Day 1263

Today was even busier than yesterday. It wasn’t as long though. I’m already on my way back to Dallas. I spend the morning catching up with things that were impossible to do yesterday. There were several new products to photograph, along with three new people to interview. I interviewed a mix of CEO’s and support people at the show this year. You can usually tell pretty quickly why the top guy is the boss. The CEO never gives you much time, but they are almost always articulate and to the point. All the CEO’s I talked to at the Couture show did their interview in a single take. The rest of the people were a mixed bag. I’ll give my client plenty to choose from though.

I think I have a new favorite hotel. The Wynn was fabulous. It reminds me of the way The Mirage used to be many years ago when Steve Wynn first opened that venue. The guy definitely knows how to run a classy hotel. It’s too bad I didn’t have more time to explore the place. Just walking back and forth between my room and the Couture Show ballrooms, I saw an abundance of great restaurants I’d like to try. The food was such an abundance of riches that I was even able to find delicious things to eat on my severely restricted diet. The bed was really comfortable too. I slept a lot better than I usually do at home. Of course, that probably had a lot more to do with Dot and Dash than with the mattress.

I got an e-mail from the roofers last night. Evidently, there are problems and they want to have a meeting. Why are there always problems? I have visions of spending a lot of money on a new roof and still having to sweep the standing water off after every rain. The roofers I hired mostly do new construction, so I’m sure they’re going to tell me that I need to rebuild the house, or something equally drastic. That’s the problem with older houses. They settle and sag. If they sag too much, there aren’t many good solutions.

When I went through security at the airport, there was a distraught woman right ahead of me in line who had lost her laptop when it was going through the scanners. With the general level of chaos at the Las Vegas airport, I can easily imagine losing almost anything. One of the TSA folks asked a woman sitting at the scanning machine if she’d seen a laptop lately. “I’ve seen hundreds of them,” she said. “How should I know where it is?” I hurried to put everything back in my pockets and return my own laptop to my bag before it disappeared too.

This week has really gone fast. It’s hard to believe it’s Friday already. Even though I’m in a different city, I kept my Friday morning tradition alive with a nice breakfast at one of the Wynn restaurants. I’m sitting at my gate at the airport now, waiting for my ride home. This was a quick trip, but I look forward to returning sometime in the near future. I like Las Vegas. It’s a fantasy city. Nothing is real here, and that’s fine with me.

Patches is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 629

I woke up this morning at the Mirage. This has always been my favorite hotel in Las Vegas. Even though it's older now and starting to look a bit frayed around the edges, I still prefer the Mirage to current favorites like The Winn or Bellagio. The Mirage definitely has the best pool in town. I don't think anyone else even comes close to this huge tropical oasis with dozens of mature palm trees and at least three waterfalls. I was particularly interested in these waterfalls this morning. I thought if I stood under them for a while, the water pounding down on my back would help unknot some of the tension and give me a bit of relief. I didn't know what to expect when I got under the waterfall, but it was actually quite pleasant. I might have stayed under the water too long though. Two hours later, I can feel an additional component of soreness has been added to my pain. I am getting lots of advice. Some people say ice packs will help. Others say heat is the answer. So far, nobody's advice, including my own doctor's, has made one bit of difference.

It's fun watching Dot and Dash on the webcam. They both do the same silly things that they do at home. Dot usually get the blue dog bed in the kennel run first, but within minutes she finds something to bark at and runs up to the glass in front. Dash immediately steals her bed and won't give it back to her. This type of activity can go on for hours.

It seems like every aging musician in the world is playing Vegas now. Garth Brooks is at The Winn. Rod Stewart is at Caesar's Palace. Donny & Marie are at the Flamingo. Crosby and Nash are at Mandalay Bay. I don't know what happened to Stills and Young. Maybe those two did a better job of hanging on to their money.

We'll probably do some gambling this evening. I'm definitely not a big time gambler, but the games are fun in moderation. Sometimes, Janet and I can even pick up some tips from the pro roulette dealers touse at Dalmatian Rescue events.

Allie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day