What Happens in Vegas...

I've been dying to blog for a couple of days now. See, I went back to Las Vegas this weekend, but since my sister went off to college, my dad decided to cut back on services of which he makes no use. Read: cable television and the internet. So, for nearly three days I was unable to check my e-mail, read ESPN.com, or write for my thousands of fans out there in blogland. Well, I'm back now, with a full update on my time in my city, Sin City.

Saturday

So, I decided the last time that I took Greyhound that I was never going to take it again. Well, this weekend, I proved to be quite the liar. It's just that for someone who doesn't plan weekend trips like this three weeks in advance, Greyhound is just so cheap. Anyway, I got to the bus station on time, and got on a pretty empty bus. Normally the buses are pretty cramped and I usually get stuck next to someone who tries to sleep on me or smells bad, but that morning, my backpack was able to freely occupy the space next to me.

So, I'm sitting there, wearing my headphones, listening to The Shins, trying to make up for the sleep I missed the night before, when this lady across from me pokes me and starts trying to talk to me! I don't get it. My eyes are closed, my music is playing, and I'm in the fetal position with the backpack cuddled in my arms, and she just strikes up a conversation. Now, normally, I'm all for talking, but I just really wasn't in the mood that morning. Anyway, after chatting for a little, I fall off to sleep, only to be awoken like 45 minutes later by a finger jabbing me between my shoulder blades from a guy wanting to know the time. Then, the lady, seeing that I was awake, started talking to me again. Haha, needless to say, the much-needed sleep that I sought was not bestowed upon me.

So, I roll up into Las Vegas at like 4:15, with my dad waiting. My dad is always happy to see me, but it just seemed that this time, he was especially happy to see me. I don't know exactly why, but it might have to do with the fact that he hasn't seen his children since late August. Anyway, we then went home and watched the Ohio State/Michigan football game that my dad taped that afternoon.

It was nice, just me and my dad, watching the game. He was rooting for Ohio State - his alma mater - to win in order to prevent Michigan from getting to the Rose Bowl. Personally, I really didn't care who won, but kinda wanted to see the Wolverines actually win so that their season meant something. Ohio State had no chance of anything great this year, but Michigan did, so I wanted to see them prevail and go on to making their season matter. Then, I realized I'd probably feel the same way he did if USC had a crappy season and was playing a great UCLA team...but then realized I didn't have to worry because a situation like that would never happen!! HA HA HA HA. Ok, sorry, back to the story.

So, I rooted for OSU along with my dad and I'm glad I did. The Buckeyes made the Wolverines look like crap, as OSU dominated every imaginable stat in the books. It was a great game and made my dad extremely happy, until he found out that Wisconsin lost to Iowa, thus giving Michigan the invitation to the Rose Bowl. Oh well, as least his team got satisfaction in beating their rival.

When my dad went to sleep, I played some of these brain teaser games that we've had on our computer for years. I know that makes me sound like a big nerd, but well, you should already know that's who I am. The first series of games are under the "Smart Games" brand, and the second series is under the "Dr. Brain" brand. I've got three volumes for each one, and I didn't get to solve all of the puzzles, so I decided to take them back to USC so that I can enjoy them the rest of the semester.

After that, I decided to go for a drive. I like to go driving and listening to music late in the night whenever I go home. I don't really care what station the radio is on, but it's usually a really cheesy easy listening station that takes requests from lovers. John Tesh has a really good syndicated program every night where he gives tidbits of random information between songs instead of talking to callers who want to dedicate X song to Y person. John Tesh isn't the most exciting of people, I admit, but the health and happiness tips are fun and the music is generally pretty eclectic, so I usually listen to that.

Anyway, Las Vegas has a really awesome freeway loop that surrounds the city, in addition to the two main highways that form an X through the center of the city. Think of the logo from X-Men and you'll get the general idea. While driving I think about things that are going on in my life and turn the music up really loud and sing even louder. I've actually become quite good at mimicking whatever voice sings the song that comes on. After driving the freeway system for a couple hours, I realized that I'd driven nearly 130 miles and that I needed to fill my dad's gas tank back up to full before he got up for work. I got home just in time - my dad leaves for work at 2:00 am - and then went to sleep.

Sunday

I was supposed to get up by noon so that my dad and I could get lunch and then catch a two o'clock showing of The Incredibles, but I ended up sleeping over 11 hours and woke at 1:20. Haha, it didn't matter though, cause my dad was still asleep from a nap he took after getting home from work. After showering, we went to Chili's and a had a nice chat over sandwiches, his treat. It was really cute; we shared stories about our work, talked about sports, and gossiped about girls, among other things. It's really amazing how much two men over thirty years in age difference have in common.

We then hit up the theater for the 4 o'clock show, my treat, and although my dad didn't enjoy the movie as much as I thought he would, he thought it was good nonetheless. We went back home and talked for a bit more before he headed to bed. I sat around and decided that there was nothing good on network television, so I went for another drive. It was raining on Sunday, so I decided to practice my stunt driving. I went to this extremely large parking lot near my house that is absent of light poles or those concrete parking space dividers, and practiced 180 degree turns, fishtails, and fun skids in general. It was quite the adrenaline rush in the slick conditions, especially since my dad is in need of new tires. After that, I hit up the freeway for about an hour and then gave my mom a call.

She works graveyard at the University Medical Center Hospital. I knew that the hospital is pretty lifeless late at night so I asked her if it would be cool if I came down and watched her work for a little while. I've been to my dad's places of work before, but never my mom's, so I thought it'd be fun visit. She said it would make her night since she had just been in an argument with her boss, so I headed down to the One South wing to see her in action.

As I walked down the winding corridors that eventually led to her section of the hospital, I realized that hospitals are just like they are in the movies. I'd never really wandered in a hospital before, since I had only ever been to the emergency room before, but it's really quite a sterile and creepy place, especially on such a dark and stormy night. I walked for what seemed like forever down these very wide, white hallways with very low ceilings without seeing a soul or hearing a sound. There were lots of doors that had 'Restricted Access' or 'Do Not Enter' painted in bold red on them, adding to the feeling that I was completely alone.

Anyway, I finally found my mom, who gave me one of those great big hugs only moms know how to give. After introducing me to some of her nurse co-workers and one of her 'patients' nicknamed "Papa", she gave me a tour of the place. We talked for quite a while while walking around the hospital and after buttering up the boss she got into a fight with, I returned home.

By then the rain had stopped, and the air was so clean and crisp that only an evening rain can bring, that I decided to take a walk. I walked around my neighborhood and visited the park that I used to play football and climb trees at when I was a kid and walked by the houses where my friends used to live. It was actually quite nostalgic, thereby making me a little sad. I made a phone call which brought my spirits back up and returned home to call it a night. One Postal Service CD later, I was asleep by 3:00am.

Monday

I woke up when my dad left for work so I could say goodbye to him, and then woke up again an hour later when my mom called me at 7:45 to tell me that she was on her way over to pick me up for breakfast. I threw on a hat and packed my stuff, excited for a delicious breakfast at IHOP.

The conversation with my mom was lovely, although I talked about a lot of the things that I was saving for breakfast when I visited her at work. It didn't matter though, because we didn't run out of things to talk about....we never do. My mom and I have become more like friends these past few years. Maybe it's because I've gotten older and see her as more of an equal rather than an authority figure, but it's nice nonetheless. After ordering something to go to deliver to her husband for breakfast, we went to the grocery store to pick up a few things, including a bottle of wine that I'm bringing to my grandma and grandpa's house for Thanksgiving. She then drove me to the bus station for my 10:30 departure time, and we said our good-byes.

The bus back was extremely packed and was a lengthy eight-hour ride. I-15 was closed at a couple of points, so we had to go way out of the way on this crappy one-lane highway in order to avoid the snowed-in areas. I sat next to this Mexican guy in his late 20's who slept most of the way, but didn't seem to notice that there was someone next to him. He had these massively muscular arms which he kept to his sides the entire time, forcing me to scrunch over the arm rest and out in the center aisle. I got a little sleep, and ended up striking a conversation with him about this weekend's football game against the Irish and how Oscar de la Hoya needs to retire from boxing.

After reaching Union Station, I grabbed the subway and then the local 81 bus home, and then met up with a camper from the Summer Seminars for dinner. She came to LA all the way from Kansas to interview with USC for admittance into the school. After showing her and her friend the row, I - well, Campus Cruiser - took the three of us back to the Radisson where we said our goodbyes for the night. I then headed to my friend Amy's place to deliver to her the Notre Dame and UCLA tickets she got for herself and her friends, since she was leaving for Thanksgiving on Tuesday morning. We hadn't seen each other in a while, and had a nice chat until about 11:30, at which point I went home and unpacked my stuff, officially ending the weekend and this post.