Sunday April 18, 2010
Malibu, California
Glorious Blue Skies
Got back from Vegas Thursday late afternoon to a whirlwind weekend and am now bedridden with fever and massive headache on a beautiful Sunday in Malibu. My head hurts while writing this but there is only so much TV one can watch in a day. So how was Vegas? Here's the low down.
The Damage:
- Gained 3 kilos in a week! That's in addition to the 6 kilos I gained since coming back from Japan
- Swollen left eye lid which shows no sign of recovering
- Right ear ache that is better today (perhaps the massive doses of Advil I'm taking is helping)
- Sore feet from standing for 10 hrs a day for 3.5 days
- Major damage to the bank account
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- meals were SO EXPENSIVE that the company per diem does not cover it
- Encore Hotel is a major rip off
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- Charged me 25$ a day for storing my yogurt in the refrigerator in my room
- 6$ "handling fee" for each Fedex pkg sent to me
- 175$/hr to "sit" in the business services center to have a meeting (we sat in the corridor instead)
- 13.95$ for 24 hr Internet access PER DEVICE!!! So I got charged 28$ a day because I was using my iphone AND work PC
The Benefits:
- SO GOOD to see friends from all over the world.
- Meeting new clients and getting to know new colleagues
- Girls dinner nite
- Il Mulino's!!!!
But I still dislike Vegas with a passion. Don't get me wrong. I love the desert. It is quite beautiful and serene. Just don't like the town. Although I told myself, I'll take a day trip outside Vegas to explore, it didn't happen due to work. Hopefully next year I will and will have a blog on the beauty of Nevada outside Vegas. I feel for my European colleagues who are stranded in Vegas due to the volcano in Iceland. Gosh, I think I will lose my mind if I were stranded in Vegas. Hopefully, air travel to Europe will open up on Monday and they can finally make their way home from that city.
Postrio: One of the many fabulous restaurants where I had dinner. But Il Mulino's was the best.
Peter G, Fujihara-san, me and the Toshiba Gang at the Venetian
Cafe Society at the Encore: breakfast was expensive but they served a fabulous watermelon juice and scrambled egg pizza.
Setting up our booth. A lot of work but fun.
Girls Nite at Botero!