Thanks to Dan for this one… and a little reference to a similar loss for Dan

If any of you have heard about my epic trips to Las Vegas then you’ve certainly learned of my fondness for Gilly’s. Well that has all come to a close now. I knew the New Frontier was on it’s way out, just didn’t know when. Gilly’s had some of the strongest, cheapest drinks in town along with a wonderful country music atmosphere and the ever popular “bikini bull riding”. I always found it to get raunchier each time around. It was great for cheap (relatively) entertainment. I remember once when Mason even got to be a judge… R.I.P Gilly’s

Well, Guitar Hero has finally arrived. J and I were able to thrash early.. or late as it were. Battle mode is pretty f’n cool, whether it be co-op or head to head. My band name is “Taint Ed Saint”. A little play on words. I’m whipping right through the sets on Easy. It’ll be time to up the ante soon.

The Commander’s birthday was good. It was fun to see him walking around and interacting with another child close to his age. Nice work on the party Courtney and Jason

The Dettloff’s had another fantastic Halloween party. Me, Tina, Chris, and Kathryn went as some characters from Saved By The Bell. Screech, Jesse, Zach, and Kelly respectively. The contest winner was none other than Hulk Hogan. Wonderful job done by Ped. The crew from Anchorman showed up, Fletch made an appearance, as did Steve Irwin (with sting ray intact).

Perhaps some of you have been wondering where I’ve been (on-line). Well it seems IM is no longer allowed while under “the man’s” supervision. I didn’t block you or anything. You’ll have to catch me via e-mail or SMS.

Big Monday night game too. Go Pack!

I survived and it turned out to be a success. I even managed to gamble $0.00. w00t!

Thursday — After an early flight and a screwdriver on the plane, and several attempted conversations with Mason about why he wasn’t at the airport for our flight we landed without incident. We get to McCarren and I get ahold of Mason who has left me a message. Turns out (and this isn’t the first time) he misread his itinerary and had to catch a standby at 4:00. God bless Airport check-in. If there is ever a time you need to make a choice between hotels, pick one with airport check-in. What took 15 minutes at the airport would have been probably 45 minutes to 1 hour at the hotel and that’s the last thing a guy wants to do when he arrives in Vegas. Dan, Jason, and I hopped up to our room at the Flamingo, put on more appropriate Vegas attire (shorts and a t-shirt). Then we started walking and hit every beer special we could find $1 taps at O’Sheas and a sweet deal at some convenience store $1.99 24 oz Bud Lights. We walked and walked and walked. Made it from the Flamingo down to the Stratosphere. Once we got there we stood and looked at each other and in a Forrest Gump moment we turned around and walked the other way back to the Flamingo for some eats. As we waited for Mason, Dan went to play poker and J and I started to get into the drinking. We witnessed a very drunk vegas local piss himself at Caesar’s and manage to be escorted out by security and his drunk buddy. Mason finally arrives and we head off to Gilley’s for some bikini bull-riding which is always a hoot. Of course the amateur’s have no chance of winning as they bring in the ringers for the $500 prize.

Friday — After one heck of a first night (including many red bull vodkas) I had to play it easy the next morning. We spent a fair amount of time lounging by the pool. Had a few girly drinks. This is when the day turned sour for Chad. I was hungry and went a grabbed a sandwich.  I am convinced that sandwich gave me problems the rest of the day.  The nightlife including a trip to the House of Blues at Mandalay Bay for the Spazmatics.  Once again, I enjoyed their show.

Saturday — It took awhile to recover.  A good buffet downtown at the Main Street Station and some meandering downtown in and out of the Formula 1 series car race and I started getting a bit tired.  We almost witnessed a serious crash.  On this particular straight-away stretch I would guess the F1’s were probably pushing 175mph.. maybe even close to pushing 200mph.  For whatever reason there were some speed bumps in the road (probably there naturally since it was a street race).  For the most part the drivers did a fine job navigate around them to avoid jumping.  One car hit it a little close and almost planted the nose of the car right into the sidewall.  Needless to say there was a loud “ohhh” from the crowd.  After getting back to the hotel, we found ourselves at IP’s Embers for a nice steak meal to set the night out right.  We hit the Piano Bar at Harrah’s.  These guys were ok.  I’ve seen better.  Some chowder head was dropping cash for songs like it was his job.  Oh well.  Once again we hit Gilly’s for a little more entertainment and cheap”er” drinks.  After Gilly’s it was off the the Famous Glitter Gulch.  62 Girls were on show, or so they say.  I ended up with a few lap dances… but honestly the best part about the place is the bathroom attendant.  He’s an older African American gentlemen and he’ll gladly offer you his opinion on anything you ask him.  I’ve heard him say some crazy shit.   We finally got to bed at 7AM and a few drunken phone calls and SMS’s later.

Sunday — It was a doozy.  Tired and worn out from the weekend we lounged by the pool while waiting for our later flight.  The cab ride to the airport was a nightmare.  We were almost nailed by a speeding car.  I don’t think our cabbie was paying attention.. and she may have been a little sauced.  A bumpy plane ride home made it tough to catch up on any sleep.

All in all it was successful and thanks to everyone who came.  For those of you who didn’t you missed out on a good one.  Now I am sick and trying to recover.  Whew this was a long one. Hopefully you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed creating it.

Well the time has finally arrived and me and the boys are leaving for Vegas in just over 12 hours. I think I’ve got everything covered. Sunblock, the appropriate travel medications, a charged camera battery, an (almost) full ipod, swim trunks, and a reservation at the Flamingo in Las Vegas.

The weekend weather report looks fabulous (high 80s) and it’ll be nice to get out of this 30 degree weather for a few days. I decided it would be a good idea to have a few red bulls tonight. We’ll see how good of an idea that is at 5AM tomorrow. Anywho, I am pumped and ready for this one. I’ve got a couple loose ends to tie up tonight, finalize the suitcase, and get some shut-eye for a real barn burner.

Beware of drunken phone calls and text messages.
I hope to report back on Monday.

Jason , Dan, and Mason.. I’ll see you on the other side.

Over and out!

I stumbled upon an entertaining flash “tutuorial” about Learning to Dance with Napoleon Dynamite. It was entertaining not because I hadn’t ever seen the movie or revel in his sweet dancing moves, but I never knew there were names for all of his moves.  I bring this up because Vegas is a mere week away and when Jason and I drink and end up in strange bars with thumping music, we tend to pull out some of the classics… i.e. “The Lawnmower”, “The Shopping Cart”, “The Bus Driver”, “The Chainsaw”, etc.  Well now I can add an entire new set of moves.  Watch out, I’ll be studying this intently. You can bet they’ll be out at the wedding too.

You just can’t rally like you used to in the good old days. This has been the longest weekend in a long time and it’s only Sunday morning.

I started out Friday night playing poker a buddies house. I didn’t win anything, but I was close in all games. Red bulls flowed and I was done by midnight, of course I stayed till 3AM playing Guitar Hero, which is one hell of game.

Saturday morning came all too quick. It was time for the 2007 Sno-ball open out on Long Lake. Sno-ball is basically golfing out on the frozen lake. Our tee-time was at 12:05, but we got started late as usual. The weather was against us. It was cold and the wind was fierce. We toughed it out and I even felt like getting started again. I knocked down a few beers.. well at least what didn’t freeze before I drank it. Afterward it hit me. We got inside to go and eat and hang out some more…. Chad was cashed and a mess. Friday night had finally caught up with me and Tina and I had to head home.

Sigh…..

It’s been awhile since I have written. I thought I’d at least update what has been going on.

Work is going well. Learning new stuff all the time.

The wedding plans are progressing. We have met with two photogs and are deciding between 35mm film and digital. We’ll probably meet with one or two more photogs and go from there. It looks like the price is gonna be close either way.

Country Jam is this next weekend. I can’t wait. It’ll be tough to top last years events and unfortunately the music is getting worse every year we go. I guess that’s why the extracurricular activites get better. I’ll report back with something exciting.

Jason and I are still trying to convince the ladies that Vegas is the ONLY spot for a bachelor party. We’ll see how it goes. I have a feeling I’ll be making a trip next spring

Till later, be safe.