Vegas

Just returned from a trip to NYC and then Las Vegas for work.  A few thoughts on the week…

1.  It felt great to return to New York, not as a resident but as a visitor.  I missed the energy, the food, the diversity, the history, the friends and family.  But while the place will forever be a special place to me, we get along much better when we don’t live together.  

2.  Las Vegas.  I guess it’s important to have a place of unabashed indulgence and materialism.  It’s a part of life, so why not let it exist in one place, in the middle of the desert in Nevada.  And I guess this is how the city planners and hotel management intend it, but I honestly felt like I was in another world the whole time.  I felt completely disconnected from reality.  I couldn’t get a newspaper in the hotel and the news channel on TV was hidden after 30 stations of Vegas radio.  But if the stories I heard while there are any indication, Vegas is not recession proof.  There are numerous developments being scaled back or canceled altogether.  One of the employees at my hotel told be about a group of investors that bought a hotel, demolished it, and then ran out of funding to build their new resort.  And all the taxi drivers were complaining about a drop in tourists. But with all the bad news going around, nobody seemed to care in the casinos.   The juxtaposition between Obama’s national speech on the recession and people dropping thousands at craps tables was pretty fascinating.  

3.  But if tourism is waning, the healthcare industry appears to be strong.  I was attending a conference for the AAOS (American Association of Orthopedic Surgeons) and there were plenty of companies shelling out upwards of $100k for a booth exhibiting their technology for a few hundred orthopedic surgeons.   

4.  Marathon training is going well.  Fundraising is not.  It’s probably not the best time to be asking people for donations.  But I’m pretty short on my goal.  Nonetheless, the training is on track.  I ran 16 last weekend and 14 on Sunday.  Running in an upstate NY winters is cruel, but it should make race day in Nashville that much easier.  Right? 

5. Podcasts are made for marathon training.  They really help pass the time.  This American Life and Planet Money have really gotten me through miles 10-16 with a much needed distraction.  They also make me realize how unnecessary live radio and TV are.  Sure, there will always be a need for live news and entertainment, but the majority of programming serves better on-demand.  

6.   My mom’s dog, which came to the family 7 years ago left on Tuesday after suffering a stroke.  All that dog ever wanted was affection and food.  I think Rachel married me as much for access to my mom’s golden retrievers as anything.  Here’s a picture of her with Cougar on one of their early visits.  R.I.P. Cougar

Cougar

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