viva las vegas

i recently returned from a whirlwind trip to beautiful las vegas, nevada



i was there for work (a meeting of the Natural Resources Information Council), and managed to have fun as well! NRIC is a small group of librarians who work in the area of natural resources. some of us are academic librarians, some work for government agencies, and some others are with non-profit organizations. most of the 10 of us who attended the meeting are new to the group, and it's always nice to have small meetings where you can get to know your colleagues. i'm looking forward to helping to plan and organize next year's meeting, which will also be in las vegas, and hosted by UNLV.

aside from the obvious attraction of the las vegas strip, the las vegas area is full of beautiful natural areas. just a short drive from the strip you will find desert (of course), mountains, canyons, wilderness areas, etc. i'm looking forward to seeing some of these attractions next year.

my best friend drove up from long beach on monday and we had a late dinner at denny's, which was just a short walk from our hotel
. might not seem like a big deal to y'all but denny's is kind of sentimental for us. it was one of our hangout spots after college, when we were both still living in oberlin. and it was near a SuperKmart...both were open 24 hrs. anyway, there are plenty of 24 hr spots where i live but there are no denny's so i couldn't resist going there at least once while i was in vegas. okay twice.

i did a -little- gambling. got a "feeling" about a slot machine, but in $5 and won $15. that was pretty much it for me. that money was enough to pay for my dinner that night so i wasn't complaining. that's just about all the gambling i did. i am a sore loser, and i hate losing money so i was content not to keep feeding the slots. we did have a craps lesson, and now i underststand the game more than i did before. probably could have played for a while and come out ahead but i kept my money in my pocket. the better for shopping with, my dear.

i took some cotton yarn with me (to knit dishcloths) but didn't pick up my sticks very much at all. however, since i've been home i've whipped up 2-1/2 cloths...yay for me!

bye for now...