Moni's In Las Vegas!

My first trip outside of Texas takes me to Las Vegas, and the landing was a little more exciting that I wanted, but I'm here in one piece until Sunday.  It's also the first time I've ever spent time in Clark County, NV besides transiting the airport.

But it's not a vacation,  it's actually a business trip.  I'm here for the Working Families Party Spring School along with some of my colleagues from Trans United Fund.

In case you're wondering who and what is that group, the Working Families Party is a progressive organization founded in New York in 1998 by a coalition of labor unions, civic organizations, and advocacy groups.

They are a growing progressive organization dedicated to fighting for an economy that works for all of us, not just the 1% billionaires and a democracy in which every voice matters.  Working Families now has chapters in New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Oregon and Washington DC

The policies they are pushing for are a livable wage, affordable housing, raising the minimum wage, universal single payer health care, better public schools, and more investment in public services.

This Spring School is a multi day training that is happening here, and it's going to be interesting to see what other persons and organizations are here and what transpires over the next few days until I head back to the Lone Star State.  

Leaving On A Jet Plane To- Las Vegas

My first trip outside of Texas in 2018 is also to a place that I'm visiting for the first time in Las Vegas, Nevada.   It also comes with a large slice of deja vu attached to it.

I get to travel out of IAH on United.   I get to not only see my former coworkers who haven't retired yet, I also get to walk through Terminal C and E exactly one week after my transiversary. 

When I made my first trip to Portland, Oregon back in 1996, we hadn't started non-stop trips to PDX yet, so I had the options of either flying to Las Vegas, Phoenix or San Francisco on Continental, then fly an America West flight up there from whichever of those airports I chose up to PDX and back and back.   We has a code share and pass agreement with America West at the time, so it wasn't going to cost me more than the standard pass charges no matter which way I went.

I decided to go through Las Vegas.   I had a 45 minute layover, and I knew about the slot machines in the McCarran International terminal waiting to relieve you of more cash.   I had every intention of sitting there, exercising my Taurean willpower and resisting the temptation to play until my flight boarded.

That only lasted 10 minutes, so I ended up playing one of the nearby quarter slot machines.   

$1.75 of playing later I hit it for $25 dollars just as it was time for me to board my America West flight to Portland, so I was forced to grab my money and go. 

My luck was even better on the America West flight.  The head flight attendant on this trip was one I helped non- rev on one of my CAL flights two weeks earlier.   She raved to her crewmates about the service I'd provided for her at my gate, and was determined to return the favor.  Her America West crew spoiled me rotten on that flight to Portland even though I was in the back with a row to myself.   
On the way back to IAH I had a much longer layover in Vegas for my Continental redeye back to Houston, so once again I killed some time by playing the airport quarter slot machines.   

It only took me only $1.25 of play this time to hit for a $15 payday.  I immediately quit while I was ahead of the game and took my winnings to grab something to eat in the airport food court before it was time to board my plane back home. 

It took 21 years, but this time I get to leave the airport and stay in the city for the first time.  It had always been on my domestic trip bucket list, but never got the opportunity to take it as an employee.

Now I get to go to Vegas for a multiday training and also stay in a hotel on the famed Las Vegas Strip.  I also have two cousins who live there that hopefully I'll get some quality time with before I have to come back to Texas on Sunday

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See y'all in a few hours Las Vegas,       

UH Coogs Take On San Diego State In The Las Vegas Bowl

It's not the New Year's Six Bowl or the College Football Playoff game that we Cougar fans were hoping to get to at the beginning of this season, but it's another bowl game trip for the 9-3 UH Cougars,

This is the 25th anniversary edition of the Las Vegas Bowl, and the game will feature two explosive offenses and stout defenses in the Cougars and the 10-3 San Diego State Aztecs,

The #HTownTakeover will face the Mountain West Conference champs and their all everything back Donnell Pumphrey, who could break Ron Dayne's FBS all purpose yards record.

But he'll have to do against a Cougar defense that features our all everything freshman nose tackle Ed Oliver, who wreaked havoc on AAC offensive lines along with Oklahoma's and Louisville's , had 19 tackles for loss and is probably going to be a handful for a San Diego State team that hasn't seen or played against anyone like him in the Mountain West.

On the offensive side, I get to watch our all everything quarterback Greg Ward, Jr in his final game as the Cougar signal caller.

This will also be the first game as head coach of Major Applewhite, our offensive coordinator who was elevated to the top job after Tom Herman left to go to UT.

I'll be parked in front of the TV watching it starting at 2:30 PM CST