Bumped!

After waking up at 9am, I finally got ready, packed and out the door to catch my 1:35pm flight to Las Vegas which was delayed to 2:30pm. I always call Lynn to let her know where I'm at and if I made my flight. We're communicative that way.
Boarding was complete, standbys were cleared and I had a row to myself. There is only so much that you could do on a 90 minute flight which left room for reading and snoozing, two of my all time greats! We landed with little fanfare in the glitzy city of Las Vegas and I made my way to the numerous shuttle services offered. The bus was full of patrons as we made our way to hotel after hotel until we finally arrived at the Rio All Suite Hotel. I checked in at the Diamond Services area and within a few minutes, I could see there was a dilemma. The woman checking me in advised me that they had "oversold" their rooms with conference attendees and wanted to keep the massive group together. My room would be offered to me if I still wanted it and If I took the offer to be put up at another hotel, this is what they would offer. My new digs would be the Paris Hotel, $100.00 in food vouchers, $100.00 cash, $100.00 in gambling chips and a limo ride to my hotel instead of the taxi or shuttle. I didn't blink an eyelash and quickly took the offer to help out the staff. They were very grateful and I was elated at all the goodies that I received. I inquired about my Starbucks kit and she advised me not to worry about it and to call in tomorrow for details to the concierge Diamond desk.
With my prizes in hand, my limo was a short wait and a short ride to the Paris Hotel. I checked in at the Diamond registration desk and was personably greeted by Jasmine who offered me a room on the 23rd floor at room 2349P. All the excitement of this day has worn me out and I couldn't wait to see my room. I thought, what type of room ends with a P? Upon entering my room, it was one of two in a corner niche of the hotel. With detailed elegance, the room was magnificent. A large king bed greeted me with a nice setti across from it housed in front of a large bay window peering kitty corner to "the strip". Another bay window looked out towards the airport and the mountains. In front of it sat two individual comfortable aqua green chair amid a large armoire housing the T.V and the ample drawer space for my personal belongings. The bathroom was quite spacious with a tub, shower and large vanity. The sign on the back of my door states that this particular room rents for $2000.00 a night, single or double occupancy. A third person is $150.00 extra! What extravagance!
I needed to feed my hunger and visited the Diamond lounge which was the opulence of what a lounge should be. Nicely appointed in dark cherry wood interior and the waitstaff in black and white suit and tie made this lounge elegant and professional. Dedicated to service, no one waited long for a table or to be asked what they would like to drink. Liquor flowed freely as did the appetizers which were replenished as soon as it was low. There was enough waitstaff to notice who were the new entrants and if you needed another drink. They were very attentive and professional. Fully satisfied from this type of meal, I did not need to visit the buffet or cafe. Instead I was on a mission to find my machine in this new hotel of luxury.

Dearest of friends

After a long drive home yesterday from visiting my daughter in Sacramento, I attended a loft party with my group of four very dear friends whom I have known for at least 15 plus years. Cecile's house was the central meeting place with DarRell as the designated driver taking the helm of Sarah's beautiful midnight blue BMW. After a quick snack of homemade chili that Cecile made, we were on the road into The City for "Auntie Ken's" Christmas party.
Traffic moved smoothly and an abundant amount of street parking space was available to us. With presents in hand, we made our way to his live/work loft in which he is an interior designer for his own company. I remember meeting him 10 years ago on a trip to New Orleans for Halloween. He is a flamboyant Hawaiian/Filipino man with dark skin, hair and eyes. His ever infectious laughter and beautiful smile was all he needed to draw you into his circle. Upon entering into his humble abode, we were in awe of his business space. Very simple, yet colorful and practical without an abundance of clutter. It was a warm sensual space with an intimate setting for his friends to enjoy the company of one another without it being overwhelming or isolated. We met Ken's partner, Michael, who is a hula dancer with my former halau. He also stitches Hawaiian quilts one of which he recently sold for $5800.00! The stitch work is meticulously beautiful, mixing old with the new. Not bad for a haole (Caucasian) boy!
The spirit of the evening flowed and ebbed until we had a white elephant gifting which turned out to be a highly charged event and the once serene guests caused a raucous of laughter as each gift turned out to be a coveted prize to possess. Gifts ranging from fine wines, candles and gourmet cook books to liquor candied delicacies . The white elephant gift of the evening turned out to be a cute pink, sequined clutch purse won by a man of stature and being a very good sport about it. With the evening winding down, it was time for us to go as we had another engagement to attend at a Filipino club in South San Francisco called Solita's where our group got our groove on. With DarRell running the show with his sexy muscular body as he glided into the electric slide to Sarah getting freaky with one of our girly table mates. Everyone was on the dance floor, getting sweaty and have a fantastic time. As the band played their last set, Sarah asked me if I was seeing anyone. With her pending divorce on the horizon, my group is very supportive whether you're dating or not and I know she was concerned. With a deep breath, I boldly told her that I am seeing someone and it's someone that is not in our circle of outrigger paddlers or hula dancers. I further explained to Sarah that Lynn is a musician, singer and mother of two daughters. Sarah stated, "As long as you're happy, that's all that matters" and she gave me a big hug. She started saying something about her Catholic school days and girls, but at this time, I think she had too much to drink. Not wanting to go home at 2:00AM, we visited a local casino establishment in the small town of Colma. This place was busy with a large Asian and Filipino community gambling like there's no tomorrow. Our mission was the restaurant, which was just as crowded as we were expeditiously seated in a booth. The menu was a nice variety of Asian and Filipino fare served in ample portions. With our food orders turned in, we chatted about idle topics. Sarah decided to unknowingly Out me in front of Norma, who is the last one in the group to finally find out. "SARAH!", I stated. Kicking her underneath the table. She apologized and started in about my ring being on my left married finger and said, "You're not married and it shouldn't be on that finger". Finally, I couldn't take it, I said, "Norma?" "Yeah", she replied. "I'm seeing someone and you know her", I stated. "Her name is Lynn". "What?" she said, incredulously. "I'm seeing Lynn, who is my partner, my companion, my lover!" I said while searching her face for any eye to eye contact. Her body language started to show how she felt and seemed put off and indignant. Sarah backed me up and basically told Norma to back off and behave. I know that it is a painful issue to process and this is probably how she handles stressful situations. Knowing that I was once a man chasing woman, party hard individual and hearing that I have become someone else without any clues, hint or thoughts, seemed very uncomfortable for her. Oh, the convoluted thoughts that are running rampant in her mind.