June, 2004

New Gallery

New to Hotshots: pictures from Phoebe’s Wedding.

Dude, I hate to complain, but here goes. This weather is killing me. Seriously. My hair is falling out, bloody noses every other day, chapped lips, parched lungs, dry eyes: my body can’t handle it!!

Cristina (my new friend!) and I were discussing the weather (we’re looking forward to Thursday, when it’s only supposed to reach ninety-eight degrees, a welcome change from the 105+ we’ve been experiencing lately: wahoo!!) on the maze out of work today. Commuting in Las Vegas hotels is ridiculous. Read on the maze: here’s how we get out of work everyday: down two flights of stairs into a hallway, make hairpin turns among large pipes to the locker room. Then go down another hallway and take an industrial elevator up one flight (no stairs in this area). This brings you to a hallway inside the hotel where the guest suites are. Next we walk down another corridor and take another, fancier elevator to the parking garage, cut through the garage to a back construction alley and take another flight of stairs down to the shuttle loading dock, where the shuttle picks us up and ferries us to our cars in a random open lot three blocks away.

In the car today I was absolutely dehydrated: so thirsty. I grab for the first bottle of water I see (habitually filled before leaving work in order to survive the hot and heinous car ride home) and accidentally grabbed an older bottle of water that I must have left in there yesterday. The water was so hot, I burnt all the tastebuds in my mouth!!! HELLOW. So not cool. 🙂

Tomorrow marks the dawn of my Explore Las Vegas Campaign. Cristina and I are going to the Guggenheim museum inside our hotel. (INSIDE our hotel: ha!). Wednesday I think I’m going to check out Caesar’s. Thursday and Friday are my days off this week and Jen and I have a date on Thursday night: outlet shopping in Primm (a wannabe Las Vegas town 15 minutes North of Henderson), and then dessert at Aureole. Talk about your social butterfly.

But really, life is great here. I love having my own place, my own space, and a real career in a new city! That part is totally fun and fabulous. I just need to flesh out the rest, and we’ll be all good.

Aqua

I sense a pet fish in my future. But after doing some research today, am not convinced I can aptly provide for a live aquarian creature! Building a mini ecosystem complex enough to support a life –in one little tank (or rather, one not so little tank)– is quite intimidating. But I found my dream fish Belthezar Jr. today and he’s on sale for only $6.99!! Oh the Temptation.

goldfish.jpgI’m so conflicted because I’m not sure I want to acquire a whole aquarium ecosystem and then have to move it when I leave. But the enjoyment and companionship Belthezar would surely bring would improve the quality of my life greatly. On the other hand, if I’m going to buy a fish, I want to improve the quality of his life too, you know? I don’t want him to be stuck swimming around in circles day after day, bored out of his mind. Unfortunately, this involves purchasing a 10 gallon fish tank, which certainly would not fit in my bathroom (where Belthy was planning on living).

Perhaps the bathtub could be a good resolution. Afterall, it’s already installed in the apartment! But then, taking a shower and whatnot could be a problem. Passion flower shampoo might be a little too girly for Belthy.

So then I found this portable, build-it-yourself pond with a fountain, which would be just fabulous! We could put it in the living room and swim/wade together while chatting about the day’s events. An added bonus: a refreshing dip within the comfort of our own home! But I’m not sure we’d still have room for a couch (if we ever buy one) with the large fountain in the middle of the room.

This is quite the dilemna! I’ll have to ponder the pros and cons some more…

Time Warp

epcot2.gifI miss being cold. Could it be cold just for a few minutes so I can wear a snuggly sweatshirt, please? I’m craving snow and crisp Autumn air, crunchy leaves and ice. It was in the upper 80s yesterday and WHAT a relief. We didn’t even have to turn the air conditioner on!! Can you imagine? I’ve been practicing positive visualization techniques extensively of late (snow drifts, polar bears, ski lifts…) and today managed to transport myself not only to another climate, but back in time!!! (Dum duh dum dum duuuuuuuummmmm) Here’s a break down:

*Telescoping back in time to 1994*

It’s 7th grade at LeRoy Jr./Sr. High School. Me and the girls (we all have nicknames that start with the letter S: Shiraz, Shanaynay, Shalami, Shanunu) are pumped for our upcoming Marching Band trip to Florida. Very pumped. We’re so excited that we decide to release some of our creative energy into a short novel documenting what we imagine the trip will be like. And so, The Florida Story is born.

We each write a chapter and pass it on for the others to read and write the consecutive chapter–there are 24 chapters by the time we’re done. The final product is of the romantic comedy/action adventure genre.

By the end of the novel, we’re trying to kill the others off and write ourselves in as the heroine. That’s where this picture of me on top of Epcot center comes in. After a tragical accident (I was attempting a quick getaway on a motorcycle with a new-found True Love when I fell in to a pool and got a concussion), I (Shiraz) end up at the hospital hooked up to an IV of Valium. I miraculously escape and (still hyped up on Valium) decide I need to go on the Spaceship Earth ride. The real story is so much more dramatic, here’s a little clip– Carrie writes:
She jumped off the ride, ran through a secret passage to a hatch that opened to the top of the golf ball and stood right on the top…(end of chapter)

I pick up with the next chapter…

So there I was, poised to jump off the giant golfball. I had just finished singing “Star Spangled Banner” when far down below I saw, nothing–it was really far down to the ground!

Meanwhile, Shanunu, Shanaynay and Shalane were in the cafe in France (at Epcot). They were sitting at a cute little cafe sipping cappucinos and eyeing the hotty across the aisle. All of a sudden he stood up and started walking towards them (obviously there was a major attraction!). He was so engrossed with the lovely ladies that he walked right into a gigundo clay pot with a palm tree in it. Woops! The girls jumped up and ran over to see if he was alright. The hottie looks into Shanaynay’s eyes and says, “Hi Gorgeous!” Shanaynay passes out because he is so absolutely groovy.

Suddenly, “OH NOOOO!! STOP!! DON’T DO IT!” screams Sazama (Shiraz’s new found love) when he sees Shiraz poised to jump off of the giant golf ball.
“Why not?” demanded Shiraz.
“BECAUSE I LOVE YOU! I CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT YOU! DON’T JUMP, PLEEEZZE SHIRAZ!! WITH A CHERRY ON TOP?”
Shiraz responds, “Okay, but not an artificial cherry because those are DISGUSTING!” But not knowing how to get down (the valium still affecting her), she jumps!!! (To Shalane and Shanunu’s great joy–with Shiraz out of the way, they are free to be the heroines). BUT ALAS!! Shiraz foils them again!! She had a bungee cord on! Oh HA HA!! The End.

I guess you need to have experienced the entire Florida Story sub-culture to really appreciate this poorly written humor…or perhaps you need to have read the entire story from start to finish. But, I thought this little segment was highly amusing.

For all interested, The Florida Story is also available on audio tape. That’s right, at our impromptu two-year reunion we each read a few chapters and recorded the entire mini-novel on audio casette–complete with sound effects and impersonations! I think it definitely has Hollywood Blockbuster potential, don’t you?

New Traffic Patterns

  • June 9, 2004
  • Categorized: Las Vegas   Tagged:

shira_red.jpgNevada is all about medians. I’ve been hating them in silence for the past three and a half weeks (I can’t believe I’ve been here for a whole month already!!), but after inadvertantly driving over one this morning, I decided it was time to share my aggravation with the world. MEDIANS ARE SO STUPID. They just prevent you from going where you need to go and waste precious time. What purpose do they serve?? Are they really necessary? I think not. If I was an urban planner, roadways would be vastly different. For now, I’m honing my U-turn-on-the-fly skills and getting very friendly with my Las Vegas city map.

I got my first paycheck today! Woohoo! �Qu� excitante! Can I tell you how much I love overtime? I was so excited my hair changed color–as visualized in this picture. HAHA! Just kidding, this is from one of my identity crisis phases in college. Unfortunately, it turns out I’m allergic to red dye, so for the two weeks following the color transformation my head was swollen and itchy and my face was all red. Really a great time. Just goes to show you the true face of vanity.

Pasta

  • June 7, 2004
  • Categorized: Savory   Tagged:

I discovered a very useful low fat cooking technique a few weeks ago that I’ve been wanting to share with all you pasta lovers out there. (Well, with those of you that haven’t succumbed to the low carb craze yet).

pasta.jpgInstead of using loads of heavy cream for your sauce base, reserve some of the water you cooked the pasta in and use that for the base of your sauce. True, it may not be the rich and creamy pasta sauce that you know and love so well, but there are hundreds of ways to kick this water-turned-sauce up a notch–especially for summertime cooking! (And it’s certainly better than no sauce at all!). Throw one tablespoon of butter or some of your favorite cheese into the hot water to thicken and add a bit of flavor–and always season everything!

One of my favorite healthy sauces consists of freshly squeezed lemon juice and fresh basil leaves (it’s all about the quality fresh ingredients!), mushrooms, garlic, tofu, and large-dice vine-ripened tomatoes. It’s a great, quick, healthy, easy summer meal!

Excess Baggage

What’s up with the plastic-bag-saving fetish? Everywhere I go people are saving their plastic grocery bags; wadding them all up into one giant bag or stuffing them unceremoniously into the handy plastic bag saver they got at IKEA. Come on, I know you do it too. What are you saving them for? You’re NEVER GOING TO USE ALL THOSE BAGS IN A MILLION YEARS.

I feel the root of the plastic bag fetish lies in good old frugality. Why throw away such a useful, versatile, free-ish product? Money down the drain! Somewhere down the road that plastic bag will come in handy–whether it’s to carry a wet bathing suit or wrap an impromptu birthday present– the thought that we might really need a plastic bag for some Important task and be without one is terrifying in the extreme.

But I ask you. Do we really need to save HUNDREDS of plastic grocery bags at a time? I mean, they’re taking up an entire closet: that’s valuable storage space. Will we ever really have occasion to use 468 plastic bags?

I go shopping about twice a month and average 7-10 bags per trip. That’s about 20 bags a month, times 12 months a year, equals 240 plastic bags a year. And that’s a conservative estimate for a single 20-something female. What if you’ve got a family, or more than one person in your house goes shopping! You could be hording upwards of 400 plastic bags a year. Think about it. Is this excessive baggage necessary?

Having just moved into a new apartment, I’ve been shopping a little more than usual in (what seems like a neverending, futile) attempt to set up an organized household. I have at least 120 plastic bags lurking underneath my sink already, and it hasn’t even been a full month yet. I mean, I don’t even have a couch or a decent chair to sit on, but I’ve got over a hundred stupid plastic bags. Perhaps I should use them as a noveau pillow stuffing and make a giant plastic-bag-filled bean bag couch for our living room.

I’m starting a campaign to live more simply. Simplify. Get rid of stuff you don’t need. Let go of superfluous habits that are cluttering up your life. Throw a couple of those plastic bags into the plastic bag recycling bin at the grocery store next time you go. Or make a plastic bag craft or something…(I’m seeing plastic bag mini hot air balloons and parachutes, plastic bag quilts, and why not sew them together for some attractive grocery style curtains?). Why did Rapunzel go through the pain of letting Prince Charming climb up her hair when she could have tied together her grocery bags and made an extremely sturdy rope? Helloww?!? What do you do with your plastic bags?

I started my Move To Europe Fund today. At the end of everyday I’m going to empty out my purse, pockets, shoes, etc. for all change and one dollar bills and put them–no, not in a plastic bag– but in a pot whose plant didn’t survive the pilgrimage to Las Vegas. (Alas, it was my lucky bamboo too!). I can’t wait to go! I’ve always wanted to live on a farm with goats in Europe (where I’ll wear pigtails and blue dresses just like Heidi did in the movie. I’ll probably take up yodeling too). It feels so good to put a real plan into action!! I mean, I’ve got well over 24 cents in my little pot–I’m practically there already!!

If any of you out there want to start a fund too, we could totally go together.

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