Diva Las Vegas Baby

So, we walked outside last night and it was SNOWING!! Not fat flakes or anything; it was a flurry of small, wet snow, but it was definitely snow, folks. In the desert. I just didn't know. It didn't last very long, or rather, we caught the very end of the snowfall. Our white Christmas came a little early this year. In more bizarre news: I knew our world has changed when I took a moment to appreciate the fact that at nearly midnight, my fiance and I, having skipped dinner and starving, were selecting our supper in the FROZEN section of the 24 hour grocery store near the house. I even selected a Smokey Robinson Soul Bowl (red beans & rice). Thank Heavens TV dinners have become more sophisticated, and palatable I might add, than when I was a kid. Why my brother and I thought eating dinners caked in ice and shaped in little compartments was cool, I don't know - probably because it was a novelty that we didn't experience often (and when you're seven, lots of th

The hook-ups continue as the company received complimentary tix to "Phantom of The Opera". However, here's the catch: the production here in Vegas is only 90 MINUTES long (give or take five minutes). Most shows out here don't run past 90 minutes, so that they can squeeze in multiple performances in a night and make those dollars back. I'd never seen the show and didn't really know the music (a couple of tunes were slightly familiar, probably from the commercial). I don't know what we missed in those 90 minutes, and I do have to admit that some of the plot developments seemed fuzzy, or at least condensed, but overall, we enjoyed the show, and my fiance doesn't even really like musicals, so that says something. Not a bad recommendation for those who can't imagine sitting through much more than 90 operatic minutes. Before the show, we were trying to figure out how they can possibly squeeze a three-hour show into half the time - someone joked tha

I learned this weekend that it takes 75 whole years for a cactus to begin to bud an arm. Which means that the standard two-armed cactus image most of us picture when we think "cactus" (and we think "cactus" at least three times a day - or at least you do NOW, heh, heh) is one of an ANCIENT cactus, at least ancient in human years. The cactus pictured is 170 years old. I also learned that many cacti are becoming endangered because people steal them (?). You've got to be hard up to go and steal a cactus, an ancient cactus at that. How in the world do you get around the prickles? Seems like the scratches would be a dead give-away if you were ever caught. "Oh, I was just out wrastling with the neighbor's cat." "Uh, rough morning shaving...my back." Apparently, the ancient cacti command quite a price, and having a cactus in your yard is a status symbol. So, I now own a cactus, named Fred. He is only six inches tall, but with tender love a

I miss NYC! I really do. I am enjoying the novelty of Vegas life, but there is a part of me that is just craving New York City. It isn't even so much a craving as a deep appreciation for my hometown, a warmth in the pit of my heart for the Big Apple. It's the cross-country distance that gives a new perspective from which to admire all that New York offers. For one thing, I miss being able to do the simplest things without having to make any preparations - grab a bite, get some stamps, pick up a book, and all on the way to work. There's no real planning in that - "What did you do today?" "Oh, I just went to work." "What's in the bag?" "Oh, some left-over Thai, some stamps, and the latest Haruki Murakami book." It's no biggie, there's no pomp and circumstance, you didn't write it down in your planner, it's all in a day's work in New York. Whereas here, and maybe it's exacerbated because I don't ha

Thanks to another generous hook-up, the company was given free tix to the Billboard Awards. Very cool. The show itself wasn't a knockout, but just to be there was exciting. We didn't see any music stars up close or anything like that, we were sitting way up in the balcony, couldn't really make out any faces without looking at the projection screens. But still, you could feel the energy. Janet Jackson opened up and I do love watching her perform, but she was wearing this wig that I just found so distracting because it just didn't flatter her looks or her choreography. It was so weird, because she is usually seamless when it comes to her physical presentation - okay, perhaps "seamless" isn't the right word to back up my point, given her past costume malfunction (talk about seamless). Aw, I still like Janet. And Gwen Stefani also performed, and I like her too - can't say I've been wowed by her solo efforts, but I still support her because I li

Hooters Casino and Hotel : Taking ENLARGEMENT to a whole new level, Hooters has BUST out with its own casino and hotel right off the strip. Every night, we drive by it, and it never ceases to amaze me. But then again, this IS Vegas. Smokey Robinson's Red Beans and Rice : Shopping at the grocery store, I was taken aback to see, stacked between the Lean Cuisines and South Beach Diet Frozen Dinners, Smokey Robinson's Red Beans and Rice Dinner Bowl. I didn't even know that Smokey had expanded into food products. But then again, if I can get used to seeing Paul Newman's face every time I go for some lemonade in my fridge, I can surely stand to see Smokey in my freezer. Smokey Robinson's Foods James Bond's Birth Year : Met up with my cousin and saw Casino Royale, which I enjoyed. I still cannot believe that the new Bond, Daniel Craig, and I are the same age, he seems a bit older - not old, mind you, but more seasoned than late 30's. Or perhaps, I am just in

We saw our first Vegas show, thanks to a generous, inside crew hook-up. Le Reve ("the dream" in French) - I knew my French would come in handy in Las Vegas (?) - is a gorgeous show of flying, twirling, and diving gymnasts/swimmers and the set is completely submerged in a pool of water. The costumes conjure up fantastical creatures and characters, and it is like living in a wacked-out dream. I was completely impressed with the acrobatics and strength of the performers, who also exhibited gorgeous grace. Made all of us want to run to the gym; Le Reve brings a whole new meaning to the word "fitness." There were even doves in the show, which made the show all the more ethereal. All in all, DREAMY!

Okay, there is a Freeze Warning out here in Las Vegas, in effect until tomorrow morning. I've never even heard of a freeze warning, and I'm a northeasterner. And I think the warning is a little late, because it is FREEZING right now. I just looked at the current temperature and it says 35 degrees but the chill factor makes it feel like 29 degrees. Meanwhile, I look up New York's weather and it says currently 59 degrees, more than 20 degrees warmer. What is that about?!?! More reason to look forward to Christmas in NY - the warm weather.

My fiance and I were running errands, which took us through the mall area in the Alladin Resort and Casino - the Alladin has an Arabian desert theme, and the mall is called the Desert Passage. Inside is a maze of stores and vendor stands - all of it complete eye candy. I found the walk actually comforting because it brought back a flavor of NY - albeit the completely overpriced and gaudy flavor - but I'll take what I can get. So, in the middle of this maze of shopping euphoria stands a pond - typical tourist fare with coins in the bottom. But I see that not only are people taking pictures, but they are also just standing around waiting. "For what?" I wonder to myself. I notice that there is a schedule - it is a Rainstorm Schedule, and the rainstorm happens every hour on the hour. Well wouldn't you know, it is 8:00 on the dot. I look up and notice that we have been sheltered all along by a nebulous, sky-blue landscape painted on the ceiling, to give that "outdoor

I love that the glitz permeates everything out here - including good ol' mainstay, McDonald's. Let's hope their fries stand up! Speaking of which, I finally found some decent fries at a place called Wing Stop - because I KNOW that was everyone's main concern about me living here! (see "Do Fries Come With That...Never Mind." 11/2/06). So, my fiance arrived safely and we are having a good time adjusting to life out in the desert. The weather is particularly gorgeous today and keeps us on our toes, because the winter chill does rear its nippy head every few days or so. We've completed our first week of learning new material and I am very excited. The new material is FUNKY!! We are using old props that have been taken out of the show years ago, but we are playing new music with them. It's good to be learning again. A lot of work, mentally and physically, and I have the blood blister to prove it - no joke! In the mornings, I am still training the new perfo

Well folks, feels like I've completed strapping myself in for the rollercoaster ride that is "my year in Vegas," and we are now making the initial climb towards that first stomach-wrenching and simultaneously thrilling drop that will be the show. I have finished training the new performers; the director is in town and he spent all day yesterday working them out, evaluating where they are and how we did in training, and overall, I think it was a good day. He seemed genuinely pleased. I may actually be supervising the new performers in the mornings after he leaves, while the veteran performers are learning new material, which would give me afternoons to catch up. But I am a quick learner, so I'm not worried. Tomorrow, I begin learning NEW material! Back to square one (sort of). The love of my life arrives tonight, and I am sure that it will really start to feel like a home once he gets here. Other familiar faces have arrived, and that adds a layer of comfort that I wa

For the record, I do not enjoy exercising. I didn't grow up "exercising" in the sense of purposely keeping in shape; I danced, and that kept me in shape without my having to think about it, because I was just having so much fun. But, strapping my legs in some giant contraption and proceeding to have them swung apart to and fro, causing tiny sweat beads to drip from my nose, hardly has the same appeal as doing, oh, I don't know, double pirouettes in ballet class. Or having a root canal for that matter. I couldn't help but look at myself in the mirror today (an old dance class habit) as I was attempting to master the "weight loss" cycle of the "arc trainer" machine, and I looked absolutely ridiculous! And I couldn't imagine what part of my body was losing weight with my legs swinging like that. Okay, when I managed to hop off the machine, my legs did feel like I'd been up some stairs, a bit. But still, is this what I have to look forward

Well, last weekend I met up with my cousin who has been living here in Vegas for six years now (time flies!). We had a great time, she is such a cool woman. Growing up, we've only seen each other previously on three occasions, and the last time I saw her, she was a high-schooler (I'm 14 years her senior). Now she's an adult, and she is just really cool! It will be nice to reconnect and to have family in the area. She seems to have a free-spirit, which makes me nostalgic for my college/early post-college days, when everything seemed possible. That was such a great time in life and a great perspective from which to enter the "real" world, and who says we can't keep that perspective as we get older?! Vegas is a whole new world to me, and with the new comes a host of possibility, right? Amen! So, my cousin took me to see Red Rock Canyon, and yes, ladies and gentlemen (all three of you who are bothering to read this blog!) this is what I am talking about.

I made my first trip to the Target store EVER, here in Vegas the other day, and it was HEAVEN. I love Target! I'd even done a commercial for Target years ago, not knowing firsthand the beauty that is Target. I guess the closest thing we have in NYC would be Kmart, which is nice, but this was like super bargain stimulation. And I hear this particular Target wasn't even a "Super Store," which is just too much for my mind to wrap around, because it looked like it had everything I'd want. For our production manager, the absence of Target in my life history was more a marker for being a native New Yorker than the phenomenon of us non-driving New Yorkers. Forget hitting the casinos! Hit the Target!

This is the view from the parking lot of the rehearsal studio. I think it may be kismet.

So, I'm leaving my apartment to go to dinner the other day when I am greeted by an older gentleman walking the halls, wearing a suit and tie. Immediately my NY radar turns on, and I manage to remain cordial, but brief and alert, in responding to his questions: "How are you?" "Fine." "Are you new here?" "Mm-hmm." etc. Of course, it is exactly when he is right in front of my apartment that my top lock starts to stick and I can't get the key to lock it. He asks if I need help, I tell him no - immediately my mind is flushed with images of "missing women" flyers, and crime scenes, and I hear that generic, inner, adult voice that keeps you from doing stupid things, telling me that I don't know this man, don't let him get too close to me. Somehow, in my momentary panic, I manage to get the door to lock. Which is a good thing, because then the gentleman, who I see from his jacket is a security guard, whispers to ask, like h

How hard would you think it is to make a decent french fry? Well, okay, I have failed at some attempts in my own kitchen, but I chalk that up to lack of proper cookware, not to my culinary instincts, of which I have many. But I have to say, if you are looking for some tasty fries, then Vegas is not your place. Even if you were starving in the desert, which you could be since we are in Nevada, I wouldn't recommend the fries out here. Let me back up and say that I am talking about fast food french fries (maybe the fries at, say, the Bellagio, are out of this world, julienned and oven-roasted by the next Top Chef runner-up). But fast food fries are the ones you WANT to be good. I mean, it's fast food for cryin' out loud! Grease it up, yum! These fries we had were so dry, and they weren't the sunny, crispy golden yellow you associate with piping hot, salty, deep fry goodness. They were paper-bag-brown. It was like eating stale, fried Crisco sticks (as opposed to F

Not that I've ever been to Kansas - wait, maybe I have been, in a dream, and there was a tornado and my dog, Waffles, was there, and you were there too, and... ahem. I am now in Las Vegas, Sin City, City of Lights, "The Meadows". As my plane slowly made its descent, I looked out my window to the right and all I could see was rock and clay and mud and dirt, expansive, with tiny nooks and crannies (mmm, makes me think of English Muffins - the nooks and crannies, that is). And it made my stomach tighten, just a bit - I am in a completely new place. I love flying into NYC, there's nothing like it. New York is bold and breathtaking with all its lights, showing off like the queen of the prom, promising something exciting, welcoming me home. But the dry landscape of Nevada didn't conjure up anything familiar, and perhaps that is the point. To go outside the box of comfort into the unfamiliar. Or maybe I was just on the wrong side of the plane. Maybe the other si

Well, pretty soon I'll be moving to Las Vegas. Who leaves NY and moves to Las Vegas? Apparently, I do. Anyway, I've decided to use this opportunity to keep the writing muscles oiled, and keep folks updated (and hopefully entertained) as I embark on this newest chapter of my life! And that's all she wrote, for now (way to oil those writing muscles!). Good night!