GMSTB30

I'm going to steal Kristy's meme and write about it here too: GMSTB30. That stands for "Getting My Sh!t Together Before I'm 30." (It also looks strangely similar to the abbreviation for Mystery Science Theater 3000, MST3K.)

Setting the bar fairly low, I'd point out that Kristy herself has already achieved some of my GMSTB30 goals, so our impetuses (impeti?) for this are likely different. For one, I certainly never planned nor expected to still be living with my parents at age 27, going on 28. For another, I certainly never planned nor expected to still be looking for some semblance of financial (i.e., job) security at age 27, going on 28.

And perhaps as a consequence of those two facts, it didn't quite sink in that I was a mere two years away from 30 until Kristy wrote about GMSTB30. It seems like just yesterday I was passing the quarter-century mark and saying how I still felt young because most of my friends were older. Well now I'm as old as some of those friends were when I met them, and yet many things in my life have changed very little in that time.

The cancer treatments of '04 and '05 can really only take the blame for about a year of that; to ascribe more would be scapegoating and kidding myself. I have felt perfectly fine and healthy since then. I know full well what aspects of my personality have kept certain aspects of my life stationary, and I need to fight them. In other words, I need to get my sh!t together before I'm 30.

So what are my SMART goals? By May 19, 2010, I will have (in no particular order):

1. achieved financial independence, in the sense that my regular income will provide for, at the least, a modestly comfortable lower middle class lifestyle, without having to rely on the generosity of my parents' free room and board
   
2. moved out of my parents' house without having to settle for living with a roommate (unless I have a roommate by choice rather than out of necessity)
   
3. begun working on my comic strip every day, even if it's just sketching a scene or scribbling down an idea on a napkin during my lunch break
   
4. a dedicated drawing space, such as a glass top desk, for said comic strip to be drawn
   
5. submitted at least one musical composition for publication
   
6. stopped chewing my fingers (no, really; you'd be surprised how much time this wastes, not to mention the obvious hygienic aspect)
   
7. set SMART goals for age 30-35

One TWO three FOUR five six SEVEN! Seven. Seven SMART goals. There will probably be more as I think of them.

Incidentally, I just found out tonight that my brother (35) is now expecting his first child. Actually, my sister-in-law is, though I imagine my brother had something to do with the mechanics of it. That may or may not have something to do with my urge to type this post tonight rather than working on goal #1 up there.

Day 5: The Las Vegas Strip (and Hanukkah)

Over a month later, I'm finally getting back to finishing this blog post. Anyhow, on to Day 5 of December's Las Vegas trip:

After a good night's (morning's?) rest, we got a leisurely start to the day Wednesday. Still wanting to pad my coaster count, Stu and I headed out to the Las Vegas Strip to take in the gimmicky rides some of the casinos offer.

We began at the Stratosphere...



...which features Big Shot; think Cedar Point's Power Tower, only a single spire and a thousand feet off the ground. Honestly, at that height, it's easy to lose track of just how high "high" is. We've been 420 feet above Sandusky on Top Thrill Dragster, and it didn't really seem that daunting to ride Big Shot. Plus, it's an "up" thrust, rather than a drop, so you aren't dangling at the top for 10-15 grueling seconds. In the picture at the right, you can see red supports where there used to be a roller coaster track. Stu said there really wasn't much to it, for lack of space and the fact that it can't go very fast if it's just circling around the tower.

The view from the platform was rather hazy and (excepting the mountains) flat:


We also rode X-Scream, which rolls you out on a track over the edge and suddenly tilts downward. I suppose if you're spastic about heights, it would be terrifying, but we actually found it fairly tame (I generally look straight out, rather than down, on such rides). I imagine the front seat would be scarier. I wasn't able to snap a good picture of the ride itself, but you can see one in this Wikipedia article.

Had we known we would be slightly less-than-thrilled with Big Shot and X-Scream, we might have also bought tickets for Insanity The Ride. Insanity is probably best described in pictures and film:



See also: 2.2 MB MPEG movie

After that, we stopped for lunch at Carl's Jr., which I had never been to before. It's not anything to write home about, but the barbecue burger was pretty good.

Now then: on to the coasters. Speed - The Ride at the Sahara Hotel and Casino launches you out of the casino -- out of the ground, really -- into a loop, up a spire, then rolls and thrusts backward through the same track. It was brief but fun. Oh, and of course all of these rides are far overpriced for the thrill value they offer, but what would one expect? People don't generally go to Vegas for its roller coasters, so the cost has to be made up somehow. (Whaddya mean there's a casino attached?)

It was a little weird to smell smoke, after spending a year in Ohio's smoking-banned buildings. Nevada has a smoking ban, but with an exemption for casinos. (At the Red Rock Casino, for example, smoking is prohibited in the restaurant/buffet area, even though it's directly connected to the gaming room.) In spite of the small number of people in the casino, the smoke was still rather abundant. I wasn't sure how long I'd be able to last the night on the Strip without some Excedrin, but actually I was fine. The smoke wasn't nearly as bad in the other casinos, and we were walking around most of the time anyway.

After the Sahara, we headed over to New York-New York. I left my camera in the car, so I don't have any pictures from the rest of the afternoon. Apparently I should have left my cell phone in the car too: After waiting in line for The Roller Coaster (formerly called Manhattan Express) and buying our tickets, I got up to the platform and the ride host spied me putting my phone into my pocket. He said phones weren't allowed on the ride. I said I was putting it in my pocket, and he said I can't do that. By pure chance, Stu had already put his phone in his cargo pocket, so the ride host didn't say anything to him. Had I been wearing cargo pants too (which I normally do at amusement parks), I likely would have already put my phone away and it wouldn't have been noticed.

I was told I had to put the phone in a locker, so I walked over to the lockers and realized they cost 50 cents and only accepted quarters, of which I had none. I walked back to the ride host and asked if there was a change machine, and he said I had to go to the cashier, which was back down the stairs where we bought tickets. So I did that, waited until the cashier was done with the next customer, ascended the stairs again, put my lone, single phone in the giant locker, and went on our way. Meanwhile, our train had already left; on the upside, because we had to wait for the next one, we got to sit in front.

I was pissed off for most of the ride. It wasn't the $14 ticket that got me; it was those extra 50 cents. I guess the coaster was OK, but I'd like to ride it again when I'm in a better mood. It would be nice if there were a sign saying cell phones aren't allowed on the ride, not even in pockets. (Which is a ridiculous policy anyway; I've been to a dozen amusement parks and always put my phone in cargo pockets without incident, and this is the first roller coaster I've seen with such a rule.)

I think after that we headed back to Stu's parents' house. Incidentally, one cool thing about Vegas is free parking. Just about every casino has ample parking and valets. Try not to think of it as being paid for by legalized, institutionalized shell games at the expense of tourists under the guise of entertainment. Frankly I find it remarkable that a city of 552,000 grew out of this. Anyway.

For a change of pace, we had dinner at home Wednesday night, courtesy of Stu's dad. (Aside: When I say "Stu's dad" here I'm referring to his adoptive father, not his biological father who passed away recently. I mention this only because of this blog post and didn't want to confuse my readers.) After I had the pleasure of lighting the candle on the Menorah for the second night of Hanukkah, we dined on a delicious beef brisket, seasoned string beans, salad, and....... latkes! (Which we gentiles call potato pancakes.) I had never had them with applesauce before. Not only was it nice to have something besides restaurant food, but it was also the best meal I had that week -- although the black cherry gelato made the Red Rock Buffet on Friday a close second.

I don't recall exactly what we did after dinner, but I think part of it involved me playing showtunes on the piano. Stu's dad offloaded a few music books on me, including Evita, which is nice since I just recently discovered that show (gotta love Patti LuPone's modulation and crazy high belting in "Rainbow High").

Our intention was to wait until Laurie got Chloe to sleep, then those of us between the ages of 25-55 would go take in the Las Vegas Strip whilst the grandparents stayed with the baby. But it took longer than expected, then Laurie didn't feel like going out, so just Stu and I went out on the town, around 9:30 if I'm not mistaken.

We parked at Caesars Palace since it's fairly central. Thanks to my interest in Ancient Rome, I took more pictures of this place than anything else. I mean, I know it's all fake and mixes artistic periods, but it's still cool to look at. Here I am posing with my main man Augustus:



I missed my chance to get the Caesar haircut back in the late '90s when it was popular and I still had hair long enough to do it. Oh well. I'll also interject here that weeknights in early December are apparently a good time to visit Vegas, since the crowds were fairly minimal and the weather temperate. It was just a little cool at night, hence the long pants and light jacket seen in my Augustus photo above.

On to the 'Palace montage:



Attached to the ginormous Caesars Palace complex is the Forum Shops mall. The azure painted ceiling and soft lighting give a feeling of daytime throughout much of the interior. A more recent addition to the Shops features a circular escalator.



We then decided to just pick a direction and walk up The Strip. I was determined to get my 50 cents back from New York-New York after the fiasco with the roller coaster lockers, so I suggested we head that way. This led us to the Bellagio, where we paused to watch the fountain show. That was very cool. I've included two short videos below, but you can also find more on YouTube.



10 MB MPEG movie
7.8 MB MPEG movie

I took a picture of Bill's Gamblin' Hall & Saloon for my dad...



...as we headed toward Paris Las Vegas. The theme there should be fairly obvious:



Much like Times Square in New York City, even the common chain stores get into the glitz. I found the neon CVS down right amusing:



The Monte Carlo:



And at long last, we arrive at New York-New York!



The last time I set foot in a casino was Deadwood in 1995, and before that was Atlantic City when I was nine, so this was the first chance I'd had to actually play games.

As I said, I wanted to win back my 50 cents, so I saved my gamblin' money for New York-New York. When it comes to pretty colored lights and throwing money away, I tend to prefer the one-armed bandits, because I'm not interested in doing any thinking. If the game involves placing chips on squares or upping antes, that's too much cognition. If I wanted to use my brain and waste money while calling it entertainment, I'd go to Dave & Buster's.

I visit Dave & Buster's in Westlake several times a year, and easily spend $50-75 each time. Since casino machines are illegal in Ohio, any such devices must be "games of skill" rather than chance. That means, while the house is still favored, it actually is possible to get better at the games. And I have -- ironically, that is exactly the problem. At a casino, I'm losing real money and it hurts every time. At Dave & Buster's, I get better at the games and rack up huge amounts of tickets, thus enticing me to play more. I currently have over 20,000 tickets on my D&B card, and for what? I've gotten a beach towel, coffee mug, and some crappy headphones so far. Once I need to furnish an apartment kitchen, perhaps I'll get a toaster and coffeemaker too. As it turns out, I lost only about $30 in Vegas, including the $5 I spent at the airport slot machines before we left.

The other reason I spent so little money on gambling is that the machines have changed. You'll be hard pressed to find any that even accept quarters (remember, my impression of casinos was at least 12 years old). None of the machines pay out in coins either. The casinos save a lot of money by not having to handle tons of heavy coins or paying people to collect them.

I played my first "quarter" slot (using a dollar bill), and the machine beeped and showed something on a little LED screen. I went to pull the handle again, when Stu said, "By the way, you won your 50 cents back." Huh? I did? "And if you pull without pressing the 'bet 1 credit' button, it automatically bets the maximum." Crap. There went my dollar, plus my winnings.

See, what happens is, when you put your money in, you get so many 'credits.' Since I put a dollar in a quarter slot machine, I had four credits. When I won 50 cents, rather than getting an actual, physical 50 cents like in the olden days, what I got was two credits added to my bank. To get your money back, you have to press the 'cash out' button and take it to the cashier counter.

I have several problems with that. First, when I put that dollar in, I assume I've just spent $1 for my entertainment, and when I win 50 cents, that's like 'earning' 50 cents back, and I can just walk away with it. Under the current system, I have to make a trip to the cashier for my measily pocket change. This makes it a little more difficult to keep track of how much you've won (since your winnings are lumped in with what you originally spent), and until you get used to it, it's sometimes hard to even tell if you've won at all since there are no coins dropping in the tray. I mean, the damn machine is going to play happy music no matter whether you win a hundred dollars or nothing at all. Sometimes there's even a minor bit of math involved, since you have to multiply the number of credits times the cost of the game (e.g. quarter, nickle, fiver) to figure out how much you have; some of the machines display the dollar amount of your credits, some don't. My first machine, of course, did not.

So that, combined with the fact that I was losing real money without winning coffee mugs and beach towels, meant I didn't spend a lot of time gambling. Stu attempted to explain craps to me, foolishly pretending it didn't involve much thinking, but I begged to differ, so I stuck with the stupid slots until the lack of coin-based winnings annoyed me enough to stop.

In short, I did not win back my 50 cents from the roller coaster locker incident.

It was getting late (by our standards, by Stu's standard of being the father of an 18-month-old), so we headed toward the MGM Grand to catch the monorail back to Caesars Palace.



Along the way, I took a picture of Excalibur whilst singing songs from both Camelot and Spamalot:



And one last view of The Strip:



I wish we had had more time, since we didn't go inside the Bellagio or make it to The Venetian, but I had fun just walking around taking pictures, especially at Caesars Palace. We even ran into Santa Claus, who was taking a break before the Christmas rush (actually just a portly gentleman with a natural gray beard and Santa hat, but you get the idea). Somewhere along the way, apparently I was checked out by a streetwalker, although I was completely oblivious... so, there's that. Pretty much a wild night on the town.

Next day: Hoover Dam and the pinball museum!

posting, to make Laurie happy

It's amazing how time can slip by without really accomplishing anything. What all has happened since my last post of January 11th (which Laurie has tired of reading)?

• I applied for my first passport, since they will be required to drive into Canada this summer. We may be planning a trip to Canada's Wonderland.
  
• I attended a Cleveland Orchestra concert (courtesy of Allen and Cindi) and heard Dvorak's New World Symphony.
  
• I had a CAT scan and blood test for my 6-month checkup.
  
• I got results of said CAT scan and blood test, and everything looks good.
  
• I saw Avenue Q at Playhouse Square; not quite as sharp as when I saw it in New York, but still as funny as ever.
  
• Interspersed with that have been little things at home that gobble up time. Re-ripping my CDs to replace the mp3's I lost in the hard drive crash, updating my printed portfolio, reading a few books, watching a few movies, helping my parents pack up the Christmas stuff (yes, some of it is still out).

In other news, I finally was told at work that I will still be a full-time employee. Our company has merged with another publisher in Florida, and there had been talk that I might do pre-press work part-time at the print shop to keep my insurance, but freelance my graphics work. That would mean paying self-employment taxes on the vast majority of my income, filing taxes quarterly, and other fun accounting things.

I was not looking forward to that, but that threat was looming over me for several months, until this week when I was officially told to my face (rather than piecing it together through the grapevine). Instead, I will remain a full-time employee of the print shop -- which retains the same legal company name we had before -- and my graphics work will be built into the price we charge the new publisher for the printing of products. Anything that can't be tied to one specific product, such as marketing materials, can be billed out separately.

I generally avoid work topics on the blog, not so much because I'm worried about my current employer reading such things, but rather prospective employers being scared off by it. However, I do feel my employment status is significant, especially since I need to be part of a group health plan, so I figured this particular topic was fairly safe. It's frustrating to go on for months not knowing for certain what my employment status will be the next day, not knowing if I can plan for a vacation this summer, not knowing how much I will be making in 2008.

So that's what's going on with me. I swear I'll finish the Las Vegas photo journal eventually!

Edited to add: My passport arrived in the mail exactly two weeks after I applied at the post office. That's a pretty good turnaround. My picture didn't come out too bad either.

the prog

If you haven't heard yet, the naming rights to Jacobs Field have been sold, and it will now be known as Progressive Field. Already, I've heard three people (including myself) independently come up with "The Prog" as a nickname.

"Hey, let's go see The Pronk at The Prog!"

I guess we just have to accept that naming rights are a part of life now, and any given building may be known by ten different names in its lifetime, and all that will change is the logo on the sign out front.

2007 year in review quiz

I've published this quiz for the last two years, so I thought I would do it again for 2007. As it turns out, 2007 was the favorite year of my life so far. I just wish wish wish I could talk about what all happened in 2007 that was so great, but there are both personal and work-related things involved which I'd rather not discuss on a public blog. Some of the personal issues won't be discussed even in private, except amongst the privileged few. But such is life. And now, on to the quiz:

1) What did you do in 2007 that you'd never done before?
I visited Las Vegas/Nevada/California/The Pacific Time Zone.

2) Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more?
I say this every year, and it still holds true: I believe such resolutions should be made at the proper moment of motivation, not just because a 12 turned into a 1 on the calendar. I did manage to quit chewing my fingernails several times this year, often for weeks or even a month at a time. Currently they are short stubs again. *sigh*

3) Did anyone close to you give birth?
Several people I know gave birth... My cousin's wife, and Christine (who gave birth to the baby formerly known as Greenbrier, i.e. Cassidy).

4) Did anyone close to you die?
My grandmother. :(

5) What countries did you visit?
Cuyahoga, Medina, Geauga, Seneca, Wyandot, Erie... Oh, countries, not counties.

6) What would you like to have in 2008 that you lacked in 2007?
A 401(k)?

7) What date from 2007 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
A certain date in December. Those who know which date, know why. :)

8) What was your biggest achievement of the year?
To be honest, my biggest achievement probably happened on the aforementioned December date, but other than that, I'd say music directing my first full show, Camelot, was a fairly significant step. It certainly changed my perceptions about what I'm capable of.

9) What was your biggest failure?
I failed to get a new job. There are varying reasons for this, both internal and external, but I still chalk it up as a failure for 2007. Not that my current job is so horrible, but it certainly isn't a long-term prospect either. Q.E.D., I'm still living with my parents.

10) Did you suffer illness or injury?
Other than the usual colds, nope. I discovered that Sudafed (the real kind, not that over-the-counter crap) works very well on my allergies, and that Airborne + Zicam + Zucol works great on colds.

11) What was the best thing you bought?
Technically, I "bought" my car in 2007, because I just finished paying it off and got the title in the mail a few days ago. Other than that, I saw Wicked in Chicago and had excellent seats, and saw Jeff Dunham in Lakewood, both of which were money well spent.

12) Whose behavior merited celebration?
Stu and Laurie, without a doubt my best friends in the whole world. And not to slight Laurie, but I'm pretty sure Stu even ranks up there at bestest-best friend status.

13) Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
Der BBM (some of you know who that is). I wouldn't say depressed, but certainly appalled. Many times.

14) Where did most of your money go?
Oreo cookies? I jest, of course. They were actually DoubleStuf™ Oreos.

15) What did you get really, really, really excited about?
I did a lot of fun things in 2007, but all those "reallies" set the bar pretty high. There was the Chicago trip, singing and dancing in Joseph, the Kennywood/Knoebels trip, falling into music directing Pump Boys, the Las Vegas/Anaheim trip... Did I mention 2007 was my favorite year?

16) What song will always remind you of 2007?
Normally this question is fairly easy to answer, even if convoluted, but I honestly can't think of a song that says "2007" to me. Perhaps the answer to question #40 below will be it.

17) Compared to this time last year, are you:
happier or sadder - I wasn't sad at this time last year, but I can guarantee I'm happier now.
older or wiser - Wiser!
thinner or fatter? - Ever so slightly thinner. I went on a diet before auditioning for Joseph, and am just a few pounds away from returning to my normal weight.
richer or poorer? - Well, I haven't had a raise since August of '06, if that's what you mean.

18) What do you wish you'd done more of?
BACKING UP MY HARD DRIVE!

19) What do you wish you'd done less of?
Not backing up my hard drive?

20) How did you spend Christmas?
The usual way: a delicious breakfast at home, presents, cemetery visit, a delicious dinner also at home, then relaxation. I got gift cards to Target, JCPenney, and Amazon.com; The Simpsons Movie; Spider-Man 3; the latest boxed set of The Complete Peanuts; and a few surprises, such as an ornament of a penguin playing a trombone, and an old Cedar Point children's ticket booklet from the 1960s.

21) How did you spend New Year's Eve?
Kim's party!

22) Did you fall in love in 2007?
Meh, not really.

23) How many one-night stands?
Same response as the last two years: "Never had one and I intend to keep it that way."

24) What was your favorite TV program?
Ooh, this one is easy. Stu and Laurie introduced me to How I Met Your Mother. I love it. I immediately got seasons 1 and 2 from Netflix and watched them all. Now I just need to wait for season 3 on DVD so I can watch what I missed earlier this year.

25) Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
Nope, no haterism going on here.

26) What was the best book you read?
I'm currently reading the controversial new Charles Schulz biography by David Michaelis, and since I'm pretty sure I didn't finish any other books in '07, I guess this one qualifies as "best." I like how he writes in a more documentary style, rather than a simple recitation of facts, and intersperses comic strips which relate to the narrative.

27) What was your greatest musical discovery?
I'm going to go with Scott Frankel, the composer of Grey Gardens. Obscure, I know. I don't expect any of you to know what I'm talking about; the show only ran for 308 performances on Broadway, but has a great score. Other candidates include "We Live on Borrowed Time" by David Friedman and "Meadowlark" by Stephen Schwartz.

28) What did you want and get?
I wanted a new rugby shirt, so I bought one. Exciting, isn't it?

29) What did you want and not get?
Well, I wanted the lead role in Joseph, but frankly it was a long shot anyway, and Shane did a better job than I would have. Still, the preparation for that audition forced me to polish "Into the Fire" and improve my vocal technique, which I doubt I would have done had I merely aimed for a chorus part from the get-go.

30) What was your favorite film of this year?
I see so few movies in the theater anymore. I guess The Simpsons Movie wins by default, although I liked Spider-Man 3 too. As for movies that were new-to-me via Netflix, V for Vendetta, The Bourne Identity, The Bourne Supremacy, Grey Gardens, Marjoe, and Legally Blonde all got 4 out of 5 stars from me.

31) What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I turned 27. You can read the full story at this blog post, but the summary is: Jim's Coffeehouse, Cascade Park, Dave & Buster's, gift card spending spree, dinner/dessert/presents with the family at home.

32) What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Ugh, again, "immeasurably" sets the bar so freakin' high! I mean, to be honest, 2007 had its unsure and shaky moments, but in retrospect, it ended up being pretty legen -- wait for it, and I hope you're not lactose intolerant, because the next half of that word is -- dary.

33) How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2007?
Heh, it really wasn't much different than 2006. I'm like that.

34) What kept you sane?
The upgrade to Bryan 3.0 gave me a "New Outlook on Myself." Bryan 2.0, back in 2002, was a "New Outlook on Life." By the way, I've since upgraded to Bryan 3.1. Shhhh.

35) Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Josh Radnor. Because he, uh, stars in How I Met Your Mother. I guess.

36) What political issue stirred you the most?
2007 seemed fairly quiet in my mental world of politics. No big hurricanes, no ironic Wars on Christmas, and with The Daily Show in reruns due to the writers' strike, how would I even know?

37) Who did you miss?
The taco nighters! We've all been busy in various ways, so it's hard to get together anymore.

38) Who was the best new person you met?
I met a lot of great and fun people while doing Joseph, Pump Boys, and Millie, but I must say Mo Olejko ranks up at the top. To be perfectly honest, conversations I had with her were a large impetus for the Bryan 3.0 upgrade.

39) Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2007:
I'll quote Kim on this one: "Jobs come and go, but the extended family I have come to find thru [community theatre] could never be replaced by a job."

40) Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:
Well this should be pretty easy, courtesy of Ahrens and Flaherty:

My favorite year
like no other year of my life
My favorite year
a dream could come true
You could cross a bridge, and not have it burn
[...]
My favorite year
like no other year of my life
My favorite year
that time when I knew
it would have to be
one hell of a year
for some other year
to ever come near
that frantic, impossible, glorious, faithfully dear-to-me year
My favorite year!

I highlighted that one line because it's my anti-bridge-burning policy that allowed things to turn out as they did in the latter half of 2007... and I regret nothing.

busyness

Obviously, I haven't had much time lately to update the blog. I'm halfway through writing about Day 5 of the Las Vegas trip, but for whatever reason, my evenings just keep getting eaten up.

And this weekend will be no exception. Stu's biological father passed away on Sunday, and Stu has inherited a Toyota Highlander Hybrid. Aside from the obvious grief-related circumstances, that's just an awfully long way to drive from Dallas to Cleveland by oneself, so I'm flying down there tonight to help drive back. We'll be on the road by Saturday morning, probably spending the night in Nashville, then finishing the trek on Sunday.