9 posts tagged “las vegas”
I have found something I miss about Las Vegas.
I have gotten very used to driving in Vegas. It's a grid. Aside from that, there are very few tall buildings, and you can (for better or worse) see the sun all the time, so you know very clearly what is north, south, east, and west. So if you get lost, and you know that your destination is east of you, you can head east until you find a street you recognize and breathe a sigh of relief.
Not so in Boston.
I had an interview in the city today. It was a two-part jobbie, where I started at a part of the city I actually knew well. So I decided to take my car, as opposed to taking the commuter rail. Two reasons, really: I knew where I was going, and I wanted to wear heels with my suit. (I know...HORRIBLE reasoning...but the shoes are really cute and really painful.) Got to part one fine, then was given directions (by train) to part two. Unfortunately, the directions started with "head Outbound".
This part of the city I was at was pretty much downtown. Or so I thought. So I wasn't sure which way Outbound was, and neglected to ask as I was leaving. Cut to me being lost for about an hour, getting directions from Jeremy via phone, as he has my Garmin in his car. Apologized profusely as I arrived. But at least I got there! And vowed to the interviewers that I would never drive into the city again should they hire me.
What's your favorite flavor of ice cream?
In keeping with this being my last weekend in Las Vegas, and looking for things that are more readily available here (or only available here), my favoritest flavor of ice cream is Cold Stone Creamery's Cake Batter with cookie dough mixed in. Mmmmmmmm.... If only the local Cold Stone wasn't staffed by the evil moron girl who apparently hates me.
They do have Cold Stone in Boston, but it would require a special trip...as opposed to running down to the end of the block.
One thing they don't have (I think...haven't checked) is Chipotle. So, since Jeremy wasn't hungry, and Ethan just wanted chips, that's what I did for lunch. Yummy! I'll miss burritos. And actual Mexican food. I like that stuff, now that I've actually had real (or real-er) Mexican.
ETA: Oh, wait...there is a Chipotle! In Medford, however, which is still a trip. But at least I know now, just in case I have that fajita burrito craving!
So at elections, Nevadans voted to approve a sweeping smoking ban. Restaurant/bars are upset about this, as they either have to massively remodel their establishments to separate the bar and restaurant, stop serving food, or go smoke-free. Yesterday, the day before the ban was to take effect, a judge issued a temporary injunction so the constitutionality of the law could be examined. Obviously, the American Cancer Society was not happy, and issued a statement.
Which is a roundabout way of me saying that I completely love the name of their representative: Buffy Tarbox.
Because how perfect is that?
So what if today was the first time I went in... Showgirls will never be the same again.
Dude... You're driving a PT Cruiser. Enough with the fake bulletholes.
Sorry 'bout the glare... Now who didn't see this one coming?
And the best part is that the members of the news team aren't necessarily awake either. Well, I'll give half of them the benefit of the doubt... The male anchor, Mitch Truswell, is pretty together. Which is good, as with that name, he's either a news anchor or a porn star. And a porn star he ain't. The traffic guy, "Chopper" Tom Hawley, is pretty good. As long as he's in the chopper. Put him in the studio, and he's pretty useless.
My favorite person on the news cast is the co-anchor, Sue Manteris. Because this is a woman who clearly shouldn't be reading the news. Or she should fire her writers. First off, she likes to ad-lib, giving her opinion on the story, often causing Mitch to react in a "umm...that's nice Sue...moving on..."
A couple of days ago, on the story with the guy getting stabbed by a stingray, she comes up with the classic line, and I quote:
My iPod has been getting a little flaky lately. The battery doesn't quite last 12 hours...it feels a little warm to me (though it's Vegas...everything feels a little warm to me)...and it makes a weird noise occasionally when I have it plugged into some kind of amplifier. I'm really only picking out these little minor things as, when I got the iPod I was a teacher (well, technically), so I got an educator's discount, so I sprung for the Apple Care Plan. Normally, I don't do the extended warranty dealies, but we had done research, and I figured I would have to replace the battery at some point over the two years it would cover, given my listening habits. And, what the heck, the Plan was the same price as my discount, and I wouldn't have to pay for at least one battery. Yay!
You can imagine my joy when I went to work, listened to the Project Runway podcast for this past week, plus two episodes of Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me!, and then noticed my iPod wouldn't work. I did what I do whenever anything computer related fails to work...I called my husband. He said, nope, nothing we can do. He confirmed when I got home that my battery was dead. Huzzah!! After putting the Ethan to bed, I merrily jaunted off to the Strip, where the Apple Store is. I was getting a new iPod!!
Oh, no...
I made an appointment to speak to a Genius about my iPod issues, moseyed around the mall, played some Finding Nemo games (target audience: under 6), checked my LJ, then blanked when he called my name. Finally realized that I was the Jennifer Y he was talking about, and went to talk to Captain Crackhead. I told him my battery was dead. He obsessed about a miniscule dent in the case. I showed him my Apple Care Plan.
He said I would have to pay $71 for a new battery.
I said Aroo??
He said the first step was a battery test.
I said okay, and proceeded to read my Apple Care Plan while he typed my information into the computer. Upon realizing that I was reading the fine print, he said, "You see where it says about that battery?"
I said, "Yeah...It says you'll repair or replace it. Not that I'll have to pay for it. That's why I bought the Plan."
He said, "Uhhhh...well, the $71 is for the battery test."
I said, "My husband fixes computers. I'll take the instructions home and have him do it."
He said, "Oh...well...the battery test is free. I think it must be the shipping. 'Cause we'll give you a new iPod."
I said, "Hmmmm. You must have some really good crack back there."
I took my iPod home, sad that it wasn't somehow a shiny new iPod. Maybe even black with a red dial. 'Cause that would be cool. I walked in, and Jeremy asked for the iPod. Apparently, he had already gone to Apple's webpage, filled out the service information, and just needed the serial number. I guess Captain Crackhead Genius just wanted to sell me a new battery...despite his assurances that it would be more expensive to do it online, Apple's webpage doesn't want my money.
So, iPod is going home to Apple, and something new will come back to me. Hey, maybe I'll get a video iPod. Okay, fine...I'm not holding my breath there. I just don't want a Nano.
...I'm not entirely jaded. As I was going out to my car, I happened to hit the beginning of the Bellagio fountain show. And I just had to stop, because I always have to watch the show. Especially when it's my favorite show of all time.
