Word of the day: hortative - to incite to action, to encourage
As of tomorrow I am off to the Sunshine Coast!
I will think of you all while I am sitting on the dock of Laura's cabin. Or swimming around the point, or having a late night game of Gin Rummy.
I can't wait to leave!
Have a good long weekend, everyone!
Word of the day: caveat lector, meaning "buyer beware".
I have a new love. That love is swing dancing.
I've found a place that has dancing every Saturday evening, starting at 9pm and ending at 1am. They've got a drop in class before, and then you stay and dance. Tonight I went with two of my friends, both of whom turned out to be extremely lame. They ended up leaving early, and I stayed and danced.
Tonight was my second time dancing. One of my partners asked if I had ever done any dance before, like jazz or ballet. He said I had a good feel of the floor (whatever that means) and that if I kept going I could be very good.
Everyone there is extremely friendly. You just go up and dance with whoever you want. They'll ask, you ask, it doesn't matter. And it's so much fun.
I had a moment where I was thinking about school next year, and what it would be like. In some ways I think it'll be like this. You have to put yourself out there to get the most out of it. In order to have fun you have to take a risk - and in the end it pays off. The social interaction is similar to what I think it'll be like; a lot of people together, doing something that they have a common interest in.
So for those of you reading this, go out and do something you love. It makes life more fun.
Las Vegas is unlike any other place that I have been before.
Everything in the city is big. If it's not grand and luxerious, it's not worth going to. There is so much of absolutely everything; there are slot machines in almost every building (definitely all the hotels), the buffets offer all the food you want, and absolutely everywhere someone is trying to sell you something. Even the food portions were bigger than normal - $6 will get you a huge helping of chicken, two scoops of rice, and a scoop of macaroni at the L&L.
It's a lot to take in. Every hotel has a theme, which is evidenced in the way it is decorated. Paris' lobby and stores are done in a french fashion, the Luxor is a huge black pyramid with a giant sphinx infront, Ceaser's Palace has greek statues throughout and a remake of Trevi Fountain.
Vegas has several high end shows playing. Cirque de Solei has four different shows going on, Mamma Mia is playing, The Phantom of the Opera, Celine Dion, The Blue Man Group, the list goes on. All have had millions of dollars spent on them, and all are a high calibur show. And they're all happening in one short stretch of road, The Las Vegas Strip.
I had a blast. It was so much fun. It was was a completely new expirience to be constantly surrounded by such unnexessary exravegance.
On the first night we went to an all you-can-eat buffet. The food was fantastic. It was separated into different areas of the world - China, America, Italy, and the desert place. Somewhere between my second and third helpings I began to think about how unproportioned the world's wealth is. One part of the world is starving to death while another is stuffing themselves until their stomachs burst.
I thought a lot about this over the week but wasn't able to come to any conclusions. One friend said I shouldn't bother to think about it if I wasn't going to do anything, and another said that we can't do much unless people join together to fight for a cause. But what cause is it that we should fight? Poverty? That's already being adressed by several international organizations. And not much is changing.
How much we have becomes glaringly obvious when contrasted by a city that bathes in luxery. I spent a lot of the week thinking about it, but coming to no conclusions. All I know is that it's not right - and I'm at a loss of what, if anything, to do about it.
