The best day in Vegas was Friday by far. The weather was to die for and we walked to the strip so I could see what this whole Vegas thing is about. Outside of the strip, Vegas is like a giant strip mall with cacti and palm trees. All the roads are 6 or 8 lanes across. The people drive like maniacs. Men in cars honk at you constantly when you walk down the street, it was very strange. Not if you are with a guy though. I had 5 people actually whistle at me out of their cars and on the street.
Yes, this whistle

The ridiculous size of Las Vegas struck me as we walked past the Convention Centre. It’s was massive. We then took the monorail to the Mandalay Bay/Luxor side of the strip. I kept on singing the Monorail song from The Simpsons.

We decided to hit up Luxor for some free drinks. The drinks were cheap and not really free. You had to be gambling, so Marija and I sat ourselves down at some penny slots. I actually was winning, I put in 2 bucks thinking I’ll get a drink and then jet. Lady Luck was on my side and I ended up walking away with 10 bucks.

We continued down the strip. The one thing I love about Vegas is drinking on the street. Marija and I drank large bottles of Red Stripe walking back to her place earlier. I hit sensory overload pretty quickly and some hotels we didn’t even visit like the MGM Grand (which is extremely tacky with that giant gold lion out front).

We ran into a Michael Jackson impersonator at the Bellagio fountains, only in Vegas. The Venetian is crazy, it’s like daylight in there. The canal was so cool and we chatted up the dude that was singing and driving the boat. It’s also where I got my new Adidas kicks. I couldn’t goto Vegas without getting a souvenir. I cut the tags off put my gladiators in a bag and walked out the door. They got lots of compliments. So boo to ye of little taste who gave them a thumbs down.

We continued along the strip and looked at flashing lights.

The night ended off at a bar called Aruba. In Aruba this is a back room called Club Aruba where all kinds of people showed up in fairy costume. There were girls getting body painted. A really great band that played funk and soul got everyone in the place moving. When the band stopped a drum circle started (ya, I know, a fucking drum circle). Percussion instruments were handed to people and they joined in while dancing. Only in Vegas. It got a little wiccan when the Tree God started dancing in the middle of the circle. The best thing of the night was the Unicorn Girl. I love you Unicorn Girl.

Some personal observations I made on this trip:

1. American men think the Canadian accent is sexy or they think it’s strange with about and out and all that.
2. American men are amazed at how hot Canadian girls are.
3. American men aren’t afraid to talk me, even with the worst “don’t fuck with me” scowl on.
4. Most American men have a connection to the military somehow. It seems that everyone we met were ex-military.
5. There are a lot of overweight people in America.
6. The short Mexicans handing out prostitute flyers are creepy.
7. I think people who take their kids to Vegas have some issues.
8. The tart look is very big in Vegas. The tourist look is second.
9. Even if you are old and busted as long as you got those 36FFs you are the perfect waitress.
10. I saw no panhandlers on the strip.
11. Toronto is like the haven of recycling and environmentalism compared to Vegas. The waste was unbearable.
12. Food portions are much, much to big for me.
13. Buffets rule the roost in Vegas.
14. Crazy shit happens in Vegas.
15. I won’t stand in line to attend a club that Paris Hilton frequents.

I’m feeling indifferent to Las Vegas and I’m not sure I would go back. The strip at night is unbearable with people and I was very frustrated. Anyone who has ever walked with me will be laughing at this comment. I felt this lingering malaise hanging over the place; maybe most people don’t notice it. I had a fantastically, strange and surreal time. It was a blast to visit my friend Marija the biologist /world traveller and party like it was ‘94 again.

Talkr.com is a little strange. Listen to the automated voice read this post.

I have a small group of readers that comment regularly and they are very near and dear to my heart. Yesterday at L’Oreal Fashion Week I met Coogi2G. I was sitting in the runway room and this cute boy, dressed very well I might add, taps me on the shoulder and asks, “Are you geekigirl?” In the rare instances I’m approached by people on the street about the blog, that is usually the first words out of their mouths. I kinda like being called geekigirl by someone other than myself and aloud, lol. So, I said yes and Coogi2G started gushing about the blog, which always makes me feel a little self-conscious. I’m always amazed that people read this damn thing and like it even. I did turn his gushing around directed it right back at him. Comments are special things and they mean a lot when it’s not spam. Coogi2G, thanks for reading my blog, I’m honoured that you check it multiple times a day and that you take the time to comment. Words can’t express my appreciation.

I have a tip for you, 80% of the time I don’t usually update after 2pm. I have a scheduler and I have them set to publish in during the morning hours.

I have one more day to write about. Can you tell I’m in total denial and if I don’t write this post it’s like I never left B.C.? I wish the 25cm we are suppose to get fell last week in B.C. while I was there. Sigh

Sigh, I will get it up as Saturday was the best day.

I talked about White Out conditions on Day 3. Those conditions were a joke compared to Friday’s outing. Friday we did Fresh Tracks which is breakfast at the Roundhouse Lodge on Whistler and first access to the mountain before opening to the public. It was snowing so we were looking for a good time. It was puking snow on the mountain all day. The freeze line was kinda high so at one point we were skiing in rain. It was awful returning to the freeze line because then you’d get cold again.

The peak was insane. 60 - 80 km/hr winds and absolutely zero visibility. I wanted to take a picture of what I saw but it would be the same as posting an image of a white square. All you saw was white, there was no way to determine which way was up or down. Gravity sometimes helped and other times the winds were pushing you so much you just prayed there was no cliffs around to fall off of. There was a reason why the Experts light was flashing at the bottom of the Peak Express chair.

Eric and I are crazy. We hit the peak 4 or 5 times that day. Each time the weather got more and more extreme. The liftie must have been wondering about us, because we were some of the few people repeating their trips to the peak. We skied West Bowl in the mess and couldn’t see a damn thing. The snow was great there though. We also tried looking for Bagel Bowl but it was impossible. My hands were getting cold and my will to take this punishment was waning. So finally I said, I can’t do this peak shit anymore. Eric replies, Okay lets got up to peak (the lift line was zero) and hit Harmony chair. Stupid me said Okay. The route to get to Harmony from the peak of Whistler was disgusting. There were drifts everywhere so you would get stuck. The wind was so cold and I was screaming my head off the whole time. I couldn’t see Eric at all and when we did find each other, we said forget Harmony and lets get the hell out of here. The peak was the bane of my existence and I was done with the mountain. Nothing sucks the will to ski from me, but this storm had won. Snow or no snow. It’s a good thing we didn’t goto Harmony chair because they had closed it. We were the last people on peak too because they closed it also. That’s mountain weather for you.

I’m sure you are wondering about some of these runs I’ve taken so here is a link to a pdf mountain map and an interactive map. I’ll do a list of all my runs in the Day 6 post.

I could write a long post about how amazing it was today, but I won’t because I’m tired and I have other posts to write. Today was the hardest day of skiing so far. In addition to the powder to deal with, we did a lot of bump skiing today. I was complaining at how I’m not a good bump skier so it was practice, practice, practice today. I wonder how long my legs will last.

I will say that Blackcomb Glacier was stupid fun today. The little pathway past the double black diamond run BlowHole that opens up the rest of the glacier to advanced and intermediate skiers was so sketchy. It was snowing and visibility was pretty low. It was sketchier yesterday in the bright sun. There was a man in front of me and you could tell he was having a problem with the height. He was grabbing at the snow wall and crouching as he walked. I kept a good distance from this guy. Yesterday, I was a bit nervous about the pathway but today it was all good. I took a good look a BlowHole and I’m going to take it tomorrow. It will be my first double black diamond run. Wish me luck. We tried to hit the glacier again but it was closed by the time we go out of it and back to the Excelerator chair.

I also did a lot of gladed skiing today which was fantastic. Gladed skiing is through the trees and it can be quite hairy. There is no place for wrong choices because you end up getting to know a tree really well. There was one run called Arthur’s Choice that was so crazy. Some turns would result in a foot drop in vertical. It was really beautiful in there with the trees covered in moss and the fog building as you wander down. Of course my camera died by this point and I didn’t get any pictures. Please enjoy the ones I have posted though.

Snow is coming Friday and Saturday. I only planned to ski 5 days, but I don’t think I’m gonna pass on Saturday if the snow continues. This week has been incredible, the mountains are completely dead.

Isn’t windburn sexy!

Today was the first day on the mountain and it was spectacular. My friend Eric and I spent the day on Blackcomb and it was completely dead. Lift lines were non-existent and you had free run of the place. We did Blackcomb glacier once and stuck to runs around the Excalibur, 7th Heaven, SolarExpress and Glacier lifts.

I am within walking distance to the mountain, this mornings trek was like a death march. I have new boots that aren’t quite broken in yet. My feet hurt and continued throughout the morning. By the end of the day though, they were all good.

I’m liking the K2 One Luv skis too. They are pretty fast but controllable.

I’m kicking myself for not bringing my camera today because I saw lots of interesting ski wear out and about. Oh well, tomorrow.

It’s been a crazy hectic week. I’ve been planning my vacation in Whistler (I am writing this from there now on my new Asus eee pc) and getting work commitments done.

However, since I’m now mobile you’ll get all the updates on my vacation in real time instead of a week later. It’s 1pm westcoast time and it’s messing with my head a bit. I still have a full day to do stuff.

The World Cup is happening on the mountain so there will be no skiing today as it’s quite busy. I’m hoping for a big dumping of snow while I’m here.

Look for more pictures during the week. Hopefully I’ll be able to get some ski style shots while I’m out here, but I don’t expect much.

Specifically Scary and Baby in Holt Renfrew. I’m so not excited about celebs, so I didn’t stalk them like most people. There were a group of crazy people following them and a group camping outside the front doors, ridiculous.

Well, they were both shorter than me and very cute actually. Scary looked really good. And they had their two babies with them. Scary’s baby is very cute, Emma’s not so much.

My little blog has been nominated for a Trendora.com Lifestyle Award, yay! Here’s the email.

We are happy to inform you that one of your readers have nominated your site for the Trendora Lifestyle Award 2008.
The nomination was sent through our nomination page found at: http://www.trendora.com/lifestyle.aspx

What is Lifestyle Award 2008?
Trendora Lifestyle Award is our way of recognizing the top 100 Fashion/Lifestyle sites and blogs on the web. It’s our way of thanking you for an exceptional contribution to a world more stylish, glamorous and chic.

Who are we?
Trendora.com is THE place to find a unique selection of authentic “it” bags, shoes and accessories by the greatest designers. Our products are released the same moment as the flagship stores in Milan and Paris present their latest collections. Trendora.com is the place to ease your fashion-desires, seek inspiration and get the sweet taste of glamour!

What happens next?
The Trendora Lifestyle Team will soon announce the winners. We will get back to you if you are awarded the 2008 Trendora Lifestyle award. This would qualify your site for a post on the website, and sometimes even highlighted in our newsletter and on our homepage. You can also show your success by using our award graphics on your website if you so desire. Several lifestyle reading winners were also selected as partners for campaigns & exclusive giveaways to their readers during 2007.

Keep your fingers crossed and keep up the great work!

Best regards,

Per Liljefors, Trendora Awards Program.

Thank you anonymous fan that nominated me

Totally off topic, but Cute Overload is the best and I always makes me feel better after viewing its cute animal goodness.

Cute Overload!

So what will happen with I want - I got in 2008. Frankly, I haven’t thought about it. I have two goals, update my friend links and write more. That’s about all for now.

Last year my goal was to up my presence (whatever that means) and I think I accomplished that. Traffic was increasing steadily month by month. I still have to do some stat digging to see where the increase came from.

I’ve never posted my stats before, but it’s not really a secret anyway. Click the image to get a bigger version. The green line is from 2006. It’s flat until about May because that is when I got my Google Analytics account. The blue is 2007. I had a few crazy blips of traffic thanks to my Lululemon warehouse post and Boxing Day. They are pretty visible in the graph. I wish webstats could give me an age range too. I have no idea about the age demographic for I want - I got. After seeing the way things went down in the Boxing Day at Artizia post, I wonder.

I have also noticed a growing number of returning visitors. I love you guys, thanks so much. This blog really is a labour of love and I’m not making money off it as of yet. I have no idea if or when that will happen. The hosting is paid for till November so I’m not worried.