Honestly, I haven't had time to update my goings on since I got back. It's like I returned from Vegas only to go straight to work but hey, that's the life I lead now.

So yeah, Saturday morning started out early at 6 am. We rented a minivan from Hertz but when my dad showed up at the rental counter, they refused to give us a minivan, pushing us to get the larger, more gas-guzzling SUV. So my dad goes on a mini-tirade, questioning the value of a car reservation. 15 minutes later, they just happen to find a mini-van in the lot to give us. Bad news? It's a Kia, or as my dad referred to it through the entire trip, a K-I-A. I had no problems with it...ran fine. But at 18 mpg and practically no amenities in the car, I wouldn't recommend it.

The true reason we were down there was for my cousin's wedding. At a few places, the thing was headed toward the brink of a disaster, what with the ceremony next to a very loud pool on a fairly warm day and a tilting wedding cake, but as they say, love conquers all and the reception went very well.

The trip around the block continued with the journey to Las Vegas. One thing I wanna mention is that for some reason, people who drove a Lexus always slowed down a lot. Don't have a clue why. The 4-hour trip took a little longer not only by the slow Lexuses (Lexi?) but also by a suicide attempt at the 91-15 interchange, which closed down all 8 lanes of the merge except for one.

So once we got there, I had a list of things to do for my one day there. It was a short list actually, but they were important. Gotta go see Star Trek. Check. They put in a new ride there involving the Borg. Very cool...it has mechanical seats that poke you and sprinklers above that spray water at you. It's a 4-D ride. What is the 4th dimension? I'm really not sure. Is it the live action stuff? The old Klingon ride is still there too but its starting to look a bit dated.

Then there was the WSOP. As anyone who is anyone knows, the World Series of Poker is going on right now as I write this. I got there before the main event started, but it was still exciting nonetheless. It's at the Rio but it's far away from the casino. My brother and I got a little lost and asked a guard where the room was. All he said was "Follow Jesus." I thought he was being philosophical or something but sure enough, when he pointed in the general direction, there was Chris "Jesus" Ferguson walking back from his dinner break. Walking into the poker room was extraordinary. 220 tables jam-packed with lights above each one...it made it very bright. And oh man, the stars in that room...Negreanu, Brunson (both of them), Forrest, Seed, Lindgren, James Woods, and others. It was pretty cool. The ESPN stage though, seems a bit smaller than I thought it would be. Walking out, I gave a hello to Doyle Brunson who was speeding on his scooter on his way toward the door. He gave a smile and hello but promptly kept on going. I would later learn he was just eliminated from the Omaha tournament he was playing in.

While there, I was actually carded. There's a strict policy that everyone in the room has to be at least 21, but while it's no surprise that I would be, they also checked my brother, who's pushing 30.

When I got back, time to eat. Everyone has said wonderful things about the Bellagio buffet so we ate there. Little did we realize they'd jack up the price by $10 for the holiday weekend. Going in, I grumbled that this better be the best $37 meal I'd ever eat. The crab disappointed me but everything else was decadent. They even had venison and lamb. What kind of buffet serves up that? And of course, I'm a sucker for creme brulee.

Finally, there was the gambling. My brother wanted to go to one of the smaller poker rooms to play so we headed to Bally's. I didn't think I was ready for poker rooms yet. I won't be until I can shed this conservative image of mine. I'll have to get by taking money from my friends. (In fact, Hai called on this night to play. Too bad I was a few hundred miles away.) So I hit up the blackjack tables, which managed to increase its minimum bet from $5 to $15 in a couple of hours due to the crowds. I pretty much broke even if by breaking even, you mean losing about $50.

And that's about it. The K-I-A managed to bring us back safely and it only took 9 hours straight with just a couple of bathroom breaks and a half-hour lunch.

The haste to return home was due to the need to get back to work. I still had 30 projects to update costs on not to mention updating financial figures for the company and planning the transition for financial reporting on the new company we just swallowed up. I was going to write this on Thursday but I had that Fantastic Four screening to go to. (Good thing it was free.) I've heard good things about Wedding Crashers and I'll be checking that one out on Tuesday.

As tragic as the bombings in London were, here's something odd. New York, Madrid, Moscow, and now London have had one form of terrorist attack or another recently. Now, what were the cities bidding for the Olympic games? New York, Madrid, Moscow, London, and Paris. So you Parisians should be extra vigilant.

Mitch Hedberg, the guy you see to the left, is featured in this week's EW. What the heck took so long? He's been dead for such a long time now. It's a well-done article for sure, but it should've been done already.

So that's it. I leave you with a valedictorian. Every year, the Mercury News profiles valedictorians from the area giving them the chance to share their favorite memories and thank those who helped them along the way. Being the valedictorians they are, they tend to be long-winded in their sentences of remembrances and thanks. But not this one guy from Silver Creek whose blurb went like this:

Favorite Memory: when we went to Great America.
My friends will remember me as: passionate.
The people who have influence me the most are: my parents, teachers, friends.
My motivation all these years was: my goal.
What's next: college.

Yep, sounds like a valedictorian, doesn't it?