My sister got me hooked on the Professor Blastoff podcast several months ago. I freaked when one of the comedian hosts, Tig Notaro, announced she would be doing a show in Salt Lake City with former researcher Aaron opening for her. I told my sister I'd find a way to be there, which wasn't difficult since I have a husband who is very accommodating and fantastic.
He had actually been secretly talking to the same sister about the two of us going to Las Vegas for my birthday to see Britney Spears, so he suggested we take the trip early and see Tig as well. Hooray! I love Las Vegas--it's so decadent and over-the-top, has that nice warm weather, and I have good memories of going there in college with large groups of fun people:
Britney wasn't available the week we went, so we saw Cirque du Soleil's Michael Jackson show (which would have been my first choice anyway). I was uncharacteristically bold and asked if we could move to some empty seats in the front section just before it started, and the usher allowed it. It was SO good and included an MJ hologram in addition to amazing music, dancing and acrobatics.
Earlier that day, we ate at Pizza Rock--it was one of the best meals of my life--and we had a lovely time at Container Park, which has lots of crafty, quirky little shops in old shipping containers, some that are painted orange:
We saw some Andy Warhol paintings I wasn't aware of at an art gallery in Caesar's Palace:
I dropped some cash on several Vine Vera skin care products after an impressive demo. I was worried I got suckered, but I really like the items I got, especially the face scrub:
After going to the well-done Mob Museum, we toured the Neon Museum, an outdoor graveyard for many iconic Las Vegas signs:
We stayed at the Luxor and both lost money at video blackjack. We were too intimidated to play at an actual table.
We saw the Bodies exhibit at the Luxor too - it was very interesting.
We drove back to Utah listening to Professor Blastoff episodes and music from the CD I made for my sister's birthday. I talk to this sister 4-5 times a week on the phone, but it was such a treat on this trip to talk uninterrupted and in person. A drawback of the two of us vacationing together: we both suck at finding things and knowing where we're going. We would be confidently walking along until one of us asked, "Are we supposed to be going this way?" and the other said, "I don't know, I thought you knew where it was." We are the worst.
We had such good times in Vegas, but we still had the best part of the trip to look forward to. Pictures weren't allowed inside, so this is all I got:
I went to sit in some empty seats but realized they had signs on them that said, "Reserved for Jemaine Clement." What, WHAT!?! I knew he was in town for the Sundance Film Festival and was in a movie with Tig's girlfriend. The thought of being in the same small club with him AND Tig was nuts. He never actually showed up, which was probably good as I might have fainted.
The show did not disappoint; Tig was hilarious, and I hurt from laughing. Unfortunately, I also had to go to the bathroom quite badly. Not wanting to miss any of the show or disrupt anyone around me, I held out to the end and quickly headed for the car afterward. At one point my sister said, "That's her, she was right behind you." We looked back and saw Tig holding Aaron's baby and talking with him and his wife on the sidewalk. Given my condition and not wanting to bother Tig, especially since she'd mentioned a couple times they were running her ragged at Sundance, we went ahead and left. It was a very regrettable decision! The next day we saw photos of Tig taking all sorts of pictures with fans via my other sister, who is Facebook friends with Aaron's wife. Why didn't we work that connection and stay for a picture?! Why didn't I turn back and find the bathroom in the club and then hang outside a little longer?! I ruined everything. The memory actually brought me pangs of physical pain for a couple weeks when I would think of it. Overall though, it was an incredible trip that I'll love looking back on.
