Las Vegas is alright! Bright, brash, kitschy, and joyously tasteless -- I love it! I'm not a gambler, dolls being my addiction, although I did play a couple of dollars' worth of slots (didn't win). I didn't eat very much there since everything was SO expensive. Things obviously changed since the days you could eat there cheap. There were a couple of meals included in the convention and otherwise I ate at McDonald's, conveniently located just outside the casino. We stayed at the casino where the convention was held, the Stardust. It was okay, a bit pricey. The convention rate was $60 but the weekends were $90. I was disappointed that the rooms didn't contain a coffeemaker or a little fridge. :-(
As far as the convention went, well, it was "okay." It was nice to see all the dolly people I'd heard about and corresponded with over the past couple of years, and it was terrific to see some prototypes of upcoming collections in person. The R&D guys were really wonderful, so nice and personable, and I love their Susie collection. Additionally, they've got an upcoming 16" ball-jointed-doll with a sweet facial sculpt that I hope to get my hands on. The DAE fellas were great, too. In fact, I won a DAE Vivette gift set, which I didn't think I'd care for but I spent hours playing with her last night! Three wigs, three outfits, all beautifully and impeccably made. There were a bunch of freebies and raffles at the convention but I didn't win anything until the last night, the aforementioned gift set and a "showgirl" table doll. I don't do showgirls, sorry. It's not my thing. So, I gave mine to Beth. I was like, "here." The people at my table received "absinthe fairy" dolls done by the table host, who was another wonderful person. While fairies aren't my thing either, I love this little gal and was so pleased to have her. Another really nice thing about the convention is that lots of people saw my repaints in person and I received many positive comments! Although nobody bought anything of mine from the sales table, I still feel that the exposure was good for me.
Lots of people were saying that if the convention is held in Vegas next year, they won't go, and I concur. There were too many distractions and people spent all their money in the casinos instead of the sales room. :-)
Saw a couple of old friends who've moved to Vegas: Shannon and Peggy. Shannon and I hit it off when I visited her in Philly a couple of years ago, but she'd since obtained a new life and discarded her old friends. Kinda pissed me off. Even so, I dropped her a line before leaving and she agreed to get together. She didn't follow through afterward, though; I did. So we met for a couple of hours on Sunday and she fed me a nice wrap for lunch, but she made no effort to hide that she was just going through the motions. In fact, she was making phone calls and receiving messages in my presence (couldn't she wait a couple of hours?), and even stated to one of her friends within my earshot I would be leaving shortly. Nice. In truth, I had much more fun visiting with her dogs than with her, and they were much sweeter to me too. I think they remembered me. Looks like I'll never see them again, which is too bad. But fuck Shannon.
Fortunately, visiting with Peggy and her husband Walt was SO much fun! It's hard to believe that the last time we saw each other in person was five and a half years ago. It didn't feel like that at all. And they were so kind to feed me because by that time I'd run out of money. Peggy and I spent several hours at Caesar's Palace on Monday and I took a bunch of pictures. Went to FAO Schwartz -- woooo! Couldn't buy shit but was able to scope out in person what I'd like so I can order it later. Walt and I always get to giggling together. All three of us are so puerile, imitating Beavis and Butthead and South Park. Awesome people, I'll have to make sure to visit more often.
So, despite the fact that I had to spend my first night away from home in the airport terminal (a story not worth getting into), and that the last three nights I got nearly no sleep, the trip was well worth it. I've got to pay Peggy, Beth and Anne back for all their help.
posted by Newpeep, N.D. (neurotic depressive) @ 8:40 AM
1 Comments:
Welcome back! Wowza, that was a lot of info (hoping pics will follow)! Sorry to hear about Stupid Shannon, that’s just plain rude, and so you’re better off without her. I’m glad it was balanced off by your good visit with P & W. And I’m glad you made it home safely (we had a plane crash at our airport here this week).
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