A Happy Birthday from My Valentine

It was "inevitable" (with a French accent): It was a perfect May afternoon 35 years ago in Monte Carlo, Monaco. I was 21, still young and impressionable, yet ripe for a love affair. Amazingly it's lasted this long despite the heartbreak the affair has put me through year after year.

What?!" you may ask. "You met Leonard in Monte Carlo and he's been breaking your heart for 35 years?!" Uhhhh....no.

I'm talking about putting a franc (roughly equivalent to a quarter in those days) into a slot machine and seeing $30 worth of francs come pouring out. Cha ching: I love you! In retrospect, maybe it would've been better if that darned slot machine had just kept the damned franc! I would not have fallen in love with slot machines and maybe I'd be driving nicer cars instead of a thirteen-year-old Toyota. We've been going to Vegas regularly for over 30 years and I NEVER WON A JACKPOT or anything more than $750 on one bet. Pa-the-tic.

Two weeks ago we woke up at 4:30 a.m to leave for our annual trip to Las Vegas. We got to Honolulu before 8 a.m. and found that the Omni flight which was supposed to leave at 11 a.m. would not leave until after 4 p.m. This was the first time ever we had such a long delay--and it was my birthday.  Oh super.

My mom was nice enough to pick us up at the Honolulu Airport and she took us to breakfast at Eagle Cafe. This was followed by shopping at Ward Avenue Ross to help ease the pain.

We got on the plane and seemed all set to leave at 5 p.m., but the plane was apparently enjoying its time in Hawaii and would slowly pull out, then stop, wait, go a bit, stop, wait, pull back into its gate...until we were delayed yet another hour. We finally arrived in Las Vegas after midnight.  Shower and go to bed?  No way, we had six hours of catching up to do! 

Jordan loves the Wizard of Oz penny machine so I decided to visit Chris Noth right next to her machine--that is, visit him in my favorite penny machine, Sex in the City.  I don't recall if I put in $20 or $40, but Chris and Carrie were nice to me and I took out an $80 ticket. 

When my mom dropped us off earlier at the Honolulu Airport, I got out of the car telling her "I think I'm going to win because I've been visualizing the "ten, ten, ten".  She laughed.  I should've also told her that on the Bejeweled "slot machine" daily spin just a week before, I had spun 3 blue gems and won a million bonus points.  Would she have laughed then??  Of course.



Well I took my $80 ticket blessed by Chris and stuck it into my favorite Ten Times progressive quarter machine, intending to sacrifice the whole amount if necessary.  I love the Ten Times machines because it's possible to win more in one spin than the other machines--of course the payouts in between are smaller, no doubt.  It took me about 30-40 minutes (maybe 35 in honor of the 35-year "love affair"?) of pushing the "Max Bet" button and at about 3:30 a.m., suddenly it happened: TEN TEN TEN. 



Now I can die and go to heaven---but I think I'll wait
for the three MegaBucks symbols instead!

 For the first time in 35 years, I actually hit a jackpot!  I did not scream---I just blinked and said "Oh...my...god!"    I won $21,927.   Later the slot attendant told me she'd be jumping and screaming if she'd won it, but practical me while ecstatic inside, was also thinking "Ok slot machine, you still owe me a couple more of these for me to break even!"  Nevertheless, it was the best trip ever to win that much just a few hours after arriving, because we were able to spend the whole four days without worrying about losing our shirts.  With temperatures in the 30's and 40's, that was a relief. 

Jordan and an enterprising/engaging Zorro.

And guess what, on our trip home, our plane had to turn around for a woman who was ill and once again we were delayed six hours. Isn't life interesting!?  



Things That Make You Go "What?!"

First of all, I've gotta tell someone about the great deal I found on eBay and hopefully one of you can benefit.  I'm sure thousands of people have purchased the iPod Nano 5th generation because Costco's got it featured right at their entrance for months.  We bought one for Jordan for her birthday.  The deal I found is an accessory pack from RDStore on eBay.  OMG!!!  For $9.99 plus $3 shipping, we got a ridiculous 22-piece set of iPod covers (leather, silicone skins, hard clear plastic--about 10 in all?), USB cord with nifty retractable device, car charger, AC charger, 2 screen protectors, earphones, earphone SPLITTER (so two people can listen at once!), armband that fits some of the covers, and wriststrap.  Seriously, now Leonard wants an iPod and is using this set as his excuse, "Hey, why waste all those covers?!"  The quality is good, by the way.  Ordinarily you'd pay about $15 for a leather case alone at a retail store, or the same for a charger.  Even if you don't have a Nano 5th generation, check out the RDStore for other values.  Nope, I don't get commission.

Next I want to give you some good news from Dr. Mercola (usually the bearer of bad health news).  According to this article, pharmaceutical drug trials are inadvertently revealing a phenomenon: We may not need pharmaceutical drugs!  They've been finding the placebos becoming more and more effective.  In other words, more and more patients than ever are healing themselves taking a sugar pill, thinking they're taking the real thing. This made me laugh---score one for natural healing! 

Speaking of things unexplained, Jordan has been to Vegas just twice and twice she spun the $1000 on the Wheel of Fortune (both times on the first night!).  Meanwhile I've been playing slot machines for over 30 years and the most I've won at one pull was $750.  I wonder if slot machines are like our bodies?  Probably Jordan believes she can win so she does and I subconsciously don't believe I can win so I don't?  I guess my placebo frogs and clover keyring aren't working?!  *LOL*

By the way, check out the Society of Seven and Jasmine Trias at the Gold Coast.  We enjoyed their show.  It was reasonably priced plus we got "upgraded" to a better table just minutes before the show.  This was about the fifth time I've been to see SOS and they're always entertaining.  Seeing Jasmine perform was a bonus.  She's really grown as a performer since her AI days!

Lastly, I would like to give this public service suggestion: Snopes.com.   I get forwarded emails every day and have learned to check Snopes.com to confirm even those emails which state "confirmed by Snopes".   Or if you don't believe Snopes, there are other sites which investigate the astounding "facts" we learn every day online.  The reason I'm telling you this is because not only are we doing a disservice to others by perpetuating false info, but I find myself wanting to tell the sender that the info is false.  I often do tell them, but in some cases I hesitate because I hate to burst their bubble.  Take for instance the email about treating heart attacks by coughing.  I was happy that the sender cared enough to send me that information, but when I checked Snopes and another source, found that the info was wrong and may harm instead of help.  I debated whether or not to inform the sender, because maybe next time he won't send me helpful information.  Of course I had to let him know since I didn't want him to use false information. 

So please check everything you find online that seems too wonderful to be true.  Sometimes it IS true, sometimes it's partly true, and sometimes just plain old wrong.  By the way, the bar of soap in your sheets does work to prevent leg cramps! 

Two Most Talented People of the Planet?

Simon Cowell called Terry Fator "one of the two most talented people on the planet" and although it's not clear who Simon meant was the other one, it's clear to me, anyway. (Hint: look left for both!)

Being slot machine addicts, when we go to Las Vegas, we almost never go to see shows. I've been to Vegas probably 30 times and I've seen 4 shows total. [Okay, so I went to see Smokey 3 times at the Desert Inn, but that counts as one show.] In fact, until this last trip, I'd seen only 2 shows in 30 years: Siegfried & Roy and Smokey!

My mom and I love watching "American Idol" and "America's Got Talent". It cracked me up when she once confessed that she voted TWENTY TIMES for someone. Meanwhile I think I voted 200-300 times for Justin Guarini---uhhhh, that's two hours of my life I'll never get back. I now limit myself to an occasional 10-20 minutes of voting tops, figuring my efforts did nothing for poor Justin so what's the sense? I mean Terry Fator got himself a $100 million contract and what do we get? I'm thinking there should be some kind of voting incentive....like the chance to win cash for dialing. Throw us poor voters a bone! *LOL*

I digress....anyway, like mother like daughter, my mom has seen just a couple of shows in her almost 40 years of Las Vegas trips, but she requested that we go to see Terry Fator at the Mirage. Having already spent $400 on Mariah Carey tickets for Jordan and myself, we decided to wait til the Terry Fator tickets went to 25% off. It was somewhat stressing to wait because I had to check daily to make sure the show wasn't selling out, but it was well worth the wait because we were able to get nice seats for the discounted price.

Terry's show is very popular--it was a full house--because it's highly entertaining and I recommend it even at full price. It's amazing enough that he's a good ventriloquist and funny, but he can sing like dozens of celebrities while not moving his lips. Whaaaat!? It's mind-boggling to say the least. My favorite is his Michael Jackson/Cowboy Walter Airedale routine where he's dressed like a Weird Al version of Michael and confesses that he's "different".... because he likes country music and wants Cowboy Walter to listen to him yodel. Walter, meanwhile, hopes Michael doesn't have a crotch-grabbing moment.

I was happy that Terry decided to keep this routine in his act after Michael's death. As a fan of Michael Jackson, I wasn't at all offended and loved every moment of it. Even if you're unable to go to Las Vegas or don't care to drop $100 for a ticket to his show, you can still enjoy Terry Fator either on YouTube or better by purchasing his DVD online.

After the show we were able to meet Terry and get an autograph. What we didn't know, however, was that they don't allow you take a photo with Terry with your own camera because they have a professional photographer taking your photo and hope that you're willing to pay $44 to get a copy! I wish I had known this ahead of time or had thought quickly enough to have Leonard surreptitiously click a photo from the sidelines with our new 7x zoom camera! The ushers, however, were nice enough to give us the heads up so we were able to take photos of Terry as he walked to the meet/greet area.

This past weekend the three of us, all MJ fans, went to see "This Is It." Not sure if it'd be crowded with Kauai fans on Sunday (the fifth day of showing), we were there exactly an hour before the 6:45 p.m. showtime and as we purchased our tickets, were asked if we were sure we wanted to buy them so early. *LOL* At least being the first to buy tickets for that showing, we were able to secure a bench to sit on while we waited. We were treated to--or others may say subjected to--impromptu MJ impressions by one of the theater ushers, obviously a devout fan who admonished a group waiting for "Zombieland", "You should see Michael Jackson instead!" An hour later, the theater, although not sold-out, was respectably full, "Zombieland" or not.

Consider this my public service announcement: You have just a week more to see this movie on the big screen and if you have any interest in Michael or music concerts or dancing, do yourself a favor and see it. You won't regret it. I came away feeling very uplifted. The movie truly did his fans a service by showing that he was still on his game despite being away for a decade. After all he'd been through, I admit I had my doubts about his abilities. Watching the movie, however, I was even more in awe of him than ever, not only because of his still-amazing dance moves or hearing his singing, but witnessing his sheer genius as he took part in directing different elements of the concert numbers. This truly would have been a special--if not history-making--concert and although it's tragic that it will never take place, I'm grateful that we are given glimpses of what would have been, and also grateful that our last view of Michael Jackson was such a glorious one.

As I said earlier, it's clear to me who THE most talented person on this planet was.

4'10" Daughter Carries Much Much Larger Parents

I predicted that Jordan would have Beginner's Luck in Las Vegas, and she did! Yes we are back from our wonderful Vegas vacation. So much happened this past week after we got back that it feels like our trip was a month ago rather than just last week.

For one thing, we all got colds at the end of our trip. No, it wasn't Swine flu, just bad colds that I'm sure would've been much worse if not for Zicam and Grapefruit Seed Extract. The worst of it took just a day or two at the most for each of us. Luckily my bad day was last Friday and not Saturday when I had to man my craft booth all day at the Matsuri Festival then attend the Easter Seals Party at the Hilton that night. Predictably I had a bit of a relapse on Sunday, but Saturday's profits and enjoyment of the party made it totally worthwhile.

Okay, back to Vegas fun: Jordan's Beginner's Luck began with her spinning a $1000 on the the Wheel of Fortune machine. Her dad and I have been going to Vegas for 30 years and we've never won $1000 in one "pull" (that old term is proof of how long we've been trying). My own beginner's luck happened in Monte Carlo in 1976, when I put a quarter in a machine and got $30.00 in francs back. Could 1976's $30 be possibly comparable to 2009's $1000? Uh, no.

After getting just 2 hours of sleep the first night, we dragged ourselves from the Fremont to Main Street's casino to participate in the Waimea 67's class reunion slot tournament. We all had fun mindlessly clicking away for two sessions. I was surprised that Jordan seemed to get bad machines for both sessions and her score was the lowest in our row both times. Well, surprise surprise: She won $40 because not only was her score the lowest in our row, her score was the lowest both sessions in the whole tournament! We had a big laugh because Jordan was even lucky in her unluckiness!

Jordan had other smaller wins throughout the week, but unfortunately her parents--especially her mom--had larger losses. She did carry us the first few days, but alas, our weight overcame her finally *LOL*

On Saturday, October 10, Jordan and I went to the much-anticipated Mariah Carey concert at the Palms. The Pearl Theater is a "small" venue and our front row balcony seats were perfectly unobscured, yet not ridiculously far from the stage. The "bargain" camera I bought online at Sam's Club served me quite well: $179 plus shipping for an Olympus Stylus which features 12 megapixels and best of all, a 7X zoom all in a very slim and lightweight body!

It's very puzzling to me why theater security personnel bother to approach audience members before the show to remind them that photos are not allowed during the program. They don't say "flash photos" it's just "photos" period. Then as the show begins, they announce this same warning over the PA and it's frankly hilarious because even as they're announcing this, you can see a sea of camera's glowing in the darkened theater and flashes going off as Mariah makes her "Imperfect Angel" descent onto the stage.

Although we were disappointed that Mariah didn't do "Vision of Love" (Jordan's favorite) or much of her older material, she put on a wonderful and entertaining show and sounded excellent. It was an energy-charged experience that we were thrilled to be a part of. Having bought our tickets during the fanclub pre-sale, we were sitting with true fans and it's fun to witness their loyalty and excitement.

More later about Terry Fator's show, but I have to get some WORK done. Here are a few photos from the concert: