A Week In the Life of Ro

it's 11:55am on a saturday morning....ugh....why am i up this early???....(and yes this is WAAAY early for me on a saturday)....well i'll tell you in due time....

first let's start with sunday.....driving to vegas with amanda and delise.....road trip was good.....amanda just sat in the back seat playing yahzee, i was the dj playing tunes on delise's ipod....and delise serenaded us while she drove....it was a great trip all in all except for the weather.....it was a bit cloudy....rained on the way down.....and the sun didn't come out until it was time to go home....so that sucked.....

when we got to vegas, we checked into our room at the MGM Grand.....it was nice....standard room.....funny thing was they told us it was a "strip view" room.....we got into the room, i guess they meant AIR strip view cos i swear to gawd, i could lay in bed and watch the planes line up at the airport for take off....but still nice all in all....good size bathroom, comfy beds, great housekeeping staff....

after relaxing, doing a gas run and a chaser-snack run, and learning the new color "purkle"....we decided to get something to eat....delise called her friend fernie, and we met up at Margaritaville (or as amanda calls it "MardiGrasVille")....i've never rode the monorail, so we took the monorail down....we had a good dinner....but the service was waaaaay slow.....AND they didn't give us balloon hats.....they gave everyone around us hats, but not us.....jerks....then we headed back to the hotel.....

there we played Kings and has a great time....i laughed soooo much....and i was plastered but not drunk drunk....amanda and i got to know fernie really well and vice versa....i can totally see why delise admires him so....he's a good guy....

then we went to sleep like at 3am.....and then i had a rude awakening from the alarm clock that went off at 5:30am which must have been set by the previous guest.....and then about a half hour after that.....maybe....i don't know....i feel my bed rustling....and it's delise crawling in....i'm like....okay....hehe....she said she was going to seriously cause bodily harm to amanda cos she was a little loud....but hey, amanda can't help it....she's asleep.....

we didn't get out of bed until about 12pm.....and slowly but surely got our asses up, bathed and got out of the room to go get something to eat and do some stuff....we went over to the food court and ate and then walked down the strip heading over to desert passage....we walked around.....we ended up at sephoria.....where a guy commented on my shirt.....he said "i like your shirt, that's hot".....i smiled and said thank you.....

then we walked over to paris and did the whole "eiffel tour experience".....not worth $9 but what da hell....why not???....it was cool....we got to watch the bellagio water show from up there.....and see the strip....and for some reason, we were facinated with the swimming pools we could see up there....lol....the wind wrecked my hair....but it was good.....

then we walked further down the strip....and i could hear people reading my shirt and chuckling as they walked by.....i just ignored them.....and then we get to this street vendor.....and he's trying to get me to stop or whatever....and he's making fun of my shirt....and even after i walked by as if i don't see him....he's STILL yelling at me to acknowlege him.....of course i don't....but i guess it made amanda uncomfortable cos she goes "thanks ro".....hey, not my fault.....i have a cool shirt....

we get down to casino royale.....and i sat there while i watched delise try her luck at roulette.....and i catch a guy's eye and then he walks over to me and compliments my shirt.....that's 3 guys already....lol

(and if you are wondering what shirt i was wearing, go look at my pics in "where da hell is ro" album on my Myspace....it's in the photo we took while we were at the top of the eiffel tour)

anyway.....after that, we took the monorail back to the MGM Grand because i am to damned lazy to walk back....amanda and i got ready for our show....and delise was going to meet up with fernie....

amanda and i start heading down to treasure island for cirque du solei's Mystere....we got there 2 hours early so we could get something to eat....i wanted calamari.....and it was so convenient that "Kahunaville" was right next to the theatre....we ate there, i ordered calamari and a salad.....oh my gawd that calamari was scrumptious.....and the salad was HUGE.....20 minutes of straight eating my salad and it look like i hadn't even touched it....i mean, i didn't stop eating my salad cos i was full, i stop eating it cos i got tired from eating it.....it was like a bottomless bowl of salad.....but goooooood salad.....very very good salad....i also got lei'd at Kahunaville.....so i had a flower behind my ear and a lei....i looked confused.....you couldn't tell from looking at me if i was in vegas or hawaii....but hell....i didn't care....

oh and i'm SO going back to Kahunaville at Treasure Island.....not for the food.....it's expensive....but for the bar.....it was not over crowded.....it was lively....and the bartenders do a little show juggling and shit....and then give out free shots to everyone.....it's casual and it's not uptight or really posh like the other bars in the strip hotels....

then mystere....it was good.....there were a lot of "wow" and "oh my gawd" and "are you freaking kidding me?!?!?" moments.....you have to remember that this is a "circus" and that it was a performance show....no real story line or what not....but still really really good.....amanda and i took the "professional" pics and i offered to buy them upfront with a credit card and then amanda gave me cash....i have them run my gold card and it was declined.....i was shocked.....there was plenty of available funds.....i just shrugged it off thinking the magnetic strip was bad.....so i gave another credit card that went through and we were on our way.....

we haul ass down to the bellagio because it's tradition for me to see a water show.....we make it....and i tell amanda there's one more which is the national anthem that we need to see, but she said no....yeah whatever, we got to see it anyway after we crossed the street....

after a pit stop at the new york, new york....we get back to the hotel and find fernie and delise on the bed playing poker.....lame i thought.....i mean you're in a hotel, make out or cuddle on the bed and watch a movie or something.....but they are just friends....they should be more.....

delise explained that they just got back from sushi and the music store and the 7/11....and delise did not heed fernie's warning in regards to 7/11's horchata.....hehe....yeah....her tummy does not like horchata that comes out of the fountain machine....

we then drank a little....and then fernie said his good-byes and we were off to bed....amanda was having a hard time because her sister-in-law was having her baby earlier than she anticipated and amanda was hoping to be there....i wish i had teleportation powers to help her get back....

(btw, mommy and baby are doing great)

the next morning, amanda was up and ready to go to get back to salt lake to see her new nephew....and me and delise were dragging a little.....we didn't get up until 9:30....and amanda was up like at 7:00....poor amanda....

we had breakfast at In & Out.....lol....which was delicious....and then headed home.....

i got home tuesday night at around 6:30pm to find my neice there....she so freaking adorable.....i just wanna squeeze her and never let her go.....

wednesday i get into work....and end up with easy tasks.....and talked to my co-worker the rest of the day.....telling her all what happened....and she was telling me all about her vacation.....

thursday, i realize....hey i need to buy my airfare to come home from atlanta next month....i bought a one-way to get there....and now i needed to get back home.....

so i call my credit card company to see what was up with my card because i needed to use it for my airfare....i come to find out that my card is maxed AND over the limit....WTF???....after speaking to a rep, i find out that someone has gotten a hold of my credit card number and using it....

I'M PISSED!!!!....that's why it was declined in vegas.....arg!

i called the merchant and they immediately issued a refund....but how did this happen???.....i only use my credit card for travel.....the LAST time i used it was in Pennsylvania for a hotel stay....and that's it.....i used it to make a payment on my cruise....but i also used all my other cc's for that too.....and our GDS system is very secure....so it had to be someone at the hotel who lifted my cc number.....maybe when they swiped it, ya know???....grrrrrr.....

so that was thursday, trying to get my shit back in order.....*sigh*....and i still haven't gotten with one of the merchants in regard to "my" $5 donation to "Durham County Habitat".....

the lady goes, "well it must have been when you attended our fundraiser dinner".....

i go...."lady, i don't even know where durham county is"

"it's in North Carolina"......

"i've never BEEN to north carolina"

and then she transfers me to someone's voice mail....*sigh*.....yeah i know it's $5....and i know they are probably putting it to good use....but i want it back....i want them to know that they are processing "donations" with stolen credit card numbers....and hey, maybe they know that....and i want them to know that i will not stand for it.....

damn theives.....

so friday come along.....and i get this voicemail from my old boss.....i give him a call back....and he wants to offer me a job.....what da hell???.....talk about timing with getting laid off from AAA.....i tell him that i have made a committment to AAA to stay until the doors close, but i wouldn't mind hearing what he had to say.....we set an appointment for today at 9am (what the hell was i thinking 9am? *sigh*)

which brings me to now.....i just got done talking to him.....and he's offering me $3000 more than my current salary base....then i have the opportunity to earn commission on top of that.....i would be basically starting another agency for him because he has left Players Air and Players Travel.....i would be in charge of putting togething FIT's and packages....and BECOME a vendor basically.....these packages would be our own packages for golf, spa, wine, stuff like that.....along with cruises.....my old boss left Players last year July and got hired on at this other company....and wants me back as his assistant to run these packages....i will be required to go to Washington DC like once or twice a month to promote and market because that is where our clientele will be.....

it is a VERY VERY tempting offer....there is room to grow....i will be up there in title....i'll be able to run the agency my way.....train agents my way....sell what i want to sell.....and if i'm succesfull....i can make up to $50,000 a year with commission....

and i think i can do it.....

but there are a TON of downsides.....

(1) no iatan cards, because this is a new agency, there is no money for iatan cards....

(2) no iatan cards = no fams (free trips)....

(3) no real office....i would be working out of my boss's house and the CEO's house in D.C...

(4) pressure....it would be all on me to get the agency going....with the support of the CEO and my boss....but basically *I* would be in charge of the agency.....if it i make it work....it works and we hit the ground running....if it doesn't work....it'll be my failure.....

(5) job security....my boss told me that this new company he's going to start running is secure....but this is the same boss who laid me off about 2 years ago because he couldn't afford me.....what is going to stop him from laying me off AGAIN?

i haven't told him yay or nay yet in regards to the job offer.....that i needed to think about it it....but we would talk again....and see....

this is my first job offer....and i haven't even applied anywhere else.....i don't even know if i want to stay in travel....and i don't know if AAA will offer me anything in arizona.....

we'll just wait and see.....