My Last Homeward Bounds

Today's blog is the first time I said the words "Homeward Bound." My last two homeward bounds were O'Conner Hospital in Apr 2017 and Zion National Park in Sep 2016. The O'Conner Hospital was a short homeward bound. I was diagnosed with Acute Gallstone Pancreatitis. I was an inpatient for five days and four nights requiring two surgeries Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangio Pancreatography which removed gallstones and Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy which removed my gallbladder in two days. My parents drove me home. We stopped at a Walgreens for a prescription. The pharmacy closed in ten minutes. I choose to fill the prescription at another drug store the next day. I went to sleep immediately when we arrived home. My total sleep time was 12 hours. My dad picked up my prescription.

The Zion National Park homeward bound I flew from Las Vegas, NV to San Jose, CA. My cousin organized a day hike at The Subway Bottom Up. It was my most strenuous hike. My cousin chose to stay at a hotel outside Las Vegas because the price was cheaper and less night time driving from Zion National Park. It was easier to drive from Utah to Las Vegas in the daytime. My flight was delayed because Southwest needed to change pilots. Everyone received a credit voucher with a due date to compensate for the delay.

Top Ten Plus Five Equals Top Fifteen Crappy 1990s Best Moments

My biggest life regret as of today's blog is I failed to live the 1990s to the best of my ability. My downs outnumbered the ups. My ups were crappy ups. Many of the ups were unearned like a baseball team scoring an unearned run or the ups were given on a silver platter. I took the ups for granted. Life was unfair in the 1990s. Life is unfair today. Some people had more downs than ups. I was one of them.

In my opinion, the 1990s is best decade in the history of the human race. The economy was fantastic; although, former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan's monetary policy is another conversation. Fuel injection engines in automobiles. The internet. Email communication. Watch movies on DVDs. Listen to music on CDs. Mobile cell phones. Windows 95 and Windows 98. Nintendo. Playstation. Apple began the comeback when the late Steve Jobs came back. Opportunities were plentiful. Everyone got a piece of the pie. A piece of the pie was given just by participating.

If my courage increased 20%, then I got a bigger piece of the pie. If two people at the minimum, at any place, and at any time introduced me to something, anything positively new, then I live in freedom today. If either the same two people or two different people at the minimum, at any place, and at any time called out my faults, then I live in freedom today.

One high school moment worth mentioning was I attended summer school Geometry after my sophomore year. I made new friends. I was able to take Algebra II in my junior year and Trigonometry & Pre-Calculus in my senior year. I saw most of my friends in the math classes. Moreover, the summer school was a foreshadow because the school district closed my high school after my junior year. I graduated high school at the same school I took my summer school Geometry.

I salvaged the 1990s. I was naive. I received poor support. I didn't know how to make intelligent mistakes. It was not entirely my fault. I accepted my share of responsibility. All is forgiven today. I have been catching up what I missed since I realized I must grow up on Sat Oct 4, 2008. Experiences experienced. Lessons learned. Wisdom acquired. The catching up continues. Here are the top fifteen crappy 1990s best moments.

15. 1993 Bike Ride (Summer 1993). I rode my bike randomly around my neighborhood exploring parts of West San Jose and Campbell, CA. The places included Westmont High School, San Tomas Aquinas Creek, and John D. Morgan park.

14. Working Out At The Gym (Sep 1998, May 1999). My first gym was at my first company's office park. My second gym was at a real gym. I continue physical workouts today.

13. My First Webpage (1998). I created my first webpage at geocities.com Tokyo Bay 9061.

12. The Year Of The Role Playing Game (RPG) (1997). 1997 was the perfect year for RPG. Everyone was in San Jose, everyone adjusted their college and work schedules, everyone participated in the action, and the plots were terrific. The memories are remembered for a long time.

11. Las Vegas Grand Canyon (Jul 1997). My family's first biggest summer vacation. We stayed at a time share during our stay in Las Vegas. We took a two-day trip to the Grand Canyon. The vacation was my first time in Las Vegas, first time I gambled, and my first time in Arizona.

10. Around The State Of California In 90 Days (May-Aug 1995). 1995 was filled with family vacations. We visited Disneyland, visited Yosemite, canoed in the Sacramento River, and visited my grandparents in Santa Barbara. Yosemite was my first time visiting a national park.

9. San Jose State University (1992-1997). I choose San Jose State number nine even though many people think graduating from college should be higher in a person's life. I'm an exception.

*Fall Semester 1993. I earned a C- taking Computer Science 46A despite failing the final. The professor gave me a break. I attended all classes. I completed all the homework. Doing the minimums saved my ass.

*Fall Semester 1994. Physics 60 final. "I studied three hours for that!", said a classmate. Most students completed the four-choice multiple-choice final in 30 minutes. The final was very easy a high school student could earn an A.

*Fall Semester 1995. I changed majors from Mathematics to Economics and changed minors from Economics to Mathematics. My dream of teaching high school math was over. The switch was a good choice looking back. I believe I stopped being a teacher in today's public education environment.

I made a big deal thinking about the change initially. I thought back. The change should have been immediate. My Economic major classes became interesting. I met more classmates. My GPA went up at the end of each semester.

*Fall Semester 1996. My perfect semester. I attended classes on Tue and Thur. I learned how to write. 3.64 was my semester GPA. I mastered the shooting arcade game Area 51. I lost weight. I began listening to music while I studied.

*Fall Semester 1997. My last semester. I attended classes three days a week. I can't explain why I didn't schedule my semesters for at least one day off. Today's college environment most classes meet two days a week instead of some classes meeting either two days a week or three days a week.

8. Music (Various Dates). Yanni, Enya, Mariah Carey, Celine Dion, Madonna, Shawn Colvin, Sarah McLachlan, LeAnn Rimes, Jewel, No Doubt, Alanis Morissette, Donna Lewis, Hootie And The Blowfish, Paula Cole, Sixpence None The Richer, The Cranberries, Sting, Wilson Phillips, R.E.M., and Spice Girls.

7. Self-training Job Skills (1998). I taught myself Excel, Access, PowerPoint, and HTML. Learning Access helped me get my second job. I wished I continued the self-training attitude indefinitely.

6. The Snowman And Pinky Show (1994-1995). I played stuffed animals with my younger sister. Snowman was The Snowman from the book written by Raymond Briggs. Pinky was a blue bear with a pink nose. The other animals were bears related to Pinky. There was another snowman who looked like The Snowman named cousin Snow. We were terrible naming the stuffed animals. Most of the bear names were referenced from The Simpsons and favorite family movies.

I was Snowman, cousin Snow, and the extras. My sister was Pinky and his bear family.

5. Blockbuster Video (1996-1997). My first retail job. The store manager and I attended the same high school which was the number one reason he hired me.

4. Weekend Trip To Santa Barbara, CA (Aug 1998). My mom and I picked up my grandfather in Santa Barbara, CA as a last minute trip driving the Mercury Sable 1997 station wagon. We transported our family birds to one of my aunts in Los Angeles to be picked up. We listened to music on my portable CD player connected to the radio cassette deck for the first time.

The next day we drove my grandfather back to the Bay Area. The highlight of the trip was a Ford Mustang driving next to me from Soledad to San Jose. Sometimes I was in front of the Mustang. Sometimes the Mustang was in front of me. We separated at the Junction 85-17 freeway.

3. Weekend Trip To Cal Poly (Apr 1998). A friend invited me to visit him during the annual Cal Poly Open House weekend. I helped his club raise money cooking teriyaki chicken at the food booths. The weekend vacation was the first time I went on vacation solo. I went shopping at an outlet strip mall purchasing neck ties.

2. Japanese Anime (1996). I became an anime fan. I woke up listening to the ending song from Sailor Moon when my sister watched the English anime dub. I watched a variety of anime series when I rented anime at Blockbuster Video. The first anime series I purchased was the first season of Ranma 1/2. I attended my first anime convention Fanime Con in Mar 1997.

1. My First Jobs After College (Jul 1998 And Feb 1999). The commercial real estate industry was my first two jobs. My boss who hired me at my first job also hired me at my second job. I worked in the industry for 8.5 years.

Update On A Past Blog

The C- grade in Computer Science 46A was mentioned in Top Ten Good Breaks And Good Timing written on Jul 8, 2013. Number nine was San Jose State University. I should have elaborated the "Failed final, yet passed the class" bullet point.

October First Time Not The Only Time

The first times: backpacking in Utah Eastern Standard Time, eating in a five star buffet, playing Mahjong on an automatic table, and entering a haunted house on Halloween. The 49ers playing at Levi’s Stadium was the second time I saw the team played live. It was the third time I played Mahjong (Riichi) in costume, first time during Halloween.





















Email: feedbackininblog@innovateinfinitely.com

Top Ten Vacations

Active leisure is part of our lives. We must find time to take an extended break. Pause. Turn off. Tune out. Find a distraction. See something different. Do something different. Be active at something not done in a long time. Take a vacation. Relax, refresh, refocus, and re-energize. Hopefully good stories are shared at the end of the vacation. Sometimes vacations are a catalyst for good fortunes coming soon.

I realized the importance of vacations when I took a staycation in 2015 for the first time in my life. I was unemployed spending hours seven days a week job searching, learning new job skills, and refreshing existing job skills. I took a one week staycation listening to podcasts, watching DVDs, and watching baseball on TV. I ate at an all you can eat sushi restaurant for the first time. My staycation reminded me to pace myself. My staycation reminded me my strengths. Avoid overstressing. Do everything one at a time. I discovered my sense of urgency finding a job must have intelligence.

Here are the top ten vacations:

10. Russian River (2013). The last time I took a vacation prior to the staycation was a weekend trip canoeing along the Russian River. It was my first time visiting Wine Country in Northern California. Very calm.

9. Cal Poly (1998). A friend invited me to visit him during Cal Poly Open House weekend. I helped his club raise money during the event cooking teriyaki chicken. Cal Poly was the first time I walked inside a university in my life. Cal Poly was the last time I walked inside a university after I graduated from San Jose State University.

The Cal Poly weekend vacation was the first time I went on vacation solo. I went shopping at an outlet strip mall purchasing neck ties.

8. Oregon (2005). My parents, uncle, and aunt took a road trip from the Bay Area to Oregon as far north as Portland. We were interested in purchasing real estate. My uncle knew a real estate contact person. It was the first time I purchased goods in a retail store without a sales tax.

7. Santa Barbara Weekend Trip (1998). My mom and I planned a weekend trip at the last minute. We transported our family birds to one of my aunts in Los Angeles. We met at my grandfather's house. The next day we drove my grandfather back to the Bay Area.

The highlight of the trip was a Mustang car driving next to me from Soledad to San Jose. Sometimes I was in front of the Mustang. Sometimes the Mustang was in front of me. We separated when I took another freeway entrance. We drove together at least 2.5 hours.

6. Las Vegas Grand Canyon (1997). My family's first biggest summer vacation. We stayed at a time share during our stay in Las Vegas. We took a two day trip to the Grand Canyon in the middle of the Las Vegas vacation.

The Las Vegas Grand Canyon vacation was all a first time for me. They included first time to Las Vegas, first time I gambled, first time in Arizona, and first time in another time zone even though Arizona doesn't recognize daylight savings.

5. Washington Canada (2005). Another vacation filled with firsts. My friend moved to Washington in 2002. I visited him in Washington for the first time. The first time highlights included visiting the Space Needle, visiting Canada, and riding a ferry.

The life lesson I learned was be patient.

4. Yosemite National Park (1995). 1995 was filled with family vacations. We visited Disneyland, stayed with my grandparents in Santa Barbara, and canoed in the Sacramento River. The best vacation was Yosemite. It was my first time visiting one of the most popular national parks in the USA. Every Californian should visit Yosemite even if it's one day.

3. Las Vegas (2004). Win money in Las Vegas is a shoe-in for a great three day vacation. My Washington friend and I walked away winning money playing craps and playing Camel Races in Luxor. We also played $2-$4 limit poker at Binion's Horseshoe when we visited Fremont Street.

2. Washington Canada (2008). The timing was perfect to visit my Washington friend for the second time. I lost my job because my contact was terminated. I was lost personally. I didn't know who I was. I was a wreck. The Washington Canada trip was my ultimate distraction. The sky was the limit when it came to spending. I discovered I was a beginner again ready to start my life fresh.

1. Zion National Park (2015). My cousin organized a two day backpacking trip to Zion National Park. We backpacked The Narrows Top Bottom. Our GPS recorded 23 miles of hiking down the Virgin River.

A good vacation is when there are a lot of firsts. I checked off lots of first times and checked off items in my bucket list. They included backpacking, camping, multi-day hiking, adjusting my clock to another time zone, and visiting Utah. I also visited Las Vegas where I met my cousin's party for the first time since 2006.

I experienced what it was like feeling I want to quit. I didn't quit because I must finish the hike. There were no alternate short cut routes. I also experienced willpower. The first day was willpower and adrenaline. I learned the importance of willpower.

Email: feedbackininblog@innovateinfinitely.com

2004 Was A Good Year

I wrote about how wisdom can change what we thing about our past in my last blog. I continue the blog topic to talk about my 2004 and the specific moment. I talk about the specific moment first.

Fanime Con 2004 Was Actually A Good Anime Convention

I have thought about Fanime Con 2004 being a bad con for me. The reasons were, um, were--I can’t think of any legitimate bad reasons. Thinking now, there were either illegitimate or stupid. The following were the good moments: There were no lines in the dealer’s room. I watched many anime in the video rooms. I caught up a friend’s brother I hadn’t seen in four years. I stayed awake for 26 hours including watching 17 episodes of Fullmetal Alchemist (FMA) during the midnight marathon. The best moment was after episode eight in FMA, I said to myself, “I’m going to cosplay (the main character) Edward Elric.”

I don’t know what I had been thinking. There were a few bad moments here and there. Those bad moments were small compared to the many good moments at Fanime Con 2004. I shouldn’t let those small moments ruin the convention. I shouldn’t make a big deal over those small moments that bothered me. Wisdom changed my thoughts on a past moment. I’m happy to change my thoughts that Fanime Con 2004 was a good convention.

2004 Was Actually A Good Year

Here are the good moments:

*Las Vegas. Bellagio, Paris Las Vegas, played $4/$2 low-limit Texas Hold ‘Em at Binion’s Casino, rode a bus on Las Vegas Blvd. from Fremont St. to the strip, and won $80 playing craps and the camel races game both at Luxor.

*My website Innovate Infinitely went online on May 1.

*My first anime costume was Edward Elric from Fullmetal Alchemist. Thank you FMA midnight marathon at Fanime Con 2004. Thank you mom for making the costume.

*As a result of wearing a costume, I didn’t quit anime. I thought about quitting after Fanime Con 2004.

*Played online poker for fun at PartyPoker.net.

*Purchased the Nintendo GameCube.

*Curses are meant to be broken. The Boston Red Sox won the World Series. The last time the team won was in 1918.

*New look. I started to buzz cut my hair.

*I marathon the anime series Rurouni Kenshin TV series a few nights in Dec. Thank you fireflywishes for lending me the DVDs.

What were the bad moments? Was it work? Kinda. Thinking back, it actually got better in the second half of 2004. I created new reports and learned Photoshop in the Graphics Department. Then what happened that was bad? It must be something small, childish, stupid, and/or being immature I can’t remember now. Wisdom changed my thoughts. I’m happy to change my thoughts that 2004 was a good year.

Side note 1: I update my Top 30 Most Memorable Moments stating Fanime Con 2004 is my number one moment on my webpage. The Top 30 consists of top moments during my first 30 years in my life.

Side note 2: Three of the top ten most memorable moments 10 years after I graduated San Jose State took place in 2004. There were Las Vegas, my webpage, and JapanTown Anime Faire. Click here to view.

Side note 3: I wrote a blog changing 2007 from a good year to a bad year. Read the blog clicking here.

The Personal Side Of Me Finding Raymond Mar

Top 10 Most Memorable Moments Since I Graduated San Jose State University

December 1997. It was my last month in college, turning in homework, taking exams, and writing term papers . . . anything a professor requires in his or her class. 10 years passed with a degree in Economics. Here I am. I'm currently work at Cisco as a contractor, drive own my car, play Team Fortress 2 online, work out at the gym, watch anime, hang out with friends, accomplish my goals, and find who I am. Honestly, I still consider myself lost ^^^ Between December 1997 and today, lots of events, moments, and incidents happened to me. Most of those happened since September 2004. I'm going to be honest. I want to share those events, moments, and incidents. I want to share now instead of when I'm 40 years old and creating my Top 40 Most Memorable Moments. (My Top 30 Most Memorable Moments when I turned 30 years old can be viewed at www.innovateinfinitely.com/topten.html. Scroll down or click the link Top 30 Most Memorable Moments.) Celebrating my 10 years out of college, here is the Top 10 Most Memorable Moments Since I Graduated San Jose State University. 10 Las Vegas Trip (December 2004). My friend Steve and I took a mini vacation to Las Vegas. We stayed one night at Paris Las Vegas and the second night at the Bellagio. Both of us agreed the Bellagio is the best hotel room we stayed. It was worth the price. We also went to Fremont Street and played $2-$4 limit Texas Hold'em. Unfortunately, we both lost money. Our best event was playing the camel race game Chariots (something) and playing craps at Luxor. Monday Night Football, gambling, and complementary bottle water were great Monday night entertainment. 09 Oregon Trip (November 2005). My Dad, Mom, Uncle, Aunt, and I took a road trip to Oregon to buy real estate. We drove from the Bay Area to Oregon, a 14 hour drive. During the trip to and from Oregon, we gambled in the Indian casinos. I won $100.00 $-) We also shopped in outlet stores and visited Multnomah Falls and downtown Portland. We stayed in the Salem area. We talked to a real estate agent who gave us a list of homes for sale. We did a self-tour. In the end, the timing was not right to buy. Glad we didn't buy any homes. My favorite parts were no sales tax and when you buy gas, the gas attendant must fill your gas. 08 Innovate Infinitely Was Created (November 2000). There is no innovateinfinitely.com without Innovate Infinitely. Innovate Infinitely was created when I was driving to Japantown-San Jose. Initially, I needed a web page theme because my family, friends, and acquaintances' web pages have a theme. I wanted a never stop learning theme. Always find ways to be a better person. And when you accomplished something, find another way to improve it. At a stop light, the words Innovate and Infinitely came to my mind. I said the words together, "Innovate Infinitely . . . Never Stop Innovating Life." Today, I'm innovating infinitely--always finding something new to learn, always improving what I know, always creating, and always becoming a better person professionally and personally. 07 www.innovateinfinitely.com Is Online (May 1, 2004). On June 2003, I choose to create a new web site with a new design to promote Innovate Infinitely. Everything I learned in the 30 years at work, in leisure, at San Jose State, reading books, and living life everyday can be summarized in two words-Innovate Infinitely. It took 10 months finding a web hosting company, learning how to register a domain name, how the Domain Name Servers work, and learning the basics of web pages and the Internet. The experience and journey were worth the adventure. I admit I have lots more to learn. www.innovateinfinitley.com is a start. I hope the people who visit my web site are satisfied and come back to visit again. 06 Anime Expo 2006 (July 2006). What a happy vacation and happy time: CLAMP panel, meeting new people, took lots of cosplay pics, Vic Mignogna panel, Full Metal Alchemist movie, Full Metal Alchemist mini gathering, meeting new people, . . . . the list goes on. I rarely stayed in my hotel room. 05 The Next Rich Dad, Poor Dad (2002)? The first time I heard of Robert Kiyosaki was a late night infomercial. The infomercial was the only infomercial I watched from beginning to end. The information made perfect sense. L.M, a friend and former co-worker, introduced Kiyosaki with greater detailed. She told me about Kiyosaki's books, tapes, seminars, and the web page. I went to Costco the same week and I saw Kiyosaki's first book Rich Dad, Poor Dad. I purchased the book, read the book, and became more aware about my financials and my future. I read books by Peter Lynch, learned how to read a financial statement, attended seminars, read more Kiyosaki books, and, in short, started to learn more about businesses and expand my skills and knowledge professionally and personally. In 1999 when I was out of college, I never had a five year plan. Today, I have a five year plan. I want to innovate myself with knowledge and skills in technology, web pages, stock market, and whatever else I'm interested in learning. Also, I want to meet and know more people-expand my circle of friends, family, and acquaintances. Ms. L.M., we do keep in touch from time to time and it's hard with our busy schedules. When I make my first million dollars, I'm going to make sure you are appreciated. Update: Ms L.M. is currently working at Cisco. We do have lunch together and chat. 04 My First Car (May 2007). My neighbor and his wife moved to Virginia (or was it West Virginia?) and they sold their second car to me. The car is a 2005 Toyota Camry V6. The car runs great. I look forward to future adventures. And the car has air condition. I mention air condition because there was no air condition in my Dad's older cars I drove. 03 My Job At Cisco Systems, Inc. (March 19, 2007). I paid $100.00 at careerbuilder.com to increase my chances of my resume appearing on employers search for 30 days. I got a call for an interview at Cisco for a contractor position eight days after I paid. I was hired. No more Colliers International. No more working on their crappy databases they have failed since 1997. No more working with my dumb-ass co-worker. No complaints working at Cisco ;-) My department had an off-site meeting in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada on my second week at Cisco. And speaking of Canada . . . 02 Washington Canada Trip (August 2005). Lots of first visiting Steve who lives in Washington. First time: visiting Washington including Seattle, visiting Victoria and Vancouver British Columbia in Canada, visiting a foreign country, visiting Steve at his home, gambling in an Indian casino, riding a ferry, Steve doing all the driving ^__^, heck, the entire trip was a first, first, first. Excellent and full of fun, fun, fun. Thank you Steve for organizing the trip XD Oh, and no potholes in the Washington roads. 01 First Cosplay (September 2004). In Fanime Con 2004, I watched 17 episodes of Full Metal Alchemist. I stayed awake during the entire marathon. The series was that goddamn good. I loved the series. Edward Elric rocked. After watching the series, I said to myself, "I'm going to cosplay as Edward Elric." I want to thank my Mom for making my Edward Elric (and my Syaoran and Hitsugaya) cosplays. My Mom is teaching me how to sew while making my fourth cosplay. I cosplayed for the first time at Japan Town Anime Faire 2 (JTAF 2). I remember people taking pictures of me and meeting new people especially other cosplayers in Full Metal Alchemist. Cosplaying at JTAF 2 opened my eyes as an anime fan. Being an anime fan is more than watching anime and attending anime conventions. Just like any hobby and interest, being an anime fan is meeting new people. If I didn't cosplay, I quit being an anime fan. Once you cosplay, you can't stop ^__^

2006 Las Vegas Trip: Third Day and Epilogue

Day 3: Going Home

Steve and I woke up at 8:00 A.M. Steve took a shower and I packed and watched ESPN =__= We arrived at the taxi departure area to the airport and we split a cab with a person who was on a business trip from Phoenix who stayed a Treasure Island with a buddy. It was the first time I split a cab with someone. His name was Scott and he lived in San Diego. My apology to Mr. Scott because I incorrectly calculated his share. I said 50/50 because I was paying for Steve. The correct share was 33/33/33 for which I pay 67% and he paid 33%. I did the math and Mr. Scott paid an extra $2.00. I hope Mr. Scott forgave me paying more than his share XD

All three of us arrived at the airport at 9:45 A.M. The taxi driver took the freeway for which seemed longer; however, he avoided the strip traffic and signal lights. At the airport, I choose to skip breakfast and I purchased a Baby Ruth candy bar, bottle water, and a copy of the Los Angeles Times newspaper. I purchased the newspaper to compare car prices in the Los Angeles area and the Bay Area. My uncle told me prices in Southern California are cheaper than Northern California, and the information is useful to negotiate.

Steve ate a piece of pizza for breakfast and his lunch :-) Our flights departed five minutes apart. My flight departs at 10:55 A.M. and Steve's flight departs at 11:00 A.M. Our gates were at opposite ends of Gate C. The LA Times newspaper contained useless information for me and I placed the newspaper on a chair and I picked up a Wall Street Journal to read on the airplane. I kept the LA Times auto classified ads.

I boarded the airplane and sat at the last row on the left side aisle seat. There were 90 passengers including 8 passengers from the 9:45 A.M. flight to San Jose which was canceled. The flight departed the airport on time. Midway through the flight, I read the evacuation procedures because if an emergency occurred, I was responsible for opening the door and inflating the emergency ramp `__* I arrived in San Jose at 12:10 P.M. and my Mom picked me up.

Epilogue

The vacation was a lot of fun. I have positive experiences for the three days in Vegas. Sure I won $149.00 on the one hand and on the other hand, I wanted to do more activities. Timing was in my favor with the hot Crap table at Tropicana and the Bellagio outdoor water show technical problems earlier in the evening and viewing multiple shows in a short amount of time during my stay. And, for the record, if I was in the losing end of my gambling, I gamble up to my stop loss of $200.00.

I like to thank Steve for choosing and organizing the Treasure Island hotel reservations. Good choice. And thank you for coming to Vegas with me. Sorry about the gambling losses $-{

2006 Las Vegas Trip: Second Day

Day 2: How Many Miles Did I Walk?

Steve wanted to sleep as long as possible. No problem with me. I woke up around 8:30 A.M. and watched TV . . . mostly ESPN -__- Steve and I ate breakfast at 9:50 A.M. at the Treasure Island buffet. The price was around $15.00 including tax and tip. Good breakfast. Worth the money.

At 11:30 A.M., we went to Casino Royale. Steve played Blackjack and Craps, I played some Craps. The Crap table was $3.00 minimum, a first for me at Vegas. I played $20.00 for about 40 minutes. I walked away with $19.00 for my final net winnings $149.00. The table never got hot and after the 40 minutes, the table became cold. The Come bets saved me big time.

Steve and I left Casino Royale and went to Harrahs. We separated around 2:15 P.M. Steve continued gambling and I walked the strip and went shopping. I visited Paris Las Vegas for 10 minutes walking around and remembering the 2003 and 2004 visit briefly including the deli Steve and I ate for lunch in 2004. At 2:35 P.M., I purchased a Bellagio, Treasure Island, and Mandalay Bay deck of cards for $3.25 at a gift shop. My next and last shop was the Bellagio gift shop where I purchased a picture magnet of the Bellagio at night time with the water show for $3.25.

Steve contacted me on cell phone around 3:40 P.M. He was going to be at The Mirage and he wanted me to meet him. No problem. I arrived at The Mirage at 4:00 P.M. I had trouble finding Steve because The Mirage was filled with gamblers. The table game environment was a dark, yet impressive gaming condition. Steve said his Dad and I were calling him on cell phone. When he wanted to answer the cell phone, he must remove himself from the Blackjack table. He lost his seat immediately after he removed himself :-(

After a few additional cell phone communications, we found each other. Steve wanted to check out Caesars Palace. I followed. We arrived at Caesars and the table minimums were $10.00 and over. Steve thought about what to do because he wanted to play $5.00 minimums. He chose to gamble horse racing. Steve gambled at horse racing before and has some experience. He said gambling horses is a social activity because people talk between the races. While Steve gambled, I went back to the hotel room to get a new SD memory card for my digital camera and drop off the deck of cards and magnet. When I arrived back, Steve said he wanted to finish the horse racing schedule. No problem. I went to FAO Schweetz to get my ice cream and brownie. I got the ice cream and brownie for $8.00. Honestly speaking, it's the last time I pay $8.00 for ice cream and a microwave warmed brownie *__* Steve took a bite of my ice cream and brownie and loved it. I agreed. The dessert was good.

Dinner Time

We skipped lunch and we ate at Chipotle at 7:45 P.M. We ordered burritos. The burritos were big I failed to eat the entire burrito. It was the ice cream :-< LOL! We talked about a lot of random topics. After dinner, we went to Imperal Palace. Steve played Let It Ride. After watching Steve played for five minutes, we separated at 8:20 P.M. I went to the Bellagio to take pictures of the indoor Christmas garden and recorded the water show for my YouTube. I was lucky to watch a batch of the Bellagio water shows because there were problems earlier in the night. Bellagio played a bunch of water shows in a short amount of time and while I was at the Bellagio. Good timing :D After Bellagio, I walked to New York New York to walk off the burrito. I saw a group of guys getting the prostitution pic cards and trading them like baseball cards. I choose to get some myself >.> I arrived at New York New York and saw the location where I first gambled in my life in 1997. I watched a few Craps tables for a few minutes each. On my way back, I got more of the hooker pic cards <.< I videotaped one more Bellagio water show on my digital camera before going to the hotel room.

I arrived back at the hotel at 11:00 P.M. I was surprised to see Steve in bed. He arrived at the hotel around 9:30 P.M. I showered and watched Colors staring Robert Duvall and Sean Penn. I went to bed around 3:00 A.M.

2006 Las Vegas Trip: Introduction And First Day

Introduction

My friend Steve and I took a vacation in Las Vegas Monday December 11, 2006 to Wednesday December 13, 2006. We stayed at Treasure Island for our hotel and we saw Folies Bergere for our show entertainment. We gambled playing slots, Craps, and Blackjack and walked around the strip. The trip was fun and we had a blast. I arrived at McCarran International Airport at 8:05 AM and Steve arrived around 2:00 P.M. We flew back home at 10:55-11:00 A.M. on Wednesday.

Day 1: Patience Is A Virtue

My flight departed on time from San Jose to Las Vegas. My dad gave me a ride to the airport. The flight totaled 50 passengers. Southwest told everyone to just line up and enter without following the A, B, and C groups. Everyone got either orange juice or coffee. No peanuts :-( I sat on the left side next to a window. I saw snow on the mountains and lots of residential development at the outside of Las Vegas.

I arrived at McCarran Airport at 8:05 A.M. I walked around the C gate looking at the restaurants. I choose to eat at Burger King. $7.50 for a sausage and egg bagel combo :-P After breakfast, I walked to the ground transportation. I saw the security line which was long. McCarran airport is the best airport I have visited. Those passengers should pass by security quickly.

I took a shuttle from the airport to Bellagio. I wanted to stop at the Bellagio first to view the indoor Christmas garden. The shuttle fare was $5.50 which was good. Waiting 20 minutes for the shuttle was bad. There was no rush. The shuttle made a stop at Aladdin first. The second stop was Bellagio at 9:40 A.M.

I stayed briefly at the Bellagio indoor Christmas garden because viewing the garden at night time was better looking. I took a few pictures. I noticed there were more shops opened on the backside of the garden and the polar bears were at the left side. The 2004 visited the polar bears were at the left side.

I walked to Treasure Island and arrived at the check in line at 10:40 A.M. Check in time was 11:00 A.M. I was the fourth person in line. When check in opened, the line grew big time. I got my keys and room and walked to the room on the 14th floor. Fortunately, Treasure Island devoted elevators to specific floors. Steve and I waited seconds for the elevators throughout the vacation. The room was similar to Bellagio in 2004. Bellagio is still my all time favorite hotel room because the room and bathroom were bigger and more elegant. After settling in, I went to the gift shop to buy bottle water, Lay's potato chips, and cookies. I watched TV mostly ESPN while I wait for Steve to arrive. I saw two window washers at the Venetian hotel washing the windows floor by floor.

Steve Arrived

Steve arrived at 2;30 P.M. He called me on cell phone he arrived at the airport. I was watching Viva Rock Vegas, a Flintstones movie. Coincidence ^^; I told him to come straight to the room because I got his keys. When he knocked on the door, I was surprised because I expected him to arrive at a later time. The reason why Steve arrived quickly was because he took a taxi ^^ Steve relaxed for about 15 minutes and settled in. Then we walked out of Treasure Island. Our first destination was the Greek Isles.

Along the way to the Greek Isles, we stopped at Fashion Show Mall Food Court at 3:00 P.M. for lunch. I ate at Taco Maker and ordered the number 1 combo which was three tacos, potato wedgies, and a soft drink. Steve ate Chinese. We ate there for 30 minutes. The food court reminded me of the Washington Canada trip because the food court was at the top floor and there lots of windows. Steve made a toast to the Las Vegas trip. We walked down the stairs outside the food court and visited the Wynn hotel for 10 minutes. I saw the waterfall by the outdoor restaurant and the main lobby decorated with trees.

After the Wynn, we saw the Stardust gated and closed. Steve found out the Stardust is going to be blown up and torn down for a new hotel and casino. I saw a Las Vegas Police Department station. I watched CSI briefly from time to time and I joked whether the show is filmed at the location. And I wanted to see some Las Vegas police cars because I wanted to take pictures for my webpage XD

At 3:50 P.M., we arrived at Greek Isles. Wow! Wow again! The Greek Isles was the smallest casino we ever saw. Fortunately, we stayed at Treasure Island. After staying for three minutes, we headed back to the strip. The plan was to walk to Treasure Island to get the tickets, visit Luxor because our favorite Camel Ride machine might be back, and then Tropicana to watch Folies Bergere. We stopped at Frontier casino for some gambling. I played Craps and walked away ahead $10.00. The table was cold and I considered myself lucky. Steve played Craps and some Blackjack. After Frontier, we walked to Treasure Island and got the tickets.

Steve and I were ahead of schedule. We stopped at O'Shea's casino. Steve played Blackjack. I played slots. I lost money $-( After O'Shea's, we walked to Luxor. I asked Steve about New Years Eve on the strip. He visited Vegas on New Years Eve one year. He said it's worth visiting on New Year's Eve once in a lifetime. One year, I'm going to visit Vegas on December 31.

We finally arrived at Luxor after me screwing up the Excalibur, Luxor, and Mandalay Bay tran at 7:10 P.M. Steve saw a deli and made the call to eat dinner. I agreed and we ate. I ordered the roast beef sandwich and Steve ordered the corn beef sandwich. After dinner, I lost $20.00 on a slot machine :-\

Bam, Bam, Bam Waiting For The Hot Table For Action

We arrived at Tropicana at 8:00 P.M. The Folies Bergere started at 10:00 P.M. The plan was to arrive to our seats at 9:00 P.M. If anyone of us were having a hot streak at the tables, we seat at 9:30 P.M. I played Craps and Steve played Blackjack. The Crap table was hot. One of the shooters made his point three times in a row. The table remained hot throughout my stay. There was a pause for casino staff to restock chips. And there was a brief pause to change the minimums from $5.00 to $10.00. It was the first time I saw a change in minimums and the second time the table paused for chip restocking. I started with $40.00 and walked away at 9:30 P.M. with $186.00 for a net winning of $150.00. I kept $1.00 in a Tropicana chip for souvenir.

The Folies Bergere show started a little after 10:00 P.M. I missed the opening act getting bottle water at the bar. A couple of people were joking on ordering a cola. A cola is a cola they say whether it's Coke or Pepsi. The show was entertaining. Loved it. BTW, the show was topless O__O *Hee, hee, hee* My favorite scene was the last scene which was the Can Can and the dancing acrobats doing their acrobat stunts. Did I mention topless??? ;-) The dancers were very attractive 8-)

After the dance, we walked back to Treasure Island. On the Tropicana and Las Vegas Boulevard bridge between MGM Grand and Tropicana, I saw a Las Vegas Police car at a distance. I took a few pictures. I hope one of them turns out good to post on my webpage ~~ It appears the officer pulled over the car because the license plate was missing. We stopped at Walgreens to purchase snacks and bottle water. I purchased a bottle water, Fritos corn chips, and a Twix candy bar. I wanted to get an ice cream which I choose to get tomorrow. Steve made a joke saying I wanted ice cream on a cold night.

At 12:30 A.M., we arrived back at the hotel room. I showered, watch some of the original Blue Brothers movie and then went to bed. I realized if I want to buy a used police car, I must buy a California Highway Patrol because most of their miles are freeway miles.