In With The New

Happy ’08 everyone.

I haven’t updated in a while, but mostly there has not been much to post until recently. This will be the “all-holiday post”. Christmas was fantastic. It was a quiet day with the family and From Russia with Love. I got myself a fantastic new toy, wich I have spent most of my free time playing with. And what is it you may ask? A camera of course. What else? A made out with a bunch of other loot as well, thank you everyone. Other than that, it was quiet time with the family, something I do not get much of these days, and something very needed.

New Years was the more "interesting" of the holidays. Every New Years I try and do something new, whether it be on New Years eve, or the following day. This New Years eve, From Russia with Love and I decided to spend the evening in Wendover, AKA the "armpit of the west".

We boarded the “Fun Bus” in Orem. We met up with her friends Blondie and Cowboy. The reasons for the nicknames are simple. Cowboy because he used to do rodeo once upon a time, and Blondie (who is actually a brunette) because, well she behaves like a stereotypical blonde. Once we got on the bus, we sat down, and others passed us looking for seats, stowing bags etc. and all I have to say about that is this: it was a parade of the genetically disadvantaged. So, needles to say, the ride to Wendover on our “Wal-Mart on wheels” was rather uneventful.

We arrived in Wendover at the Montego Bay casino, checked our bags at the front desk, and went straight for the buffet (after From Russia with Love and Blondie had brought two dresses each to change into throughout the course of the evening, don’t ask me why, it just involved a lot of waiting by the bathroom and they ended up in their normal clothes at the end of the night anyway, but fun is fun I guess). The buffet was fantastic. Steaks to seafood to a whole pig that you carved yourself (I was disappointed not to find an apple in it’s mouth) and more desserts than you could shake a fork at. We dinned and laughed and good times where had. Up until the bad news that is.

Blondie said that her throat was itching, and now her arms were as well. We were all eating crab, shrimp, clams and the like, and she announced “I am allergic to shrimp, do you think that has anything to do with the itching?” needless to say, I did everything but actually slap my forehead with my hand. If you are allergic to one shellfish, you are allergic to all of them, and thanks for eating an entire plate of crab legs. I told her what was happening and told From Russia with Love to keep the Sudafed near by incase things got bad, which they did later.

After dinner it was over to the Nugget to check out the party. They had a pretty decent band, and not enough tables. We sat down with a guy who looked like a trucker Sana Claus compleate with a mullet and everything. He was a very jolly fellow, and the table was filled with empty beer bottles, all were his. He was an oil field worker from Houston who had been at the hotel for a solid month, so of course he wanted to talk- he had no life. The Cowboy and I chatted with him, and From Russia with Love & Blondie went and hit up the gambling (mostly for the free drinks, neither are gamblers-From Russia with Love lost $20 in only a few minutes). The Cowboy, Mr. Housaton and I watched the coolest old man dance. The dance floor was filled with about ten pretty young girls, and he was the only guy out there shaking his booty. We all had a good chuckle over him, he had to be in his mid 70’s, and a head that was a dome with large glasses and nothing else but teeth. Blondie and From Russia with Love hit the dance floor a little, then back to the card tables.

It was nice, lounging as far back in a nice chair with a novelty hat pulled over my face, feeling the base from the band under me, watching the party groove on in low lights and cigarette smoke, and screens on either side of the stage showing women in bikinis. Then, out of the party a rather good looking blonde girl sat on my lap, and said “are you ready?” then pow- the flash of a camera. Now I know every one would like their picture taken with me, but the point here is that I do not have to be alone for more that a couple of minutes before I am covered with good looking women. It’s just a talent of mine. And at that opportune moment, From Russia with Love came by, with a look on her face that said: “who’s she?!?”. Of course she is not the jealous type, nor am I, and we all thought that it was rather funny that of all the time she had to come by, it was then.

She was also bearing the bad news for the evening: Blondie’s face had swollen and she passed out. She was in an office receiving first aid (shots of Benadryl) and may have to go to the emergency room. We rushed to the front desk of the Montego Bay to get our stuff, and at the front desk, we heard the ruckus. It was now 2008. We had a quick kiss, wished each other a happy new year and then dashed back over to the Nugget. Blondie was doing well, and we had to just keep our eye on her, so luckily no trips to the emergency room.

It had gone from a wild party to a quieter romantic mood now, and everything was slowing down. The dance floor was no longer the booty shakin’ pad, now a waddling pad for couples. Unfortunately due to the previous events, none of us were in the mood to dance. We went over to the Montego Bay and caught the bus home finally at 2am.

The ride back was much better, after the “professional” gambler stopped talking to me. From Russia with Love fell asleep in my lap, and I looked out the window the entire way home, looking at the stars and moon and the pitch black landscape of the salt flats. What is it about the desert that I love so much? The miles of meditating nothing? The hot wind and cold nights? All of the above I think. Even though it was freezing, and we spent a fantastic time in tight rooms of smoke and neon, the desert is the best place for an escape of any type. Even at night, out the windows of the bus, when there is not much to be seen at all, the stars are at the brightest, and you could see them reflecting on the water outside, it looked like you could walk off into space and never bee seen again. The desert is different. Just go there and think about nothing. You will know what I mean.

The only other thing that I have been up to is watching movies, and plenty of. Maybe my next blog will just be movie reviews. And school starts up soon, so I will have a new check list to go through with all of you soon.

T