What were they thinking?

Thanks to my friend Tony for passing along this little gem! Some people are just a little oblivious I guess.

20 Questions!

Actually, more like 46! I fished these questions from my roommate's blog and thought it might be kind of fun to give everyone some insight on myself. I'm in the middle of a 2-day work-week right now, and nothing real exciting is going on, so this seemed like good blogging fodder.

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE ? My first name is my dad's and my middle name is my uncle's

2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? Hmmmm, I remember crying at the end when I watched the movie Schindler's List, but that's been a while. I'm not a complete rock, but I just can't remember.

3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? It's absolutely terrible! Good thing I can type!

4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH? That would have been cutting out of work during lunch hour in Bowling Green and stopping by this kick-ass pizza place called Myles. It's one thing I've missed since leaving.

5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS? Not yet.

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? Yea, I think so.

7. DO YOU USE SARCASM ALOT? Nooooooo, never! Not at all! That's crazy!

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Yep, my only surgery has been to remove the wisdom teeth.

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? No way in hell!!!

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? Anything produced by General Mills, proud sponsor of Bobby Labonte's #43 Dodge Nextel Cup Car! Yes, I have brand loyalty!

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? If they happen to land near each other, then yes. Huh, after reading the question again, it says "untie" not "unite". Then I'd say yes, since my expensive Rockports that I wear to work are too valuable to just chuck into the corner.

12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? In character, yep!

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM? Mint Chocolate Chip

14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE? Whether I think they are good tippers at the craps table or not.

15. RED OR PINK? Scarlet, preferably coupled with grey.

16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? When I have a few days off with nothing much to do, I turn into an apartment troll and rue the sight of natural light!

17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST?

Pretty much EVERYONE back in Ohio. I also REALLY miss being around Columbus during this college football season!

18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? This isn't an email, so it's not applicable. Don't feel the need to complete these questions yourself though, it's just an FYI on myself for anyone who cares.

19. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? Grey running shorts (that I usually wear to bed) and no socks or shoes of any kind. It's 1:30am after all.

20. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE? Some homemade minestrone soup and a bowl full of fresh fruit with a glass of skim milk! That'll keep me regular!!!

21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? Real old school Pink Floyd (Piper)

22. IF YOU WHERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? Whichever one is in the middle of the top row in those boxes with a whole bunch of crayons stacked up. Also, some random color like puce, so that not only would I have a good view of things, I'd also have longevity!

23. FAVORITE SMELLS? Spent racing fuel at the track. The clear air on a crisp fall day.

24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? Kerry, a friend and former student of mine who works at Ohio State.

25. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? N/A

26. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH? Oh man, don't make me pick! College football, NFL, NASCAR, college basketball and hockey and the NHL, maybe not in that order.

27. HAIR COLOR? Brown

28. EYE COLOR? Brown

29. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? Nope, I tried to a couple of times, and I just couldn't accept the fact that I had pieces of plastic glued to my eyes for hours on end!

30. FAVORITE FOOD? Italian

31. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? Happy endings, if some classic cult comedy wasn't available.

32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? A DVD of a stand-up show of comedian Patton Oswalt. VERY funny stuff!

34. SUMMER OR WINTER? WINTER! You can take these 115 degree days in the desert and shove it! Give me five inches of snow any time!

35. HUGS OR KISSES? Both of course.

36. FAVORITE DESSERT? Oreo pie

37. MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? My friend Mike, who comments simply as "m".

38. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? Anyone who doesn't bother to read this blog I guess.

39. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW? I'm still just browsing through my casino's procedural manual a little bit each day. It makes for good "sitting down" material, if you know what I mean.

40. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? See for yourself. Go Bucks!!!

41. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON T.V. LAST NIGHT? Reruns of Star Trek Voyager. No, I'm not a Trekkie, but yes, I am somewhat of a nerd.

42. FAVORITE SOUND? "I'm tapping you out Robert, it's time to go home."

43. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? Stones, by far!

44. WHAT IS THE FURTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME? I think Reno is farther from Ohio than Vegas, right? I was there for a conference a few years ago.

45. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? No real special talents, just a few curious oddities:

- I've never been stung by a bee

- I've never broken a bone

- I can't whistle

- I've never had a bloody nose

46. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? The great little town of Sandusky, Ohio!

Dropping Anchor

For those of you who don't know, I just moved here to Vegas in January. When I resigned my position at Bowling Green and moved out of my apartment there, I basically moved everything that I owned into my parent's house and crashed in their basement for a few months in preparation for the move out west (no, I didn't buy comic books and Star Wars action figures while living there!). During the move, I trashed my old bed, and all other furniture (TV's, couch, kitchen table, etc.) were either sold or integrated into my parent's place.

When I moved out here with my then roommate, Chris, I only brought what I could fit in my 4-door Chevy Cavalier........which was a surprising amount. Chris did the same in his mid-sized Ford. Obviously there was NO room for any type of furniture. Upon moving into our first apartment in the NW area of Vegas (near, but NOT in Summerlin), we picked up a bunch of old furniture for $100 and we both slept, quite comfortably, on $16 air mattresses. My little 13" TV that made the trek was propped up on boxes for our viewing enjoyment, and even after our 6-month lease had expired, I still felt like I was living in an apartment-version of a MASH unit. Pretty much everything I owned, I could still fit into my 4-door Chevy Cavalier and quickly move to some other far-off exotic part of the country!!

This held true, even after moving into my new apartment with Mikey here in Henderson. Sure, I bought a new TV and TV stand, but the TV could still fit in the car if needed (sacraficing some clothes or other non-essentials) and the stand could be sold. Same goes with my new computer and the desk its sitting on. However, last week I FINALLY updgraded from my trusty old air mattress to a very nice queen sized bed! No longer will I be able to pick up at a moment's notice and move out of town. Any move now must involve a U-Haul! So it looks as though I'm committed to staying here in Sin City, at least for the time being.

The before picture. Now I must work on upgrading my fancy Dole Banana night stand!

The after picture, my brand new queen sized bed!

Wish that I was on ol' Rocky Top.......

I've been mentioned in many posts within my roommate's blog in the past, but until now, I've never been the sole subject.

http://www.hurricanemikey.blogspot.com/ (Sept. 7th entry)

I guess I should be honored, and also grateful for the link to this site. Instead of volleying back with some observances of my own, I just wish to say three things:

1. Rocky Top is, by a wide margin, one of the catchiest tunes known to man. Hit the following link, listen all the way through, and try not to hum it to yourself the rest of the whole damn day!

http://www.mamarocks.com/rocky_top.htm

2. I reserve the right to criticize any sport that I wish, ESPECIALLY SOCCER!!!!

3. Seven of Nine is HOT!

RIP WNBA?

Game one of the WNBA championship finals was played Wednesday night. I do know it was played in Detroit, but don't ask me what Detroit's team name is and don't even ask me who they were playing. I don't know, and I don't care.

Apparently I'm not the only one though. In an arena that seats over 20,000 people, the official attendance for the game was exactly 10,513. I believe it was reported somewhere on TV today (wish I could be more specific but my memory is gone right now) that the actual attendance by the end of the game was around 5,000, and the figures included at least a couple thousand free tickets that were given out. The report also mentioned that many free tickets went unused.

This is supposed to be the pinnacle of this sport, which every team strives to make, and at BEST, the arena was half-full. It was half-full in the middle of the week, when there was NO football on for competition, no other major sporting event on, and only a few baseball games here and there to capture America's sporting attention.

I think it's time to put this experiment out of its misery. Like Major League Soccer, there only seem to be a small percentage of "cult" fans following this league, and for the most part, America just doesn't care. Unlike soccer though, I'm sure the rest of the world could care less as well. The comparison to the MLS may be a little unfair I admit as the MLS does seem to have some place in the American sporting world, albeit on an infinitely smaller scale when compared to the major American sports. The WNBA just seems like the little league that couldn't.

It would seem to me that the main draw to a league like this is that it's something a whole family can attend without costing mom and dad a fortune in tickets, parking, food, etc. etc. But from what I saw during the Arena Football playoffs, the AFL has that market cornered at the moment. Sellouts aplenty over there! Factor in minor league sports like baseball and hockey, and local college and high school sports, and it would appear that the puzzle is complete without much use for the WNBA.

Under the Sea!

http://www.netscape.com/viewstory/2007/09/03/six-italian-scuba-divers-to-live-underwater-for-two-weeks/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eitb24.com%2Fnew%2Fen%2FB24_64605%2Flife%2FLIFE-UNDER-WATER-Six-Italian-scuba-divers-to-live%2F&frame=true

So I went to work this morning (I usually work the 3am-11am "moonlight" shift) with hopes that something crazy would happen in the casino, thus giving me blog fodder for all of my new loyal readers. Unfortunately, the most interesting thing to happen was having a stimulating conversation with a drunk for about 30 minutes on a craps table that was completely dead for about 70% of the shift. In other words, same ol' same ol'. However, I did receive one piece of extremely disturbing news. Every single "extra board" dealer on my shift was given ZERO hours on the schedule next week!

Let me back up. For those who don't know, almost every casino dealing job in Vegas that's worth it's salt is not attainable as a full-time position when starting. The usual progression for a dealer is to go to dealing school, find a "break-in" job, take some lumps for about 2-6 months working 40 hours per week for very little money at a piece of s**t joint, and then get into a better "mid-tier" dealing job which usually includes a better environment and much better pay. The better pay, of course, coming from tips (since just about every dealer in town makes around minimum wage base pay). The bad news is that when first starting this mid-tier job, almost everyone needs to go through a part-time "extra-board" period before becoming full-time. This is my current situation. While on extra-board (probably around 9 months), I am usually only scheduled 2 or 3 days a week at the most, and they can basically send me home on a whim, whenever they feel like it, even after a couple of hours if things are really dead.

Well, whoever is the power to be at this point (I have no idea who's really calling the shots) has decided that every single extra-board dealer will get NO hours next week on the schedule, and there's even some contradictory information floating around that we may even be banned from picking up shifts from full-time dealers who want to give them up. Bottom-line business I guess. What this does though is it puts me in a quandary, which as I see it, forces me to choose between the following scenerios:

1. The most obvious choice would be to, once again, pick up all of my belongings, move to Italy, and live in peace and harmony under the sea with those Italian divers mentioned in the story above.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=oa8t-vVKUmk

2. Sit this storm out until better days hopefully appear. I have to think that once the weather gets cooler and football season gets in full gear, the business in the casino will pick up a bit and they'll throw us 2 or 3 shifts per week again, which in my situation is enough to live on. I do have rainy day money, but I get very agitated when my weekly expenses start eclipsing my income.

3. Find another part-time job. I doubt if I'd want to find a non-dealing job since that is the reason I moved to Vegas in the first place. However, finding another dealer job part-time is tricky. I would most likely be taking a step down, since many upper tier casinos force you to work ONLY for them with no other dealing jobs, or I would have to work "part-time" for them, such as O'Sheas on the Strip, who advertise the job as part-time but still work you 5 or 6 days a week (it's a benefits thing that gets confusing). What I would need is another part-time job like the one I have now, getting 2 or 3 days a week to suppliment the lousy hours at my current place AND who would be flexible in scheduling me around my other job.

4. Quit and find another job. Like I mentioned, there are jobs out there. For example, Imperial Palace is looking for a couple of dealers, and they even advertise it as starting "full-time". The problem with that scenerio is that I would most likely be taking a pay cut compared to what full-timers make at my current place, and it still seems worthwhile to wait it out for better money here, even if it still is months away! I have four months of seniority right now, and it would be a shame to give it up for a lower paying job elsewhere.

5. And finally, the option that I seem to be leaning toward right now. TEMP! There is a dealer's temp agency in town that supplies dealers to casinos that need them on short notice. Check out their info. at http://www.dealersemploymentagency.com/dealers.htm. There are a couple reasons why this appeals to me. I would be more in charge of deciding how many shifts per week I'd work and also where. If they wanted me to work on the extreme other side of town on a night when I actually do have regular moonlight shift scheduled, I could kindly say "no thanks." The other big reason is that it would allow me to get out to many different casinos and actually see what it's like out there. My current place, and Nevada Palace which was my break-in joint, are both locals casinos for the most part, and temping may introduce me to a wide array of places, some being mostly tourist spots with much different clientele. I would also be committed to nothing, not having to apply or audition at these places. I could possibly find out that there is greener pasture on the other side of a hill that I'm not even aware of yet.

We'll see. There's still a lot that I don't understand about the temping option, but it may be worth looking into. Until then, I guess it's back to peanut butter and jelly for me for a while.

Grand Opening!

Have you ever wondered why stores have "Grand Openings" days, if not months, after actually opening their establishment. Oh well, after creating this blog 6 days ago, I consider this post to be the grand opening of Flying Winnebago! Welcome!

I still haven't had the patience to fully explore this site yet, so I'm sure there's a whole bunch of crap that I could be doing with my blog that I'm still unaware of at the moment. In fact, the whole template is simply one of the several default settings that I had to choose from, but to be honest, I think it looks rather nice. However, I couldn't select my favorite as it looked too much like my roommate's blog, which would have appeared sad and pathetic on my part!

For those of you who aren't in the know, the title refers to two things: a famous quote from the great movie "This is Spinal Tap" and the fact that while dealing craps at the local casino, I must refer to the number 11 as "yo". The web address is derived from another classic cult hit, Spaceballs.

I'm still completely cautious in my optimism about this blog. I figure there may be three distinct groups of followers who could benefit/be entertained by this. The first would be all of my friends/family, most of whom live back in Ohio or interspersed at various places of higher education throughout the nation. The second would be the participants of the Travel2Vegas message board, in which I post as Falcon_Rob. The third may be random readers who just happen upon it by chance, thus insuring the possibility of weird lurking stalkers in my future. Whatever your reasons for visiting this site, I truly hope you enjoy it and return often. As I mentioned on T2V, I dont' think setting the goal of at LEAST 2 or 3 posts per week is too lofty.

So what can you expect? I think that I'll probably try to go about 50/50 in my posts, with half of them being simple and entertaining pictures and/or vidoes such as those that have already been posted. The other half could be whatever is on my mind during that particular day. I doubt if I'd be able to match the eloquence and content associated with my roommate's blog (who posts on T2V as Hurricane Mikey), but that should not be expected as, in many respects, we are two very different individuals! In case you are unware of his blog though, please feel free to check it out at hurricanemikey.blogspot.com. One aspect of Mikey's blog that I think I will follow will be the absence, for the most part, of posts heavy on politics or religion.

For those of you who are not in group #1 and do not know my life story, let's see if I can narrow it down to, say, five bullet points:

1. I was born and raised in Ohio
2. I've attended three different universities, spending three years at THE Ohio State University and eventually graduating from both Bowling Green State University and James Madison University in Virginia
3. I've only spent two stints outside of Ohio, the two years while in graduate school in Virginia and my current adventure in America's Playground, NV.
4. I spent five years behind a desk at Bowling Green before almost going "Office Space" on everyone and making the move to the Vegas area.
5. I'm currently working at a casino in the Vegas area as a craps/blackjack dealer, which I suspect will be the subject matter of many of my posts.

So thanks for visiting and come back soon. I don't see this blog as a "personal diary", so I doubt if I would have much motivitation to continue without visitors.

Schadenfreude

schadenfreude \SHOD-n-froy-duh\, noun: A malicious satisfaction obtained from the misfortunes of others.


It only took a day for some priceless youtube videos to appear regarding the miracle in the Big House yesterday!

http://youtube.com/watch?v=MOBjdka9uEw&mode=related&search=

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0jePmKPEM0&NR=1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0SnAj5rtwag&NR=1

This next one had me rolling on the floor. It was probably my state of mind at the moment, but this gives us a pretty clear impression of the school that brought down the Wolverines yesterday!

http://youtube.com/watch?v=syweVqeYyJM&mode=related&search=

An even better one from Beaver Stadium!

http://youtube.com/watch?v=R2U15C5Dhdc

Having fun with DVR

College Football Overstimulation!!!