Back from Sin City

5 nights. 6 days.
That's all it took for me to understand the expression 'What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas'.
Not all of it stays there, I couldn't help but tell my friends and coworkers about my friend's beginners' luck at the craps table on our 2nd night there, where she ended up with $700 without investing any of her own money. Nor about our first cab ride out of our hotel where the cab driver got pulled over to get a ticket and we walked out on him without paying the fare which according to the law, we have the right to do.

Those are anecdotes that are funny to tell when getting home. But how do you explain what goes down there? I have always wanted to visit partly because people couldn't exactly explain how it is, building up on the allure of the city. 
I embarked on the trip with an open mind, following the advice of seasoned tourists on what to bring and what we will be doing there. Little did I know that I'll be in the same room as Paris Hilton and LMFAO!

What do I retain of Sin City? The extravagance. The carefree attitude. It's a party town. At all hours of the day, you can see someone walking down the boulevard a drink in hand. We had jello shots at 3pm, my first ever and the worst tasting kind! I'll think twice before having a second shot! But again perfectly normal there to be drunk by 4pm. Or not ever get sober during your stay there. After all, alcohol flows freely in the casinos, you only have to tip the waitresses. The buffets are grandiose there. We had 'The buffet of buffets' pass for 24 hrs and we ate like we will not see food again for days when the next buffet was just around the corner. We watched 2 shows during our stay; the unavoidable Cirque du Soleil and The Peepshow, featuring Holly Madison. Again, nothing extraordinary about going to watch a show where women flaunt their busty assets in Vegas, it's almost expected. We planned to go to a strip club and to watch The Chippendales too, but The Peepshow was enough to put us girls off. I slept through part of it.

I guess what made this trip so successful is that I was with the right crowd of people. People I am comfortable with, people who when I acted out of character, took it in stride and didn't let it get out of hand or out of Vegas...so far. Vegas does that to you, it extends your comfort zone and makes you do things you wouldn't otherwise do. It makes you feel like a party animal even if you're not. It makes you feel like a gambler. It makes you feel like the ultimate socialite going to shows daily. It makes you feel like you have all the time in the world because all you have to do is... Eat, Play, Watch (shows) and Dance.

Returning home, reality hit hard. Back to work routine, back to making my own meals, no limo to pick us up (we took a limo twice within 6 days there and I've never been in one before!) no neon lights in the streets of Toronto. Everything so bland. The effect is finally wearing off though, 4 days after landing back..... Until next time Vegas!

Profile ... deleted!

This is it!
I give up on online dating sites.
Not that I had much hope to start with, and it's not like I'm registered on every dating site there is out there, but nonetheless, I have deleted my profile on the 3 sites I signed up on.

It all started because one of my friends convinced me that I have nothing to lose and it's a way to meet new people. It is true, you spend a lot of time reading profiles and looking at pictures and sometimes even get excited about someone's profile and meet them. But after 2 yrs of sporadically checking my accounts, I have decided that it is not for me.

This is what I have found:
- Guys lie about their height. It's annoying, but they do. As if you wouldn't figure it out as soon as you see them for the first time.
- People can write whatever they want on their profile, they may re-invent themselves, thinking that if they write it down, and start working on it, then it does not make them liars.
- The only thing you can get from a profile, is the way they think of themselves. None of the content may be true, or all of it may be true, but you wouldn't know until you know and that might be too late.
- Pictures are misleading. No matter how many pictures they post, the person in person might be totally different from what you expect.
- It takes some guts for people to meet strangers, whose only information they get from a website and therefore cannot be relied on. I do not know how some people do it, but I would not meet anybody I haven't talked for a while through emails or messages. Even then, they did not turn out to be what I expected them to be from these communications!!!
AND FINALLY:
- No matter what all the compatibility tests say, chemistry between 2 people cannot be predicted. Scientifically, 2 people could be 100% compatible, but when they meet, there's nothing. And it cannot be forced.

Some people just click and some just do not. Sometimes it can be helped. Sometimes, if given time, something suddenly comes out of nothing. For most people, they can tell if they click with someone right away. I have never been one of these people. Yes, there have been situations where I have clicked with people right away, but not for deeper relationships. So, to humour my friend, I have tried these sites and I have tried to give these guys some time for me to learn to know them and maybe develop some interest in them. But to no avail. It became rather boring to sift through the profiles, or to find one with the right 'tone' on the way they talk about themselves. I have decided that nothing a guy writes about himself could make me want to meet him in person. I was however letting them contact me and I would respond by email if they seem to be half decent. But this too was getting boring....

So, instead of having my information (and my self-written, not always true, profile) out in the cyberspace, I have decided to put an end to this e-dating life. Turning over a new leaf. If there is someone out there who can bear me, then he shall find me. But not on a dating site :).

And since I have decided all this, the only song I can think of is the one below.
(Béa, I dedicate this one to you!)