I am halfway through my Grave shift week. I barely remember how I once worked 60 hours a week from 7-PM to 7AM. Doing this now is not fun at all. When I was 20 and did this shift I did get enough sleep, somehow. Well I take that back that year of my life I only remember about 3 events. My brain was just pure mush. The way I feel now. Too alert to sleep, too tired to do anything else. The temptation is just too great. March Madness is here in about 3 hours. When will I sleep? My Leafs are playing the Sabres at 7 too as well.

Having those trivial distractions is about what I need right now. Mike wants to believe the hype, cheer on the team, believe in God. Life can be fun when you are caught up in a fantasy world. The made up world pulls you in, lets you ride the wave. It takes you for a ride and sometimes you have no idea on where it is going to take you.

Reality was not too pretty when I returned from Vegas. Too many surprises when I came back.

Is that how I have survived Western New York all these years? Having the instinct to "Get out of Dodge" when S&*t hits the fan. There have been so many bad things that I have missed by being conveniently out of town. Having my work environment turned on it's head is one of them. Yes, I am having to deal with the aftermath at the present moment. All I can tell myself that it is temporary, my knack for leaving will time my departure from my current job soon. Hopefully :-)


Yeah, I do need to try to catch some ZZZ's

So I am back in town. If you asked me last night about 23 hours ago I would not have been able to give you an honest answer. When we landed in Pittsburgh we surprisingly found out that our flight was cancelled. SO I WAS PISSED. I could have stayed another night out in Las Vegas since I am not going into work until Tuesday. Things surprisingly worked out for the greater good. While we standing in line a nice couple from Amherst offered the back seat of their rental car. My Dad jumped on the offer.

Their story is that they have moved around the country and are now back here in WNY. Apparently he owned a bunch of companies through the years. The most notable being the one source for microscope slides. Sixty Million he mad a year selling those things for $.03 a piece a profit of a penny on each one. The secret was a unique and secret process in which the glass was tempered to obviously allow for water to be placed on it, negatively charge the slides so things will be able to cling to it easily and creating an area to write on it. Very interesting to hear him talk about his business ventures and other aspects of his life. The creepy part of the experience was his wife did an internship down here in Youngstown at the First Presbyterian Church. She is into early childcare and from what she told me this was the only place in the area with a private toddler school. So she drove down here for a year to fulfill her requirements for an internship. Just yea, I had to sit and listen to 3 hours of this kind of stuff. In the end we only arrived home only 2.5 hours late. Better than the day if we would have been shipped around the US Air grid for a day. I would have been getting home now after being shipped to Philly for 6 hours, plus no hotel reimbursement. I can see why people dread traveling for their job.

I did a LJ voice post when I came home and hit my bed. It captures the moment pretty well and I did get a kick out of it when I listened to it today.


So Vegas was a great time. The highlight was my Spa visit in which I received a deep tissue massage. In a weird way I did feel semi-violated. I had a middle-aged woman of about 50 years old. She barked at me, Ok, Get on the table and take off everything? Now I have had massages before and usually they have bed sheets, all I had in this instance was a thin medium sized towel. Another thing that was a bit odd was I started out face down. Usually I have had started off on my back and turned face down in the horseshoe at the end. When the time came for Mike to flip over on his back and turn face up I rolled with my back towards her thinking that it would cover certain things. Well after I did that I noticed that she did not lay the towel on me for a good 10 seconds. So I was just laying there exposed, but I did have my eyes closed. So after this she asks what I do to keep in good form and how she likes my body. I'll take the ego boost as it is always good to hear from someone that you look great naked. It was just a little weird for me to be in that position, but not to be conceited but I did feel as if I made her day of so

On Saturday we went to the Busch race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. It was defiantly an interesting time. Yea it was the diehard NASCAR fans there, as you would imagine but there were about 125,000 fans at this place all spending great amounts of Cash. I am a casual face fan, mostly into open wheel (F1, Indy car) but it was a good experience. The one ironic thing was it was much colder than any Bills game I have been to. The temp was about 35 and windy. When the race was over we ran to the casino bus as fast as we could.

So Saturday was the best day of the trip. After getting back I texted an old friend Holly. It just so happened that she was in town. So I ended up meeting her and her family at O'Shea's. Apparently it was her father's birthday and the entire family came out to celebrate. It was good to hang with someone form back home, even it was for 2 hours.

I then went next door to Flamingo and messed around on their machines for a bit with no results. The main focus on what I wanted to do was head over to Caesarâ??s Palace. I went won some $ playing slots, messed around in the beautiful poker room playing some 3-6, walked around the forum bar and checked out the line for Pure. It is just so much different in that place that it was when I first started going to Vegas. Caesar's isn't for the Old Italian grandfather. It is a place for the skinny beautiful people to masquerade around in their pointy shoes and such. I just really like how it took a turn for the Palms as opposed to being Salvatore's Italian Garden's in the past.

So yea back home. Trying to readjust to life back here and trying to figure out my next move of which I need to do soon.


So here is a pic of me taking the walk from Caesar's Palace back to the Rio. I posted on my LJ during this walk and dodged a bunch of hooker's trying to pick me up.

I'm here in Las Vegas, safe and sound.

The morning started out pretty shakey. I after being anxious all day and night yesterday I pulled myself out of bed and onward to the journey out here. It could have been a disaster as I swore we were running late. As we arrived at Buffalo/Niagara we the shuttle bus people ignored us as we stood in the rain for about 5-8 minutes. We just said "screw it" and walked to the ticket counter ourselves. Then the fun part came. As Mike was passing through security the TSA gentlemen in a command presence kind of manner asked me to confirm my suitcase. Guess what Mike had a lighter in his sportcoat jacket. It was left over from the "Classy vs. Trashy" Party a few months ago. I don't even smoke. It was confiscated no big deal, Phew!!!

The flight from BUF to Charlotte was interesting. I was surrounded by the Canisus softball team heading down to Tampa for a tournament. What surprised me was they had a couple of Cali girls on the team. OMG!! "Like we are really close and snobby" "This girl I knew we are like so close we have the same plastic surgeon." Now how do these Valley Girls play a sport like softball again? Whacky flight to say the least. 13 underage for drinking girls in their warm ups and flip flops off sprawled all over the place. That is the stuff that Internet Porn is made up of....Right Paul? Ha Ha Just kidding

The flight from Charlotte to LAS was extremely turbulent in the begining. No in-flight service for almost 3 hours. But we arrived on time 4 Pacific or 1 Eastern. On getting on the ground we zipped to the Rio in 20 minutes. After getting here we had our Asian Noodle soup and since then I have just been messing around the Sportsbook making bets here and there on college basketball and some horses.

My head is a bit squeezed but that is most likey from the pressure changes from the flight.

Trying to get to the Mall before it closes. The problem is there is a meet and greet for these Nascar drivers of which I have a pass for that ends at 8.

I'm here to have fun. So far being here has been a soothing sensation. I have a Massage and Spa time booked tomorrow.

Oh well off to risk some $

Here is my room for the next few days

Almost done packing. I have a clue on what I am going to do in Vegas. Besides the usual gambling I will hit a club or two and piss away money. Yea ,like the one time I spent $90 on myself drinking @ Rum Jungle in Mandalay Bay. A total waste of time except for the fact that when the club closed I stumbled down to the Excalibur and ended up winning $200 playing 2-4 limit poker with cool rednecks from Utah and a couple of interesting people from the real O.C.

When it comes to Vegas I'm a bit old school. Going out there to get my "Wild On" is not really an option. Most people go out there with the mission in their mind to get laid and do some wild and crazy things. In a sense I am a voyeur when it comes to that kind of mentality. The Palms is one of my favorite casinos. The lounge and clubs there are out of this world. When I watch something on the Travel Channel that takes place there usually by the Tattoo Parlor by the gift shop and by Rain/Ghostbar I get a kick. Watching the people in that place around closing time is a blast. Yea, a part of me wishes I could be hopping in a cab with some chick and have some fun. It's just that things like that do not happen to me, or I don't have the game to pull something like that off or want to deep down inside.

The Vegas that lives in my mind hardly exists anymore. It is that old Rat Pack era 1.99 Buffets classy mob thing. You know the pic with Sammy, Frank, Dean and Tony. It is only a memory, one that I really should not have or try to hold on to. Heck, the best case scenario calls for me to be nostalgic over the Vegas of the year I was born in the mid 70's!!! I am such a dork, wishing for at the Vegas! the mid 70's show by Aaron Spelling. Although I do have to admit that I have Vegas the new one with James Caan on my DVR every Friday.

I just got caught up in that place when I was in High School. My parents brought me out there when I was 17 and I had a great fake I.D. for Vegas. The first thing I did was buy a pint of Jack Daniels and a pack of Marlboro Red's at some seedy liquor store. The first Casino I went to besides the old Aladin of which we were staying was the Mirage. The Mega resort that started the modern Vegas we know it today. I throw in a dollar in a quarter Triple Diamond machine and hit for $25. I have been coming back every since and now it is almost half my life that I have been taking every opportunity to hit that town.

The posh part of the new Vegas I totally am into. Wynn the new place of the mastermind that brought you the Mirage is just perfection. When I had dinner there for my birthday @ the Country Club there it was euphoria. The food was out of this world, the view of the 18th hole was killer and just being around that energy was mind blowing. If you dig back in my LJ you can read about it.
That is why I always pack a sport jacket and shoes when I head out there. Being dressed appropriately for the right place makes it feel so much better.

Well wish me luck :-)

Current Music: The Killers -Hot Fuss- (Vegas Connection! Ha Ha)

I can feel it now. The anxiety is setting in. My suitcase is still unpacked, but it is due to the undecided nature of my itinerary. Do I hit a club, or just go along with my Dad to upscale restaurants? These are the things I must think about. Most likely it will be me wearing my Calvin's, long sleeve thermal t-shirt with a screened short sleeved t-shirt over the long sleeve.

Just like my hero Phil "The Unabomber" Laak

After making small progress in trying to get things a bit tidy I found a CD companion that goes along with one of my favorite books, "The Most Brilliant Thoughts of All Time ( In two Lines or Less). It made me a bit happy.

In listening to the CD I did find a cool quote that made me think about my life a while ago. "You are permitted in time of great danger to walk with the devil until you have crossed the bridge." Bulgarian Proverb

OK time for bed. One more day of dreadful work, then FUN!!!

Yea, I am starting to really get jittery. The reality of leaving for Las Vegas on Thursday is hitting hard. This is especially true when now that I am home from work the fact that my bank closes at 4PM drives home the necessity to grab my bankroll on the way home from work. If I have to stay later than 3 and miss stopping by the bank before it closes,I am going to really angry that in order to finance the fun on my trip I will have to resort to the Casino Loan Sharks Stock Symbol (GOOGLE - GCA). Those people just ruin the lives of the people that frequently use their services. Although Jen one of their reps is a very nice woman and a dual citizen like myself Can/US.

So I am just trying to get my affairs in order. The first really is cleaning my my living space. There is nothing more annoying that coming back home from a trip to a messy home after you spent your time in a nice hotel with maid service.

Ah, just two more days. They seem so far away yet are so close in other ways.

The highlight of my Day was heading back home from a disappointing stop by the orange cat drinking my jasmine tea with the track "Brothers on a Hotel Bed" by Death Cab for Cutie Blasting in my car.

Staying home is a nice change of pace. Usually I am the weekend warrior out doing some kind of thing out somewhere. Not this weekend so far. Last night after my 3.5 mile walk after work all I did was watch my Niagara University Purple Eagles on the Dish Play the opening round of their conference tournament.

I then received a call from my old friend Bill telling me some really insane news about the politics and firings of people that I knew from his place of employment. It was just totally insane. Did these people think that it was still the 1970's? WTF?!?

After sending a score via txt message to my college buddy I ended receiving a call from him and spoke for about 2 hours. Ended up telling him that I broke up with Laura. He consoled me and then tried to sell me a move to Metro D.C. telling me about all his wife's single lonely girlfriends down there. That would be nice but I need about 200K more to my name to move down there.

I just slept for about 11 hours last night. I actually hurt when I woke up this morning, for the first time I could almost see how bed sores happen! Ha Ha

The highlight of today was taking the GRE, of which went alright. In being spontaneous I ended up driving out to Lancaster to check out where this place Desiderio's was located. One of my LJ friends bartends there and I just went hoping that the off chance that she would be working, but no luck.

In looking for something to do I gave my LJ friend Tom a call. We ended up meeting at his house and driving looking for a cup of coffee. Our first intention was to head to the downtown spot, but after realizing the home show was going on he changed his mind and drove to the Spot on Elmwood. There were some really interesting people but when Tom got on tilt about seeing his old guy with a newborn and sharing a comment to be about Viagra; it was time to leave.

So on the way back to his house we listened to a band called "The Artic Monkeys" Pretty good stuff. Apparently they are the #1 CD in the UK but unavailable over on this side of the pond.

So here I am on the Estrip. I'm wondering if my presence here is worthwhile. My LJ friends are probably just thinking I'm in some kind of funk. It is just weird that I feel as if I'm cheating on them or something. This week I did take a post and copy and paste it over there. If I didn't my blog would not have anything other than mobile posts made of me whining about my job.

The reason that I needed another place to place my thoughts may be close to resolving itself. Just when will I learn not to mess around with psycho women? It is funny but in chatting with Tom at Spot he mentioned being in the "Mike Zone" defined by being a total inability to talk to or communicate in any positive way with attractive women. He is so right, I don't know what the hell is going or not going through my mind. But Yea, the "Mike Zone" the kiss of a sausage party if you are one of my guy friends. Funny but sad at the same time.

OK I have to try to get a few things done. The reality of going away in 4.5 days is really hiting home. I have to at least try to clean up my living space so it is not nasty when I get off the plane, oh and get some laundry done. I figured that if I am going to buy anything new it is going ot be out there. Since when I drove by the Galleria my gut instinct was not to venture inside.

Wanted to go on a very long walk up to Stella Niagara today. It's just I have too much on my mind today and I must try to sort a few things out. My evening is most likely going to consist of studying and laundry. Usually I just go and take my clothes to a local wash and fold but lately everything I send them is coming back a size smaller. If you want something done you must do it yourself. Plus I need something to do tonight and laundry is something I have not done in a while. I am so FUN and EXCITING!!!

The sun is getting dimmer. I must run out and at least walk around the neighborhood for a half hour or so. The Modest Mouse "Ocean Breaths Salty" song is in my head reminding me of last summer when I just went out burned calories and harmonized with Nature on my inline skates.

So here I am in a place in Western New York SANS Snow and I am inside on my computer. This is about to change right now. Then I will be back and try to come up with something very light to do this evening. I'm thinking a short stop at Barnes and Noble and bed by 10 PM.

For the most part it did suck. Only about 20 people were at the show, I being the only person not in the junior class in attendance in the first set. Well there was this other guy, but I'm not too sure what he was up to. Even the band was not 100% as they were all under the weather with the flu.


There were stragglers that came in later. The highlight or low-light was this guy that I knew from High School. He was probably one of the most popular people that I knew. A*M*, even Steve when we was playing noticed him walk in and said on the mic, "A*M*!!!!!!!!!!!" He was the cool guy, hiss 9 cousins were all cool and so was his older brother. Now I saw him and he is just a shell of a person.

I head a bunch of things about him through the years but now from meeting him I can say that most of them were probably true. He now works in the Dining Hall of NU. He has fallen on hard times no doubt. It is just surreal to see him remain the same way. Wearing Sports gear of the Columbia Type, oh and with an "Alternative Girlfriend" complete with blue hair and other gear that goes to the school. How much things change and how they stay the same. Seeing him just blew my mind away. All I can say is I saw a couple of traits that I had from him from years ago. Hell I looked up to this guy, now is living and smelling almost like a homeless person. I know he has a place by campus and his mom is most likely helping him out somehow, especially since his Dad passed away a few year back.

All I can say now is my speech will be much clearer from now and I will actually enunciate my words. To see him looking with his eyes down and mumbling just drove home how I am at my worst. Needless to say I was really scared shitless on some levels last night. There is a part of me that fears ending up like that somewhere. The fear of being homeless and mentally ill somewhere outside the help of anyone. Never being able to pick yourself up off the ground and reduced to harassing drunken younger adults on Allen St as they walk to the Old Pink

It just drives home to me that things that I find myself mindlessly believing in. What do I value and what is really worth caring about in this world. It seemed that I did find myself that that show last night and it was all about the music. I love Radiohead and to me it didn't care about who was there, if they served alochol and where it was. I love that band and the music. Is it irresponsible for me to care about the music when no one else goes to that level? What are the important things that I should be focusing on daily in my life?

So I am at work tonight. Not a big deal as I am usually stuck working late on Thursday. It's just tonight they have a "Make a Wish" Poker Tournament tonight prompted by 97 Rock. Every table had a former or current NHL player. I was looking at the hockey celebrity list and there is this former Sabre that lives in Youngstown. He has his daughter playing with him tonight.

Now I have seen her over playing at Fallsview with this guy who is supposedly her boyfriend. She is a fireball to say the least. Being in her early 20's the kind of games she plays in usually has a minimum of 1,000 and up to 5,000. She rolls with a serious bankroll and the guy as well. They have been accused of cheating numerous times. It hasn't been proved but there some shady things have gone on, but nothing that can bar someone or get them in trouble.

It's is just funny in that when I was a kid I used to brag about meeting this former Buffalo Sabre. Later in life I found out that he wasn't all that good. It really was one of my first personal hockey connections. Now I find out that this chick that I did admire for her fireball nature but at the same time felt dirty by observing her play is this guy's daughter. Yea things like this really rattle me.

I have tickets for a game on the 24th against Ottawa. Still have no clue on who I am going to take. It has been about 4 or 5 years since the last time I have been to a game. It may have been against Ottawa in a Playoff game. I had tickets with my buddy Eric H and we hung with Jen and Tracy Muckler. That was right after their Dad started working for the Sens. Dam that was a while ago. The last time I was in the HSBC Arena was for the MAAC Championship when Niagara went to the Big Dance last year.

Ok must try to sleep. Then I try to have my peaceful day after 3PM