I should’ve learned
So I always say I should update more often, but do you think I listen to myself? No. It’s been virtually a month, and a heap’s happened. I had a few weeks at uni before going overseas, and those weeks of uni weren’t bad. I felt quite confident, and was pretty well prepared. I nervously accepted the fact that I’d have to do two assignments while I was in the states, and set about ensuring I could at least make somewhat of a fist at them. Oh well.
So on Wednesday the 15th we left, and we lounged in the Qantas club waiting for our flight to be called. I took the opportunity to do some of my uni readings and orientate myself for the assignments I’d inevitably have to do while over there. We were seated next to each other on the flight over, which was expected, but I got relocated to a place with spare seats. This worked out splendidly for me, cos I could spread my uni crap out on the next seat.
Dean and Woo in Qantas Club in Brisbane
I read a lot and watched a few movies on the way over; most of them were pretty good. They were: Lantata, The Oyster Farmer, A History of Violence, and Blazing Saddles to bring the tone down a little :p I’ve gotta say, the writing of Lantana was brilliant. At times, the tension and turn of events were so awkward that I couldn’t help but laugh aloud.
But anyway, we landed in LAX at about 7. I never ceased to amuse Dean with how much crap I carried in my pockets, especially when trying to clear the security scan to get into the gates. We caught a shuttle to the Radisson to book our night’s stay for about 10 days later. We then resided in the Maccas at the airport, playing cards that I bought. The cards purchase was my first experience using their coinage, and I stood there for a few seconds trying to work out what the hell their coins did. I should point out that nowhere on the dime does it say it’s value is ten cents!
We were just about dying from tiredness by the time our flight to SLC came around - neither of us slept on the way over. I was asleep virtually as soon as I was seated.
Salt Lake was pretty nice. It was the first time I’d experienced snow falling, so I relished it, until one night we had to walk 3 or 4 blocks in it to get to our car thanks to Dean’s awesome sense of direction 
A friend of mine wanted to see me suffer by going out into the snow in my togs and having a photo taken, so I obliged and had the photo made into a postcard and sent off to her.
I collected all the freebies at the show, and by just listening to Dean I became competent enough to carry out a relatively basic conversation about ZENith - at least pertaining to version 4.30; anything else was passed to Dean.
I reluctantly and shoddily completed one of my assignments in SLC. I went for a bit of a walk a few times to shops and stuff. The friggin’ Americans can’t seem to grasp the idea of including the tax in their prices. I went to the dollar store, where their slogan is “Everything’s a Dollar!” and came out with three things, and paid $3.18 because of their stupid tax added on. I might also take the opportunity to say that pennies are useless - thank god we don’t use 1c pieces here any more.
Unfortunately we missed out on going to see both the hockey game and the basketball game we’d planned on seeing, but we had a great time nonetheless - at least I did.
Vegas is like nothing else on Earth that I’ve experienced. I was so excited when we got into our room I was bouncing off the walls. Dean was again amused. The only gambling experience I’ve had has been playing the odd poker machine at the bowls club and playing poker with the boys here at home, so I was a little nervous to say the least. I started with blackjack and got a few hours of entertainment out of $40, and I came out even to boot! So my first table gaming experience was in Vegas. What a baptism. The next morning was poker, and I was even more nervous. My heart was just about jumping out of my chest - totally exhilerating - and I won a small ammount, which was awesome, but short-lived.
View of the strip from our room
We saw a few shows and I had one more assignment to complete, which I slapped together some tripe. It wasn’t a very important assignment, and I knew my marker would be lenient, so I took advantage of both facts, and who wouldn’t given my situation? I loved Vegas, despite the costly nature of merely existing there. I was however dissapointed with the Belagio fountain shutting off at what would be considered an appropriate time if you were anywhere else in the world, but not Vegas. That’s my only complaint, but I figure I’m definitely coming back so I’ll see it then.
LA was fun too. I went on the WB tour and climbed the rope (made it to the top too!) at muscle beach as well as trying a few other aparatus less successfully. I also caught up with some e-friends and saw the Hollywood sign and had dinner with them before returning to the hotel just in time to leave the country.
The flight back was less comfortable, but we managed to sleep a bit. I got enough sleep to last till 11:30pm the night we got home - Dean however lasted until 8pm :p
We were greeted with some shocking news of Dad’s health and went straight to the hospital from the airport. We had enough time with him to show him some of our goodies and tell him some stories before he got wheeled off into surgery. For those who don’t know, he had a quadruple bypass on Monday, and is since recovering in the ward quite well, but will take some time to get used to it I’m sure. The good thing is, it’s a preventative operation, as he hasn’t had a heart attack, and the op will most likely extend his time of good health substantially.
Looking forward to poker on Wednesday - I think I’ve got the Vegas edge now that should help me.