I was a little late for mass this morning because my baby needed some cuddling. Daisy’s a needy puppy sometimes. But I’m made it in time for the second reading and the Gospel. This morning, Father’s Tom’s talked about being a Good Shepherd. Then he gave a shout out to male students from Hayden High and asked them to consider answering vocations. Some boys in front of me responded with a thumbs up at the podium.
Father Tom also compared God and faith to one of the most dramatic scenes from Titanic…the part when Jack and Rose are sinking with that huge ship and he makes her promise to “never let go.” OK, it’s cheesy but still a sweet thought. I also liked how Father Tom used that scene to illustrate the different types of relationships people have as they grow-up; from children hanging on to their parents for survival to adults holding on to spouse or a friend for the ups and downs of daily life.
I’m a little lonely in Kansas, especially with Mark in the Bay Area for work. But thanks to e-mail, cell phones and my blogs, I still feel like I can lean on my relationships with my family and friends. Yesterday, I was able to chat to my parents. We compared warm weather in Cali and Topeka and dished on how my brother’s family was gearing up for my niece’s singing recital, later that evening. Good times. Then Mark sent me a beautiful picture of the Golden Gate Bridge to my cell phone. They’re about 2000 miles away, but I still feel like I’m included in their lives.
I also have tendency of holding on to good memories, so let’s take a look back at my rockin’ trip to Vegas.
I got my fill of some good home cooking!
My dad and Tita Chita whipped up some yummy Filipino food. It’s always a pleasure to dig into food I grew up with: pansit, adobo, rice, ribs and more.
Then the cork broke inside a bottle of cheap red wine. So Mark came up with the idea of using a coffee filter to save what’s left of the alcohol. My hubby is so smart!
The next day, we had dinner at Hyakumi inside Caesar’s Palace. It’s located across from Cleopatra’s Barge. This sashimi platter had some amazingly fresh pieces of fish – tuna, salmon, yellow tail and more. I also ordered up a side of a toro roll – the fatty part of the tuna. It tasted buttery and smooth. Our server was a sweet Filipina who recognized my dad from earlier visits. Despite carding me, she took care of all our culinary needs.
My dad got us tickets to see The Producers at Paris. A thoroughly entertaining show starring David Hasseloff as the cross-dressing director. The former Knight Rider knows how to sing and he made a hell of an entrance in that sparkling black and silver dress. I hope for his sake he wasn’t wearing heels for that scene. The men who played Leo and Max were from London’s West End production. The original movie with Gene Wilder is still my favorite version, but I warmed up to the latest incarnation of the show. Since Springtime for Hitler was made for Broadway, it was a pleasure to watch the outrageous costumes, songs and dances on the Vegas stage.
Springtime for Hitler and Germany
Watch out, Europe
We’re going on tour!
Our show tickets gave us a two-for-one drink special at Napoleon’s. These dueling piano players took requests for any rock ‘n’ roll song, as long you were willing to tip often. And at times, they’d avoid doing a song if you were willing to tip more. Folks were having a good time and they played a bawdy tune for a birthday girl. We requested “November Rain”, by Gun and Roses. They took one look at our request, played some snipit of another November Rain song and said it was a bad idea. Grrr….I was annoyed they couldn’t even make fun of the right Guns and Roses song. So, yeah.
Still, we had a blast in Vegas…we always do.