isn’t quite like home.  We have beaches.  They have coastline.  It was pretty enough, with cool views to the city and whatnot, but yeah, lacking in some regards (like sand, and warmth…)  Although this could change is summer.  I spent a fair bit of time acquainting myself with the area, stopped for coffee and a perv at Starbucks, then caught the bus into town.  I needed to make sure I got the photos that I had forgotten to take previously so headed back to the market, and then figured I would just walk until I found something of interest.  As it turned out, I kept running into places that we had visited last year, so decided a trip down memory lane couldn’t hurt. 

Got a couple of snaps (mainly for SS and SDC’s benefit) of bars such as Amber (birthplace of Guggenhymen), Del Rey (meeting place of lovely Joni), and random things like the hotel we stayed in: still as seedy as ever… It appeared that I was getting rather into this walking thing, so decided a stop by our old fave on Lake Union might be nice… There is a lot of development going on in Seattle so finding ones way around is no easy feat, but within a wee while I arrived at Hooters.  I didn’t want to overdo it as my next days in Vegas will be spent doing a lot of the same, but had a few beers and some wings while watching college basketball.  I then proceeded back downtown to once again take the photos I had forgotten (I suck at this) and finally got a couple of good shots of the market sign…

Joni was to work till 7, so I still had a couple of hours to kill.  I stopped by her work which is an upper class men’s barber shop.  Very nice indeed with plasmas in the waiting room, big leather loungers, and a reading variety to rival a Library (of magazines at least, with some leather bound books thrown in for good measure… smelt of rich mahogany?).  She tells me that she has lined up a very good friend of hers to give me a cut throat shave, but will have to come back in an hour when others have left the shop.  I took a quick walk up to the public library which is rather bizarre – mostly in the architectural sense.  Tried to use the net, but apparently one must be a member… so after ascending to the 10^th floor, I headed back to Joni’s.  Caught some of the MNF game, then went about having my neck sliced by the delightful redhead Ashley.  Ashley was pretty hot, in the alternative, funky, nice boobs mould (I told her this) and she decided to join us for dinner. 

The three of us went up to Capitol Hill to a French restaurant called Presse, downed a couple of wines, and chowed on some French delicacies.  It was to be an early night however, because of the early flight…  Dylan came and picked us up and we stopped by the Safeway so that I could grab the lollipops and Twinkies I had promised folks back home.  They appear to have added some weight to my luggage though, so I may need to look at obtaining a second bag for the shopping I intend to do in Vegas.  I got to sleep around 11, before the aforementioned waking at 6. 

I called a cab and came, well, here… SeaTac.  The cab driver was a nice guy from Lebanon (I grossly over tipped, I think?) who was listening to some interview on the radio with a Muslim peace spreader guy.  We got to talking about the trouble Arabs have while travelling, 9/11, and the upcoming presidential election.  I checked in, did something stupid through security (had my laptop and jacket in the same tray!!  So badass…) then came and sat here.  Half an hour till boarding, then Vegas baby!

People cannot seem to understand the fact that I am Vegasing on my own, and I appreciate their concerns, but this time the goal is to see a lot more than we previously did when we were drunk for 4 days.  Obviously with a few hands of blackjack thrown in for good measure.  Despite my excitement, Seattle completely exceeded my expectations.  Joni was great, albeit a little crazy, but I guess that comes with being American?  I could go into details, but told her I wouldn’t…

Regardless, I would like to thank her for her outstanding host work (for lack of a better word?) as it has been really great.  Anyway, next stop, Vegas!

Saturday night was pretty outstanding… After Joni determined her allegiance to do something fun for me as opposed to attend a friend’s birthday (which really would have sucked) we headed downtown to the Pink Door: a restaurant in Post Alley.  The place was pretty full already so we decided to just take a seat at the bar and wait for another friend to show up.  Joni knew the bartender (as she tends to do) and he recommended a wine to accompany the upcoming entertainment.  The place became a little more full leading up to 11 when the show was scheduled to kick off. Joni’s friend Alina (who was one of the people I had met on the previous journey, but don’t entirely recall…) showed up and we were entertained by the alternative stylings of Ultima (or something): a fantastically funny dude (chick?) lip-sinking to not so masculine songs.  He (she?) wasn’t all that straight, but very funny.  As became a theme of the event, his (her?) clothes didn’t stay on so long but I am thankfully very comfortable with my sexuality… He (she?) was followed by an impressive opera duo (names?), Miss Shanghai (boobies!), and Eva (more boobies!).  Each act completed another performance after a short break, highlighted by Ultima’s hilarious yelling (well miming to a song) into a cell phone that was themed around a dude arguing with his girlfriend.  Actually all the second acts for each were pretty awesome – Miss Shanghai stripped out of a pink gorilla costume too.  Huh.

So the show ended and we were chatting with the artists.  All good folks and generally uh, flamboyant.  One of their assistant chaps was kinda into me, and Joni and Alina weren’t helping the situation, but as it was like 1am at this stage we figured it was time to depart.  We dropped Alina over by Lake Union so I at least got to see the Hooters that we appreciated so dearly last year, then came home to crash.  By this stage I was kinda drunk.  Turns out we went through a fair amount of wine while watching the show, but since we had to get up early for the game, I crashed out.

I was awoken by Joni around 8:30, and we quickly got ready to catch a bus downtown.  We were meeting her sister’s boyfriend for a spot of tailgating before the game.  The concept has been described in this space previously, but to recap, it’s like the pre game party where a bunch of fans park up and get hammered and cook barbeques.  But it’s more than that ya know?  It’s the epitome of football culture, and I was honoured to be a part of it.  Granted it was a little different than Oakland tailgating (less hip hop, more metal) but the Seahawks fans are also very passionate.  All the guys there were really cool.  Very accepting of my foreignness and passion for American sports.  In fact, I was really relying on that a little, but as it turned out I knew more about football / basketball that the majority of them.  I guess maybe when you’re so caught up with supporting your own team you don’t pay enough attention to others.  But for me from afar, I have taken the time to learn a wider range of trivia… One guy there who was another outsider had come over from South Africa to visit family and in turn, come along to the game.  He was actually from Portland and we got to talking about the Blazers 4^th quarter collapse in the 2000 conference finals which handed the Lakers the first of their 3 consecutive titles.  I hadn’t realised just how much this had impacted on people, but it is absolutely seen as the point where Portland basketball became doomed.  It was this guys high school prom weekend, and the expectation was so high for that, along with heading up to a cabin afterwards for a massive party while celebrating making the finals… well, as some may know (SDC at least) the Lakers came back from 15 down in the 4^th, and won… huh.  I did kinda feel for the guy, but deep down was kinda stoked about the situation. 

Anyway, we got through a fair few beers in a few short hours, then walked do to Qwest field.  This thing is awesome.  SDC had previously mentioned that it was one of the loudest outdoor stadiums and I’m inclined to agree.  I was beaming as we were walking up the ramps to our seats to the drunken roar of “SEA-HAAAAWWKS!!”  It was cool…  We took our seats that were a little pricey, but it was still worth it.  The flag raising ceremony was just along from where we were, and the honorary raisers were Matt Cameron from Pearl Jam, and some chap from STP’s.  Awesome!  The game then played out (I won’t go into too much detail here; check out the recap on espn.com or something…) with the Hawks picking up a good win over the defending NFC champs.  Unfortunately Rex Grossman actually had a pretty good game, so couldn’t give him that much shit really…

By this stage Joni was pretty wasted.  Like, she kept falling off the seats and spilling beer everywhere.  Pretty funny stuff really.  I think she spent most of the second half seated next to me while I was getting into it more and more, standing on the seats and screaming “SEAHAWKS!!” rather frequently.   After the game we said goodbye to my new Seattle friends and caught a cab home.  Joni made with the spew, then Dylan came round and we sat down with a few beers and an oversized pizza, and watched the Pats move to 10-0.  After a long day everyone kinda passed out at an early hour.  

This night was my worst sleep so far (ah, the title of the post!)  I was waking up every hour requiring replenishment and apparently some uh, happy time.  I had yet to sort that out on the trip, so was starting to become delusional and a little neurotic.  Had some bizarre dreams involving people I hadn’t seen in quite some time, and some who I had yet to meet, but would definitely not be against the idea – if you know what I mean? 

Oh well, eventually it was 8am, and I got up when Dylan left for work.  Joni did the same shortly afterwards so I’m just kinda chilling at her place at the mo.  It’s typical Seattle weather out, so I’m struggling to become motivated to go out.  But have just had a shower, and may soon walk down to the nearby Alki beach.  Apparently it’s a bit of a cafe scene which sounds like a bit of me for today.  I also will likely head into town a little later, take the photos I forgot to previously, and go into Joni’s work for some male grooming… Tonight will be quiet, as I have an early flight to Vegas tomorrow.  I must say though, this has been an outstanding trip already.  Pricey for sure, but this time round have seen a lot more of the things that define Seattle.  Not just the touristy stuff, but the more unknown cultural type things.  Love this city – really do…

Next post should be from Vegas, so stay tuned…

Right, so sober now, and just read what I had written in last night’s stupor… ugh… I apologise for that.  But decided to post it as it is… however I may show the drunken version as well as the edited one… huh.

So, on with the show…

I just need to fill in some gaps from above… I didn’t really explain that first weird plane chick so well, but I guess what I was trying to get at was that she was being a real biarch to some people on the plane, the karma came and slammed her with a mystery illness that was rather dramatic.  There was also another weird one next to me who was heading to Finland, from San Fran, through Seattle?  Apparently they fly direct to Copenhagen?  So many ?’s? I thought it was weird anyway, and she obviously didn’t want to talk to me so I left her to it.  I met Joni at the airport, and we headed to her place which is an awesome old fashioned place in West Seattle.  We grabbed a couple of beers, before catching a cab into town for the show.  Unfortunately Joni wasn’t feeling so well afterwards (strong JD’s beforehand…) so we dropped her off, and I went with Dylan (her man) to Jack in the Box for a taste of America’s finest. 

I slept ok that first night.  Really needed it, but was still up kinda early.  Like, on NZ time, but US time… We went to a funky place called Easy Street Records for breakfast which was where Ben Harper had been the previous day. They had this really cool billboard of him up on the wall too, and we were served by the chick who had taken his order.  Made her day by informing her that he gave her a shout out at the show…

I made a couple of purchases, then we went downtown to Seattle Center and to the EMP.  That was also very cool; funky exhibits of musicy things, and even places where you can try out a bunch of instruments.  Obviously being the home of grunge, there were plenty of tributes to the likes of Pearl Jam, Soundgarden and Nirvana, including hand written lyrics by Chris (!!)  Joni showed off her outstanding rapping skills, before we returned home to plan out the rest of the evening.  In the end, we went with Joni’s roommate Cate and her boyfriend Rod downtown to a restaurant called Barsa for cocktails and appetizers, then to a fancy pizza place called something pie… went through plenty of wine there, then came home to write the stunning piece of literature above.

Today I slept in a bit.  Awoke feeling a little hazy, but didn’t want to waste the day so made the effort to actually get up.  Joni kindly went and got us bagels and coffee while I showered, and we hung out watching football and chowing.  We headed into town around midday, and walked through the Art Museum which was rather impressive actually… nothing really stood out as exceptional, but it was a lot of fun.  We then did the Pikes Place thing… walked around the market, made a couple of purchases and had lunch at the longest serving Pikes place resident – Three Girls Bakery.  Again, great food… We came home via a supermarket type thing, although it was a little different in that it was really quite flash with places to stop and enjoy your purchases should you wish.  Grabbed some essentials for Joni to prepare my food with (yeah, that’s right) and am now having a couple beers, watching various college football / basketball, preparing tonight’s events – plan being to go to a Burlesque show down at the Pink Door.  There are just so many funky things to do around here.  I guess it’s that kind of city.  Heaps of live music and performances, so it’s kinda hard to choose, but reckon we’re sorted for tonight. 

Got an early start tomorrow as we are going tailgating before the Seahawks game.  Gonna be a write off I suspect… So will depart for now, and let you know how that goes when I finally become sober – Monday.

(Editor’s note: the following section was written while intoxicated… I have posted it as I originally wrote it (italics), and also the edited version (not italics?).  I thought it was kinda funny…  The content remains the same, so kinda average, but I fixed the spelling in the edited version…)

I’m kinda drunk…

So, I made it to Seattle… bu there is not sdo much easy internet access… so this is gonne be well delayed, but hopefully well ntyerwsting? Although as I wrote this i have noticed I can’t type at all, so am veryu much relying onn f7…

So, the flight to Seattle e=was good… however some weird people were met.  The plane was paxcked, and the one person that stood out wwas some chick who weas bitching about the lack of storage sp0ace… in my drunken state (for got to mention that I sopent soe time after wringt the earlier enr=tyr a t the SFO bar… mniothign  important, beu, beer…) I had to get up early to pee, and whenI left the bathroom there was earlier moaning chick complaining about he illness… so I went and told the hostess lady adn the issue seemed to be dealt with… although 5 minutes later they were calling for a media=cal professiona over the intercom, but by that stage I was craking tool on my pod, and reading my way thru another Michael Connelly novel which is going rather well…

I’m glad I will edit this nbefrore opstng…

So, seattle… awesome…

Joni who I’m staying with is much hotter than I remember… she has it goin on… but she is also lucvky enough to have a man in her klife which is aok also.  I mety hom last night; at eh ben harper concernt we attended.. seriously, it was so great… I had been travelling for  GOOD 24 HOURS, BUT WHEN WE GOT THERE, AND SAW Ben, it was outshanding… he is amazing live, and I have seen him f=before, but this was seriosuyl top 5 concerys ever… the paramount thewatre is so beautiful. Easily the best place I have seen a live show… and that really is saying something…

Ok, I’m feeling drunk as so will finsh this later… got caught up with Hawaii beating Nevada in college football… but finish it I will.. when sober… enjoy; mpore to dcome…

I’m kinda drunk…

So, I made it to Seattle… but there is not so much easy internet access… so this is gonna be well delayed, but hopefully well interesting? Although as I wrote this I have noticed I can’t type at all, so am very much relying on f7…

So, the flight to Seattle was good…  However some weird people were met.  The plane was packed, and the one person that stood out was some chick who was bitching about the lack of storage space… In my drunken state (forgot to mention that I spent some time after writing the earlier entry at the SFO bar… nothing  important, but, beer…) I had to get up early to pee, and when I left the bathroom there was earlier moaning chick complaining about her illness… so I went and told the hostess lady and the issue seemed to be dealt with… although 5 minutes later they were calling for a medical professional over the intercom, but by that stage I was cranking tool on my pod, and reading my way through another Michael Connelly novel which is going rather well…

I’m glad I will edit this before posting…

So, Seattle… awesome…

Joni who I’m staying with is much hotter than I remember… she has it goin on… but she is also lucky enough to have a man in her life which is aok also.  I met him last night at the Ben Harper concert we attended…  Seriously, it was so great… I had been travelling for good 24 hours, but when we got there, and saw Ben, it was outstanding… he is amazing live, and I have seen him before, but this was seriously top 5 concerts ever… the Paramount theatre is so beautiful.  Easily the best place I have seen a live show… and that really is saying something…

Ok, I’m feeling drunk as so will finish this later… got caught up with Hawaii beating Nevada in college football… but finish it I will… when sober… enjoy; more to come…