In the last post I shared a story from my past about the first time I went to the movies with a girl. I shared that story in order to share this next story. If you haven’t read the previous post yet, I would encourage you to do so before continuing with this one because otherwise it’ll feel like reel 2 was spliced with reel 5 and you’ve missed 45 minutes of plot.
The “Batman girl” (I realize that if I would refer to her as “Batgirl” I would save a word, but we didn’t go see a Batgirl movie together, we saw Batman, so although it doesn’t read as well I’m choosing to call her “Batman girl” in order to preserve the integrity of my memory) and I were friends in middle school and drifted apart and were more like acquaintances in high school. We had concert choir and show choir together and talked to each other at social events, but she had a different group of friends than I did so we weren’t as close as we were as kids. I didn’t see her much at all after high school. I had heard from other Warrensburg townies that her sister had been down on her luck and had gotten into some trouble, and that this girl eventually followed suit and ended up in jail on drug-related charges. I didn’t really think much of it at the time because I was in college and doing my own thing (and I’m rather selfish; if it doesn’t concern me directly then I tend to lose interest quickly).
Fast forward a few years. It’s a random weekday in the summer of 2006 and I’m at work in downtown KC. I walk over to the McDonald’s to grab a quick lunch, and as I’m in waiting in line for my food I see a girl behind the counter that looks like someone I recognize. I thought that it might be either “Batman girl” or her older sister (they looked a lot a like – both very pretty). She didn’t see me, so I took my food and left. I sat at my desk for the rest of the day, wondering if it was her. I was preoccupied thinking about her while at home that evening as well. The next day I went back to McDonald’s, hoping that this girl (who might be someone I know) was working, and she was. This time she’s cleaning up the dining area; taking the empty trays back, changing the trash, etc. I thought to myself that I’ll just try to get a look at her nametag to see if it is “Batman girl” or her sister. So I try to casually look at her nametag from afar. It’s a good thing that I didn’t pursue international espionage as a career because after this girl finished refilling the ketchup packets at the napkin/condiment area, she comes up to me and says in an annoyed, confrontational tone “Why are you staring at me?” I quickly look at the nametag and IT was “Batman girl”. I say, ““Batman girl”, it’s me, Will from high school.” (I used her real name; I didn’t say “Batman girl”). She then remembers who I am and says, “Oh hi Will, I didn’t recognize you at all.” (Obviously the Batman movie experience didn’t leave the same lasting impression with her as it did with me). I could tell that she was a little embarrassed to have someone from her past see her working at McDonald’s in downtown Kansas City, but I didn’t care at all. I was just really happy to see her. We stood there for 5 minutes and caught up on each other’s lives. She had just gotten out of jail and was living in a halfway house, trying to get back on her feet. She was hoping to get out of the halfway house and get her daughter back (she had a daughter before she went to prison). She was now focused on turning her life around and working towards being able to be there for her daughter and becoming a part of her daughter’s life. I asked her if she was planning on attending our 10 year high-school reunion later that summer. She said that she wasn’t; she didn’t really want to see all of those people, considering what she’s been through recently (understood). We parted ways after I gave her my contact information and I went back to work and she went back to work. I couldn’t believe I had actually run into “Batman girl.” Although she had experienced some rough times, she was still the same; she had the same mannerisms and the same smile that I remembered.
After that encounter I couldn’t stop thinking about her and her situation. Working in downtown Kansas City I routinely see homeless people sleeping on heat grates and rummaging through trash cans for food and it doesn’t affect me at all. I see stories on the news and hear Jen’s stories from her work about drug addicts going to jail and I don’t give it a second thought. I guess it’s because I actually know this girl that it really stuck with me and bothered me. She’s not some random person who’s been addicted to drugs and spent time in prison; this was “Batman girl.” I couldn’t help but think that she and I were a lot alike growing up and we had basically the same childhood with the same opportunities. Of course there were a few variables in her life that were different than mine, but we both grew up in the same small town in middle-class families. She was a popular girl in school and had a lot of friends. She played sports on the same travelling teams that my wife had, and she and my wife grew up as friends and spent time together as well. She had a normal, suburban life; things like this shouldn’t happen to normal people, especially people that I know. I can’t really describe it, but I felt like that could have easily been me if just a few things had been different in my life. I also felt like that I needed to do something to help her out. Not out of guilt or anything like that, but because she was someone I knew and had grown up with. She was part of a memory from my childhood that to this day makes me smile. I’m sure this sounds egotistical, but people who have been a part of my life and people I care about deserve better than that. I can’t let someone like that go and not at least try to help out in some way. She was trying really hard to get her life back on track and I wanted to assist with that effort. I saw her a few more times and I was able to help her out with a few things. I wish I could’ve done more for her. She was able to get an admin assistant job downtown in an office and quit McDonald’s. She was later able to move out of the halfway house and move into the same town as her daughter, get married, and she eventually regained custody of her daughter. I’ve tried to stay in touch with her and check on how she’s doing. She’s doing well – she’s happy, she has her daughter and she’s starting a new chapter in her life.
Seeing “Batman girl” again and getting reacquainted with her as an adult really changed my thoughts on some things and helped to make me a better person. It bothers me now when I hear other Warrensburg townies speak about “Batman girl” and for them to be so judgmental of her situation and be so dismissive about it, like it’s a given that she’ll end up failing and they’re not surprised when she goes through bumps in her life. I guess it’s our society; drug-addiction is looked down upon and people tend to not be as compassionate towards those suffering from it. To me it’s somewhat of a double-standard; a girl can suffer from something like anorexia and people will have sympathy (“sympathy or empathy?”) for her and not look down upon her – she’s an angel who’s suffering from a disease and people have hope for her (please note: I think anorexia is a serious illness and I am not making light of it at all). A girl with a drug addiction, however, is thought to have chosen her lifestyle and she just needs to get her act together. Well, it’s just as easy for the girl to stop using drugs as it is for the anorexic girl to go put a dent in a buffet. I’m sorry to sound so preachy and I’ll get off of my soapbox now, but it really bothers me.
I’m sure there are some people who have legitimate reasons for not liking “Batman girl”, and I understand that. I have a short list of people from my youth who I do not care for and secretly take joy in hearing when their lives aren’t going well. But I have specific (albeit petty) reasons for not liking these people; it’s not just because I don’t agree with their life choices.
A note to all of the Warrensburg townies – the next time we’re all together, sharing stories and giving updates on friends, classmates, etc., please refrain from saying anything negative or judgmental about “Batman girl” (if you grew up in Warrensburg I’m sure by now you know who I’m referring to), at least while I’m participating in the conversation, out of respect to her and also to me. I will, in turn, refrain from saying anything negative or judgmental about anyone else we all may know. If you do insist on saying something, don’t be surprised if I go on a controlled rant about this subject and probably make it awkward and kill the conversation.
Song of the day: The Airborne Toxic Event’s “Sometime Around Midnight.” A song that describes perfectly what it feels like to unexpectedly run into someone from your past. After hearing this song for the first time I immediately downloaded it and listened to it 4 more times. I really like the fact that it doesn’t have a chorus at all, and that with each verse the song builds in intensity, adding an additional instrument and getting a little louder as the song progresses. Very moving.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Friday, July 10, 2009
Sweet Emotion
I’m sure everyone has a handful of memories from their past that they can remember every detail of vividly like it happened yesterday. We usually remember them so well because it was a significant event in our lives at the time, whether positive or negative. Some examples of these memories might be a first date, the first day at your first real job, graduating high school or college, or a specific time when you were the happiest/saddest/most scared/most embarrassed, etc. I’m sure I’ll write and share some of my more memorable personal experiences throughout the life of this blog. Today I’ll start with one of the more positive ones (although there is a negative moment sprinkled within).
Picture it – June 1989, Warrensburg. My family had moved to Warrensburg that past November and I had just finished my fifth grade year in a new school. I had made some friends and things were going well for me. I was spending my afternoons at the pool and enjoying life. A girl who was in my 5th grade homeroom class whom I had noticed at school (ok, I may have had a bit of a crush on her) also frequented the pool with her older sister and her sister’s friends. We all hung out and had a good time; playing jump-or-dive games off of the diving board, seeing who could hold their breath the longest underwater, etc. One Friday afternoon her sister and her sister’s friends were talking about going to see the movie Batman that evening (the one with Jack Nicholson as the Joker and the song “Batdance” by Prince on the soundtrack), and this girl invited me to go with them. This was huge; I’d never been to the movies sans parents before, let alone with a girl. The movie studios had been promoting the crap out the new Batman movie – there were Batman Happy Meals, Batman action figures, the original Batman movie from 1966 was shown on TV, all to build hype for the new summer blockbuster. And it worked – my brother and I were really looking forward to seeing this movie. Well, I asked my parents if I could go and they said I could. I was so excited that not only was I going to see Batman on opening night, but also going with a girl. I guess that I talked about it nonstop in front of my younger brother and upset him by telling him that he wasn’t invited to go with me (this is the negative part of the story – I feel really bad to this day about making him upset because he was only 7 years old at the time. There are at least 4 specific times in my youth that I can remember not being the greatest older brother; this is one of them. So Zac, I know it’s 20 years overdue, but I’m sorry about this). Don’t feel too bad for my brother though; my parents took him to the movies that night to see it as well, so he still got to see Batman on opening night. Ok, back to my story.
My parents took me to the movie theater and I meet this girl and her friends out front and we sit down in the theater. It’s packed and I am on cloud nine. I’m sure I was wearing too much cologne (I’ve been known to do that from time to time) and had spent way too much time thinking about what I was going to wear. The movie starts and I’m having a hard time paying attention to the movie because although it is Batman, this girl smells really nice (I know you’d think the only thing I would smell would be popcorn, but that wasn’t the case. I’m sure she was wearing Exclamation, Electric Youth, or some other tween perfume that was popular at that time, but it was nice), it’s dark, and she’s sitting pretty close to me. All of the sudden I feel her gracefully reach over, grab my hand from my lap and start holding my hand, all in one swift move. My mind instantly became a blur and I could actually feel my heart beating in my head. This was the first time I’d ever held hands with a girl, and on top of that she had instigated it. I remember thinking at the time that this was the best moment of my life.
I know you’re thinking, “Wow, he held a girl’s hand, big deal.” Well, it was a huge deal to me at the time. I made a futile attempt to try and focus on the movie, but I had to concentrate on not letting it seem obvious to this girl how happy I was. I needed to put up a front like this was no big deal; I hold hands with girls all the time. I decided to give up paying attention to the movie and focus on keeping my leg from shaking out of nervousness/excitement (like when you’re sitting down in a chair and you put your feet on the floor, but only put your toes on the floor and lift your heel so your leg eventually starts shaking – it was like that only much faster). I was hoping that my hand wasn’t sweating profusely and that she couldn’t feel my heartbeat racing through my hand. This was uncharted territory for me. I knew I wasn’t going to do anything to impress her because I had no skills in this area; my only goal was to not screw this up. I got a hold of myself, and after a few minutes I returned to some sense of normalcy . . . until she started rubbing her thumb slowly back and forth over the top of my hand. Now not only was she holding my hand, but there was movement! I didn’t know what to do – do I reciprocate with my own thumb movement, or is that too obvious? I was way out of my league. This was the first time in my life I wished I had an older brother, because obviously her older sibling had given her advice on the ways of the world and I had nothing to work with. I decided to not try any movement or anything like that because that would just be tempting fate. I would just focus on my grip. I thought that if I had a firm (but not too tight) grip it would communicate that I was aware of what was going on and that I was having a good time. I convinced myself that the grip theory was the best plan of attack and I was slowly getting comfortable again with my surroundings. I guess this girl could tell that I was getting comfortable because she then kicked it up another notch – she took her other hand and began to gently caress the inside of my forearm of the hand that she was holding. Are you serious?! I think at this point I could actually feel the sweat forming on my neck and back. I wouldn’t be surprised if I left a sweat stain on the back of the movie theater seat similar to the “Soul Glow” stains left on the couch in that scene from the movie Coming to America. At this point, Prince himself could’ve been playing the role of Batman on screen and I wouldn’t have noticed.
I somehow made it through the rest of the movie without completely breaking down. Afterwards we said goodbye to each other and I met my parents and brother in the parking lot to go home, and her, her sister, and her sister’s friends walked across the street to Dairy Queen. I remember my brother talking to me on the drive home about all of the cool parts of the movie, and to be honest I didn’t really remember any of them because I was so wrapped up in my first movie hand-holding experience. I don’t remember too much else of that summer; I do recall that we hung out more at the pool and the tennis courts and went to a few more movies together, but it was nothing compared to opening night of Batman.
I tell this story in order to set the scene for another story. I ran into this same girl as an adult and our lives had gone in completely different directions, but that story will have to wait for another day. For now, I’ll leave you with this – I’m sure there are much better movies out there than the 1989 version of Batman, but to me that movie will always be the best movie that I’ve ever seen in a theater.
Song of the day: “Say Goodbye” by Dave Matthews Band. The song starts out with a wandering flute solo with drums in the background, but right at about the 1:08 minute mark the rest of the band joins in and it just works. I won’t discuss the meaning of the song, but I will say this: it sounds like a good idea in theory, but I doubt that it rarely works out well in reality. Listen and let me know what you think.
Picture it – June 1989, Warrensburg. My family had moved to Warrensburg that past November and I had just finished my fifth grade year in a new school. I had made some friends and things were going well for me. I was spending my afternoons at the pool and enjoying life. A girl who was in my 5th grade homeroom class whom I had noticed at school (ok, I may have had a bit of a crush on her) also frequented the pool with her older sister and her sister’s friends. We all hung out and had a good time; playing jump-or-dive games off of the diving board, seeing who could hold their breath the longest underwater, etc. One Friday afternoon her sister and her sister’s friends were talking about going to see the movie Batman that evening (the one with Jack Nicholson as the Joker and the song “Batdance” by Prince on the soundtrack), and this girl invited me to go with them. This was huge; I’d never been to the movies sans parents before, let alone with a girl. The movie studios had been promoting the crap out the new Batman movie – there were Batman Happy Meals, Batman action figures, the original Batman movie from 1966 was shown on TV, all to build hype for the new summer blockbuster. And it worked – my brother and I were really looking forward to seeing this movie. Well, I asked my parents if I could go and they said I could. I was so excited that not only was I going to see Batman on opening night, but also going with a girl. I guess that I talked about it nonstop in front of my younger brother and upset him by telling him that he wasn’t invited to go with me (this is the negative part of the story – I feel really bad to this day about making him upset because he was only 7 years old at the time. There are at least 4 specific times in my youth that I can remember not being the greatest older brother; this is one of them. So Zac, I know it’s 20 years overdue, but I’m sorry about this). Don’t feel too bad for my brother though; my parents took him to the movies that night to see it as well, so he still got to see Batman on opening night. Ok, back to my story.
My parents took me to the movie theater and I meet this girl and her friends out front and we sit down in the theater. It’s packed and I am on cloud nine. I’m sure I was wearing too much cologne (I’ve been known to do that from time to time) and had spent way too much time thinking about what I was going to wear. The movie starts and I’m having a hard time paying attention to the movie because although it is Batman, this girl smells really nice (I know you’d think the only thing I would smell would be popcorn, but that wasn’t the case. I’m sure she was wearing Exclamation, Electric Youth, or some other tween perfume that was popular at that time, but it was nice), it’s dark, and she’s sitting pretty close to me. All of the sudden I feel her gracefully reach over, grab my hand from my lap and start holding my hand, all in one swift move. My mind instantly became a blur and I could actually feel my heart beating in my head. This was the first time I’d ever held hands with a girl, and on top of that she had instigated it. I remember thinking at the time that this was the best moment of my life.
I know you’re thinking, “Wow, he held a girl’s hand, big deal.” Well, it was a huge deal to me at the time. I made a futile attempt to try and focus on the movie, but I had to concentrate on not letting it seem obvious to this girl how happy I was. I needed to put up a front like this was no big deal; I hold hands with girls all the time. I decided to give up paying attention to the movie and focus on keeping my leg from shaking out of nervousness/excitement (like when you’re sitting down in a chair and you put your feet on the floor, but only put your toes on the floor and lift your heel so your leg eventually starts shaking – it was like that only much faster). I was hoping that my hand wasn’t sweating profusely and that she couldn’t feel my heartbeat racing through my hand. This was uncharted territory for me. I knew I wasn’t going to do anything to impress her because I had no skills in this area; my only goal was to not screw this up. I got a hold of myself, and after a few minutes I returned to some sense of normalcy . . . until she started rubbing her thumb slowly back and forth over the top of my hand. Now not only was she holding my hand, but there was movement! I didn’t know what to do – do I reciprocate with my own thumb movement, or is that too obvious? I was way out of my league. This was the first time in my life I wished I had an older brother, because obviously her older sibling had given her advice on the ways of the world and I had nothing to work with. I decided to not try any movement or anything like that because that would just be tempting fate. I would just focus on my grip. I thought that if I had a firm (but not too tight) grip it would communicate that I was aware of what was going on and that I was having a good time. I convinced myself that the grip theory was the best plan of attack and I was slowly getting comfortable again with my surroundings. I guess this girl could tell that I was getting comfortable because she then kicked it up another notch – she took her other hand and began to gently caress the inside of my forearm of the hand that she was holding. Are you serious?! I think at this point I could actually feel the sweat forming on my neck and back. I wouldn’t be surprised if I left a sweat stain on the back of the movie theater seat similar to the “Soul Glow” stains left on the couch in that scene from the movie Coming to America. At this point, Prince himself could’ve been playing the role of Batman on screen and I wouldn’t have noticed.
I somehow made it through the rest of the movie without completely breaking down. Afterwards we said goodbye to each other and I met my parents and brother in the parking lot to go home, and her, her sister, and her sister’s friends walked across the street to Dairy Queen. I remember my brother talking to me on the drive home about all of the cool parts of the movie, and to be honest I didn’t really remember any of them because I was so wrapped up in my first movie hand-holding experience. I don’t remember too much else of that summer; I do recall that we hung out more at the pool and the tennis courts and went to a few more movies together, but it was nothing compared to opening night of Batman.
I tell this story in order to set the scene for another story. I ran into this same girl as an adult and our lives had gone in completely different directions, but that story will have to wait for another day. For now, I’ll leave you with this – I’m sure there are much better movies out there than the 1989 version of Batman, but to me that movie will always be the best movie that I’ve ever seen in a theater.
Song of the day: “Say Goodbye” by Dave Matthews Band. The song starts out with a wandering flute solo with drums in the background, but right at about the 1:08 minute mark the rest of the band joins in and it just works. I won’t discuss the meaning of the song, but I will say this: it sounds like a good idea in theory, but I doubt that it rarely works out well in reality. Listen and let me know what you think.
Monday, July 6, 2009
Get up and shake the glitter off your clothes now
Since I've been known to rant about things and be negative a lot of the time, I thought this week I'd share something positive. Two weeks ago Jen and I went to Vegas for a few days of vacation. I have to say this: I love that town. At least the Strip - the downtown "experience" is a bit lame, but that's just me. I know that some people think Vegas is a pit of sin with nothing but gambling and whores, but it's so much more than that now. Sure, that stuff is prevalent, but to me those things just add to the whole Vegas vibe. I had a few recurring random thoughts over the course of the week while in Vegas, so I thought I'd share and get other people's take on them (feel free to comment):
1) A few years ago I thought it might be fun to work in Vegas; I enjoy it there and I've never worked at a tourist destination where people choose to go to have fun (working in IT you deal with people who aren't happy or they're telling you what is broken with their technology - I thought it might be nice to work somewhere where people actually want and choose to visit). I'm over that now. I don't know if it's just because I'm getting older or because I live in a bubble (I don't use public transportation, I work with a small group of intelligent people who are similar to me, and the few select people I choose to be around in my free time are also similar to me), but I realized while in Vegas that I have a very low tolerance/patience level for the general public. I don't know why, but it seems like the most annoying people always end up sitting next to me on a plane, bus or shuttle or stand next to me while in line. I try to be nice and keep to myself while in public, being cognizant of not being that annoying person to others. Other people are not as courteous. I don't want to sound egotistical (too late, right), but I think the majority of the population is just not very smart. I couldn't work at a tourist destination because I'd have to be around stupid people all of the time. I think constantly dealing with idiots would would suck all of the fun out of and ruin Vegas for me.
2) There is always music playing in Vegas. Music is played in all of the casinos and music can be heard while walking down the Strip. I'm a big fan of music, so I really enjoy this. It's like having a constant soundtrack to your day. I noticed that it wasn't from a local radio station or XM/Sirius because I never heard any commercials. I was curious to know the details of this music - if each hotel did their own mix, if they hired a company to do it, etc., so I asked our concierge. She had no idea and said that nobody had ever asked her about the music before (I thought that was weird), but she did give me the phone number for the hotel audio & video department. I called them and they were really nice and answered all of my questions. They use a company, DMX (www.dmx.com) for all of the music being played at their property. They have personalized music channels made for the different areas of the hotel (lobby & hallways, pool, restaurants, clubs, bars, etc.). I wondered if I would enjoy working for this company (as you can tell I often evaluate whether I would enjoy working in certain professions and assess the negative aspects of each profession). I really like music and I think it would be fun to research and get new music for mixes. But then I thought, "What if working at that type of job took all the fun away from music for me?" I've never taken a job in something I've had a passion for so I don't know - does working a job that was once something you did as a hobby take all of the fun out of it? I would think eventually every job, no matter how fun it is, turns into just another job with its downsides. I wonder if the music researchers who have worked for DMX for a while now hate music and can't stand listening to music in their free time?
3) At first I thought it would be fun to live in Vegas - there's so much to do and so many places to eat. After thinking about it though, I don't think living there would be as fun as I initially thought. Sure, you'd see a lot of shows and all of the big concerts play in Vegas, but you have to deal with the tourists and I think that would get old quickly. I wonder what Vegas locals do for fun? Normal things would no longer excite you after being there for a few years because you've experienced everything the town has to offer. It's like Michael Vick having dog fights - I see how someone gets to that point. When normal activities no longer entertain/excite you, you need to kick it up a notch in order to feel something. I bet partying with Vegas locals is either really wild and/or dangerous, or they do really boring things like go camping or go out to the wilderness where it's quiet in order to get away from the hustle of their hometown.
4) I like thinking about and knowing back stories of people I come into contact with. It helps to know why they act a certain way and how they got to where they are currently are in life. While in Vegas I found myself wondering, "How did these people choose to work here?" I'd see a young, attractive girl in her mid-twenties working as a cocktail waitress in a casino and her nametag would have her first name and her hometown listed underneath (I guess to show that people come from all over to work in Vegas). How did this girl from Colorado get to be a cocktail waitress in Vegas? Did she come to Vegas to be a showgirl and it didn't work out? What's her plan for the rest of her life? Not that I'm saying waitressing isn't a good living - I just wonder if people have ambition to do more, or are they happy with their current gig?
Anyway, that’s about it for Vegas. We had a good, relaxing time; we ate well, saw some shows, went to some clubs, and hung out at the pool. It doesn’t get much better than that.
Song of the day: "Put On" by young Jeezy & Kanye West. It's a good song - yes Kanye is using Auto-Tune, but his verse still works. The "Put On Remix" has a verse by Jay-Z which always makes a song better. Jen & I have had conversations on whose verse in this song is better - Kanye's or Jay-Z's. I said Kanye’s; she chose Hov’s because his verse goes with the theme of the song and Kanye's doesn't. To each their own I guess.
1) A few years ago I thought it might be fun to work in Vegas; I enjoy it there and I've never worked at a tourist destination where people choose to go to have fun (working in IT you deal with people who aren't happy or they're telling you what is broken with their technology - I thought it might be nice to work somewhere where people actually want and choose to visit). I'm over that now. I don't know if it's just because I'm getting older or because I live in a bubble (I don't use public transportation, I work with a small group of intelligent people who are similar to me, and the few select people I choose to be around in my free time are also similar to me), but I realized while in Vegas that I have a very low tolerance/patience level for the general public. I don't know why, but it seems like the most annoying people always end up sitting next to me on a plane, bus or shuttle or stand next to me while in line. I try to be nice and keep to myself while in public, being cognizant of not being that annoying person to others. Other people are not as courteous. I don't want to sound egotistical (too late, right), but I think the majority of the population is just not very smart. I couldn't work at a tourist destination because I'd have to be around stupid people all of the time. I think constantly dealing with idiots would would suck all of the fun out of and ruin Vegas for me.
2) There is always music playing in Vegas. Music is played in all of the casinos and music can be heard while walking down the Strip. I'm a big fan of music, so I really enjoy this. It's like having a constant soundtrack to your day. I noticed that it wasn't from a local radio station or XM/Sirius because I never heard any commercials. I was curious to know the details of this music - if each hotel did their own mix, if they hired a company to do it, etc., so I asked our concierge. She had no idea and said that nobody had ever asked her about the music before (I thought that was weird), but she did give me the phone number for the hotel audio & video department. I called them and they were really nice and answered all of my questions. They use a company, DMX (www.dmx.com) for all of the music being played at their property. They have personalized music channels made for the different areas of the hotel (lobby & hallways, pool, restaurants, clubs, bars, etc.). I wondered if I would enjoy working for this company (as you can tell I often evaluate whether I would enjoy working in certain professions and assess the negative aspects of each profession). I really like music and I think it would be fun to research and get new music for mixes. But then I thought, "What if working at that type of job took all the fun away from music for me?" I've never taken a job in something I've had a passion for so I don't know - does working a job that was once something you did as a hobby take all of the fun out of it? I would think eventually every job, no matter how fun it is, turns into just another job with its downsides. I wonder if the music researchers who have worked for DMX for a while now hate music and can't stand listening to music in their free time?
3) At first I thought it would be fun to live in Vegas - there's so much to do and so many places to eat. After thinking about it though, I don't think living there would be as fun as I initially thought. Sure, you'd see a lot of shows and all of the big concerts play in Vegas, but you have to deal with the tourists and I think that would get old quickly. I wonder what Vegas locals do for fun? Normal things would no longer excite you after being there for a few years because you've experienced everything the town has to offer. It's like Michael Vick having dog fights - I see how someone gets to that point. When normal activities no longer entertain/excite you, you need to kick it up a notch in order to feel something. I bet partying with Vegas locals is either really wild and/or dangerous, or they do really boring things like go camping or go out to the wilderness where it's quiet in order to get away from the hustle of their hometown.
4) I like thinking about and knowing back stories of people I come into contact with. It helps to know why they act a certain way and how they got to where they are currently are in life. While in Vegas I found myself wondering, "How did these people choose to work here?" I'd see a young, attractive girl in her mid-twenties working as a cocktail waitress in a casino and her nametag would have her first name and her hometown listed underneath (I guess to show that people come from all over to work in Vegas). How did this girl from Colorado get to be a cocktail waitress in Vegas? Did she come to Vegas to be a showgirl and it didn't work out? What's her plan for the rest of her life? Not that I'm saying waitressing isn't a good living - I just wonder if people have ambition to do more, or are they happy with their current gig?
Anyway, that’s about it for Vegas. We had a good, relaxing time; we ate well, saw some shows, went to some clubs, and hung out at the pool. It doesn’t get much better than that.
Song of the day: "Put On" by young Jeezy & Kanye West. It's a good song - yes Kanye is using Auto-Tune, but his verse still works. The "Put On Remix" has a verse by Jay-Z which always makes a song better. Jen & I have had conversations on whose verse in this song is better - Kanye's or Jay-Z's. I said Kanye’s; she chose Hov’s because his verse goes with the theme of the song and Kanye's doesn't. To each their own I guess.
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