Time to Grab Your Crayons and Your Pencils

I am so happy I figured out how to put pictures on my site. I can't get the "Picture Pages" music out of my head. Question: did anyone actually buy the Picture Pages "play at home" kit, or did everyone just do it Whiskey Tango style and just draw on the TV? I drew on the TV, but I did have Sweet Pickles though.

Ok, some recent stories. In terms of the rest of Vegas, I really don't feel like writing up the rest of it because it was a while ago, but I was extremely amused by the fact that there was a woman working at our hotel named Alohalinda. I might need to change my name to Alohaemily, or perhaps Ukulelemily. All this talk of Hawaiian names reminds me of the tragedy that is Jasmine still being on American Idol, and then I get cranky, so I'll move on. However, I do have some pictorial reminiscences of Vegas for you all to enjoy, I'll put more up when Brian sends them to me (hint, hint).


My head in the mouth of a dragon at the Luxor. I don't know the random small fry on the left.


After consuming one of those yard long daiquiris where all the rum goes to the bottom, leading to a very quick buzz when you get there, along with a free beer courtesy of Alohalinda, I decided to do some shopping while some of the other members of our group checked out an art museum. For me, culture and Vegas is as inappropriate a combination as ketchup on scrambled eggs, so it was time to get my shop on. Somewhat tipsy, I strolled toward the Caesar's Palace mall and on the way encountered some gladiators. I found a random stranger to take the picture and headed on my merry way.


I want to send a big congratulations out to my friends Wendy and Tim on their wedding May 8. It was a great time and a beautiful event. Amusing highlights included our waiter, who bore a striking resemblance to "The Sherminator" from the American Pie movies, the fact that I didn't spill anything on myself, which is rare when I'm dressed up, and the DJ's inclusion of the "Everyone Knows It's Windy" Song,dedicated to Wendy. After the wedding we headed over to Glory Days and bonded with guests from another wedding. Though I didn't get any pictures of the Sherminator, I did take a lot of pictures, here are a couple. Anyone else who took pictures, let me know and I'll put some up.


Wendy and I


Left to right: Me, Megan, Nancy and Kelly

In recent tavern news, the last few Thursdays we've made the summertime switch from Samy's to Heroes. As is typical in late April-early May, Heroes has begun its approximately 5 month reign over Thursday night bargoers, and it's been a lot of fun so far. One change that Heroes has made is a DJ shift from the guy they used to have to ubiquitous local DJ Eddie C/Z (I really should figure out what his name is. Ok, I checked the Heroes website. It's "C"). Overall this change has gone well, Eddie C is good at taking requests, though his choice of ending the evening with "Hangin' Tough" a couple weeks back was ill-conceived (and I was a New Kids fan back in the day). Eddie C is a more interactive DJ, and includes games, including a kinky version of Twister that I tried not to look at too closely. Recent trips to Heroes have been quite a hoot, though I can't think of many specifics (partners in crime, let me know what I'm forgetting) and hope to continue over the summer. Oh, one amusing story that I alluded to before. One of the Heroes nights was capped off by an after-party at my friend Sean's house. Among the beverages served were vodka tonics made with Flavor Ice Freeze Pops. I tried a sip and only tasted vodka, but I appreciated the effort, being a long time fan of the freeze pop. It took me back to the lazy hazy crazy days of summers past when my parents would buy economy sized 100 packs of Flavor Ice and my siblings and I would live like royalty (ok, Whiskey Tango royalty)for a few glorious months.

In some sadder tavern news, Glory Days closed last weekend. I know I've been critical of Glory Days in the past, but I've been there more frequently lately and grown to like it a lot. There's something to be said for a bar where you can hear what your friends are saying for a change. I hope they do find a new location, and that the new bar taking its place is also fun. Note: the article about Glory Days in the H-N said that "The Sapphire Club" is supposed to open in June, woohoo!!! A bunch of us went to Glory Days on Saturday to hang out one more time before it closed. It was a really fun night, the bar was absolutely packed and the DJ played a lot of good music. It always feels weird dancing at Glory Days, but we did it anyway. Amusing things included having an old man try to get the bartender's attention for us (it didn't really work), and Nancy finding a random bra in the bathroom. Honestly, who discards a bra? Kelly had also spotted the bizarre brassiere early in the evening and was equally puzzled.

In movie news, the last one I saw was "Mean Girls" a few weeks ago. This movie was a tour de force in comedy, I absolutely loved it. It was especially cool because it was set in Evanston and took me back to my Northwestern days. Definitely 3 1/2 stars. One of the most amusing parts of the movie though was simply the experience of going to see it. I pull up to the movie theater (note: this is the opening night of the movie)and I notice that surprisingly, there aren't a lot of cars around. I walk into the theater lobby to meet Courtney, and it's preteen pandemonium. I've never seen so much pink, pastels, and fake Louis Vuitton in my life. I finally drew a conclusion: girls going to see Mean Girls=too young to drive=Mom dropped them off. Hence, the lack of cars in the parking lot.

And, in a final note, I was listening to the radio the other day and I heard a commercial for Great America that included the line, "And you know that funny little old man from the commercial? He's waiting for you." I'm sorry, but the idea of that makes me cry. That "funny little old man" is SCARY. Though I welcome the use of Vengaboys music in the commercial, old man is scary. I don't want him to meet me at the park, I'd be worried that he'd poison my funnel cake, or, even worse, want to sit with me on the Wizzer. I'm heading to St. Louis this weekend for my cousin's wedding, but I'll update early next week. Adios for now!!