oh my god! I had this whole long thing started, but when I got to trying to explain how my cousin is actually my second cousin (ETCETERA) I thought that maybe context free observations were the way to go. (but it's still long)
+ I've decided that for me, gambling is pretty boring. If it were monte carlo and it was all roulette, baccarat, tuxedos, cocktail dresses, low-slung sports cars and "Bond, James Bond," it would be one thing... but the reno thing is largely sweatpants, slot machines, cigarettes and minivans as far as I can tell.
+ if I am to be overcome by cigarette smoke and stepped on by drunk people, I would rather be at a rock show.
+ I hope the skeezy guy in the snakeskin patterned shirt and the skanky girl in the super tight "I'm always under the mistletoe" t-shirt managed to run into each other. I would hate to think that two people so obviously made for each other would be so close yet so far.
+ Reno has some amazing old-school neon and is surrounded by beautiful mountains. It has yet to be Disneyfied, although I'm sure they'll get to it.
+ note to circus circus: granite surround in the shower does not, I repeat does not in ANY WAY compensate for crappy water pressure and not draining in a timely manner. Especially almost black granite which made me wonder (with increasing horror) about what sort of slime or who knows what it was hiding. It's probably a deliberate ploy to keep showers short and get guests back to the gaming floor ASAP. (I feel compelled to note that the rooms were clean and huge, but granitey)
+ I really like all of my cousins but one, and even have a fondness for the bonafide asshole cousin. (he's been an asshole since he was 5. The thought was he would grow out of it... I guess it could still happen.)
+ jetlagged little kids with asshole fathers are tiring, but I realize it's not the kid's fault.
+Frank Sinatra bought the CalNeva resort (which was built in the late 20's) sometime in the early 60's and built a TUNNEL from cabin 5 to somewhere. At least that's what I think my grandfather was saying. He was so taken with the whole CalNeva experience that all the people who were staying for the rest of the week moved from Circus Circus in Reno to CalNeva at Lake Tahoe.
+ I promised one cousin that I would watch You've Got Mail again, even though I found it to be a highly creepy stalker movie the first and only time I saw it. YGM fan cousin was hilariously outraged that I would call it that (she watched it on her computer on the flight over) and was ready to make me watch it again Right Then, but we were soon distracted by Asshole Cousin's 3456th description of how hard it was to travel alone with a young child. I could not work up much pity for him since he seemed to think he was the only person in the history of humanity who ever had to suffer in this way "...the stroller, AND my golf clubs...". I did feel sorry for his son and for every other passenger on any flight he was on.
+ this set of relatives (particularly the florida/india faction) are poster children for communication chaos. I could say it was just a matter of Mercury in retrograde or the almost full moon, but it would be a lie. Trying to get them them all in one place at one time was like herding cats (which is a completely overworked analogy, but TRUE). Except these cats had cell phones and all thought their tails were on fire. It made me crazy. Not because it was unexpected but because, as always, it seemed like so much pointless drama.
+ I had a much better time when I just let all that go.
+ maybe everyone was made insane by the high altitude
+ there were good parts! Lots of good parts.
+ answer this question correctly and win a special prize: which of the following maps were in the car and accessible during a crucial Oregon/California/Nevada "was THAT my exit!?!" moment?
a) Fresno
b) Traveler's Map of Italy
c) Portland
d) Map of the craters of the moon
e) Vancouver BC city map
f) Germany circa 1964
g) all of the above
bonus question: which map was not in any way, shape, or form accessible when the aforementioned "OH SHIT" moment occurred:
a) map of california
b) map of oregon
c) map of nevada
d) atlas containing all of the above
e) all of the above
(we managed to get there anyway)
+I hate to say it, but a road trip with my mom and sister doesn't seem complete if we don't almost run out of gas at dusk on a twisty deserted road in the middle of forested nowhere. In sasquatch country. It didn't happen this time either, but we tried to compensate by flirting with flat tires and disaster around The Big Hole. (Big Hole which is forested, not to be confused with Hole in the Ground, which has no trees)
+ Virginia City was interesting. I spent most of my time taking pictures and running back and forth across the street trying to avoid the guy dressed up like Wild Bill Hickock. The altitude was even higher there which maybe explains the extra insane costuming.
+my mom has been working on this massive photo album project for the reunion. It is a huge undertaking, and she doesn't give herself nearly enough credit for the work she's done. Relatives from all over have been sending her photos, which she's been scanning, cleaning up in photoshop, and having reprinted to put in this album for my grandfather. It's basically his family, starting with his parents and going on down. More pictures turned up at the reunion (she had a suitcase full of them by the time we left. good thing she loves this project), including some of my immediate family that I had never seen before. This picture -- which seems relevant since it must have been taken on my birthday (the back says only 7/73) -- was one of those. My guess is that my grandparents had just come back from Hawaii and brought me an outfit. I don't remember this at all, which surprises me since I must have LOVED IT. (who wouldn't?!?) My favorite thing about this picture though, is the party hat made from a balloon and a paper plate!
+ everyone seemed to have a really great time, including the grouchy people. We'll probably try to have reunions slightly more often than once, ever.
+ I've decided that for me, gambling is pretty boring. If it were monte carlo and it was all roulette, baccarat, tuxedos, cocktail dresses, low-slung sports cars and "Bond, James Bond," it would be one thing... but the reno thing is largely sweatpants, slot machines, cigarettes and minivans as far as I can tell.
+ if I am to be overcome by cigarette smoke and stepped on by drunk people, I would rather be at a rock show.
+ I hope the skeezy guy in the snakeskin patterned shirt and the skanky girl in the super tight "I'm always under the mistletoe" t-shirt managed to run into each other. I would hate to think that two people so obviously made for each other would be so close yet so far.
+ Reno has some amazing old-school neon and is surrounded by beautiful mountains. It has yet to be Disneyfied, although I'm sure they'll get to it.
+ note to circus circus: granite surround in the shower does not, I repeat does not in ANY WAY compensate for crappy water pressure and not draining in a timely manner. Especially almost black granite which made me wonder (with increasing horror) about what sort of slime or who knows what it was hiding. It's probably a deliberate ploy to keep showers short and get guests back to the gaming floor ASAP. (I feel compelled to note that the rooms were clean and huge, but granitey)
+ I really like all of my cousins but one, and even have a fondness for the bonafide asshole cousin. (he's been an asshole since he was 5. The thought was he would grow out of it... I guess it could still happen.)
+ jetlagged little kids with asshole fathers are tiring, but I realize it's not the kid's fault.
+Frank Sinatra bought the CalNeva resort (which was built in the late 20's) sometime in the early 60's and built a TUNNEL from cabin 5 to somewhere. At least that's what I think my grandfather was saying. He was so taken with the whole CalNeva experience that all the people who were staying for the rest of the week moved from Circus Circus in Reno to CalNeva at Lake Tahoe.
+ I promised one cousin that I would watch You've Got Mail again, even though I found it to be a highly creepy stalker movie the first and only time I saw it. YGM fan cousin was hilariously outraged that I would call it that (she watched it on her computer on the flight over) and was ready to make me watch it again Right Then, but we were soon distracted by Asshole Cousin's 3456th description of how hard it was to travel alone with a young child. I could not work up much pity for him since he seemed to think he was the only person in the history of humanity who ever had to suffer in this way "...the stroller, AND my golf clubs...". I did feel sorry for his son and for every other passenger on any flight he was on.
+ this set of relatives (particularly the florida/india faction) are poster children for communication chaos. I could say it was just a matter of Mercury in retrograde or the almost full moon, but it would be a lie. Trying to get them them all in one place at one time was like herding cats (which is a completely overworked analogy, but TRUE). Except these cats had cell phones and all thought their tails were on fire. It made me crazy. Not because it was unexpected but because, as always, it seemed like so much pointless drama.
+ I had a much better time when I just let all that go.
+ maybe everyone was made insane by the high altitude
+ there were good parts! Lots of good parts.
+ answer this question correctly and win a special prize: which of the following maps were in the car and accessible during a crucial Oregon/California/Nevada "was THAT my exit!?!" moment?
a) Fresno
b) Traveler's Map of Italy
c) Portland
d) Map of the craters of the moon
e) Vancouver BC city map
f) Germany circa 1964
g) all of the above
bonus question: which map was not in any way, shape, or form accessible when the aforementioned "OH SHIT" moment occurred:
a) map of california
b) map of oregon
c) map of nevada
d) atlas containing all of the above
e) all of the above
(we managed to get there anyway)
+I hate to say it, but a road trip with my mom and sister doesn't seem complete if we don't almost run out of gas at dusk on a twisty deserted road in the middle of forested nowhere. In sasquatch country. It didn't happen this time either, but we tried to compensate by flirting with flat tires and disaster around The Big Hole. (Big Hole which is forested, not to be confused with Hole in the Ground, which has no trees)
+ Virginia City was interesting. I spent most of my time taking pictures and running back and forth across the street trying to avoid the guy dressed up like Wild Bill Hickock. The altitude was even higher there which maybe explains the extra insane costuming.
+my mom has been working on this massive photo album project for the reunion. It is a huge undertaking, and she doesn't give herself nearly enough credit for the work she's done. Relatives from all over have been sending her photos, which she's been scanning, cleaning up in photoshop, and having reprinted to put in this album for my grandfather. It's basically his family, starting with his parents and going on down. More pictures turned up at the reunion (she had a suitcase full of them by the time we left. good thing she loves this project), including some of my immediate family that I had never seen before. This picture -- which seems relevant since it must have been taken on my birthday (the back says only 7/73) -- was one of those. My guess is that my grandparents had just come back from Hawaii and brought me an outfit. I don't remember this at all, which surprises me since I must have LOVED IT. (who wouldn't?!?) My favorite thing about this picture though, is the party hat made from a balloon and a paper plate!+ everyone seemed to have a really great time, including the grouchy people. We'll probably try to have reunions slightly more often than once, ever.
Hee hee hee!
ReplyDeleteYour trip sounds HEE-Larious!
Seriously, can I put in a request for some balloon/paper plate hats for my birthday party? What a neat idea...
Plus, you look like a little hula angel in your outfit.
Anonymous Tara, you tell me what color combo you want and I will make you as many balloon/paper plate hats as you like!
ReplyDeleteI asked my mom about the hula outfit -- my grandparents DID bring it back for me from hawaii, I don't remember much about it because I think the skirt got wrecked pretty fast, and this was all part of the plan to appease me after my sister was born. (my sister would have been less than a year old and I was ALLEGEDLY (but it sounds true) NOT PLEASED.
Oh, I can totally believe the disgruntlement after you've been usurped in the attention department! After all, my parents did the same thing to me and I STILL don't get along with my sister as well as you and the QOS do!
ReplyDeleteOh, dear.
ReplyDeleteI think that my guesses for the multiple choice questions would be, of course G and E if they relate to the best/worst answer ever, all of the above. You've Got Mail...more like you got stalked by the guy from Bosom Buddies and could not escape. At least Bachelor Party starring Mister Tom Hanks was aight...and while I am not on the subject of Strangers With Candy, I feel that I should point out that Marissa's drunk BF from season 1 was in an episode from season 3 of SWC...I knew he was funny...Virginia City is quaint but the drive is really hellish to me. I am a horrible passenger and it is so super hilly. Tell Chris Isaac hi from BBD.
ReplyDeleteBBD, your guesses are CORRECT! now I will have to think of an appropriate prize. Maybe a MAP. or a door poster of Wild Bill Hickock!
ReplyDeleteAnd THANK YOU for the You've Got Mail is kind of creepy support. I like Tom Hanks. I like Meg Ryan. I did not like this movie. But I will give it another go -- sometimes I'm wrong about stuff. (Wild horses could not make me watch What A Woman Wants again though -- that has to be one of THE WORST movies of that sort. Although now I am intrigued by the notion of wild horses going around and making people do things. maybe they could go have some words with Mel Gibson for me...)