Las Vegas, 9/9 - 9/12

Great-Grandma: So, what do you think of Las Vegas, Alison?
Me: It's hot.

And it was. I'm talking walk-a-mile-in-the-dry-heat hot. Dry heat? I was sweaty.
I did, however, get a chance to experiment with public transportation in Las Vegas. Let's just say it was less than superb, which is why I had to walk aforementioned mile. Twice. Once to the Elvis-a-Rama museum that was CLOSED when I got there. How the King could do such a thing to me, a devoted fan, will elude me forever. (The sticker-laden crosswalk signal merely added insult to injury on the way home.) Then again on the way back from visiting my great-grandmother. In a skirt. While people drove by in cars and whistled. It was good "I don't blend" preparation.
At least I got to cement my theory that New York surpasses all other cities on the merits of its public transportation system. Oh, the subway. How I will miss you.
Other than transportation-related surprises, I enjoyed experiencing my friend Pete's new haircut live and in person, being assured that I was "a good woman" by a particularly gregarious cab driver (knowhatimean?), elucidating the finer points of Justin Timberlake's sophomore album (obviously, some people are just jealous because they had totally given up on sexy), and noting the herd mentality that seems to prevail in the social structure of vegas (really, everyone dresses just like their friends when they're out there...it's freaky).
And, of course, there was the poetry. That took up a lot of time.
Got to visit my great-grandma, who's doing well and is not the least bit worried that I'll have to take cold showers. Thank goodness for some I-grew-up-on-a-farm-on-Long-Island common sense. It's about time. Oh, and I was happy to note that assisted living is freakishly similar to college - wine at lunch, football parties, people gossiping about who fell down yesterday... Let's just say it doesn't sound all that bad to me.