My friend texts me early this morning. He’s in some random hotel room on the strip. He partied kind of hard last night, his car’s still at home, and he needs to get out of there.

Another day in Vegas.

I’m already dressed cause I just got back from the ex’s place. In fact, I JUST got back home, and now I’m driving back out! So I grab my keys, and a bottle of water for my friend.

A few U turns and haphazard cell-phone coordinating later, and I pick up my friend in front of Caesar’s. He’s already holding a bottle of water, and randomly enough, a cup of fruit. We’re on our way back home and see a homeless dude at a traffic light. His sign says “Homeless and Hungry. Please help. God Bless.”

He walks past us and my friend feels bad and wants to give him some fruit, but homeless guy had already walked past us. I tried calling out to him, and my friend hits the horn while I’m leaning out the window. Homeless guy hears it and homeless guy gets fruit.

Then I realize that I just gave a guy something to eat without offering him a drink, so I snatched up the water bottle I brought along and gave it to him too (since my friend already had his own water).

Respect for this homeless guy. His sign said he was actually hungry. This is better than the other ones right on the strip that hold signs saying things like “Why Lie I need a hooker”.

Another day in Vegas. I think California’s going to be a good vacation. Then again, I can’t stand how fake LA is sometimes. This coming from the guy who lives in a town with a replica Eiffel Tower a block away from the replica Statue of Liberty. Good times.

I’m getting out of town for a while and heading out West, maybe for a few days, maybe for a week. I’ll play it by ear. I’ll see if I can check out what First Fridays are like over in LA. It’ll be fun!

…It’ll also be nice to be able to get some decent ramen again. I can’t find a good ramen place here in Vegas. It’s killing me!!!

Until then, everyone! (actually wait I’ll probably bring the laptop with me so if I don’t post again it’s just out of my own laziness.)

So I got something in the mail from The Rio the other day. It was a big post card saying that if I could come in to get two buffet vouchers (their buffet there is pretty huge by the way).

I had to do something weird, though - I had to go to the hotel and contact someone called “The Asian Host” (there was a phone number listed on the post card). I also noticed that the postcard had photos of only asian people on it (playing slots and table games).

So I went to the Rio and called the “Asian Host” who told me they were set up at a bunch of pai gow tables. When I got there, there were a bunch of tables wrapped in yellow, playing weird games I hadn’t seen before in town - like Pai Gow with what looks like domino tiles.

Okay so … I hardly ever go to that casino, and was wondering why I suddenly started getting offers from. Vegas Seven recently had an article about wooing visitors over from China. I also noticed a lot more Chinese New Years decorations around town last month.

So I’m guessing someone just went through the customer list for the Rio and filtered out everyone with Chinese last names. I feel like I just got profiled, but then again I’m also going to be able to pig out this Saturday. I think I remember them having portuguese sausage there. Awwww yeah.

Literally.

So Kerri’s got some friends in town right now and I took them over to the club. We’re drinking AMF’s and having a good time.

Later in the evening, I’m talking with Reid and hanging out. Then the security manager (this really big black dude) comes over, rushes me from the front, and in basically one move, picks me up, moves me about ten feet, and puts me back down.

He starts laughing and said “holy shit that was a lot easier than I thought it would be”

“Dude what did you expect? I’m like a buck twenty!” I also told him my life just had flashed before my eyes, and it was pretty much the most awesome thing ever.

All in good fun - I was talking to him earlier and he told me that Sundays are basically his ‘Friday’ (he’s got Mon/Tues off). So he was probably just excited like how everyone gets on Friday.

What a goof ball! Anyway here’s looking to a great weekend, dude.

I’m sitting in my room right now listening to the radio. “Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me” just finished and I’m listening to “This American Life” right now … today’s episode is about penpals. They’re currently talking about girl named Sarah York, who became a penpal of Manuel Noreiga in 1988, and was eventually invited to visit Panama, all expenses paid.

It’s a crazy story. I love hearing about stuff like this.

I’m also feeling a strange sense of nostalgia. I used to have a number of pen pals back in college. Even though e-mail was getting more and more popular back then, there was something I appreciated about writing a letter, sealing it in an envelope, and sending it out. I even had an old coworker who was down to do that with me. We’d see each other almost every day, but still write actual letters.

It’s been a while since I’ve touched pen to paper for anything more than filling out forms. The other night, Kim was reading through some of my old comics and asked when I’d start drawing again. This stuff was all only about five years ago but it seems like a lifetime ago.

….and of course, going online probably isn’t helping me.

I woke up an hour and a half ago from a bad dream. I dreamed I was Spider Man, and I was in a fight with Wolverine, who began charging at me. I woke up swinging my arm and feeling my heart race.

And now I can’t go back to sleep! I gave up trying after about a half hour of tossing and turning.

I know this sounds pretty weird. I’m not even that big on comic books (any more). I’ve never dreamed that I was frikken Spider Man before.

You know how they say you get nightmares when you eat too pizza? I guess I actually did eat a lot of things I don’t normally eat - Kerri’s mom and one of her friends were in town, so I was driving them around. We ate lunch at the Orleans Casino buffet where I had two huge plates of crawfish, a had a big glass of pepsi (I usually don’t drink soda). Later on Kerri’s mom also bought me a big ice cream cone (I usually don’t eat ice cream). Then I had chilli and rice.

Actually..between the soda and the ice cream, I think I ate about twenty times more sugar than I usually do in a day. I don’t think it was the crawfish.. but at any rate I can’t sleep now, and my thoughts are disjointed and I’m rambling. Battlefield Bad Company 2 to the rescue!!! (ie: I’m going to go play video games until I pass out, which should be right around when the sun is rising)

I went out to the club last night for the first time in nearly a month. Among the fuzzy memories in my head are me asking a bachelorette’s friend why the girl was wearing a crown (and having my glasses taken off my face so she could drunkenly try them on). I also danced with a girl a half foot taller than me who was there with her mom (her mom!).

As messed up as this sounds, half of the reason I even went out in the first place last night was because EA is currently upgrading their servers for Battlefield Bad Company 2, and so I couldn’t stay home and play video games like how I really wanted to. COMON EA, UPGRADE YOUR SEVERS ALREADY!

So right now I’ve got a mild hangover and fuzzy memories. The chicken stock in my crockpot is still going on and it’s smelling better than ever right now….

…I apparently like to go to the library, and then buy even more beer on the way back home.

So I’m at the Liquor Outlet for the first time in my life this afternoon. I bring a case of Miller High Life (the Champagne of Beers!) to the counter. There were two guys there.

Guy1: “I’m going to need to see your ID, obviously..”
Guy2: “Yeah sorry about that, babyface”

Guy1 proceeds to tell me about this guy who’s like, 4′11″ who rides up on a bicycle and looks like a little kid. The first time he carded him, he found out half pint is 32 years old. You don’t easily forget someone like that, so he never carded him again on subsequent visits, but other customers would always ask “Why didn’t you card that boy?!”

So I bought a case of High Life’s at Liquor Outlet, and while doing price comparisons, I stopped at the corner gas station and bought another case of Milwaukee’s Best (aka: “The Beest”, right Evan?). 5.9% alcohol yo! (Oh I bought Best Ice).

And I found out that between the Liquor Outlet and the Gas Station, the Liquor Outlet prices High Life for less, but the Gas Station prices Beest for less. Interpret whatever social commentary you will with that information. And discuss.

Just started the crock pot up with a couple of chicken carcass bones. I’m leaving this bitch on for two days straight, then I’ll mash the bones and strain them out. This is going to be the best soup ever!

Anyway not sure what’s in store for this weekend. I feel like I should go out, but have been feeling strangely content with just staying home and reading and/or playing video games. This has been going for a good few weeks now. This is starting to get unnerving - It wasn’t long ago that I used to go out every other day.

BT and a bunch of his friends were up in town last week. Good times there all around…at least, the parts that I can remember. Going out one of those nights, I got a bunch of phone calls from an unknown 808 number. Thinking it was some sort of emergency, I ran outside on the third call, expecting to get connected to the hospital and hearing about my mom or my brother or something.

It was BT’s wife. I guess she’d been trying to call him but it was loud in that place and we were pretty blasted (or at least, I was!). I think something was going on with BT’s phone too I’m not sure. But anyway, all’s well that ends well!

He also came out with us to check out First Friday again, and it was a lot more packed this month than it was back in February. I guess less people tend to come out when it’s raining? How about that, huh?

Speaking of weird weather, it’s snowing right now! Or … maybe not snowing; but small chunks of frost are falling from the sky. I’m fa-reezing!

It’ll probably be a while before I update again, because I just got Bad Company 2, and have been playing that nonstop with the guys back in Hawaii. That game’s good times!