Vegas Vacation Day 3 - Dance Walking

Day 3 - 2/16/15
Happy six-month wedding anniversary!  The only reason this even dawned on me was because my mother had mentioned a few days prior that we would be vacationing over that half-year milestone, thus proving her selflessness in not even mentioning her birthday was just two days after.  Love that woman.

Anyway, Monday was kind of a dull start, as we were wrapped up in a presentation for a majority of the afternoon, but it resulted in free golf vouchers and meal vouchers, so we were not about to complain.

Once we got back to the resort, we immediately booked tickets to a show called "Raiding the Rock Vault" that had been highly recommended to us, and we were pretty excited to go see it.  Despite the fact that we had already occupied most of the day, it was nice that most Vegas shows started at 9:30, so we had a little bit of time to explore before hand.

We hadn't really had lunch, and figured we would grab a bite to eat after the show, since we were cutting it close.  So close, in fact, that we didn't think we could necessarily rely on the hourly shuttle, so we decided to call a cab to expedite the process.

The following things happened between when the cab was called, and when the cab arrived:

• The resort shuttle arrived
• The resort shuttle left
• I called my mother, and spoke to her on the phone for 20 minutes
• The resort shuttle came back again

FORTY MINUTES AFTER WE CALLED, the cab driver finally decided to show up, and boy was that ride pleasant and cheerful.  Not awkward in the slightest.  Luckily, we were able to pick up the tickets later than we'd thought, so we were still able to grab them once we got to the Tropicana.

Vegas Vacation Days 1 & 2 - People Don't Run in the Airport

As I begin to dive into the seventh circle of hell AKA production week of my musical, I am finding myself ill, exhausted, stressed, and going in eight different directions at once.  Blogging, for me, is therapeutic, and nothing would make me happier than teleporting back to Las Vegas with the amazing people I was lucky enough to travel with, so without further adieu, I invite you to come with me on my Vegas chronicles.

Day 1- 2/14/15
Happy Valentine's Day!  After having an 8:00 am salon appointment, I headed to Dunkin' to grab Andrew and I some breakfast as we finished our last minute packing.  Deltra Lynne and Darrell had planned on us leaving at 11:30, but they arrived a little after 11, and we were ready, so on our way we went!

The drive to Syracuse was short and sweet, and we arrived super early, which was nice because it allowed us time to grab some lunch at the Saranac Pub.  When we got to the gate, the prior flight hadn't even boarded yet, so we had a bit of down time until our plane boarded.  While we checked our e-mail and listened to music, Deltra Lynne and I mused about cinematic depictions of airports, and how absolutely unlikely and unrealistic it is when they show people running to catch a flight, and they make it within minutes.  Umm, airport security anyone?  No one can just waltz into an airport and run to catch their flight, so we laughed about how sensationalized they made the process look in movies.

We noticed that on our tickets, we all had asterisks by our seat numbers, unbeknownst to us as to why.  It all started to make sense after about an hour, when we realized the plane was overbooked because of all the cancellations, as there was a winter storm coming in all over the East coast.  Great.  They asked for four volunteers to not board the plane, and receive a $300 reimbursement for inconvenience and new travel arrangements.  Darrell and Andrew proceeded to get the 411 on our options, and they said if we volunteered, they could reimburse us for taxi fare to Buffalo or Rochester, but because of the storm there was no guarantee they would fly us that night.  They also suggested Philadelphia International Airport, who was guaranteed to send us out the next morning at 7:50 am.  Because of the hassle and drive, they would reimburse us $850.  Apiece.  We readily agreed, and were very glad that we had the wherewithal to not check our bags, and pack light so that all we had were our carry ons.  To Philly we ventured!

This drive was not short, nor sweet.  We were starting to see the beginnings of the storm that was screwing over all of the Northeast flights, and couldn't have been any happier that in less than 24 hours we would be in warmer conditions.  The drive was about four hours, and started really poorly.  We even saw a car ahead of us fishtailing, and they ended up driving off the road and flipping over into the left hand ditch.  Luckily, we were able to avoid collisions on the highway, and luckily for the car the snow was high and powdery, and they were going pretty slowly.  We were all a little shaken up, and called 911 to get the police to come.  We definitely all said a quick prayer for the passengers, too.

28 things I learned after 28 years

So yesterday, was my birthday…

…and I officially turned 28 years old, huzzah!  With age comes a lot of things: wrinkles, well-wishes, and wisdom, being the three most obvious, but it's often too easy to not put things into perspective and be thinking solely about the future.  Not that that's a bad thing, per se, but a lot of the time I love looking back at what a pessimistic, argumentative idiot I used to be, and rationalize how I got where I am currently, and what I learned to get here.  It's sort of like looking back at old diaries and realizing how naive you used to be…actually, it's exactly like that.  Through heartaches, strained friendships, painful loss, joyful gain, and lots of laughing, I'm proud to say I made it to 28.  Here are 28 things I've learned on the road of life that I'd like to share with you:

1)  If at first you don't succeed, try try again.  My brother used to pull my feet out from underneath me when I was learning to walk, but despite the fact that he made the process more challenging, I ended up figuring it out eventually.  Perseverance is key, which is the only reason why I now know how to ride a bike, thanks to Mary.  It may have been when I was the ripe old age of 14, but who's counting?

2) You lose 100% of the hands you fold.  Poker analogy for saying you can't win anything if you don't risk anything.

3) Everything happens for a reason.  Don't fight it, and don't ask questions.  It will be revealed in due course, I am certain of it.

4) Everything is a game of balance.  You have one life, and one body, and you have to make the most of it.  Balancing everything from activities, to meals, to workouts, to work schedules is a key to remaining sane.

5) Make the effort to have a relationship with your parents.  Not everyone is blessed enough to know their mother or father, and only one other person is lucky enough to be able to claim my mother as theirs too, but I can't stress the importance of our relationship enough.  Mother knows best, unless it's in Rapunzel's case...

6) Stand up for yourself…because it's likely that no one else will do it for you.

How to not suck at Valentine's Day

For some reason I seem to have this fascination with researching holidays as they rapidly approach on the calendar.  Even Trivia Crack ascertains that History is one of my strongest subjects, so perhaps it knows me better than I know myself.  Maybe it's my attempt to not seem ignorant as I choose to rant about said holiday, or maybe it's just my sheer intrigue at how we celebrate things in the 21st century, as opposed to how the holiday itself was intended to be celebrated.

As I dug up the dirt on Valentine's day, I found some interesting tidbits on the History channel.  Memorable items include a rebel priest Valentine (who was later to be canonized as a saint) marrying young couples despite the emperor's ban on marriage, and the pagan ritual of slapping women with bloodied animal hide to promote fertility.  Perhaps the 50 Shades of Grey story isn't as far off the beaten path of romance as we think…I kid!  I haven't even read the books, nor do I have any desire to.  I digress…

The video above has some more detailed information, if you happen to be interested, but I am here for a much simpler reason.  I would like to bestow upon you some advice for how to make this Valentine's Day one that will be memorable, and for the right reasons.  

I don't claim to know a lot, but I do know the population of the world is full of three types of people: Those who love Valentine's Day, those who despise it, and those who are indifferent toward it.  No matter what category you fall into, it's still possible for you to make the most of this holiday, sometimes without even spending a dime.

My Bucket List

For quite some time now, I have been storing away little nuggets of information pertaining to my personal Bucket List.  What is a Bucket List, you ask?  Essentially, it is a compilation of things one wishes to accomplish in his or her lifetime before they "kick the bucket."  Here's a little glimpse, albeit a heart wrenching and sad one, into what it's all about:

While the circumstances of the characters in this film make this particular Bucket List experience a tad bit different than my own, I think that the point remains the same: it's never too late to fill your life with meaningful moments and ambitions.

As a social media user in my twenty-somethings, it's all too frequent that I see articles from know-it-all wannabees stating that marriage, and even childbirth, are the end of what used to be an exciting, free-spirited soul who could take on the world and see it all.  Too late for that, married 23 year old mommy-to-be.  You're over the hill and will never be able to feel personal fulfillment on an individual level again.  Shame on you for deciding to devote your life to your husband and children at an age where it is more socially acceptable to get black-out drunk and have a one night stand.  Now that's living.

If you can't tell by my jestful sarcasm, I don't agree with this notion, and I personally feel that fulfillment in life is a personal decision, and comes in a variety of ways.  I don't think- kids or no kids, spouse or no spouse- it is ever too late to follow your dreams and ambitions.  As soon as we start to associate age and family decisions with the inability to be individually happy, we have sentenced ourself to more of a "Countdown to when my Life is no Longer About Me" than a real, meaningful life, and of course no one will feel enriched with an attitude like that.

I digress.  For a little over a decade, now, I have been developing my own Bucket List, and while it's not yet complete, I sort of feel the need to dictate it in a more tangible form, so that I don't start to forget it.  Some of the items on it have already been completed, and some will be completed sooner than others, but for one reason or another I have felt the need to do he following things in my life:

My Bucket List:

• Participate in a flash mob

• I was pretty close to actually doing this, but I don't count it as a "real" flashmob.  I want to participate in a dance flashmob, and I'd love for it to be in a place where no one knows me.
• See Aurora Borealis up close

• This is so stunning and mystifying to me that I feel like I just have to see it up close.  Some day I'd like to travel far enough North at the right time to make this happen.

Super Bowl Commercials through the Years

Hey y'all.

In honor of the athletic holiday known as Super Bowl Sunday, I figured I would share some commercials I've located from throughout the decades/years.

Many say that Super Bowl commercials are some of the most iconic advertisements of the year, and I know of a handful of people who watch the sports-tacular spectacle purely for that reason.  While modern commercials are, by far and away, much more technical, edgy, and oftentimes overtly sexual and racy, Super Bowl commercials leave a legacy of epic proportions.  In no particular order, and for no particular reason, here are ten commercials from Super Bowls past.  Feast, fellow football fanatics.  (Nice alliteration, Corri!  Thanks, Internet!  Glad you noticed,)

#1 - 1969 Gillette Razor, Super Bowl III
This commercial is certainly a throwback to older times, and the voice shifting in tandem with the beard size is auditorially effective, and hella-creepy.

#2 - 1976 Xerox, Super Bowl X

This one makes me laugh because of the monks.  I oft mention the grueling process monks and early musicians had to endure before the printing press existed, and this is just a comical reminder of it.