Let me see. It's been nearly two weeks since my last confession. Do you want the long version of what I've been doing in that time or the quick recap? Yeah, I actually don't care if you want the long version--I ain't got that kind of time, kids! So, here's the quick recap.

Before I left for Las Vegas last Friday, I took what I thought was one hellish Spanish midterm. It was painful. I was required to write a letter to a congress of Hispanic leaders about why all the Latin American nations should form one large nation. WHA?!
Real Hispanic leaders have months and months to prepare stuff like that and tons of resources at their disposal, not to mention assistants and actual fluency of the language... granted, I got to use my notes and book, but I only had 55 minutes, no assistants other than the girl who let me use her Spanish dictionary, and I am not quite fluent. But I wrote one hell of a paper, I guess, 'cause Eileen, my professor, gave me an A! And she posted it on her website, which is slowly becoming a shrine to me and my Spanish essays. And she THANKED ME for being in her classes. Crazy!

After that (breathe a sigh of relief), I drove home, got in the big ol' van with my parents and made the 24-hour drive to Las Vegas. On the way, I heard a commercial that featured a cheesy faux-Irish accent "leprechaun" voice and bad Celtic music, advertising for the St. Patrick's Day specials... at Doc John's, an adult "pleasure" shop, as the ad termed it. I don't know, it made me giggle. It was also 1 in the morning and I was in the middle of Nebraska, so, ya know, it probably wasn't funny at all.

I won $50 the first day in Vegas! Go me! It was on a Monopoly Free Parking slot machine. Turns out Monopoly was pretty good to me the rest of the week, as well as the rest of the slots - I came back with $20 more than I went with! I badly needed that, as well as the money my parents so freely gave me. I was having a hard time affording my rock and roll lifestyle.

Other than gambling, I took in a couple shows (I like that saying - "took in some shows") and spent a lot of time with my parents. I actually ended up getting somewhat sick of my parents by the end, what with their constant questioning about grades and school and where my life is headed, blah blah blah. Okay, it wasn't constant, but I was on vacation and my brain was just not dedicated to thinking about any of those things at the time. Luckily, Dave, Brian, Josh and Jenny were there as an outlet for escape, and escape I did.

Josh and Jenny got married last Monday in Vegas! That's right, I went to a Vegas-style wedding! It wasn't spur-of-the-moment, nor were they married by a sequin-bedazzled Elvis impersonator or in a drive-thru. However, they were married at a place called "Heavenly Bliss Wedding Chapel," which is open 24 hours and has a luau room! After the wedding, Josh's mom took everyone to dinner at the Buffet at the Bellagio.

The rest of the week was pretty typical Vegas fun... a little bit o' gambling, a lot o' walking around and seeing the various casinos, a lot o' enjoying the weather, and a little bit o' drinking. For one Brian the diabetic, however, there was a bit more than a little drinking... he drank an entire plastic football filled with Captain Morgan and Diet Coke! Gross! Afterward, he called Aurora and left a surprisingly sober-sounding message at me and Dave's urging. Dave, Brian and I also enjoyed an oxygen bar and water massage around midnight one night. That was really cool and I've always wanted to go to an oxygen bar. It was perfect timing.

All in all, a good time was had by all. Or at least me. But I definitely could not go to Vegas frequently. A whole week is kind of too much; I could have left after the fourth or fifth day and been happy... and I wouldn't cry if I didn't go back there for several years. It's a fun town but it's so crowded everywhere you go and everything is made for tourists. Call me crazy, but I like to get away from obnoxious people and loud crowds and seizure-inducing lights when I'm on vacation. Yeah, I know, I'm weird.

Spring break was definitely needed, even if it was spent in the manmade monstrosity that is Las Vegas. I didn't think about school a single time, only when my parents made the aforementioned mentions of it. It was bliss.

Then I had to come back to school. Back to Duluth's frigid air and piles and piles of dirty, ugly snow. And class. And work and more incoming freshmen with their dumb (I mean, insightful) questions. I drove up here Monday morning with Amanda and her laundry bag in tow (I had to mention the laundry bag, I don't know why) and then went straight to class and spent the rest of the afternoon at work. I crawled into bed around 11:30 Monday night, so exhausted and so ready to go to sleep, knowing full well that when my alarm clock went off Tuesday morning, I would not be ready to wake up, no matter how well I had slept. (Alarm clock? More like a banshee announcing the death of my mental stability.)

So... this is way longer than I meant for it to be. Quick recap, my ass. Nonetheless, hope that everyone who had spring break last week enjoyed theirs as much as I did mine.