Vegas, baby

On the road *again*. Our fearless traveler has now found herself in the siniest of all sin cities -- Vegas. So many people told me how jealous they were that I was going to be here for a whole week, but I've been here so many times over the years that it's just lost any thrill. I've been here since Sunday and haven't even left the hotel. I promise to do better the next few days and not be a complete loser! :) Blackjack tonight!!

There was free wine available after the seminar yesterday. Need I say more? You all know just how great I must be feeling today. :} Free Wine and Able Cable are two things that go together well!

Wish me luck!

Let us pray . . .

Started my new job today! What better way to start than with . . . prayer? As I now work for a Catholic organization, it is common practice to pray before each meeting. That will take some getting used to for sure! I've always been told to not bring religion into the workplace.

I've been running! And I've been hurting!! If anyone out there in Blogger Land has a cure for the hip pain I'm experiencing, please bring it on. (And no, simply not running is not an answer.)

I'm going to "pray" that my latest "prey" is a good one! Is it possible . . . ?

Snow?

I've been watching the weather reports for the last week and seems to be a decent possibility that 6-8 inches of snow is going to fall in the DC area starting Monday night. Therefore, I decided to fly out a couple days earlier (tomorrow). I know the storm might not hit, but if it did, I'd be sure to be stuck out here longer and I really have some things I need to get back home for.

So, brief catch-up: Got to see Brian and meet his family last night, which was very cool. Cousin Nancy picked me up today and brought me out to her home in Virginia. She and her husband, Jim, took me out for a very nice lunch. After a bit more time back at their home, we headed off to College Park, Maryland, to see my Great Aunt and Uncle. This was truly the highlight of the whole trip and the real reason I came all the way out here. It was soooo wonderful to see them!! We talked a lot about my family, especially my grandfather, who we all miss terribly. My Aunt and Uncle are getting up in years, but are still as sharp as ever. Almost started crying many times with all the remembrances. Also almost puked again due to all the curves on the road!! :) How fitting that my adventure could have both started and ended with vomit! Ha! :)

Great trip and I think I'm as ready as I'll ever be to start my new job back home. Oh, no, I never did go running. Much making up to do on that end!!

DC-licious!

Greetings from DC! Today was great! Very cold, but the sun was shining and the crowds were few -- perfect! I hiked around Arlington Cemetary (caught tail end of guard changing and Eternal Flame), saw a bunch of famous monuments, and went to the Museum of Natural History. The museum did a good job of putting things in perspective. I got to see meteorites, information on evolution, charts showing how much the earth has changed and how recent we humans are in the whole scheme of things. I didn't get lost once today!!! This is a first. :)

The hotel has free washers and dryers available, so I decided to do a load tonight. Out of socks, so timing is perfect! I put everything into one load and what did I end up with? That's right, white shirts that were no longer white. I haven't made this mistake forever! I've got the whites re-washing now, so let's hope they return to their normal color. I thought I could defy the laws of laundry, but alas, could not.

I'll tour more museums tomorrow and am meeting up with a friend I haven't seen since high school for dinner.

Hey Santa Fe

I had always wondered about the state of New Mexico so am very happy to finally see it. It's just not a state you hear about too often. Now I know why! There's a whole lot of nothingness out there, with Santa Fe acting like an oasis. Santa Fe itself is amazing! Very beautiful. I kinda feel like I'm in Mexico, only everyone has money and there's no one begging me to buy chicle.

Daniel drove me up Canyon road yesterday (2/6), which is where all the art galleries are, along with some great pueblos. We looked in about 10 of the galleries. I liked some of the art, but of course didn't understand some of the pieces. After that, he dropped me off back downtown so I could do some shopping. Everything is very expensive and I don't like turqouise, so didn't buy much of anything. People are very friendly . . . maybe today I'll just hang a sign around my neck that states, "I'm from Portland. I am here for a vacation. Yes, it is beautiful!"

Oh, I came up with my million dollar idea, although my cousin shut it down. . . . colored deoderant! You know how the white deoderant gets on your black shirt? Well, why not make the deoderant black in the first place!!! Problem solved! But as Max pointed out . . . your armpit would then be stained black. Oh, minor setback! :)

Quick!

Only have a few minutes before I catch my flight to Albuquerque and head off to Santa Fe. Trip going very well! Was wonderful to catch up with my cousins. Making fun of my puking episode just never got old for them . . . :) That's family for ya!

Quick update, although mostly just for me so I can match stuff up with photos later. I'll try to expand upon stuff at a later date:

Day 1: Glendale for Ryan’s 21st b-day. Meth Man on airplane.
Day 2: Spent day in Lancaster. Went for a 5 mile hike (through garbage). Caught up with Kent, Maxine, and Shari
Day 3: Caught up with Ryan and Kyle. Ryan made crepes for breakfast. Max and Kris hit the road for the 8 hour drive to Tucson. Max got pulled over, but thankfully just a warning.
Day 4: Got to meet Max’s horse, Kashi, and see the beautiful place she was staying at. Went for a drive through a national park and saw all the different kinds of cactus. Ate Mexican food. Watched Superbowl. Commentators are dumb.
Day 5: Flight to Santa Fe via Albuquerque to meet up with Daniel.

Gotta catch my flight! Can't believe I have to leave this 75 degree weather for snow . . .

Day 1: Vomit

Note to self: If you know you suffer from motion sickness and you are given a choice between taking the road through the mountain or the highway to get home, I don’t care how much longer the highway option is – always take the nice, flat highway.

Off I go!

Picture this: I'm on my laptop at the airport, drinking my Starbucks, with my i-Pod in my ears. Yesiree, I might even send someone a text message just to prove to the world that I am hip and with it. Ha! :)

I'm officially unemployed!!! I only have 19 days left until I start my new job, and I'm bound and determined to make the most of it. Therefore, I'm off on a nice vacation!!

I'm heading out on a 2 week trip to visit some friends and family. First stop, Burbank, CA. I'll be joining my 2nd cousin, Ryan, on his 21st birthday party. From there, one of my 1st cousins and I will drive down to her hometown of Tucson, AZ. After that, I'm off to snowy Santa Fe for a few days with a friend of mine. Finally, I head over to DC, where I'll spend a couple days on my own, but then eventually meet up with more family. That's more flying than I usually care to do, but a necessary evil for the adventurer in me.

If I put it in writing, maybe I'll have a better chance of it happening: I will make sure to run while away from home. I have to be ready to be in the St. Patty's Day run next month!

Happy to have you all out there in Blogger Land along with me. I'll try to keep the updates coming, but I'm only as good as the free internet access I can steal! ;)