Wednesday, December 8, 2010

First Semester

I can't believe the semester is already over. It's strange, it feels like it went by so quickly, but at the same time it feels like this is all I've known for a while. Coming out here I had no idea how things were going to turn out, I was very excited, but a little nervous at the same time. It was the biggest move I'd ever made in my life, and it has been an adventure from day 1. I've made so many good friends, had so many fun experiences and learned many life lessons. I've discovered so much about myself, seen different sides of myself and expnaded my dreams and ambitions as well as my outlook on life. I feel like I have truly grown up a lot in the past 16 weeks. I've still got a lot of growing up to do, and I'm sure in the semesters and years to come I will.  As I have said before, this is an adventure, a journey. It's still an uncertain destination, but what matters is what I do getting there. I am going home for Christmas break soon, and am excited for some down time, but when it's time to come back in January, you better believe I'll be re-charged with the energy of a V-8 engine and  ready for ANYTHING!

Sunday, December 5, 2010

Favorite Place Addition!

China Town: I have ALWAYS wanted to go to China Town, and not until a little while ago I didn't know Vegas had one! But we do!!! And it's so cute, full of buildings shaped like Pagodas and Asian resteraunts and stores, and there's a big mall with all kinds of fun stores where you can buy fans and kimmonos and fun stuff like that. There's even a pagoda shaped Starbucks, ha! I LOVE IT! and can't wait to go exploring there some more!

Vegas Family Adventures: Hellcab

Troy is directing a show for The Las Vegas Little Theater this holiday season: Hellcab (sounds more like a horror film I know.) And of course he wanted his baby sister at the opening night! :)

Romie picked me up on Friday night to take me to the show. We had flyers we were supposed to hand out...but we didn't know where to go...or what to say LOL, so we didn't. Then we went to LVLT to see Troy before the show. He'd had an actress call in sick the day of so he was rehearsing an understudy...pissy Troy. So Romie and I had a BRILLIANT idea! LVLT is conviently located in China Town, so we decided to get him some Boba Tea...with a little surpirse in it! hehe We went to the Asian market and got some Vanilla vodka, then got some Boba for all of us. Well we got back into the car and the bottle wouldn't open, like seriously WOULDN'T OPEN. Our plans were crushed. Anyway we went back in and gave Troy his tea, told him we had vodka if he could open it..."NO!" haha. Then some of Romie's friends showed up (with the rest of the audience) and the show started. It was really good! Really funny, I was proud of Troy!

Then we went out as Elvis says in soooo many movies "to celebrate!" We went to this bar called Little Macau, it was a really cool place that was decorated really cool. Everyone clapped for Troy when he walked in then he introduced everybody. "Yeah that's my baby sister...she's a drapette." haha We hung out with the cast and chatted for a while about the show, and Christmas, and life, and Romie had had a few drinks...I guess since she couldn't open the vodka haha, and needed some food, so we decided to leave.

We went to this restaurant called "Pho Kim Long" say that 5 times fast! haha. We ate dinner there and chatted some more. Then we headed back to Romie's car and they drove me back to UNLV. This might be the last Vegas Family get together before he end of the semester, but it was so much fun!

Monday, November 29, 2010

Taking Care of Business

First of all, how does everyone like the new addition of my playlist? A few of my favorite songs that have become the soundtrack for my adventure! So, I went home for a week for Thanksgiving, I got into town and had lunch with a few friends at Chick-Fil-A (which I have REALLY missed, we need one out here!) and then went to the Saturday night show of the Statesboro Youth Ballet's Nutcracker, it was really good to see everyoe again, and I was very pleasantly surprised that they all screamed and ran to hug me when I walked in the door, and they all were very intrested in hearing all about what I'd been doing out here. The rest of the week I hung out with some friends, went to a few White Christmas rehearsals, and did some Christmas shopping/decorating. I was supposed to have Thanksgiving with my family (shout-out to Aunt Lori!) at my Grandmama's house, but she was sick, so our plans changed, we ended up going out to eat a RJs, all and all it was a really good week, it made me happy to know I still had my life back home and I could easily fall back into place there, and when I cam back to Vegas I easily fell right back into place with my friends here.

So now I have 10 days left in the semester, just a short short while until I go home once again, and there's a LOT of stuff to do in those 10 days. As Elvis said I'll be Taking Care of Business, that has become a mantra of mine and I feel it really helps me get the job done, Thanks Elvis! So the next week and a half are going to be crazy busy, but hopefully there will still be time for fun! It's hard to believe I'm almost done with my first semester of college! Where did the time go? I don't know. TCB

Friday, November 19, 2010

GA Bound

I'm a few hours away from taking off from Vegas and going back home for Thanksgiving. I'm very excited to see everyone and catch up...but it's gonna be sooooo different back in the 'Boro, surreal almost. Anyway I'm going to soak up some southern culture again before I come back for the last two weeks of the semester. Later.

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Vegas Family Adventures: The Hangover

WARNING: this post contains information that may be too intense for some followers, if you do not wish to find out some of the crazy things that go on in college (especially in Vegas) I suggest you skip this post . :)

Soooo, "that party last night was awfully crazy, I wish we taped it..." cue record scratch! haha, no. Last night my roomate and I went to a party at her boyfriend ( for lack of a better definnition)'s house. It was the same group of people we'd hung out with before at Red Rock and Mandalay Bay, with a few new additions. Anyway, we both planned on NOT getting drunk, but as these things go, sometimes your plans get foiled...there was Purp, Trop and Shots involved and I was definitly feeling it. I felt nauseous, queezy, and was kinda scared. I knew Alecsa was in no way ready to come home, nor was she in anyway in condition to drive. So...who do I call? Troy. He had texted me earlier and told me if I needed him for anything to call, well I needed him. So I found out the directions to this place and waited for him and Romie to show up. They saved the day, picked me up, even got me McDonalds on the way back to my dorm, they walked me upstairs and made sure I got into bed. "You guys are so sweet" "What are you talking about?" "Well, she is!"

Well into the night my naseousness took over...3 times...gross. And I woke up with a terrible headache, yup HANGOVER...I called Troy like he asked me to, so he could make sure I was okay (softie at heart.) and told me he'd call me later. So around 4 he invited me to go for sushi with him and Romie! He had to go to rehearsal for Hellcab (the show he's directing) and then he said they'd pick me up. At this point I was feeling MUCH better and really wanted to make sure their impression of me wasn't that of a drunk slob kabob. haha. So, we went for sushi at a restaraunt inside the Fashion Show Mall ( a favorite place!) and it was really good, Troy got the Viva Las Vegas roll "for you!" he said, haha he knows me! And we all chatted about crazy nights in college and recovering from them, I'm so glad they were there for me, I love them so much, and even though it wasn't an ideal situation, really it was perfect, because I now have another memory with my Vegas family.

Friday, November 12, 2010

My Girls

My girls out here are: Alexe, Ginny, Britney, Kimberly and Megan! Love these gals!

Last night we had a Girls Night Out and went to dinner at California Pizza Kitchen, we saw Kat Von D at Border's too! (didn't meet her :(, but still cool...someday!) and to see Due Date, HILARIOUS!

I spent the night at Alexe's house, and might again, it's fun doing old school sleepover stuff! And tonight we're going to see the So You Think You Can Dance? Tour at Planet Hollywood!

love having fun with my VEGAS VIXENS!!!

Monday, November 8, 2010

This Week Rocks!

nooooo Music Theory (my least favorite class) ALL week! and it's a 3 day week which means 4 day weekend, which means more time for FUN!

Friday, November 5, 2010

New Favorite Places

Dick's Last Resort: located in The Excalibur, this is a SUPER FUN restaurant with a twist, the waiters and waitresses are intentionally rude to you, sounds strange I know but it's super fun, and the food is awesome!

Fashion Show Mall- AMAAAAZING mall on the strip, seriously every single store you could ever want, including my favorite: Bettie Page Clothing <3...can't wait to go back!

Peppermill- this is an awesome 24 hour restaurant right next to The Riviera, NEON EVERYWHERE, and an extensive menu with large entrees, I highly reccomend the Fantasia Fruit Waffle! yum! oh, and they give you a postcard with your picture on it!

My Week

First of all I'd like to show some love to my new follower: Flaviane, you rock! And before it officially became the weekend I wanted to recap my week.

Monday- went to class, went shopping with Alexe, The Fashion Show Mall is AMAAAZING! and the DC had an ice cream bar with cherries! yum!

Tuesday- I got a call from Troy saying that our friend Travis was coming to town on tour with his theatre company! He got into town that night and Troy and I went to pick him up, we went out to dinner at The Peppermill  because Trav wanted somewhere really Vegas-y "you can't get more Vegas than Peppermill..." we had a really great time catching up with him, I love how crazy and random it was that we were all here...then we went to Wal-Mart to pick up some essentials for Travis...Troy had obviously never been shopping with Travis, hahaha and then we said goodnight.

Wednesday- I skipped school (shhhhhh!) to go see Travis perform his show with Chamber Theatre "we saw the shit out of Chamber Theatre..." "how many people can say that?" "we saw the shit out of Chamber Theatre?...2" haha, and that was really fun, then we went to lunch and said good-bye to Travis :(, but he might be back soon...

Thursday- back to class...then Alexe decided to skip Math (I'm a bad influence!) haha and we went out to lunch and wound back up on campus at the library...more entertaing than it sounds "Midgets!"

Friday- My dance seminar class is on this day, and this week was really cool, we had a class with Cirque Du Soliel! It was amazing, I really love that I have these kinds of oppertunitites, and even though it was challenging, it left me feeling encouraged, that I could do something like that...I would love to work for Cirque! (ummmm Viva Elvis anyone?!) and then OF COURSE Alexe and I hung out for the rest of the day :).

kind of a random week, but definitly a fun one! this is what I love about this adventure, and about Las Vegas, anything can happen!

Sunday, October 31, 2010

Happy Halloween!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN FROM VEGAS! This is my favorite holiday, and so far Hween has rocked in Sin City! Friday night I pulled together a last minute Elvis costume to wear to Gameworks (it consisted of Gold Leggings, a Vegas Baby T-shirt and TCB glasses, epic.), then last night I went to the Tropicana Theatre for The Rocky Horror Picture Show, and tonight I get to do Thriller down Freemont Street in the VERY FIRST Las Vegas Halloween Parade! This Ghoul is a happy camper!

Monday, October 25, 2010

Vegas Family Adventures: Fright Dome

I absouloutly ADORE my big brother Troy! I have sooo much fun with him! I'm going to chronicle our adventures from here on out because they're too much fun!

I met Troy's girlfriend the other night when we went to the Pinball Hall of Fame and got to know her over some Starbucks, she is a doll! I approve! haha. And they invited me to go to Fright Dome at Circus Circus with them and a few friends. It was a blast!

It ended up being me, Troy, Romie, Troy's Cirque friend (Troy works for Cirque Du Soleil btw) Alex, and Romie's friends Michael and Annie. This was quite a group. And Troy introduced me to everyone as his little sister :). I knew we would have a ton of fun.

So there were 5 different Haunted Houses: Saw, Zombieland, Carnage, Hillbilly Hell (which Troy referred to as "My hometown" hehe) and Chainsaw Masacre. I'm really into creepy things, as is Troy, so we were eating it up! I found myself laughing while inside and smiling as I went out. And then since it's housed in Adventure Dome there were still all kinds of rides. We rode the Disko, Chaos and the famed Roller Coaster! I LOVED IT!!!

We also went for a snack break, umm any place that serves Churros and Cherry Coke ICEES are high up on my list! Haha. It was sooooo yummy! Then everyone was getting ready to go home, I bummed my ride off of Troy and Romie so I got to spend a little extra time with them. They even took me to the market across the street to get Starbucks for my dorm. (so sweet) Then it was time to say good-bye :(. I wish I could spend more time with my Vegas family, they are so special to me! But I cherish all the time I do have with them and know there will be more adventures to come!

Sunday, October 17, 2010

Favorite Places

Just a few of my favorites I've discovered since I've been out here, I was fortunate to spend the weekend at them!

The Strip (duh) - it seems like just about every Saturday night we wind up here, and I love it! a super fun thing to do is create a scavenger hunt to do on the strip, this week we made one up that included getting pictures with Elvis/A Showgirl/A Slot Machine Winner, 10 different porn cards and a random guy's phone number, haha TONS of fun!

Henderson- just outside the Las Vegas city limits this is a really nice area, there's lots of stuff going on there, this weekend was a super fun carnival!

TownSquare- a great little shopping center just off Las Vegas BLVD. There's moderatley priced clothing stores (H&M and Victoria's Secret Pink are my two favorites!) and fun restaurants and food stands. For dinner tonight I had an Auntie Ann's pretzel and Yogurtland! LOL

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Thoughts

Vegas is the place for me to be I know it, my life is just not my dream life right now. I'm starting from the bottom when I want to be on top. I look at the strip longingly, wanting to be performing there, I'm jealous of hotel headliners and celebrity's pictures I see around town...I seriously have SO much oppertunity here, and I want to start making things happen for me, BIG things. I realize I am still very young and have "A Lot of Livin' To Do" to quote EP, but I'm tired of waiting around, I came out here to make my dreams come true, and I want them to...I've really got to start being active in this process, I've got to make my life what I want it to be...it's not going to happen overnight, but at the same time, every day counts. I really need to figure out the path I need to be on, and start paving the road.

A few inspiring lyrics from the official Las Vegas Love Song:

I'm gonna give it ev'rything I've got
Lady luck please let the dice stay hot Let me shoot a seven with ev'ry shot
Viva Las Vegas, Viva Las Vegas,Viva, Viva Las Vegas

Monday, October 11, 2010

Vegas Family!

I am so glad I have Troy as my Vegas Big Brother! Being the older sister, I've never been the baby before, and it's just fun! He looks out for me and shows me all kind of cool places, tonight we went to The Pinball Hall of Fame, and he is soooo much fun to be around. Seriously so thankful for him! I just love him! Hugs and Air Kisses Troy!!! BEST BIG BROTHER EVER!!!

Sunday, October 10, 2010

The First 6 Weeks

This is a broken down version of my first 6 weeks in Vegas.

1st Week
  • Moved into UNLV
  • Spent my first weekend exploring campus and getting to know my floormates
  • Automatically became known as "The Elvis Girl" (YAY!)
  • Went to my first casino party
2nd Week
  • Started classes
  • Met/Got to know my fellow dance majors
  • Went to my first and second hall party and found out JUST how crazy my floor is!
  • Went to The "DC" (Dining Commons) enough times to already be sick of it.
3rd Week
  • Began to become good friends with Alexe
  • Had my 1st In-N-Out Burger!
  • Discovered the fun of late night shopping trips
4th Week
  • Found the coveted spot on campus where Elvis and Ann Margret performed a number for Viva Las Vegas <3
  • Met up with Troy who introduced me to Town Square and Yogurtland!
  • Explored the strip during the day with Alexe
  • DISCOVERED CANE'S!
  • Went back to Town Square with Ginny, Chairiff and Britney
  • Went to my 2nd casino party
5th Week
  • Started taking Bellydancing classes
  • Got cast in a peice for the alumni concert
  • Created alter-egos with Ginny, Britney, Megan and Kimberly
  • Went to Alexe's house for the 1st time
  • Went to my 1st UNLV Dance Concert
  • Explored the strip at night with Alex, her GBF Jared and forgien exchange students
  • Had a midnight visitor...
6th Week
  • Had the only 2 rehearsals we would for the alumni concert
  • Went to In-N-Out/Canes atleast twice
  • Bought Halloween decorations, and BOO BERRY!
  • Performed in my first UNLV Dance Concert

Friday, October 8, 2010

First Post

I meant to start this awhile ago, when I first got to Vegas, I've been here about 6 weeks now, so I'll just recap for you. I came out to Las Vegas to attend UNLV as a dance major. But I also came to make the life I wanted for myself. A life that was different than what I've known for 18 years in small town Georgia. A life where I do what I want to do, and be who I want to be. I'm not your typical college student, I dress like a cross between a 50s pin-up and a rockabilly greaser (girl version) and I rock out to Elvis.
I saw Las Vegas as the perfect place to express myself. I love everything about this city. I love the history, obviously Elvis, and other fabulous performers, I love the neon lights of the strip, I love the idea of gambling and taking chances that is inspired by the casinos. I want to do so much in this city, I want it to know my name.
So, I've been here for 6 weeks and I'm pretty well adjusted, I have my school routine: 4 dance classes, and an English class a week, I'm learning new things and trying to take what I can and make it my own, I frequent local favorite places such as In-N-Out Burger (so good!) and Town Square, and walk the strip regularly, it all feels very normal to me now, but is still exciting....and I've made some great friends. I hang out with my roomate and her sister, people who live on my floor and other dance majors. I would say my PIC (Partner In Crime) is Alexe, she's originally from New Mexico, but moved out to Vegas with her family in June, so we're having fun exploring LV together. And of course I have my "Big Brother" Troy who I consider my family out here.
At this point I've already realized a lot about myself, discovered more, and expanded my hopes, dreams and desires, this is the begining of a great adventure, and I can't wait to see where I go!