Have Fun.

T-minus 7 days to Vegasocity.

I'm going to just remind myself, here in print for all (me) to see:

Don't forget to have fun.

I have a lot of the Vegas thing down. After 25 trips, I know the spots I like to hit, I can navigate around the strip efficiently despite the throngs of tourists, mainly by knowing where the bottlenecks for foot traffic are and how to avoid them. In damn near every resort I know what the bar scene is, what's my "style" and what to avoid, and in some cases can pick right up with bartenders I've spoken to dozens of times. I KNOW how to do Vegas.

But sometimes I can get too regimented. I feel like I have to be in all places at once, or wish I was. I feel like I have to "make all my stops" and hit 10-20 places a day. Sometimes in that mad rush to do and see as much as possible in a Vegas day I sometimes forget to do the thing that's supposed to be the whole reason for the trip. Have fucking fun. I'm going to try to remember that this trip. Just slow the hell down, if I'm having a good time somewhere, either with the surroundings or the service or even what's on the damn TV, just cool your jets and relax and enjoy it. I don't HAVE to get to the Dorsey or Vesper or Rosina every day. They will still be there tomorrow, and so will I, since this is a 6-damn-day-long trip.

It's an attitude thing too. Sometimes I can carry the frustration of fighting through the strip crowds to get where I'm going so much that I forget to enjoy the journey. I walk right by so much amazing stuff on the strip because I'm always in a hurry to "get somewhere" Slow down. Take some pictures. This could be the last trip for a while, take it all in and have some patience.

That goes for the bars/restos I'll be going into, too. Be upbeat, say hi with a little enthusiasm and try to engage whomever is working. It may not work, they may just be salty or a bad server but at least give them a chance. Better than being a bump on a log for an hour watching the Knicks and the Suns or some other such awfulness.

Break out of the rut. Sit down somewhere you normally never would and see what happens. Try someplace more posh than usual. Try someplace more trashy than usual. Mix it up. I have no illusions that I'm going to end up in the middle of a scrum like the above pic, that's just not in my DNA, but no one ever got in trouble in Vegas for being too gregarious. Actually that's probably not true but in my case I know the limits and when to scale it back.

Have fun. In Vegas. What a concept.