It took a while but I got some snow photos up. I finally got around to uploading stuff to my flickr account, which has been dormant for several years now until today. It took me a while, but I managed to upload a couple of old pictures, a couple of newer pictures, and a bunch of the pictures that we took when the Joels were over earlier this month. Check them out here.

Anyways, before anything else, here are some photos that I had been meaning to put up for a while now:

Here’s a photo of the snow the other week taken from inside of the car. I never thought I’d see snow on palm trees before. And here’s another of us the night before Joel U’s birthday. I don’t remember much after that, though. Joel U that same night being a hero. Joel C and I were passed out a few hours into the night but he was up until the end. Now there’s a guy that can hold his liquor. …Not sure what’s going on in this photo, but I thought it was cool anyway. Anyway, that’s all for now. Happy New Year, everyone! Not sure what we’re doing tonight, but we’ll figure it out…

The new Encore Casino next to the Wynn opened about a week ago and we checked it out this past weekend. Don’t worry Joels, you didn’t really miss much. If you just dropped me there and told me I was in the Wynn, I would have believed you. It pretty much looks the same, but smaller, and with people wearing sashes that say “GREETER” on them.

I played slots and lots 40 bucks there. I should have used that money for this week’s groceries instead. Thanks for nothing, jerks!

We checked out the local library yesterday. The nearest branch is a 5 minute drive away. It’s been a while since either of us have picked up a book, and it was nice to do so again. Kerri signed up for a card online right before we left the house and picked it up when we got there. (I’ll have to wait until I have a Nevada ID before I can get one).

The library’s all self-serve there. You scan your library card, scan your own books, and demagnetize everything before walking out. There are people at the counter to help you if you get stuck, though. You can even reserve books online, and they’re sitting on a shelf for you to pick up when you get there. I picked up Pattern Recognition by William Gibson yesterday and finished it this morning, so we went back today and just finished reading Buy-ology tonight (a marketing book that I heard about through one of the consumer-ism websites I subscribe to).

The last time I picked up a book was at the airport last month. Before that, I think it was back in high school. I didn’t know Piers Anthony was still writing those Xanth novels, and I’m going to catch up on them. Kinda makes me feel like a kid again.

Christmas in Las Vegas came and went. Kerri had the day off yesterday, so we went downtown to fight the mild homesickness that came from being away from family during the holidays.

At the Cal, we were surrounded by a bunch of people who looked like our friends’ grandparents and who, while they were burning through their grandkids’ inheritance, were all really happy to be on vacation, and really talkative. We also ate Zippy’s Chili at the snackbar.

For dinner, we went back to the strip to watch a Motown Review show called Hitzville, over by Planet Hollywood. The music was good fun, and they served us a pretty awesome dinner. I ate black eyed peas for the first time. And found out that collard greens is the same kind of vegetable that my mom cooked once or twice, but with sesame oil and fish sauce.

It was a nice Christmas. And today’s the day after. I woke up drained from the previous day but Joel sent me a youtube link this morning to brighten my spirits. It’d be selfish of me to not pass it on to you.

Enjoy yourselves, but be careful:

The snow is still falling wtf?!

So I’m watching local news right now. Apparently, it’s been about 30 years since it’s snowed like this. They were showing video of tourists taking pictures of the “Welcome to Vegas” sign, all covered in white. The Luxor pyramid and sphynx, and the rest of the strip are also covered in a layer of snow. There are about four inches on our front steps.

Get this - the inside of the fridge almost felt warmer than the rest of the house. It’s too cold to drink beer! Help!!!

We’re back in Vegas. And it’s snowing outside. When the Joel’s were leaving for home last week, they said that they’d bring sunshine back to Hawaii. It looks like they stole it from Vegas!

Unfortunately, I don’t have the camera right now. I’ll try to get some pictures later. Kerri called from work and said that it’s snowing on the strip, too - just that there’s no snow on the ground like there is here. It’s going to be a weird Christmas this year - you know, with everything covered in white and all…