We did leave for Vegas last Thursday. I kissed my sisters goodbye and decided to break in the shoes on the walk through JFK. On the way out, Alex handed me a little folded up baggie filled with what looked like used band aids. My sisters are weird, whatever. I liked that we were traveling backwards in time. I liked that I didn't trip walking through the airport in heels.
We got there and Josh told me that Vegas is known for buffets. That most buffets are terrible and you can eat a lot for very little money, but we were going to hit up nicer buffets for dinner. My only thought was, "These dresses are kind of skimpy; I don't want to get fat." Okay did you know there are casinos in hotels? And that you can smoke in them? It was really smokey!
Becca had told me that if I flirted well, I wouldn't pay for any drinks, but if I flirted badly, to announce I'd just turned 21 and ask who wanted to buy me a drink. I drank a lot Thursday night. Maybe a little too much. Okay definitely too much.
When I woke up Friday Josh suggested we get breakfast, but I wanted to check on my sisters. Maybe I was still a little drunk and it felt like a lot of time had passed since the day before. In the shower I heard the phone ring, and when I came out Josh was arguing with his father.
When they hung up, Josh turned to me and announced, "We need to go get drunk immediately." Hey that was the whole point of coming here - I wasn't going to argue. My thinking was that Vegas was for being buzzed or drunk at all times. We went to a buffet breakfast and I ate enough for the rest of the month. Josh was off through the meal, and I mentally gave it until the end of the meal for him to either tell me or get over it.
It didn't work out that way though, because Laurie called before we finished. To say the storm that was coming was going to be really bad. Much worse than just super heavy rain. Laurie claimed it was going to be like Katrina, with FEMA and states of emergency and schools shut down.
I walked off to call Dani. A couple of minutes later, I saw Josh get off the phone, and flop back in his chair looking annoyed. Minutes after that, Danielle said she had another call and had to go.
That is the story of how I wound up staying in Vegas for a week, and how my boyfriend's parents wound up staying in a hotel two buildings over with my sisters in an adjoining room. Which one sister whispered to me is weird. Which it kind of is. Apparently this is what Josh's people do - they flee bad weather.
As soon as the parents showed up, or maybe it was the sisters - I don't know - we both stopped drinking. Basically we all just hang out at the pool or go wandering around. Yesterday we went hiking in Red Rock Canyon. There was a shark reef field trip. After we got back from hiking (pro tip: do not hike in Chucks) when I went to take a shower, my sister pushed me into the bathroom and closed the door.
"This is weird. It's like a forced vacation. It's like our home is dying and we're not just at school this time, we're all the way across the country." Danielle's right. A vacation that you didn't plan on is nutty. I told Josh I wanted to sleep with my sisters tonight - it's also weird to go across the country to be together but be a block away. So now I am sitting on a bed with Alex sleeping next to me, and our swimsuits hanging in the bathroom to dry for tomorrow.
When we asked Laurie when we'll go home she said as soon as the electricity is back on. This is definitely not following the rules of Vegas. We're staying way longer than a long weekend and nobody is supposed to be in Vegas with parents.
We got there and Josh told me that Vegas is known for buffets. That most buffets are terrible and you can eat a lot for very little money, but we were going to hit up nicer buffets for dinner. My only thought was, "These dresses are kind of skimpy; I don't want to get fat." Okay did you know there are casinos in hotels? And that you can smoke in them? It was really smokey!
Becca had told me that if I flirted well, I wouldn't pay for any drinks, but if I flirted badly, to announce I'd just turned 21 and ask who wanted to buy me a drink. I drank a lot Thursday night. Maybe a little too much. Okay definitely too much.
When I woke up Friday Josh suggested we get breakfast, but I wanted to check on my sisters. Maybe I was still a little drunk and it felt like a lot of time had passed since the day before. In the shower I heard the phone ring, and when I came out Josh was arguing with his father.
When they hung up, Josh turned to me and announced, "We need to go get drunk immediately." Hey that was the whole point of coming here - I wasn't going to argue. My thinking was that Vegas was for being buzzed or drunk at all times. We went to a buffet breakfast and I ate enough for the rest of the month. Josh was off through the meal, and I mentally gave it until the end of the meal for him to either tell me or get over it.
It didn't work out that way though, because Laurie called before we finished. To say the storm that was coming was going to be really bad. Much worse than just super heavy rain. Laurie claimed it was going to be like Katrina, with FEMA and states of emergency and schools shut down.
I walked off to call Dani. A couple of minutes later, I saw Josh get off the phone, and flop back in his chair looking annoyed. Minutes after that, Danielle said she had another call and had to go.
That is the story of how I wound up staying in Vegas for a week, and how my boyfriend's parents wound up staying in a hotel two buildings over with my sisters in an adjoining room. Which one sister whispered to me is weird. Which it kind of is. Apparently this is what Josh's people do - they flee bad weather.
As soon as the parents showed up, or maybe it was the sisters - I don't know - we both stopped drinking. Basically we all just hang out at the pool or go wandering around. Yesterday we went hiking in Red Rock Canyon. There was a shark reef field trip. After we got back from hiking (pro tip: do not hike in Chucks) when I went to take a shower, my sister pushed me into the bathroom and closed the door.
"This is weird. It's like a forced vacation. It's like our home is dying and we're not just at school this time, we're all the way across the country." Danielle's right. A vacation that you didn't plan on is nutty. I told Josh I wanted to sleep with my sisters tonight - it's also weird to go across the country to be together but be a block away. So now I am sitting on a bed with Alex sleeping next to me, and our swimsuits hanging in the bathroom to dry for tomorrow.
When we asked Laurie when we'll go home she said as soon as the electricity is back on. This is definitely not following the rules of Vegas. We're staying way longer than a long weekend and nobody is supposed to be in Vegas with parents.
7 comments:
You're right--parents and little sisters in Vegas probably are a damper. However, I'm glad you all are safe and out of harms way. Hurricanes are a pain and definitely inconvenient(we have plenty of them on the Tx Gulf Coast). Living with flooding, no electricity and no transportation along with the unpredictability of what the storm will do is no picnic. Trust me, you would be bored, uncomfortable and irritable back in NYC as well right now if you were there. (Plus, hurricanes are definitely budget busters.) We are not rich and have fled weather like this before--it's what smart people do if they are at all able to do so. I am touched that Josh's parents brought your sisters, that they cared enough about the three of you to make sure that you were all safe. They probably brought them to Vegas to make you feel better--obviously they could have waited out the storm in more desirable places for that length of time--but then you would have been worried about them being away from home AND away from you.
Try and go with the flow Sam. Can't you try and look at it as an adventure the three of you can share? There will still be plenty of hurricane misery left to witness and deal with once you get back home. Lead your sisters by example. You and Josh can go to Vegas for the weekend some other time and do it as you had originally planned. I can't help but to think that your mother is looking down, grateful that someone is looking out for her family. Things could be worse. At least you aren't having to schlep Aunt Elaine around in the middle of a hurricane.
Glad you all are safe. At least you got part of a weekend to enjoy Vegas as it should be? And I suppose there are worse things than a forced vacation. You should try to check out the Grand Canyon while you're there. I think it's about a 6 hr drive?
I get it that your weekend plans were dashed. But you sound like a thirteen year old complaining about it.
How about a modicum of gratitude that Josh's parents care enough about you and your sisters to spare no expense to bring them to you in such a time?
I for one am glad you AND your sisters are safe.
9:09 I don't think Sam is ungrateful - I think her expectations didn't pan out and she's working through that on her blog. She's relaxing and doing fun, vacationy things. Consider the fact that she's never been on a family vacation before in her entire life - it all may feel very odd to her.
It's good that they got out of town and very nice that they took your sisters with them.
I suspect that the reason they came to Vegas instead of going somewhere else is that they knew you would be worried about your sisters.
Hope everything is okay when you get back to town.
Where do all you anons come off bashing Sam on her own blog?
9:09 - How do you know Sam isn't also grateful to Josh's parents? Because she didn't write about it here? Not everything is utterly black and white. She's totally entitled to feel like Josh's parents' reaction is "weird" - she sounds less po'd about the situation than baffled at Laurie and Josh's dad's reaction to it. In fact, it sounds like Josh was a lot more upset about it than Sam, and that Sam just felt like it was, well, "weird" (which it kind of is, even if it's good that they're all safe). And besides, for Sam and her sisters this is a very unfamiliar situation - why shouldn't they feel a little out of their element?? This is her space, not ours. Her life, not ours. I don't think it's fair to attack her when we are only seeing a small sliver of the whole picture.
And 4:16 - why are you even reading?
Sam, I hope you've been able to talk with folks back here so you have a sense of what your neighborhood will be like when you get back. I can't imagine not being here while big things are happening but I'm so glad that you're with your sisters and that everyone is safe.
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