From: tdykstra@home.com (Trina Dykstra) Subject: Re: Free-associating NDFS report Date: 04 Aug 1999 00:00:00 GMT Message-ID: <8E17CE1B7tdykstra@news> References: X-Complaints-To: abuse@home.net X-Trace: news1.rdc2.on.home.com 933729507 24.66.34.129 (Tue, 03 Aug 1999 18:18:27 PDT) Organization: ... User-Agent: Xnews/2.07.14 NNTP-Posting-Date: Tue, 03 Aug 1999 18:18:27 PDT Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written.robert-jordan faile19@DEATH-TO-SPAM-yahoo.com (Cassandra) wrote: Well, rather than start up my own report I think I'll just fill in the spaces of this one. Upon arriving at the Golden Nugget at around 12:30pm Friday, I was promptly introduced to Noell & Eric Milota and Leigh Butler who were all in the room I was sharing with Leigh. They were planning a trip to the Star Trek Experience in the Hilton and asked if I would like to join them. As I was about to inform them that this would be an activity for geeks I realised that indeed, this was an accurate description of myself and said I would love to go. Then Drew showed up to the room and I met him for the first time. He did not come with us as apparently, he is _not_ of the geek persuasion. The Star Trek Experience turned out to be quite amusing if somewhat (okay, completely) covered in cheese. Afterwards, we decided to get a drink at Quark's Bar where apparently you can't even sit at the bar without being 21. After a refreshing frozen drink, we headed back to the hotel to get ready for the dinner. The dinner was great, the desert even better. Too bad I had been filling up on alcohol and couldn't finish any of it. I discovered that not being of legal drinking age was a good way to get people to buy you drinks (special thanks go out to Eric & Noell Milota and Sydo Zanstra for aiding me in my quest to Get Really Drunk). I was no longer thinking clearly by the time 10pm rolled around and we had to haul ass out of the meeting room where dinner had been held. I think that's when a bunch of us headed down to the Cafe. The people I remember being there (mainly because they were sitting near enough to me that I didn't have to move a whole lot to see them) were Drew, Kenn, Steve Ginter, Noell, Eric. I know there were a lot more there though. Around midnight, I announced that it was too early to go to sleep despite suggestions from Noell that it was probably time for me to get to bed, and promptly passed out (or close enough anyway) on the table. Eric escorted me to my room and everyone else went gambling. After sleeping for a full twelve hours Leigh and I got up (no hangover, yay!) to meet with Drew for breakfast. We joined up with two Steve's, Eric and Noell. I don't remember what exactly happened next but eventually Drew, Eric, Noell, Leigh and I ended up watching "The Matrix" in our hotel room. I'd seen it 5 1/2 times before and still enjoyed it. Noell had organised a dinner at the Cheesecake Factory so we headed down there for about 7:00pm. >Eventually we got into the restaurant. The >food was good; our waiter was a flaming lunatic. The common theory was that the restaurant knew our table was full of pissed-off hungry people and decided to send out their happiest and shiniest waitor. >Between myself and Steve Ginter, we bought >damn near every ice cream drink on the menu. After dinner, we >went to FAO Schwartz en masse, and then everybody but Kenn and I >went on the Fall of Atlantis ride. This was a pretty cool ride. It could have done without the "Safety Rap" at the beginning, which was, in essence, a little white dude dressed in robes, rapping about safety precautions for the ride. Kenn and I sat by the aquarium >and talked about skinny tan chicks. Everybody came out the ride, >and we went back to the Nugget. We decided, rather than hiring >cabs, we would just put an illegal number of people in both cars. >So we crammed me, Kenn, Steve Ginter, Rajiv, Maggie, and David >Scotton into Steve's little rented Plymouth Breeze (I think that >was what it was). David sat on me and Maggie's laps, because he >probably weighed less. Whereas I opted to just lay across everyone's laps. It was quite comfortable and we had fun scaring a few people when I decided to poke my head up and look around. I ended up in this position at least once more during the trip. We got back to the hotel,and lots of us >(Steve Ginter, Kenn, Leigh, Trina, Drew, Noell, and more) went to >the Loys' room to watch the 2 AM showing of The Matrix. At this point, I was getting a little sick of the movie but still enjoyed being in the company of a lot of cool people. >Leigh, Trina, Noell, Drew, Kenn, Steve, and I went up to Leigh's >room to continue hanging out, and so the smokers in that group >could smoke like fiends, as Leigh so artfully put it. (Trina was >wearing the Goo Goo Dolls "Latex is my business and business is >good" shirt.) I never realised that this shirt was so memorable. And it was actually a Ten Foot Pole sweatshirt, just to clear things up. After Steve, Kenn and Cassandra left the room, Noell, Drew, Leigh and I hung out for a little longer. Took some pictures which are sure to be amusing as we were all half asleep. Around 5:00am Drew and Noell left and Leigh and I were soon dead to the world. At 1:30pm Sunday, I went with Leigh, Noell, Eric, Drew, Lara and Brian Ritchie for lunch at the Cafe in the Fremont. The food was okay. We got a little scared when Drew noticed there were mushrooms on his sandwich which he is allergic to. He's apparently gotten over this allergy though, since nothing happened. We headed back to the hotel and found the Loys by the pool. After deciding it was too hot and if we didn't move a bunch of people were going to spontaneously combust we headed over to where Chris Mullins was sitting in the shade. Eventually, everyone who was still in Las Vegas joined us and sat there until the show at the Excalibur at 8:30pm. All but CD (due to a mix-up of some sort; you didn't miss much CD!) were going to attend. The ride there was another interesting trip that I spent laying on people's laps. This time it was Noell, Drew and Steve Anderson. The Ricky Martin song came on in the car and much wiggling ensued. Steve made a comment about my wiggling that nobody would repeat as I hadn't heard it the first time. I eventually found out later but I still forget what it was. Something about not being in the right place. The show was quite cheesy as is the nature of everything that goes on in the City of Sin. But this time, there wasn't much to redeem it. I sat beside John Novak which made the whole thing more interesting. The service wasn't all that great. I believe it was Leigh who kepting asking, "Where's the woman" to which Novak commented that he often wakes up in the middle of the night and asks that same question. Leigh and I both felt it was in our best interests to not comment. After dinner, Eric and Noell were nice enough to drive Mark and Deb Loy and myself to the airport. It was about 10:00pm and my flight didn't leave until 1:10am but, what can I say, I'm cheap. After spending ten hours collectively in the airport or on a plane I arrived home and slept for much of Monday and Monday night. Many thanks go out to all who made this Social possible. Special thanks go out to Drew for doing much of the organising at the cost of a few years of his life. It was a lot of fun and I am avidly awaiting the next. -- Trina Dykstra tdykstra@home.com