Been over a month, so maybe I should update. =)

Spanish for Whale's Vagina
The business trip to San Diego went well. Got to see a lot of cool stuff at the FiRe Conference. We stayed at the Del Coronado Hotel, which is the same place I remember staying during my last visit there when I was around 10 years old. I remember hunting Easter eggs on the lawn and trying to body surf in the ocean but constantly getting slammed into the beach. It was actually quite windy and overcast while we were there, but the atmosphere was excellent regardless. I ended up helping do some of the videotaping for the event, and I think they'll be posting some of it online soon. The company got mentioned in a CNet article, which is pretty neat.

After that trip, I spent some time in Auburn hanging out with Will, Robin, G, Candice, and Dixon. Will's sister Jean also dropped in for a bit. Ray went back to Chattanooga for the summer. Oh, and I also took a trip over to Savannah for a couple of days to help my sister move. Also got a chance to visit with my mom, Jonathan, and Ryan. Somewhere in there, I also went to Panama City for a weekend.

Finally, I can't recall if I've mentioned it, but we've continued to play Rock Band since we got it back around Christmas. It's quite a lot of fun since it combines most of the music games together. I've gotten pretty decent at the drums.

Long Live The Meadows
Everyone kept asking if I was excited about Vegas, but it somewhat snuck up on me. This is the sixth time I've been here now, so it's starting to feel relatively familiar. To be honest, I was more looking forward to seeing Faye again than anything.

This year we're renting a house instead of a condo, but it's not too far from southwest of the city where we were last year. We've got a pool, hot tub, putting green, and pool table. Zach and Ahson are both here again, and Mikey's supposed to be coming for a little while. We've also taken in another Zach, and we should be having quite a few visitors throughout the month. Zimmer's been here. Then Faye. Next: Candice, G, my brother, my dad, Zach 1's girlfriend, Zach 2's gf, Mike, and Mikey. Dustin's been kind of like a house guest though he's not actually staying here.

Every other night or so, we hang out in the hot tub and discuss poker strategy. It's a pretty amazing learning environment. Ahson has finally taught me how to stomp Limit Hold 'Em, which is quite exciting. So far, live poker has continued to be frustrating. It seems so useless from an actual earning expectation because the sample sizes are so small. I generally play well and run bad. I know that I'll do fine in the long run, but it's so grueling to sit in a casino for hours. I think live poker is much better for recreation purposes. Hasn't stopped my from playing live tournaments and cash games and getting kicked as a result. Fortunately, I'm still doing decently online.

Crash Into Me
The best part of this trip so far was my Faye's visit. I cleaned up the house and then picked her up at the airport last Saturday evening. We drove to the Strip to walk around the Forum Shops at Caesars. We finally found me a cologne (apparently a lot react strangely to my body chemistry), toured the toy store, and ate at Chinois. The food was unique and tasty. Afterwards, we picked up some theatre tickets for the next night and came back to the house.

Upon awaking, Faye had further cleaned and organized the house (including the refrigerator). In doing so, she endeared herself to the other guys, and consistently did similar kind gestures while she was here. That afternoon we went by the Rio to rail Zach in his WSOP event (he got 11th), discuss walking around casinos blindfolded, and got some dinner in one of the restaurants. I briefly introduced Faye to Matt and Jay. From there, we headed over to New York New York for Cirque du Soleil's Zumanity. I'd heard some controversy about the show, and if you're easily offended by the risque, it's not for you. However, if you're relatively open-minded, it's a fun and impressive performance. Faye and I had an excellent seat and got to participate a little. Will post a picture when I get it scanned in Auburn. Afterwards we went home and watched "Across the Universe". Previously I'd picked the movies that we'd watched and she'd not been impressed, so I figured we'd go with one of hers. I wasn't quite sure what to expect, but I dig some Beatles songs and found the movie entertaining. The art direction is quite well done.

The next day turned out to be jam-packed with fun. After we got up, we headed over to play indoor mini-golf. It was a cool experience with it being carpeted and under black lights, and I'm glad we did it, though I think I prefer more elevation changes. Oh, and the carpet led to constant static shocks...which were momentarily painful but amusing. From there, we went to the Mirage and Siegfried and Roy's Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat. I hadn't realized it before, but the white tigers and lions are part of that exhibit, so I was really excited to see them with Faye. The enclosures are kind of small, but they're well kept and maintained. I'm a sucker for cats of all varieties, so I enjoyed it a lot.

Next we walked across the street to the Venetian to see the Phantom of the Opera. The production was pretty stupendous. I'd seen it before in London, but the effects were certainly the best of any theatrical show I've seen. Every time the music swelled, I got goose bumps. Part of it was certainly the thrill of having my beautiful girl by my side for it. When the show was over, we headed across the highway to the Palms. At the top of the tower, there's a five-star restaurant called Alize. The view of the lit-up city was excellent, though I spent most of the time looking across the table. =) I learned a lot about food and service during the meal, and I'd rank it as one of the best meals I've ever had. That may've had something to do with the company. We went back to the house afterwards and crashed from a full day. I can't really get over how blessed I am.

We didn't really get to see and do everything that I wanted because there wasn't enough time, but I know that we'll eventually get to them. After I dropped Faye off at the airport, I cried for a while because I knew how much I'd miss her. I know I'll see her next month, but in the short term, it seems so far away. We're fortunate to get to talk a lot each day despite the distance.

Well, it's rather late and I should probably try to get some sleep, but I wanted to bring everything up to date. The next couple of weeks look to be quite fun.

Pictures pending.