Viva Las Vegas?

I am so glad to be home. I have been to Vegas one other time, but I was sick so I spent all of my free time in bed. This time I got to really see it. I have to ask, what in the world do people see in this town? It has few redeeming qualities in my opinion, but I'll start there. There are pools, the water show at the Bellagio, and Broadway (which I'm not so sure is so great except that it employs actors). Yep, that's about it.
I don't mean to offend anyone who really enjoys Vegas, but it just is mostly disgusting to me. I was there on business, but we had a lot of off time. I spent most of that time alone. Vegas is definitely not a place to experience alone especially as a woman. I decided that I would walk the strip from my hotel, The Riveria, to the Luxor which is at the opposite end of the strip. A friend from college is in the revue at the Luxor and I was waiting for her call. In between each hotel or anywhere there was construction were Hispanic men and sometimes women handing out cards to all the men passing of naked women. The way that I knew what was going on was because several of the people were wearing t-shirts that said, "a woman to your room in 20 minutes." Disgusting. Add to that the billboard I saw coming from the airport that gave a phone number to call if you are the victim of sex slavery. Prostitution is a crime against women and it is so gross that it is so advertised there. The fact that the women don't have to actually walk the strip for work actually makes it easier for men to take advantage of them. It means that the only people they come into contact with are their pimps and the men that pay for sex with them. I have to say I was surprised at how many people made Vegas their family vacation. How exactly do you explain to your child what those men are doing and what their shirts mean? Vegas really should be a place exclusively for adults.
People smoke everywhere. When you step out of the elevator and into the casino there is an overwhelming smell of smoke. Yuck! Thank you Michael Bloomberg for making New York non smoking. It isn't until you are subjected to a place like Vegas that you realize how nice it is to not be barraged with smoke every time you go out.
Gambling is a confusing past-time to me. It is probably because myself and my family have been directly affected by the negative aspects of gambling. My dad is a recovering gambler. My dad would gamble to the point where he would have to come to his thirteen year old daughter and ask for money. I didn't realize at the time what was going on. I only knew that I had babysitting money and sometimes I would give it to my dad so he could fill his gas tank. We didn't discover until a few years later exactly how bad it was. I observed many people gambling while I was in Vegas and it just seems so sad to me. The majority of the people playing slots were by themselves shoveling money into a machine that offered no intellectual stimulation, but the hope of thousands of dollars all at the push of a button. Something for nothing. There were definitely different groups of gamblers. There were those with the money to lose. These people could go into private rooms with high limit slots. There, people put hundreds into the machines instead of dollars. These were the type that already shopped at the Cartier, Louis Vuitton, and the Manolo Blahniks. It didn't matter if they won or lost. Winning means more money and losing just means an expensive night out. There were the people that really have fun with it too, but I didn't see them at the slots. They tended to be at the card tables. There is some skill involved in cards and if I was good at those games I might be tempted to play. But, the saddest to me were the people by themselves who poured money into the slot machines with no smiles on their faces and a blank stare at the machines that held their dreams and took their money. I know why people do it. It's obvious. All the materialistic things you ever wanted could be bought with money and the distortion comes when you start to believe that your happiness can be achieved through money.
And last, but certainly not least is the fact that Vegas is a desert and it is environmentally unsustainable. People flock there to live and it is not a viable environment. I think that Hurricane Katrina provided a unique opportunity for us as a country to examine the sustainability of the places we have made our homes and continue to make our homes. People have begun to realize that maybe the bowl that is New Orleans is not a safe or sustainable place to make a home, but we also have to add to that places that the population is swelling like Vegas that were not meant to be a place where so many can live. Water will eventually be depleted, and I can only imagine that the people to get the water will be the wealthy and the casinos. You can read about Arizona's water woes here. Because it is cheap today doesn't mean that it will be tomorrow and the people left in these places when they dry up will be the poor, just like in New Orleans.

I'm Leaving on a Jet Plane

So, I leave super early in the morning tomorrow and I am not taking my lab top. I will write if I get a chance, but I have to be honest, I probably won't feel like it. Las Vegas brings 12+ hours a day of work and I am sure to be tired. I will attempt to reach a computer on my days off- Monday and Tuesday!
Today I'm taking my class twice. I am missing a class next week so I'm making it up this afternoon. I learned three songs, but I'm not so sure I have the words down. Hopefully it will all come together and I'll be brilliant. I am hoping to make it to the apple store this morning because I want to buy a recording microphone for my Ipod. It would be so nice to get rid of the antiquated tape recorder and to be able to record with digital sound that I can put directly on my computer. Thanks Jaz, for the suggestion!

Ten on Tuesday

1. The name game has come to a stand still. I've gotten some really good suggestions. Please feel free to click on the link and add a name. Even if I know you and you don't want to have dinner with me as the prize, I can send you a bottle of wine if the name you come up with is chosen. Chances are I don't want to have dinner with you either, but it doesn't mean that you aren't creative and good with names!

2. Hurricane Dean struck Jamaica on Sunday. I find it peculiar that the reporters gathered on the northwestern coast when the storm was forecasted to hit the southeastern coast. I know that Ocho Rios and Montego Bay are the places that people (in the US) know in Jamaica, but Portland and St. Thomas were the center of all the action. If the hurricane were hitting somewhere close to the US coastline everyone would wonder why the newscasters chose to place their reporters over 200 miles away. Curious...

3. I have been thinking about all the people that I met when I was there. I hope and pray that they are all safe and recover quickly from the storm. In a place where you don't have much, a little positive energy thrown their way from us can't hurt (and maybe a dollar or two if you've got it to spare).

4. I received my Time magazine last Friday, but it was incomplete. The cover story is about how we as a society are failing our geniuses. I was really enjoying the article when I discovered that some of the pages were missing. How did that happen? Then I flipped to the story on Karl Rove and I couldn't even begin to read that one because the first page is missing. Now I know that my issue cannot be the only one to have this flaw. I'm all for saving trees, but Time there has to be a better way!!

5. I bought a water bottle from www.mysigg.com and then I left it at an audition. Of course when I went back the next day it wasn't there. I have felt guilty for carrying a plastic Aquafina bottle ever since. We really need to start thinking about why we buy water bottles. They really are completely unnecessary. Time had a great article about it in their last issue. Please take a moment to read it and contemplate it. You don't have to buy a reusable bottle, but it would be a great start.

6. My musical theatre class is kicking my ass. I have found most of the music that I need, but not the time to learn it all. But, I can't wait for the next class. It's good to be excited about something.

7. I'm going to Vegas on Friday. I have to go to set up the trade show booths for Grigg Studio. Anyone gonna be in the area, I'm off Monday and Tuesday and only have plans to be sitting by the pool. I need to look up an old friend Tara Palsha who I know lives there. It would be great to see an old friend.

8. I am typing from a public computer in a coffee house in NYC. I don't have time to go home before my vocal coaching so I thought I'd come here to update my blog. The only problem is that there is an ever-present timer ticking down the seconds I have left and I am feeling immense pressure to finish.

9. I moved out of my comfort zone today and sang for the Broadway company of Rent. I sang "I Can't Make You Love Me," by Bonnie Raitt. It went a lot better than I normally give myself credit for. I've never been really into popular music, so singing pop/rock songs frightens me a bit. I think that I did pretty well. I just need to get a more uptempo pop song in my book. Any suggestions?

10. Routine: n. a customary or regular course of procedure. I'm not good at giving myself one of these. There is so much I want to do, but I'm not sure how to fit it all in one day or week.

Long Week

I am tired. But I like that the week is ending and I have discovered some things about myself. I don't know how to say no. I am not good at taking care of myself first and others second. When you get shit on by a bird, people tell you that it's good luck to make you feel better (I got shat on yesterday afternoon). I am good at my craft, which was reinforced by a fabulous first class on "Audition Therapy" that I took. I need to really focus on bringing what I learned to an audition. The people in my class are all fabulous. They all also happen to be all women, which is very cool. And besides Joanne and I they all seem to have been with this business for a long time. It is great to watch them work and learn from them. Basically, I am so fortunate to be in this class. I really think it is going to be a turning point for me. And that is all I can write without falling asleep here at the keyboard.

Oh, Eleven on Tuesdays

11. I have the coolest family. Some guy posted an anti-gay slur on my brother's blog. Check out John's response to him here. And then my whole family responded. This link is just for my sister's response, but you can read Jim's on the Big Brother post comments page. I am so proud to be a member of this family (you can get on my nerves sometimes, but I love you!). You are all so well spoken.

Ten on Tuesday

1. The naming contest is going well. I've gotten the most comments of any blog I've posted so far. Keep them coming. Also, if you have a blog and you want to add a link for the contest that would be great! I love my family (Charissa, you're like a member of the family), but it would be kind of cool to have some suggestions from people I don't know.

2. If there was a prize for most creative, Jim, you would be the winner so far. Twaleot, a little weird, but very creative!

3. I had the weirdest dream last night. I was walking/ driving down the street I grew up on, and as I drove down the street I noticed crocodiles crossing to get into the creek. I know there was no creek on Marhofer, but the side walk was gone and in place of it was a creek. As I rounded the corner, I all of a sudden was walking and I saw the strangest thing. There was an elephant battling a crocodile and it was winning. The elephant was using it's trunk as if it were a boa constrictor around the croc's neck. They were both making the worst noises I think that I have ever heard. It looked to be a fight to the death. The elephant was on its hind legs and holding the croc perpendicular to the ground with his belly facing out. It looked funny, but it was scary. Then I woke up.

4. I forgot how exhausting standing for 9 hours a day is. I'm beat when I get home from work, but I'm enjoying myself. We listen to great music and talk all day long. It beats waiting tables!

5. I get to go to Las Vegas for a week. There are three big fashion trade shows and we have to set up booths for them. I have gone before for work, but I've never stayed for strike, too. That means that I get two days free in Vegas and then I get to break down the shows when they are over. Two days by the pool, you can't beat that.

6. Karl Rove resigned!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm very curious if he was asked to resign or if he really does want to spend more time with the family. That seems to be the ready answer for anyone that resigns in any administration. He looked and sounded like he might cry when he made the announcement. With all his flaws, he is still a brilliant man (I'm sure a lot of people are having parties in celebration!)

7. The Colbert Report was not funny last night. We all have our off days, but it was unusually bad. Bad like Saturday Night Live bad. You know that kind of bad: the only person laughing is the guy on camera.

8. I saw Shakespeare in the Park on Saturday. The show was A Midsummer Night's Dream. It is free so I shouldn't complain too much, but it was the first time that I really didn't enjoy the show. I've tried to see as many of the shows I can and this one seemed oddly under rehearsed and poorly directed.

9. I start my musical theatre class on Thursday. I'm pretty excited.

10. I finished Philip Roth's Everyman this past weekend. It was kind of depressing. It takes you on this man's journey toward death. Basically, the book begins at his funeral and then it takes you back through his life from the perspective of his death. It was very interesting and thought provoking if you could get past the pages long tirades about the ailments afflicting the poor guy. I had previously read The Plot Against America, also written by Roth, and loved it.

A Rose By Any Other Name...

So, I mentioned before that I am thinking of legally changing my name to Jodi Beck. The only negative response was from my brother Jim, who felt the need to tell me the history of my name. I am well aware of the meaning behind it all, but I have to say that if it really were as important to everyone else, then they probably would have called me Joyce all my life. I do appreciate the history. I love the name Joyce (I've always thought it was beautiful) and I think it's cool that it was my great-grandmother's last name, but it's just not me. And I loved my grandpa (Lester) to pieces, but Jodi Leslie sounds dreadful. I briefly tried to go by my real name in college, but it only lasted about half a semester. Every time someone would call me Joyce I would think that they were talking to someone else. I think that some of my professors thought that I was deaf because I wouldn't respond. Just imagine their confusion when this over- confident, college freshman walks up to them and says, "Hi, I was wondering if you would call me Jodi. It's my nickname and I don't respond well to Joyce." I was taking a full load of courses and I said that to all the professors I had that didn't teach a lecture. I think it was four people and they all looked at me like, "Wow, this girl is deaf and a bit crazy." I also think its kind of funny that at my wedding when we arrived at the reception the sign said, "Congratulations Craig and Joyce" and people commented that it was strange to congratulate the groom and the groom's mother-in-law. It kind of makes me laugh...

So, I want your help to select a middle name. Mom, you get extra points for any names you come up with. The prize for the name selected will be that I will come visit you after I get it changed and we'll go to dinner, and I'll pay with my debit card and officially sign my new name on the line. Because this is a public blog and people I don't know may feel the need to comment, if the name you suggest is chosen, I will not meet you for dinner, so don't expect it. I'll send you a bottle of wine and you'll just have to be content to know that you named a complete stranger. I will update you on all the names suggested each week, by whom they are suggested, and after four weeks I will bring the list to my mother and she and I will decide on the top three. Then you can all vote for which name you want me to have. Sounds like fun, right? I think so! So without further ado....

The Give Me a New Middle Name Contest
Fill in the blank. Click on the comment button below and write down your idea in the space provided. If you want to give a brief reason for the choice, all the better!

Jodi _______________ Beck