The playlist

We moved Jill into her new apartment yesterday, thanks to a psycho roommate and no help from the housing office, but oh well, she now has a permanent living situation. Drove four hours south in a U-Haul truck, then left for Maryland for a wedding. Thank heavens for iPods.

I remember the days of trying to find a radio station, only to be met with either a) static or b) twangy country music. I don't mind a small dose of country now and then, but I prefer a mix of stuff, hence: the iPod. I was late getting on the iPod wagon, but once I did, I filled it up in less than two weeks. I probably need a bigger one, but it'll do for now.

So we were listening to my mishmash of music, which can vary from Pavorotti to Different Drums of Ireland to Flo Rida and back again. I was cracking up in Louisville when Dan and Seth were jammin out to Shakira's "Whenever, Wherever." The girl is nuts with her dancing - more like a stripper than anything -- but listening to those two singing and watching their groove was hilarious.


Shortly afterward, we stopped at a rest stop, where Dan got the crazy notion to check the trunk for our bag. What made him do that, I'll never know, but within minutes, everyone around us knew that we didn't have our suitcase. And we were on our way to a wedding in Maryland. And that it was my fault. Never mind that I drove the U-Haul and he packed the car -- I've got big shoulders and I didn't care, cause it struck me as funny. Even if neither of us had clean underwear, socks, or toiletries. I still thought it was funny. So sue me.

Dan went on a little rant for several miles, while Seth kept repeating "it doesn't really matter, Leslie loves us and doesn't care what we wear to the wedding." Over and over and over. Seth is going to make a good psychiatrist someday, and it's times like this that make me realize WHY he wants to be one.

Dan calmed down when he wanted to - maybe half an hour later -- but I still was told later that I was going to be charged with reckless homicide when his butt got infected from wearing sweaty dirty underwear, and he died from the subsequent infection. Go figure. That man has some kinda imagination. I was still laughing when I went to bed. I guess that something about wearing the same clothes for four days just hits my funny bone, but I laughed for at least an hour after I woke up. It's a lesson in humility. Or maybe infection control

Viva Las Vegas Part 1: The Dam-dest Thing

Dan and I went to Vegas a couple of summers ago. We'd never been, and Ebay Live was there, so we figured we'd get a trip in, and a tax deduction at the same time. We've heard so many raves about Sin City, but since gambling's not really our thing, we never bothered, but I guess Vegas is one of those places to check off the list and say we've been there.

We stayed in some place off the Strip that I don't remember the name of. Did a few slots, ate at the buffet, and a few brief hours later, Dan was praying to the porcelain god. Horrible food poisoning put him outta commission for the first 24 hours. Did the ebay thing --- I had fun, even if he was bored out of his mind -- and decided to see the sites.

I have to say that Red Rocks is beautiful. We enjoyed it there, then headed to Hoover Dam. There we were, enjoying our tour, when suddenly alarms started going off. Long story short, we ended up in some outer part of the dam where no one is allowed to go, with a guard telling the tale of seeing a co-worker running down the hall with a cloud of gas coming after him. I think we were out there for the better part of an hour before they finally let us in and we were able to finish the tour.

We never did figure out what all the hubbub was about, of what the cloud of gas was, but I do know that I've never met anyone else whose trip to Vegas included an evacuation from a national landmark. I'm glad that Dan and I don't get freaked out too easily, or we'd never go anywhere. That's how Utter Chaos works though. My former boss used to say that she'd never go anywhere where Dan and I were out together, because 911 always ended up being called. Sad thing is, she was right.

I still wasn't too worried till the evening we went down to the casino, chatting with another couple along the way. We were remarking that it was the first time we'd left the kids home alone while we were out of town, with Grandpa just checking in on them every day. I said that we had told them that if they called us, there had better be blood flowing, bones sticking out, or the house had better be on fire. The wife of the other couple said "yep, that's what we told our kids too. Don't call us unless the house is on fire. They called us the first night we were gone and said 'you'd better sit down.' They had burned the house down. To the ground."

I dialed the kids and told them they could call anytime they wanted.

So if you go to Vegas, avoid the buffet, keep away from clouds of gas, and by all means, let the kids call you. And if you want a better memory of your trip, get this revamped vintage tee, from Perk Up Vintage. It'll definitely perk things up, and in a good way!