It's Not A Bender, It's A Lifestyle.

The Trip That Probably Shouldn't Have Been is days away. Going to stop nay-saying it. I booked it, it's happening, and most of what could go wrong is either nothing I can control, or ironically completely under my control. I can't control the flights and the airports. All I can do is get to the airports early and try to be patient with the inevitable holiday weekend crowds. Both SFO and McCarran seem to be pretty adept at pushing a huge mass of humanity through the gates, then it's just knock on wood that Frontier doesn't bungle the flights. I can't control the crowds on strip. They will be there en masse, they will be stupid, and they will be slow. I can't control the taxi lines or the full bars and restaurants. I can't control that it's going to be 100 degrees plus all three days I'm there. What I can control is my attitude and reaction to the above. I can be patient. I can be prepared. I can strategize the most painless path around roadblocks...

Off to the Vegasosity in a few days. Rounding up the discounts, as is my wont. -4 nights at Mirage: 3 nights comped, all-in cost with late check out $416. Would be $1023 if I was a horrid, unwashed compless nobody. Saving of $607. -$76 Express Comps, which will increase somewhat during trip with play, call it $85. $50 Freeplay and $50 Resort Credit from booking package, total resort credit $185. And that's all, folks. Total savings $792. Outside of the nice room rate, it'll work out to the free splurge meal at Costa Sunday and maybe a lunch somewhere at Mirage with the Ex Comps and resort credit, and a little bit of free VP during the stay. Not a record haul by any means but for a last minute, impromptu trip it doesn't suck. I have a couple of the $25 R.com certs for Mandalay but I doubt I'll even get down there this trip so not worth mentioning. So, once more unto the breach. I would call you dear friends but I don't know you and no one reads this anyway.

A quick little trip to The Vegas in a week. It may be ill-advised, but I'm going to be in Vegas as opposed to not, so it can't be all bad. Not doing a normal day by day run through this time, as it's a shorty and I have no real plan. Just some bullet points... Relax. Its going to be packed on strip. It's going to be weird to be back to masks. The airport is going to be a challenge, probably both ways. Take a breath and go with it. This is always my toughest advice to follow for myself because I have the patience of an incontinent gnat but it HAS to be the way I roll this trip, or I will have no fun at all. People will be fucktards. Just deal with it. Strip strategically. Avoid pinch points and lines and busy times. Taxi everywhere that you can, and if that fails stay local. There's plenty to do on the north strip if the taxi line is 20 people deep. Roll with the punches. Absolutely NO strip walking at peak times. Be planted somewhere by 9p every night, and stick ...

Literally what is wrong with me.  I booked a 4 night stay over LDW for next week. I kept telling myself since coming back from the July trip...NO, be responsible, save your money, it's too much for the flight, you don't like going over holiday weekends in the summer... Fuck. Booked the Mirage for 4 nights. 3 of them comped, all in with fees and late check out still just over $400. Really good rate for a holiday weekend and the only reason I'm going, really. Every other rooms outlet but Mlife is astronomical. Could have done NYNY, MGM or Luxor for about the same money, but of those the location up north of Mirage is the best bet for that weekend. Flights are not the best in terms of airline or times, but booking this late it was the best I could do. Frontier in and out, in late Thursday night and out at 4:45p on Monday, which is liable to be a circus at the airport on Labor Day, but I'll just get the airport super early and take my chances. At least it gives me 3 full da...

3+ months til the next Vegas trip. Seems prudent right now. The virus is charging back and despite being vaxxed it seems reasonable to take a few months off to hopefully let things cool off again. Nevada has the mask mandate back in effect indoors again, anyway. No capacity or vax card restrictions yet but it's not out of the realm of possibility. I'm not really worried for my own safety, but a restricted Vegas in any way is less Vegas. And I sure as shit don't want to play the "don't know if I can go" game again like last year. It's fine. It allows me re-build the nice cash cushion I had coming out of the last job before taking 2 Vegas trips, and lets me re-build the hype for Vegas that has waned a bit in the (not all good crazy) crazy 3 trips thus far this year. Vegas should be a celebration, not a routine, and it was beginning to feel like that by the end of the last trip. I could afford a quick 4-night trip over Labor Day but the room and flight rates...

Thanksgiving trip is a done deal.  Adding a night on the front and back end, now will be a 6-night affair. Leaving after work on Tuesday and coming back early Monday. Flight on United, a very good rate for Turkey week at $236. Was very unlikely to get any better than that for a holiday week between now and then, so jumped on it. Figure since I'm going in Tuesday night the airport might not be too fucktarded, but it may be anyway. Will just plan to get there early. If all goes well should be checking in by 8p. Sticking with Mandalay Bay, just added the nights. Bumps the rate up to $386 all in but that still represents 4 comped nights, by far the best resort-to-rate combo in the Mlife world that week. I'm done with Aria and it was 4 times the cost anyway. Should be a nice mellow vibe that week there, they don't get much traffic on non-convention weeks. Less than $700 all in for trip overhead for 6 nights at a great resort is nothing to sneeze at. Will have to do some cabbing ...

A few days back from the 6-nighter in July. Again no blow by blow just some highlights. Flights: Southwest on the in, Alaska on the out. Both were fine. No trouble on the in, out flight was a little delayed getting off the tarmac but not too bad. Rooms: Cromwell for one night was fine. Got in a little late and was given an accessible room. Whatever, didn't end up taking a shower anyway. Room was small but nice enough. Nothing special, not sure why it usually costs so much. Check in was painless.  Aria was a bit of a mess. I'm doubtful that I'll be staying there any time soon again. Casino staffing is poor. Rooms are really showing age, not up to a 5-star standard anymore. Many food venues closed during the day even on Sunday and what was open was so packed you couldn't get in. Monday night 3/4 of the slot machines on the entire floor were down and I consistently had machines all week that were slow to load Mlife or didn't accept the card at all. Taxi line was a si...