Viva Las Vegas!

Well the last few days have flow by! A lot of our staff members departed on Friday, so we went out to celebrate "A Job Well Done" that night. It was good; we had quite a few people come and go from The Pub, and some of us die hards stayed for the band. I was exhausted the next day since I'm still going into work at 5 AM, but it was fun. I was delighted to receive a darling little Christmas tree from the Goodwin family on Saturday, but disappointed when my plans to make cookies with a friend fell through. I ended up catching up on my rest instead which was good since Betsy was on her way! Betsy got here around lunchtime on Sunday and we grabbed a quick bite before heading out to explore The Strip. We wandered down to the Hilton to pick up our tickets to the Wynonna concert, then headed back to the room to get ready. The concert was GREAT!!!! We sat on row F, and were allowed to take pictures, even got to go up to the front row to do so! Wynonna sang Christmas songs and some of her own music, as well as some classic Judds tunes. She was very engaging with the audience and had quite the sense of humor. We both loved the concert, but wished the lady behind us who commented on every single song and wardrobe selection hadn't been there. After the concert, I had my picture taken with her back up singers. One was Larry Strickland who once sang with Elvis, and is currently married to Wynonna's mom Naomi! We dined on McDonald's because by the time the show was over, we were limited in our choices.

I worked on Monday, but met with Betsy for breakfast. We had cupcakes from the Cupcakery... simply divine! OMG! What a horrid place to have open in my hotel ;) For lunch, we went to a nifty little joint at Mandalay Bay called Burger Bar. It had been talked about for weeks by my coworkers, so decided this was the best time to try it. We shared a burger, I saved Betsy's life, then we ordered the Beer Float Paddle. Yes, Beer Floats, not Rootbeer Floats. Those of you who know me, know I'm not a beer drinker, but I confess that I did in fact enjoy my selections. I had one that was Guinness Beer with coffee ice cream and one that was Linderman's Raspberry Beer with vanilla ice cream. I'm not sure what Betsy had, I was too busy with mine. We walked through Mandalay Bay, into Luxor and then Excalibur half looking for the I Love Lucy slot machine and half just trying to make it back towards our hotel. We stopped at M&Ms World for pictures, then headed to Aria to catch the new Cirque du Soleil show "Viva Elvis". Now I'm sure this show has potential, and when it "officially" opens in February will be quite good, but our experience was not the most positive. For starters, we were overcharged for our drinks, then the clerk was very rude when we brought that to his attention. Then, when we entered the theater, we noticed that I was in a "handicapped chair" (basically a desk chair) and Betsy was in a typical theater chair... ON THE BACK ROW. So not only are we ALL THE WAY IN THE BACK of a theater that might be 1/2 full, we also have a good foot of space between us. We attempted to take a photo of our predicament (you know, make light of the situation), but got reprimanded by security. Then, as if we were some kind of hoodlums, the guy stood behind us throughout the show! Seriously? Anyways, any hope of us moving to one of the 2,000 empty seats was squashed by our own personal guard. Next, the show experienced "technical difficulties" 2 songs in, so they just had us sit while they fixed the problem. After 1/2 an hour we requested a refund and were told we could only receive tickets for another show. Since this was Betsy's last night, that didn't work for us, so we napped until the show began again. About four songs into it, the show picked up speed and became more entertaining, although I do recall Betsy's eyes being closed a time or two. Overall, it was a disappointing adventure, and the lack of customer service really left a sour taste in my mouth.

I once again went to work at 5 AM on Tuesday, but met up with Betsy for breakfast at Starbucks. I tried to extend our time by taking her back to work with me, but in reality it was just too short of a visit. I didn't do much that evening, but it was nice to just rest after another full weekend. Plus, work has been crazy... I don't actually know if they will get it together before I leave or not, but I know I've done all I can to help them.

This one's for Teeg

Per T.J's request, I am updating sooner so that you all don't feel as if you are on a whirlwind trip. Tuesday started off typically enough with me arriving to work at 5 (in the MORNING!) ready to assist the Aria housekeepers with opening up the house. For those of you not familiar with hotel lingo, to open the house basically means you determine which rooms need service for the day, what type of service they will need, and assign these tasks to the housekeepers. Should be simple, right? Not so much. For starters, no one knew why I was there. Literally. No one. One guy even went to ask someone else if it was okay to have me there because he didn't believe me when I told him what I was supposed to do. I was like, "Seriously? Who would get up this early if they didn't have to, especially when I had to wear a suit and heels?" Geez! So I make a few calls and find out that the staff I'm to work with is "running late". Ok, I'll grab some coffee... 3 hours later... the ladies that actually have a clue arrive and we proceed with the task at hand. I really should have just gone back to bed and started over. The day just got worse due to disorganization and sheer ciaos amongst the staff, not to mention the nerves that are ever present when opening the most anticipated hotel in the world. So I cut them some slack and stayed until almost 5 PM trying to help get things rolling more smoothly. My coworker, Anna, notified me she had Play Day Passes and Aria money for each of us, did I want to go? Duh. Again, if you aren't in "the biz", you may not be familiar with Play Days, but they are when a property opens for pretend to work out the little kinks prior to opening for real. We each received about $1000 in Aria money with which we were able to gamble, dine and drink to test the services of those entities. Very cool. So we played for a bit, but the lines for dinner were very long, so Anna and I chose to venture off to Vdara for dinner. We went to Silk Road, a restaurant whose name comes from the trade route spanning from Venice to the Far East and features "trans-ethnic" cuisine (basically a bunch of "fru-fru" food that I had to ask Anna what it was and how to eat it). We first received half of a prune that had been roasted and topped with goat cheese and arugula. Next, we were treated to some flat bread with garlic spread that was de-lish! As my entree, I order the Kobe steak. OMG. It was really good (not as good as when Dad grills steak, but you know...). Anna ordered some lamb stew or something that she didn't like and was subsequently in a foul mood. Well, that was until she noticed Dale Chihuly walk past our table. If you aren't familiar with him, he is a famous blown glass artist. I first saw his work while living in Indianapolis where his piece, "Fireworks of Glass", is featured at the Children's Museum. If you've ever been to the Bellagio here in Vegas, you would have seen a huge piece of his in the ceiling of the lobby. I left the table at one point after this to confirm that our meal was "taken care of" by the front desk manager (it helps to know people ;)), and while I was away, I noticed Mr. Chihuly and his party in the lobby and approached his assistant just to say I was a fan. Well lo and behold if he didn't call Mr. Chihuly over to introduce us and then Mrs. Chihuly offered to take my picture with him! It was very exciting! The Chihuly's departed to their suite, and Michael invited me to stop by The Gallery for a sneak peek the following day before the big opening. Wow. Just goes to show you never know how your day will turn out. After we finished our meal, Anna headed back to our hotel, while I joined some other coworkers (picture is of me and Sarah) who were still enjoying Aria's Play Day. Pretty great end to a pretty rocky beginning.

Today was both better and worse at work. I still didn't have anyone who knew how to open the house come in until 8, but today I was prepared for that and took something to do with me. I continued to seek solutions to the disorganization which is tough since I don't work for the property and don't really have a say in what goes on. My role with this project is basically to just sit back and answer questions related to Opera, but I have been granted permission to assist as needed regardless of the capacity in order to make the department run more smoothly. This was lovely news to me, and I was finally able to make decisions regarding procedures without going through all the hoops that were previously in my way. I actually got off work around 3:30 today! I departed the property and went straight to The Gallery where I was escorted by Michael to the area behind the velvet ropes to see the show prior to the public opening. This was a first for me, and I'll just go ahead and say that I liked it. Perks are good. I was allowed to take pictures (my 2 favorite pieces each carry a list price of $55,000), and when I was ready to depart, Michael presented me with two Chihuly desk calendars (one for me and one for Anna). Not bad for just another day at the office. Tonight is the official opening of Aria, and media coverage is 10x worse than that of Vdara. My boss and I were interviewed by Jim Murren, CEO of MGM Mirage, today as he was being followed around by a crew from some TV show. I'll let you know if I see myself on TV again as I did with the Vdara opening.

Until my next bit of news....

P.S. The pictures below are of Vdara. As I'm still currently working at Aria, I'm not allowed to post pictures, but don't worry, I have taken several and will post as soon as I'm able!

Vegas Baby!

I am currently in Las Vega, NV working on a HUGE project called City Center. From the moment my plane hit the ground, and the 10 days following, I was so busy working, I had no idea I was in Vegas. Fortunately, I then had a 4 day weekend to make up for it! The hotels I am here to help open and support are amazing! The first was a 1495 room all suite, non gaming, smoke free boutique property that truly makes one forget they are in Sin City. The second, is a monster of a property weighing in at over 4000 rooms with all the Vegas amenities and so much more. I hope one day to be able to afford to say in one of these lovely properties.

As I mentioned, I was very busy upon arrival, so when I had the time, I tried to take full advantage of it and go see all that I could of Las Vegas. On the first day, I walked up and down Las Vegas BLVD just trying to take it all in. I had my picture made with Elvis at the Welcome sign, watched the Bellagio Fountains, attended at television preview session at the MGM Grand, watched "I Lost My M in Vegas" at M&M's World, basically, as I came across something I found interesting (and free), I did it. The day was long and I logged about 9 miles in my Asics, but I finally felt as if I were in Vegas.

The following day, I rented a car and received my complimentary Executive Platinum upgrade which awarded me a 2010 silver Mustang convertible. Imagine my disappointment at the below normal temperature of 39 degrees. Anyway, I drove my sassy little car south to the Hoover Dam and want to encourage you to visit should you get the opportunity. I took the Dam Tour which was quite informative and provided some great places for photos. Afterwards, I wandered the "self guided" portion, and again had spectacular views, especially of Lake Meade at sunset. I think other visitors must have taken pity on this lone girl who kept taking pictures of herself, as several offered to take my picture for me ;) Upon leaving the dam, I stopped for dinner in Boulder City. My first impression of BC on my way to the dam was to avoid it if at all possible, but since my stomach often prevails over my mind, I didn't follow my initial feelings (guess you could say I followed my gut instead). I was charmed by this little town at nightfall. The "downtown" area was decked out in festive Christmas lights and decorations and a small local theater, The Boulder Theater, caught my eye. They were holding a production of The Nutcracker that evening, so I stopped by to inquire about the performance. Imagine my surprise and pleasure to find that the theater was owned and operated by none other that Mr. & Mrs. Desi Arnaz, Jr! Mrs. Arnaz, Miss Amy to the community, was there and greeted me warmly. She provided me information on the theater, but unfortunately the show was sold out and I was not able to tour the facilities. I'm sure it wouldn't mean much to the average person, but to me it was fabulous to be that close to Lucille Ball... I mean, Amy is Lucy's daughter-in-law!!! My batteries were "exhausted" as my camera puts it, but I don't know that I would have had the courage to ask for a photo regardless. If Desi Jr had been there that would have been different..... Moving on, I dined at a cute little restaurant called Milo's that features a very large selection of wines, especially for such a small place, and my palate was definitely treated with my choices.

As I continued my drive back to Vegas, I made a stop at Ethel M's Chocolate Factory. The name alone should be enough for those who know me to know this was a little slice of Heaven on earth for me, but for those that don't, there's more! Ethel's offers a free tour of the facilities and then rewards it's visitors with free samples at the end! As if this weren't enough, the Cactus Garden outside was covered in an assortment of Christmas lights and decorations. The gazebo was decorated to resemble the North Pole complete with Santa! I told Santa that I wanted my family here for Christmas and he promised to see what he could do. We then had a picture taken together and he gave me a package of M&M's before the next little girl got to have her turn. I hate that I have all these experiences alone, but hope that by blogging about them you are able to somehow share them with me.

For my final stop of the day, I went to "Old Vegas". You know the area, it's home to the Golden Nugget, Binion's, The 4 Queens, that big souvenir shop with the cowboy on top... Las Vegas is trying to revamp this area and now it is lumped together collectively referred to as The Fremont Experience. I must confess this is my preference to the strip. It just seemed more alive and definitely fit into my ideals of what Vegas should feel like. There were 2 stages set up with free concerts and an enormous Christmas tree set up in the center of the walkway topped off by a miniature Welcome sign in lieu of a star. My affection for this area could also be influenced in part by the influx of cowboys that happened to fill every vantage point due to the National Finals Rodeo that was taking place at the time. I'm just sayin'.....

On Saturday, I drove out to Mount Charleston to play in the snow. The views were spectacular from every angle. I was blown away by how much beauty lies just beyond the borders of Sin City. I would like to point out that just because there is snow covering the ground, that does not mean the cacti have gone into hiding and it is not wise to attempt making a snow angel in the desert. Trust me on this one. I did make a little bitty snowman however, and without incident. It rained a bit while I was out, but just for a moment and when the moment passed, I witnessed one of God's most beautiful promises, a rainbow, and was able to capture it end to end with my camera. I took a nap that afternoon after watching a little football and then attended a concert at the MGM Grand featuring Andrea Bocelli. His beautiful voice moved me to tears multiple times throughout the 2 1/2 hour event; he graced us with 4 encores before finally retiring off stage, and introduced me to a new artist out of Australia named Delta Goodrem. It was perfect. I completed my evening by meeting up with a coworker for dinner and watching her multiply her money on slots while I pouted over the loss of mine (she advised me you have to bet big to win big- she started with $20 and ended up with about 7x that, I started with $5 and ended up with nada).

As Sunday rolled around so did the end of my time with my little car. I decided to take advantage of the beautiful day, so despite the cool temperatures, I put back the top and let that pony run (as fast as legally allowed)! I obviously had the heater on full blast, but even had I not, the sheer exhilaration of the wind in my hair allowed me to block out the chill on my skin. It was very sad to turn her in; I hope the next driver is as appreciative of her talent as I was.

I was scheduled to work overnight on Sunday, so I once again watched a little football and followed that up with a nap before getting ready for my shift. I arrived only to find I was not needed after all. One of the few times that I truly felt the day was a total waste of makeup. I retired to my room and was "on call" for the next 8 hours. It proved to be a very uneventful evening, but I was able to catch up on some reading which was nice.

I'm off again today with the exception of a meeting this afternoon, and then it's back to 10 hour work days beginning at 5 AM tomorrow.

Cheers!

Hello!

Hello and welcome to my blog! I often receive text messages asking me where I am, so I thought I'd start a blog to help everyone keep track of all of my "adventures". Currently, I'm at home. My schedule has me working remotely until the 29th of November, so we'll see how long that holds true. This week my computer was down, and Mom was on vacation, so we tackled kitchen. We now have a kitchen that is the color of chocolate milk, and a bunch of no longer wanted ceramic roosters. :) I recently returned from a week in Minnesota and was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed my time there. I volunteered to work the overnight support shift which allowed me plenty of time to wander the state. I attended a Vikings game, visited the SPAM Museum, saw the Green Giant, watched the sun set on the Mississippi, and made some new friends! This week is Thanksgiving and then I'm off to Vegas for a month! Somehow, I promise to endure!