I'm Back

I'm back from my reunion in Vegas, and I'm very, VERY tired. I didn't go to bed at all on Saturday night thanks to a rocking afterparty in a penthouse suite, and Sunday I spent all day going back and forth from the airport after a number of cancellations and delays left me and all of my friends stranded in Vegas (not a terrible place to be stranded, I might add). When I was finally confirmed on a flight, I arrived at the airport two hours early to be sure not to miss it and I was so tired from not having gone to bed the night before that I passed out at the gate and didn't wake up until the jetway door had already been shut. The agent had called my name over the loudspeaker five times, and was 10 seconds away from giving my seat to a standby passenger. HUGE PHEW. Spent yesterday recovering from the red-eye.

Financial summary of the weekend: not too bad! I had been OK with taking about $500 to play with (and probably lose), but in reality I was too busy catching up with old classmates to gamble, and my hour and a half at the craps table only cost me $75. Highlights include our reunion dinner at the Venetian, Cirque du Soleil Mystere at Treasure Island, and clubbing at Jet/after party at the Mirage. My only other expenses were taxis ($30-$40 total- those multiple trips to the airport added up! Luckily it's right off the strip and I was able to share rides), breakfast/lunch ($30 or so, because I forgot to eat on Sunday morning) and drinks (holy cow- almost $100 and I only bought one round!!). Drinks were uber expensive, and I'm used to NYC prices! $16 for red bull and vodka, and $6 for just plain soda water in a glass, out of the fountain sprayer! I was alternating alcoholic drinks with plain soda water, both to make it through the night without falling over, and to stick to my less-alcohol diet. I thought that would make my bar tab cheaper, but it was only marginally less.

All in all, I had a very fun time, even though I'm still extremely exhausted.

On another note, I just noticed today that airlines are having some price wars to multiple destinations, and the Virgin America flight I recently bought from San Fran to NYC for a wedding this fall is $70 cheaper :( Jet Blue will sometimes refund you via a flight credit if the price of your flight goes down within a certain period of time, so I called VA this morning and they said that they do not have any price guarantees, and cannot offer me flight credit for the $70. Oh well, I guess I timed that poorly (stupid sales!). I had watched the price go all the way up to $260, so when it came back down to $220, I wanted to act before prices went up again. Now it's offered for $150. BUMMER! Oh well, that's what I get for planning ahead. I just love myself a good flight sale, and it makes me sad when I miss them.

Flights to keep an eye on: NYC to RIC for a wedding in October; some flights currently being sold for $59 right now... if only I knew exactly when I need to be there for MOH duties, otherwise I'll pay even more to change my flight later.