Viva Las Vegas - Part 2
There isn’t much you can say about having to be in Las Vegas for work for extended periods of time. The casino sounds and smells get you pretty quickly. There’s only so much coffee shop food you can eat. The restaurant choices here at the South Point Hotel and Casino are limited so it gets old pretty fast. On the positive? If there is a positive, each room has nice, big plasma TV’s, if you’re spending any time in the room. The rooms are decent size and because the hotel is less than 2 years old, the grime and grossness hasn’t permeated everything. And since this hotel is about 5 miles from The Strip, it’s not overwhelmed with crowds. Still, luckily, we’re only here for 10 days this year instead of 15 like last year.
One of the few fun perks of this hotel is they have 24 hour bowling. A full 64 lanes to choose from and it provides plenty of entertainment. We didn’t have time to bowl last year but we made time this year. On Saturday night, G, C, me and S (our babysitter but she’s so much more) went to the bowling area to meet up with some of the other folks who work on the show. We took over two lanes and got our game on.
You have to realize a few things about me. I’m completely athletically challenged. I’m Jewish and grew up with music, not athletics, as my extra curricular activity. I got into aerobics in college. I learned to ski right before I turned 30 and I haven’t done that in 5 years. I’m about to start taking golf lessons (an upcoming post) That’s about it for my athletic prowess. The other thing you need to know is that the last time I bowled was about 7 or 8 years ago when several friends and myself threw my sister a surprise birthday party/Bat Mitzvah (again, a future post). I couldn’t tell you the last time I bowled before that. So with that history behind me, I pick up my orange 10-pound bowling ball, wind up, throw the ball and I had a STRIKE! My first strike ever and on the first ball! I was quite proud of myself if I can brag a little. I proceeded to bowl 3 more strikes (holy shit!) and finished the round with a 123. Without a doubt, my highest score ever and certainly the first time I broke 100.
C did well too and had quite the fan club with everyone from the office. She assumed a squatting position, pushed the ball and with some help from Dad, the ball managed to get all the way down the lane. One cool thing with “modern” bowling. You tell the front desk which bowler number the kid is and the bumpers come up automatically. Awesome. C did very well for that first game and bowled a 62. She was quite proud.
G and S, of course, did well. G bowled a 143 and S bowled a terrific 136 including a turkey which is 3 strikes in a row! You go girl! She claimed she learned her fine form after watching be bowl my awesome strike right out of the box.
Now, (stand by for bad parenting), it’s about 11PM and we think it’s time to go to upstairs. (Gee, ya think? Is it wrong to think that 11PM is a little late to be up for a 4 year old, even on a Saturday night?) C starts to whinge that she wants to bowl some more. So what do the model parents do? We pay for another round of bowling of course! So we get started with Round 2. Clearly, it was too much for me because my scores went downhill very fast. No strikes. I think I had 1 spare. Even C got a spare. By the time we hit the 10th frame, C and I were neck and neck. When we finally finished (okay, a little after midnight), I only beat C by 2 points. Yes, my 4 year old bowled only 2 points less than I did. It was definitely time for bed and quit while we’re ahead.
Sunday night after dinner, someone decided she wanted to bowl again. So C, G and I went back up to the bowling alley. It was a more reasonable 8:30P at this point. Much less crowded on a Sunday night. C managed to come up with a bit of a new technique and kind managed to stand and throw the ball down the lane as opposed to squat and roll. She understands the hand air dryer and think that’s pretty cool too. No strikes for me but a few spares. I redeemed myself from the debacle of the 2nd round the night before. I finished with a respectable (for me) 94. C bowled well and finished with 60 including one frame where she knocked over 9 pins. G, naturally, won with a PBA Championship challenging 129 points. We had a good time and that’s all that mattered.
Nice shoes
Such form
But it seems to work...
Bonding with Dad while watching the ball go down. (I love this pic)
Scores from game 1
The downslide in game 2
Have to air dry the hands. Makes for better control, dontcha know.
Here comes the ball.
Looking way too cool
Final score from round 3, day 2.
The other excitement that happened on Sunday night (which C actually slept through) was the huge thunderstorm that happened overnight. For about 4 hours, all we heard was thunder claps. We couldn’t see lightning from where we were. That was happening to the east and we apparently face west but there was TONS of thunder. Being from So Cal where we rarely get weather, much less thunderstorms, it was quite amazing. It didn’t rain much where we were but there was tons of flooding all around Las Vegas which caused lot s of problems the next morning. It rained .56” of rain in a really short amount of time and being in the desert, there’s not proper drainage. It was an adventure and sounded really cool. I would’ve liked to have seen the lightning though. Of course, there were some amateur photographers with shots shown on the news and they were really awesome. See? Sometimes, Vegas can be fun.
Viva Las Vegas - Part 1
Well, C and I flew to Las Vegas on Thursday night so I can start work on the Telethon. I got all settled with trying to get through the mounds of paperwork that is the
MDA Telethon. Normally, a regular show rundown (the running order of the show) is about 25 pages and that’s for a big 3 hour show like the Oscars or any of the awards shows. The rundown for the Telethon is 106 pages and 640 items. My
Big Brother scripts average about 64 pages each week.
So I do my best to start my lists on Friday and figure out who’s performing, when, what they’re doing, do I have the lyrics, etc. etc. I’m the AD on all the performances on the Telethon which means that I’m the one who helps the director and the cameramen know what’s coming up next in any given performance. Okay, on a single singer like
Jack Jones or
Maureen McGovern (remember it’s a Telethon and there are the requisite regulars) it’s pretty easy. They’re singing, they’re singing, here’s an 8 bar sax solo, they’re singing. But when you have performances like The
Universal Cheerleaders or a band like
Suburban Legends there’s a lot more to it. With the cheerleaders, it’s being ahead of every dance move, every tumbling run, every 5 person basket toss so that the cameras can be there so that the whole choreography can get captured on TV. With a band like Suburban Legends (who are really awesome by the way), they’ve got a brass section with trombones, trumpets and saxes. I’ve got to know when they’re playing or doing little music blasts so that we can capture those little moments between the lyrics. You get the idea and I do that for 20 hours with 3-5 performances per hour.
But on my first day, I was able to get out for one night of real fun. With 4 of my friends in the script department we went to see
“LOVE” at The Mirage.
This is the
Cirque du Soliel show set to music by The Beatles. I cannot recommend this show enough. It was beyond spectacular. Different from other Cirque shows in that there was more dancing instead of all the specialty acts. It was more of a complete audio visual experience that is beyond belief. I’ve never seen so many people and objects flying through the air in my life. The projections on screens, fabric, floors and more was indescribable. Wonderful dancing and performances Amazing lighting. And all of it set to the amazing music of The Beatles. Do you get that I liked it? I can tell you that this is a show you can definitely see more than one time. There is SO much going on that I know I missed so much. I spoke with my friend Tina who saw it the next night who said the same thing. You’re looking and enjoying one thing and then move your eyes and wonder “where did that come from?” You can’t possibly see it all in one sitting. I can’t wait to see it again. So there you have it, my theatre review from Vegas. Next time you go to Vegas and you wonder what show you should see, go see “LOVE”. It’s worth every penny.
Miss Teen USA South Carolina 2007 with Subtitles
Miss Teen USA 2007 - South Carolina answers a question
Okay, I didn't do the Miss Teen USA Pageant this year because I'm already working on two shows this week (MDA Telethon and Big Brother). So last night was the Miss Teen USA pageant and this is the final question as answered by the delegate from South Carolina. I've been doing pageants since 1995 and this is the WORST pageant answer I've ever heard. Needless to say, she didn't win. But this is the future of America folks. Scary. I hope she doesn't have her drivers license either. Enjoy!
1-2-3-4 HI-5!!
I wasn’t alive when the Beatles first came to America but for the 4 year old set, this has to be what it was like. Okay, for my 4 year old anyway. Yesterday, we went to see Hi-5 in concert at UCLA. The kids were SO excited. We’ve been listening to the CD for weeks and they know all the words by heart and sing them at the top of their lungs. I will admit, that I know most of the tunes by heard myself an d have had a few of them stuck in my head.
The concert turned out to be a lot of fun. C was up on her feet for a lot of it. Doing the moves, singing the songs. I’m truly disappointed that they won’t be appearing in Vegas for the Telethon. We couldn’t work out the transportation to get them there in time so they’ll be performing at the Chicago local and will do a cut in to the national show. Hopefully, that director won’t butcher them the way they did on “Live with Regis and Kelly”. Anyway, the concert was terrific. And because of our Telethon connections, G was able to talk to their road manager and get us VIP backstage passes.
Okay, what’s a backstage pass to a kids group you may ask? No, it’s not M&M’s without the brown ones (Van Halen) It’s not water, iced at 72 degrees. It’s not assorted deli meats or certain brands of alcohol. It’s much better than that. It’s a meet and greet session with Hi-5 themselves!! About 30 minutes after the concert, we, along with other select kids (I’d say about 30 in all) were ushered into a room). The 5 of them came out and sat at a table and they let each group of kids (we were three kids) come up to the table, meet them, chat with them, get an autographed photo and take a picture with them. OMG! it was so stinking cute. Kimmy commented on Cs green nail polish and asked if she should get the same color. They asked if they enjoyed the concert. Did they dance? Did they sing? C, C and J are all so enamored by Jen they didn’t know what to do. C had put on her Hi-5 t-shirt and they commented on how great it looked. Oh, and all the kids in this VIP thing got a little goodie bag. They got 2 Hi-5 DVD's, a sticker and another group photo. Very generous and way cool. They were all really nice, as they should be, and I know the kids were so excited and thrilled. I’m telling you, the FAB 5 ROCK!
No, this is not C's first concert t-shirt.
Considering how far back we were sitting, I'm really happy how these pictures came out with my little camera.
The "famous" Jen!
Stand by confetti cannons. I've got confetti in my purse to prove it.
My little VIP
Meet and Greet
And the piece de resistance.... can't wait to scrap this event!
Labels: Hi-5, The Beatles, UCLA
Stop the insanity!
Okay, there's a barbershop quartet serenading the houseguests in the BB house. Oh yeah, and a midget and a Johnny Depp Pirate dude on stilts. This will all make sense in the HOH comp tomorrow.
There aren't enough hours between now and next Thursday when we leave for Vegas for the Telethon to get everything done. I'm here at BB where the meeting got pushed back an hour. I don't have time for this. I have a swim playdate at my house. Shit. Tonight I have
Dream Dinners. Tomorrow is BB of course. Friday is the final
Hollywood Bowl and the
Summer Sounds Series for C. Playdate Friday afternoon. Saturday I actually have pretty open (I think) until we have to go to LAX to pick up Chapin who's coming into town. We'll have fun and it's actually kind of a good thing that she's only here for 3 days since it's coming up to leaving town. Sunday we've got our
Hi-5 concert and then the adults are going to a real jazz concert at the Bowl. I'm sure Monday and Tuesday will be spent schlepping to as many malls as physiclaly possible. Chapin leaves Tuesday night. Wednesday is BB meeting time. Thursday is BB and we're on a flight Thursday night. I'm exhausted and the Telethon hasn't even started yet. I hope I get everything I need done. At this moment I'm not convinced.
I went to Ventura last week to scrap with Lisa, Kari, Wendy, Kirsten and Lisa M. We got together to celebrate Kari's upcoming 40th birthday. Happy Birthday my friend!! I got a mini-album done and 10 pages. None of them were all that spectacular but hey, they're done. I don't know when I'll be able to scrap again (it won't be until the end of September at the earliest) so I was glad to get that much done, even with very little mojo.
I'm also a little sad today. I dropped C off at camp this morning and that was the last time I'll take her to
Temple Judea. C changed school and starts in a few weeks. I'm still sad that it all came down the way it did. I love TJ and made some truly wonderful, amazing friends that hopefully will last a lifetime for both us and C. Still it was so sad for me today to say goodbye to the school director. I got all teary eyed. C's regular teacher wasn't there at drop off (i'll ahve to email her) because I definitely would've lost it with her. C totally thrived there and loved going to school there for 3 years. I felt melancholy yesterday when I saw C on the yard swinging. She's grown up there. It's been her world for so long, it's sad to think that she's growing up and needs to move on. Of course, she's going to do great at her new school in pre-K but it's still sad. An end of the pre-school chapter in her life. I know I'm more upset that C is.
Book update
While I'm still on the book theme, the goal is still to read 10 books this year. Here's what I've actually read so far. Halfway there and not doing so well.
1 -
Scrap Everything by Leslie Gould. See
this post for the review.
2 -
Wicked by Gregory Maguire. This one nearly killed me since it took almost 4 months to get through but darn it, I was determined to finish it. If I wasn't such a fanatic and obsessed with the musical, or if I read the book first, I never would've finished it.
3 -
The Ultimate Reality Show by Clay Jacobsen. Shameless plug again for a friend's book (Clay, you owe me for this). It's a quick read and a good book.
4 -
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. Yes, a little slow on reading this book but we read it for my new book club. I really enjoyed it.
5 -
The Color of Water by James McBride. Written about 8 years ago. Also for book club. I liked it.
I need to pick up the pace. Next book to read is
Water for Elephants which is currently #1 on the paperback Best Seller list. Need to squeeze a few more in to get to the goal of 10. I'm determined to make it.
Now, if I'd get off the computer, that might help my reading cause.
Labels: book club
I've been tagged
I’ve been tagged. It’s been about a week since Irene tagged me to make a list of the pile of books that are next to my bed, waiting to be read.
"The rules are to provide a list of books that you have on your shelves to see if anyone can learn about you from them - but not just any books. They have to be books that you've actually paid for, nothing given, borrowed, stolen, or whatever."
So let’s see what the world can learn about me. But there’s a large pile of crap next to my bed wanting to be read. And with my goal of reading 10 books this year (remember, gotta start somewhere) if I keep looking at these piles, it’ll give me motivation. Here goes.
The Color of Water by James McBride (just finished this for my book club)
The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audry Niffenegger
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by JK Rowling
Lighting the Way: Nine Women Who Changed Modern America by Karenna Gore Shiff
The Game by Ken Dryden
The Greatest Story Ever Sold by Frank Rich
Lessons for Dylan by Joel Siegel
Scraps: Adventures in Scrapbooking by Wendy Bagley
The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid by Bill Bryson
Little Earthquakes by Jennifer Weiner
The Digital Photography Book by Scott Kelby (one book I should prioritize)
The Children’s Jewish Holiday Kitchen by Joan Nathan
The Ultimate Reality Show by Clay Jacobsen (already read this and it was written by a friend of mine.)
Hand in Hand (a book I remember as a kid and it took me years to track down. Thank goodness for ebay)
And a large pile of scrapbooking idea books and magazines that I’ll get to eventually but those don’t really count as “real” reading.
So there you have it. Eclectic and full of wishful thinking. Hope I have time to get through some of these in the near future.
I tag
Sonia, because I know she reads regularly.
Alli, if she feels so inclined. And anyone else who actually reads consistently. What’s on your nightstand??
Labels: books
