PHINS - Saturday
Argh, Saturday morning...my head was hurting and I was losing my voice. I needed greasy food and fast but first I had to go to a wedding. That's right, there was going to be a wedding at the pool at 10 AM. Karen and Gordie from Puget Sound were tying the knot and everyone was invited.
Here's another thing I love about our Parrot Head world - we all end up meeting each other eventually. I met Karen and Gordie in New Orleans in January at Pardi Gras. The three of us ended up going to dinner and having a great time. I haven't talked to them since, but when I turned around at the pool on Friday, there was Karen! She said she didn't want to get all bugged out with planning a wedding so they decided to do the deed in Laughlin with their Parrot Head friends.
We started gathering on the grass just off the pool. Gary Seiler was there and introduced himself to me for about the 7th time. Sigh. I'd like to think I'm a little more memorable than that. He also went up to the groom to apologize for dumping him in the river the day before. Since the groom wasn't the guy he dumped, I felt a little better. After all, that had only been the day before.
The wedding was beautiful although the birds in the trees made such a racket that we couldn't always hear. I was thinking, "Would it have been appropriate to whip out a pellet gun and let go?" I shared that thought with a friend afterwards and they confessed to having the exact same thought.
An hour later, we had missed breakfast but the cheeseburger buffet was getting set up by the pool. Although I hadn't thought alcohol appealing at all when I got up, I did have to toast the newlyweds with champagne. Aah, starting down the slippery slope at 11 AM...
Before the cheeseburgers though, I had to go participate in the Slot Tournament. News alert: Crime Dog can't hang! I ran into The Fetching Mrs. Crime Dog and she informed me that Crime Dog was quite under the weather and blamed it on the moonshine. She thought the several beers he had in front of him the whole night had more to do with it. He managed to make it for the Tourney - what an idiotic thing that was! You sit there for 5 minutes repeatedly hitting one button until the machine stops. No skill needed, just blind luck. I was happy to be eliminated after the first round. I heard later that Kathy O'Malley was the winner - hmmm, what a surprise, one of the over-achieving O'Mally Babes won something. Again!
Finally, off to get a cheeseburger. But wait, I ran into the Golf God, Goat and Tom on their way to the blackjack table. Well, of course I had to go with them. Two Baileys on ice and half a beer later, we were all wiped out. Those drinks cost me $20 each - clearly, the casino was happy to have me there.
Finally, for real!!!! Tom and I grabbed a burger and chips then joined the gang by the pool for more music. I sat down with Louie, Donna, Bob and Sue and they suckered me into a game of dominos where I swear they made up arbritary rules whenever it was my turn. Despite their ganging up on the new kid, I came in second and only had one domino when Louie won.
Bob, evil man that he was, told me I was a wuss for going to bed at 1 the night before and challenged me to make it until 4 that night. Those who know me, know I can't resist that kind of trash talking!
Paula and I headed back to the room to pretty up for dinner. She laid down on her bed and said "I'd like to take a little nap but I don't know if I'll want to get up." Well, while I was in the bathroom getting ready, she went into the land of Nod. I woke her up at 5:45 and said, "We have 15 minutes." She said "OK." but went right back to sleep. I waited until a bit after 6 and woke her up again to tell her I was leaving. She said, "OK, I just need to brush my teeth and my hair and I'll be there."
I ran into Eric in the Pavilion. He was waiting for Annette so we started betting on who would make it there first, her or Paula. Well, Annette made it (she had to get her ironing done which is apparently some sort of secret activity because she seemed unhappy with Eric for spilling the beans) and Paula never showed. The joke of the night was that her hair was going to be absolutely gorgeous considering how much time she was spending on it.
We had dinner and started dancing to the music. It was another night of musical rooms as we bounced between the Lounge and the Pavilion. The best act of the night was Boat Drunks. They rocked! We danced and danced and danced. Well, all of us except Mark Mulligan. He tried to pull the "I'm a white guy and can't dance" excuse but it was pretty weak once we compared pigments, or lack thereof. I never did get him out on the floor, though.
The last ones standing ended up back in the lounge. Eric and I were again without our roomies so we played video poker together. Each of us took turns playing our strategies until we lost. What we had there were two people playing completely different strategies who were both convinced we were 100% right. Turns out, it didn't really matter since we both sucked and lost our shirts. Again, the casino was happy to have me there.
I finally crashed sometime after 3. So, Bob sorta won the challenge because I didn't make it to 4 but I came pretty darn close.
Here's another thing I love about our Parrot Head world - we all end up meeting each other eventually. I met Karen and Gordie in New Orleans in January at Pardi Gras. The three of us ended up going to dinner and having a great time. I haven't talked to them since, but when I turned around at the pool on Friday, there was Karen! She said she didn't want to get all bugged out with planning a wedding so they decided to do the deed in Laughlin with their Parrot Head friends.
We started gathering on the grass just off the pool. Gary Seiler was there and introduced himself to me for about the 7th time. Sigh. I'd like to think I'm a little more memorable than that. He also went up to the groom to apologize for dumping him in the river the day before. Since the groom wasn't the guy he dumped, I felt a little better. After all, that had only been the day before.
The wedding was beautiful although the birds in the trees made such a racket that we couldn't always hear. I was thinking, "Would it have been appropriate to whip out a pellet gun and let go?" I shared that thought with a friend afterwards and they confessed to having the exact same thought.
An hour later, we had missed breakfast but the cheeseburger buffet was getting set up by the pool. Although I hadn't thought alcohol appealing at all when I got up, I did have to toast the newlyweds with champagne. Aah, starting down the slippery slope at 11 AM...
Before the cheeseburgers though, I had to go participate in the Slot Tournament. News alert: Crime Dog can't hang! I ran into The Fetching Mrs. Crime Dog and she informed me that Crime Dog was quite under the weather and blamed it on the moonshine. She thought the several beers he had in front of him the whole night had more to do with it. He managed to make it for the Tourney - what an idiotic thing that was! You sit there for 5 minutes repeatedly hitting one button until the machine stops. No skill needed, just blind luck. I was happy to be eliminated after the first round. I heard later that Kathy O'Malley was the winner - hmmm, what a surprise, one of the over-achieving O'Mally Babes won something. Again!
Finally, off to get a cheeseburger. But wait, I ran into the Golf God, Goat and Tom on their way to the blackjack table. Well, of course I had to go with them. Two Baileys on ice and half a beer later, we were all wiped out. Those drinks cost me $20 each - clearly, the casino was happy to have me there.
Finally, for real!!!! Tom and I grabbed a burger and chips then joined the gang by the pool for more music. I sat down with Louie, Donna, Bob and Sue and they suckered me into a game of dominos where I swear they made up arbritary rules whenever it was my turn. Despite their ganging up on the new kid, I came in second and only had one domino when Louie won.
Bob, evil man that he was, told me I was a wuss for going to bed at 1 the night before and challenged me to make it until 4 that night. Those who know me, know I can't resist that kind of trash talking!
Paula and I headed back to the room to pretty up for dinner. She laid down on her bed and said "I'd like to take a little nap but I don't know if I'll want to get up." Well, while I was in the bathroom getting ready, she went into the land of Nod. I woke her up at 5:45 and said, "We have 15 minutes." She said "OK." but went right back to sleep. I waited until a bit after 6 and woke her up again to tell her I was leaving. She said, "OK, I just need to brush my teeth and my hair and I'll be there."
I ran into Eric in the Pavilion. He was waiting for Annette so we started betting on who would make it there first, her or Paula. Well, Annette made it (she had to get her ironing done which is apparently some sort of secret activity because she seemed unhappy with Eric for spilling the beans) and Paula never showed. The joke of the night was that her hair was going to be absolutely gorgeous considering how much time she was spending on it.
We had dinner and started dancing to the music. It was another night of musical rooms as we bounced between the Lounge and the Pavilion. The best act of the night was Boat Drunks. They rocked! We danced and danced and danced. Well, all of us except Mark Mulligan. He tried to pull the "I'm a white guy and can't dance" excuse but it was pretty weak once we compared pigments, or lack thereof. I never did get him out on the floor, though.
The last ones standing ended up back in the lounge. Eric and I were again without our roomies so we played video poker together. Each of us took turns playing our strategies until we lost. What we had there were two people playing completely different strategies who were both convinced we were 100% right. Turns out, it didn't really matter since we both sucked and lost our shirts. Again, the casino was happy to have me there.
I finally crashed sometime after 3. So, Bob sorta won the challenge because I didn't make it to 4 but I came pretty darn close.
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