Back to work in Plastic-town

The holiday season is over and I have not managed to relax one minute. Why, I ask myself, can't I just be normal and lay on a couch for a week, or just sleep. I cannot sit still. I tried to watch some mindless daytime TV but it hurt my head to the point that I needed medication. Next I tried to read - I have plenty of books left on my "to be read" shelf, but it doesn't feel right in the middle of a weekday. Like I'm cheating or something. How on earth will I ever handle retirement???

Now that I am back to work - I feel cheated that I didn't get the rest I needed. Cant win!

Tomorrow I embark on a business trip to Las Vegas. I hate it!
Every January the same thing - 5 days of business meetings and dinners while being tortured with the view of a sunny warm day out of a hotel meeting room window. And yes, once again, a Cirque de Sole show that Ive seen before but will still sit through and smile with the client and pretend that my brain isn't sliding out of my left ear and making a run for it.

Vegas is the quintessential plastic village. Nothing is real. As you drive past one casino facade after another you get the feeling that the only thing of any substance in the city is the hard sand that packs every second vacant lot and anchors the ubiquitous "coming soon" signs that have been there for 8 years.

Truthfully, I really like the desert, not that I get to see much of it, but it is a beautiful departure from Canadian scenery in January, which is an unpleasant mixture of white ground and grey trees, buildings, roads, cars, - well you get the picture.

Nobody comes from Las Vegas. Everyone you meet in hotels, restaurants or casinos have a name tag that states their home town - which is anywhere other than Vegas. I get the impression that the city doesn't really exist - it's just a temporal hole in space/time - designed to separate you from your money and cultural sensibilities.

I suppose some might consider me bitter and jaded for complaining like this, where they would love a trip to Nevada this time of year - but after 20+ years of this annual trek I am past the point of apologising as to why my anxiety and BP go up the first week of every January.

This year, I have the added pleasantness of new airport security regulations to look forward to. I believe I am required to arrive two or three days early at security, get naked, and pee in a jar. This is followed by the group cavity search activity and long discussions on the lethal potential of my sneakers.

Anyway - I shall update you all when it's over and my mood improves and the ability to relax returns to me - when the wheels lift off the ground at Macarren airport for the long but pleasant flight home.

M