This past Thursday in Vegas was an amazing Vegas day for our Vegas crew.  Vegas!

It started off with waking up and NOT being down $500.  It is amazing what that will do for you, as the first night of Vegas is so extremely dangerous.  It can ruin an entire trip.  But quite the opposite - I was up around $400 due to some extremely bad poker playing on my part that paid off with a fortunate river, which I then parlayed into strong poker play that paid off even more.  So I had some money to throw around.

We all took a trip over to McDonalds for breakfast and planned out the day.  It would be a busy one.  On the schedule was:

Watch tip-off games
Bowling competition for the beer run
More basketball and pool
Score! interactive sport exhibit at Luxor
Eating at James' buddy's place at Luxor
Wasted gambling

The basketball didn't disappoint the entire trip.  The first day included the Harvard over New Mexico upset, which I had at +500 for a money line bet on Harvard (Harvard to win outright).  BOOYAH.  Of course, that didn't compare to the +800 I had on Florida Gulf Coast outright beating Georgetown, but that glorious bet is a story for another day.

The bowling competition (losing team has to go on the beer run) is a Vegas mainstay.  Even though it was only 3 on 3 this year, the competition was no less fierce.  I started out with the best game I've ever bowled in Vegas - a 195 highlighted by a hambone - and my team was up a whopping 86 pins going into the second game.  It seemed like a lock.

But then Goozh's team started on fire.  While Fishman only had one mark through three frames, Taylor had three (including a double), and Goozh started with a turkey.  Basically, in the span of three frames, our lead was almost erased.

The match was tight and stayed that way until the bitter end.  My team was up 4 pins going into the tenth frame.

Fishman started off with a very strong 8 / X for Goozh's team.  His only strike on the day.  James answered with a X 9 /.  So my team was still up 4.

Taylor rolled for Team Goozh, but was unable to mark for the fifth straight frame, getting a measly seven pins.  (There is a possible explanation for his poor rolling, involving a hilarious story of found money and unwarranted fear of prosecution.)  Allister stepped to the line and promptly rolled a ONE on his first shot.  That was the same score he had on his first ball in the ninth frame, which was off a spare! I wanted to cry.  Confidence was not high, but Al's laziness took over - he really didn't want to go on he beer run - and he managed to throw the ball in the vicinity of the head pin.  He didn't hit the head pin, but still walked away with a semi-respectable 8 in the frame.  That extended our lead to 5.

So it would come down to me versus Goozh.  Goozh was bowling very well, on pace for a score in the 180s.  I was not following up my 195 at all, looking at a 130 or so at best.  We were both working on spares.

Goozh offered to go first and promptly rolled a strike.  Fishman told me afterwards he thought it was over.  I won't lie, my heart sank a bit when that happened.  I saw the beer run coming - the terrible walk to the shady gas station - and then the issues with getting a cab to take you from the gas station to whatever hotel you're staying at.  Its an hour or two of your precious time in Vegas, while the other team lounges by the pool, watches basketball, or gambles.  I stepped up with my orange alley ball.

ANSWER STRIKE.

This was Vegas bowling at its highest level.

Goozh would need another strike or else lose (it was unlikely I would roll less than a 6).  His shot looked good . . . but left a five pin.  I just had to keep it on the lane to win, and after rolling a very shaky 6, we had sealed the match.  In the end we won by 3 critical pins.  Allister's 8 in the tenth frame was key!

We celebrated with some more Miller High Lifes ($1.50 at the alley bar!) and decided to use our hard fought free time to play some craps.  I lost 200 bucks but didn't care.  I was still up from last night, and more importantly, we had won the bowling match.  That's all that matters when you're at the Gold Coast.

After some pool and more basketball, we geared up for the Score interactive sports exhibit at the Luxor.  I'll admit, I was skeptical of the call, but Goozh was very interested and had a deal for half-off tickets, so what the hell why not?  It was only $14 dollars.

It was probably the best $14 group activity we've ever done.  Better I assume than Bottoms Up (which I didn't go to anyway) and better than . . . well we don't really do that many group activities like this in Vegas. But it was sweet regardless.

It basically is an exhibit with lots of sports memorabilia, combined with interactive athletic competitions.  For example, for football you had a standing long jump, where you compared your distance with guys like Andrew Luck.  And then there was a peripheral vision test, that consisted of this giant board with buttons that would light up.  You stand like a foot away and have to hit the button when you see it flash.  Hit as many as you can in a minute.  Its like whack a mole, but much more difficult.  Other events included changing a tire on a Nascar vehicle, baseball speed pitch, and maneuvering a hockey puck around a rink.  Everything was a competition for the seven of us, so it was a lot of fun.

After we got done with it, we headed downstairs to a bar / restaurant that James's childhood buddy runs.  He took care of us real well with drinks and food, so much so that after we got done with his place things are pretty fuzzy.   My recollection of the night definitely goes downhill.

I know I didn't lose much money gambling, despite betting way over my head in terms of how much I was wagering.  I think I won a small amount, which I then dumped to some shmucks in the poker room.  But it didn't matter, cause (A) I hadn't lost my shirt and (B) the day was really awesome.

What was not awesome was my crushing illness / hangover the next day that had me in bed for most of the afternoon.  Oh well.  VEGAS!

This past Saturday we took Jackson out to brunch (along with Sarah).  Things were going okay; the restaurant was crowded but we were sitting back near the kitchen and we had a nice little buffer of empty tables surrounding us.  Jackson didn't seem too concerned with the commotion in the restaurant, and was letting us talk / eat / drink in relative peace.

He got bored though, as I'm told babies tend to do, so Kim had to hold him. This continued until his boredom increased to the point where holding would not suffice.  He then started whining.  Kim pacified him and got him to go to sleep.  I thought that this worked out pretty well since he hadn't had an afternoon nap yet, and he had a playdate scheduled for after brunch.  I said to myself - based on something I read in the Ferber book about the first ten minutes of a nap being the most restorative to a baby - that he only really needs to nap for a short time in order to not be cranky for the playdate.

On cue, a FRIGGIN BAGPIPER exited the kitchen and started whaling away.  An early St. Patrick's Day celebration I guess.  It was basically the loudest thing I'd heard in recent memory.  It seemed like he was aiming the noise directly at Jackson.  Predictably, Jackson woke up and started screaming.  Only you couldn't hear him screaming over the bagpiping.  The bagpiper slowly strode away and continued his set.  He played two "songs" or whatever they are, and then stopped to a round of applause.  Jackson I think cried for much of the time, but you couldn't hear him even when the bagpiper moved away.  It was infuriating.

I recognize that I've become more sensitive to random noises that annoy or wake up Jackson.  But this was a new extreme.

This past Saturday was the nicest day of the year.  50 degrees and sunny, which was quite the comparison to the 30 degree snowy days that were Thursday and Friday.  We used the chance to take Jackson out for his first trip to Central Park.

Our previous excursions to parks involved trips to John Jay Park (right down the street from us) and one trip to Carl Schulz Park (a bit north of us).  Recently, we've put him in swings in the park, which Jackson has not been especially thrilled with.





It took us around 15 minutes to get to Central Park from our apartment.  Jackson, of course, fell asleep on the way over.  We headed south once we got in the park towards this big pool area.  When we got closer, we saw a nice area with tables and benches and a concession stand selling food and drink.  Lucky for me, the concession stand sold beer!



Jackson was not as enthused.

The people sitting outside the stand were a varied bunch.  Some very old seniors just hanging out.  A fair amount of families with young kids clamoring for blow pops and ice cream.  And there were a group of four bros in tee shirts and shorts just pounding beers.  When they left they walked by us and asked us how we were doing.  How very bro of them.

We strolled around the park a little more and headed home.  This was probably the most exercise I've had in the last few months.

In an attempt to return to a somewhat normal life, we invited James and V over for a movie on Saturday night.  Jackson goes to bed around 8:15 or so these days, so we were relatively free to sit and drink wine and watch the totally met my expectations Taken 2.

Taken 1 was an instant classic.  Liam Neeson is an ex-CIA agent whose daughter gets TAKEN while on vacation on her own in Europe.  Neeson gets on the phone with one of the abductors and delivers one of the most classic monologues in American cinematic history:

I don't know who you are. I don't know what you want. If you are looking for ransom, I can tell you I don't have money. But what I do have are a very particular set of skills; skills I have acquired over a very long career. Skills that make me a nightmare for people like you. If you let my daughter go now, that'll be the end of it. I will not look for you, I will not pursue you. But if you don't, I will look for you, I will find you, and I will kill you. 

Neeson, of course, fulfills his promise.  Along the way he punches / kicks / shoots / electrocutes / stabs / vehicular homicides a ton of bad guys.

You would think that would be the end of it.  You would be wrong.

Taken 2!

In a premise that you would probably think would more likely develop as an SNL parody than real life, the father of one of the guys who Neeson kills is some sort of super crime boss.  And he is pissed.  So he develops a plan to get revenge.  Neeson and his ex-wife get TAKEN and it is up to Neeson, with help from his daughter (who stealthily avoids getting TAKEN) to save the day.

His daughter uses three hand grenades in the movie.

The movie met my expectations.  It also set up a TAKEN AGAIN type sequel, although James or someone told me that Neeson is not interested in a third.  I, however, am interested.  I mean, sure its ridiculous.  But is it more ridiculous than the Die Hard series?  And up until the last one (so I heard, I haven't watched), those were cinematic classics.