Viva Las Vegas!

On Friday morning I have a meeting with Marissa (from Arbor, with Alex right), David and Alex, to go over the User Interface I created for their system. Of course since we are going through the iterative design process we learned in Amar's 211 class, as expected we got feedback which we will now transform into another round of development for a new prototype. Ryan created a cute little logo for us (EMRbor is the great name David came up with awhile back)!

Ryan and I met Beth at the airport (she took the BART)! Public transportation is great! But we decided to park so we could bring everyone back on Sunday! We were so excited we had some drinks on the plane, which I have never done before. This was the worst idea EVER. I don't recommend it to anyone. Beth got super sick (see barf bag left), and I could not stop laughing at her! By the time we landed she felt better, mostly because we were so excited to be there, but I had to pee like nobody's business. Ryan was really amped to get to our hotel (the Luxor), but that turned out to be a huge mistake since we hit horrible traffic after waiting in a 30 minute line to even get the cab!!!! At least the cab driver heard I had a problem and rushed there, but then there was a line in the lobby! By the time I got to the room I almost did not have to go anymore!

We spent the evening with Rik, JJ and Tom, since Marc's plane didn't land until 11pm, and Susy, (her boyfriend) Ryan P. and his friend Akshay didn't hit the road until around 9pm, they were driving from LA!!!! We went to dinner, the Rio hotel, then the Hard Rock Hotel. But ultimately we decided we were just too exhausted and needed to go back to the hotel! Ryan and I stayed up until 5am, though, playing poker! Marc joined us sometime in, but didn't make it the whole time! I broke about even that night (thank goodness)!!

The next morning we got up at 10 am to go to brunch. We went to the Mandalay Bay brunch. It wasn't so great (it was a buffet). Grad school has destroyed my concept of a buffet. Buffets are great because you pay and eat a ton. First of all, I think I am no longer capable of eating that amount of food, but more importantly, I think I can get free food whenever I want, so quantity has become irrelevant, and quality is always secondary. Beth had a marzipan carrot on her carrot cake, so I scooped it up with a knife and was referencing the picture below, which I had shown Tom the night before. Some guy a couple tables over promptly imitated (I guess he has seen the same picture). So we snapped one together!!!

Beth, Susy and I decided to go on a shopping spree at the Fashion Show Mall. Bet is busy interviewing for summer internships at huge firms (she's getting her MBA at SFSU)! So we were trying to find her an age-appropriate business casual outfit! We found the PERFECT one at Banana Republic. The funny thing is, I completely do not agree with the saying, "You always find things in the last place you look" since obviously it will be the last place since once you find it you will stop looking, but in this case it was completely true! We had initially intended to go to Banana Republic, but when we set out to get there we stopped by at many places since they were on the way. But of course we found her whole ensemble there! Our favorite place, by far, was Neiman Marcus though. Susy and I were able to relax on the couch in the huge dressing room while Beth tried on clothes. We were sad when she didn't have much to try on!

After we got back we had a little time to play some poker in the hotel room, hoping that Susy, Ryan P. and Akshay would get comfortable enough with it to be able to play downstairs. They did fairly well but could not work up the nerve to get down there! Beth was busy playing slot machines and won two jackpots!!!!! Unfortunately they were nickel slots, but she was still up 200 dollars!!!!!! Marc and Susy decided on an Italian restaurant for dinner at the Venetian (I had never been, and it was quite impressive)! We had a great dinner, and headed over to the Bellagio for a club called Light.

That's Susy (at 10pm) at the restaurant! Doesn't the light look natural?!

Look at the sky! It's so romantic (I'm Beth's date for the evening).

We decided to walk off dinner, and stopped along the way. I have to say, by far the strangest thing about Las Vegas that makes it seem very much like a Disneyland for adults, is that open bottles of liquor are permitted in public. Not only that, they seem to be encouraged! We stopped by a place on the way that sold 30 dollar margaritas in 4.5 foot plastic containers! It was directly on the sidewalk, with open doors, much like a newsstand. It had these big slushy machines, except rather than regular slushies they served slushy with tequila. Of course we could not resist to get one, since that basically cut the cost of drinks for the evening in half! The funniest part was that it was possible to hang it around your neck! (Beth and I are hands free left, and below you can see how big it is). It was pretty much the most ridiculous thing we'd ever seen, and it became a prop for the rest of the night (see below).

I'm nearly 6 feet tall, and the cup is taller...so that gives you some idea!

Unfortunately when we got to Bellagio, the club, Light, cost 30 dollars for the guys to get in! Girls were free of charge! The guys deemed this too expensive, and Ryan headed over to Bally's to meet a friend for poker. The rest of us went to a fun lounge called Caramel and proceeded to dance the night away! We couldn't take in outside food or drink so we dumped the margarita and held on to the cup, but of course, it got left behind (I look so sad in the picture, like I know we're going to lose it)! It was great fun, but alas someone paid for a sofa and those who were sitting lost their seats and we headed out. Beth and I got a chance to peak in at Light (we got in for free) but by the time the others joined us, it was 30 dollars for the guys again. It was pretty fun, but I think Caramel was actually better. I guess we should make it a girls only trip (or at least split off for the evening portion)!

I spent the rest of the evening playing poker with Ryan (at an insanely expensive 4-8 limit table) where I suffered two horrible beats! I had a full house and a 2 pair, and lost both hands, and all my money (100 dollars). I was pretty upset. I should have mentioned I was a grad student to get some pity money, but alas, I did not. Ryan's friend took us to get some food. He has some kind of amazing pass where he basically gets a free room and everything complimentary while he is staying! So he flashed his fancy card at a cafe in Paris, and we got free sparkling water! It was strange sitting "outside" in "daylight" at 5am, having a snack. It's so crazy...you could basically stay in there all night and have no concept of what time it is (that is after all the point). We also ran into this machine that had an I/O error. The nerd in my snapped a picture...maybe I can debug the slot machine? And then program it so I win?

The next morning we checked our bags, and Beth and I gambled her winning on the slot machines, on the fun popcorn game. We went over to New York, New York, where Marc met us and we had some food. We eventually headed to the airport and back home. My best winnings: a stuffed Lion (I named him Gryan) and Beth got a stuffed Elephant (Belephant) that she got while we were playing a game in the children's game area at Excalibur. It was a consolation prize she won because her machine broke while we were playing, and she was nice enough to trade in her big stuffed animal for two smaller ones!

Of course after two weekends of fun, must come the repercussions. We made an amazing presentation for BMI211, which we presented on Thursday and I was quite proud! On Wednesday night, we rehearsed our parts in the big conference room. After much coaxing, they decided I would have to present as well. I really did not want to but since I spent quite a bit of time on the animations, Alex pointed out I probably envisioned how things would be presented, and being a bystander would probably not be satisfying. I do have to say I hate being recorded while I present. The benefit is that I can go back and see how I did, and actually use it as a constructive self-criticism for the future!

On Wednesday morning, the exec also had admissions meetings. People have been pretty excited on theFacebook! I've seen the students all communicating about their acceptances and rejections! Some of them have interesting theories on the admission process. It's strange because as a grad student you dont want to dash any hopes, but you also know that it's bogus! I'm sure they will all come to terms with their places eventually! Now we have to see who will make the right choice, and choose Stanford!!!

Now I can look forward to 10th week and Finals!!! I am pretty scared!!! I'll keep everyone updated!