The way my weekend started off was so unexpected. The plan was to stay at my Aunt & Uncle's house all weekend but another one of my aunts offered me a room on the strip so that I can be closer to everything. I couldn't say no to that, right? Man, she had pull for sure because I ended up with a suite to enjoy to myself (kinda sucked because my cousins weren't arriving until the next day so I couldn't share). So what did I do? I utilized the handy dandy jacuzzi that I found in my bathroom, kicked back and relaxed in the jets and bubbles while watching American Idol. haha. And yes, I lost track of time and stayed in there for an hour and turned into a raisin. It was definitely "me time" and it was exactly what I needed. Here are some pics from the suite:
After hanging out for another hour or so, I decided it was time for me to make some money. Let's just say, the next 2 and a half hours that I spent at the roulette table PAID off really well. ;) After that, caught some zz's and then back to the roulette table where again...the next 2 hours or so PAID off very nicely.
And then the fun came!...
This was a really special trip to me, being able to reunite with my childhood playmates after so many years of having lost touch with each other...where else would be more perfect than LV to be for this occasion. We have so many memories with each other and it's was so nice how we are all currently at the age where we've gotten passed the age/gender gaps -- for example, when some of us were 16, we would avoid our 8-10 year old cousins because they were too young to go to parties with us while on the flip side our 19-21 year old cousins would do the exact same thing to us. Now it's like whatever!...we've all grown and matured to a point where age gaps were just a thing of the past (however brought up a lot during our "remember when" stories). I joked around with my younger cousin Janelle and told her, "Back then you were trying to kick it with us but you were always way too young...and now we're trying to kick it with you!" In any case, the point I'm trying to make is about my appreciation for this past weekend...and that in my years of growing up, these people were such big parts of my life. Learning together, watching each others back, getting into trouble together, being family together. The fortunate thing is that although some of us lost touch with each other for such long periods of time... as long as 10-12 years...we can still come together and be THAT family again. It's like a lesson for myself really that makes me determined to not take time for granted. I can't automatically assume that the people I love will be here tomorrow and rather than waste time messing around with drama, I'd rather surround myself with whatever really makes me genuinely happy...and topping that list is family. Here are some random shots from my no sleep all fun weekend...
The groom Eric and his wifey Lorena
My cousin/god brother Jonathan and my cousin/sis of groom Grace
My cousin Gary and Grace's girlfriend Melanie
Indoor garden wedding...
Ahh, the girl cousins!
Continuing the party at TAO @ the Venetian
All in all it was an awesome weekend and I look forward to many more like it.
Congratulations to Mr. and Mrs. Eric and Lorena Soliven!
1 Response to "Weekend & Thought Decompression"
What it really comes down to is TIME IS OUR MOST VALUABLE ASSET! It's those moments in time when all we live for is to be with our family and friends. Life is about building relationships with others so that we may plant the seeds of greatness in one another. In turn we help each others light shine by giving away some of our light.