Las Vegas, and a new house moving ever closer.

Last weekend, I went on a Memorial Day holiday to Las Vegas with my mom and dad. It was very eventful, and an experience that had highs and lows.

Day 1:

While I watched a glorified depiction of the Vietnam War at the end of the night, I would like to highlight the first day of my trip to Vegas. This was my first trip in 5 months We set out for Caesars’ Palace, making a pit stop in Primm for gas, and gaining a few credits on the slots. We got stuck in traffic arriving at the strip, and I got lost looking for my hotel room that I lost my earpiece for my Motorola SLVR L7. The security at Caesars was made of fail and lose, as attempts to recover the item were unsuccessful. There goes a part of their paycheck. If I were to give a survey, I’d give them a 1.
But after settling down, I took the time to play some slots at Caesars’. One of the slot machines, Magic Forest, lasted a very long time, and I was able to get credits. There were a few other slots I decided to try out, and thanks to me and my mom’s efforts, I was able to obtain a free duffel bag. Actually, all 3 of us got tote bags. The last slot machine we went to for the night, a Powerball slot machine, paid off 91 dollars and change. It could have been even more.
To put it even further, this was the very first time I tried the slot machines extensively. In the last meeting, the machine wasn’t too keen to give, but this time, it was able to give, probably because Celine Dion was performing that night with her “A New Day” set. The generousness of the slot machines, who probable were happy Celine was performing, combined with a huge revenue from a casino operated by Harrah’s, probably explained why we went back to our hotel room in high spirits.

Day 2:

An earthquake in Indonesia, Riots in Afghanistan, more Americans committing voluntary suicide in Iraq…and a shitload of moolah highlighted the day. This morning, we set off for North Las Vegas, where we met this guy who works for Liberty Realty. At the end of the meeting, we moved one step closer to owning a house that is just a hop, skip and a jump away from one of the wealthiest communities in the nation, and soon to have the second-largest mall in the nation, Aliante, in North Las Vegas. The could not only be my summer home, but my new home should I consider getting a master’s degree at UNLV.
And after eating at the Rio Carnival World Buffet at the Rio, it was off to Harrah’s, where I struck paydirt at the Powerball slots, winning $400. I gotta look up North Las Vegas. This growing city might be adopted by me in a hurry!
Later that day, I learned from the Press-telegram that Long Beach City College defeated Sacramento City College to win the California JC State Championship in baseball. The first title in 30 years. Historic. Unbelievable. Enough fuel for my dynasty I am typing up on Utopia. And Miami went up 3-1 over the Pistons in the East Finals. I hope it’s Dallas-Miami in the NBA Finals.
We returned to Harrah’s to tinker with the slots. Unfortunately, the Powerball slots went dry, so I instead retired to buying a few gifts from the gift shop.

Day 3:

The day was rather short and quick, as we left Caesars’ Palace for Long Beach, but we made a stop in Primm. Not only did I eat up a feast at the Trail’s End café at Whiskey Pete’s, I won $70 on the slots, bringing me back up to $400. On the way home, I used up the remaining coins I won from Whiskey Pete’s (which were won by a spin on a Top Dollar slot machine that gave out quarters) to pay for gasoline. By the end of the day, it only filled half tank, but now I’m here, typing this up.
I enjoyed my trip to Vegas. I am really excited at what might happen if I’m able to stay in North Las Vegas at our new home. More time to see Vegas, Hoover Dam, maybe watch some UNLV games…but the next thing on the agenda is….Anime Expo 2006.

Alumni ignorance

While I am watching this new shoujo anime called Kirarin Revolution (some sto-ck footage for the moe shoujoholics among us), I am wondering why the alumni of my university that I’m calling don’t want to donate any amount of their money to the Annual Fund. See, I’m now in the second week of my work, and I have not been getting any paydirt since two Sundays ago when I got my first pledge. All the others in my group have had at least one per shift. I am currently 4 straight without a single pledge.

Some had their voicemails on, and for the purposes of my spiel, I am pretending that they don’t exist. The various alumni that I’ve been calling had their reasons. A few had their children going to universities already. Many cannot afford to donate, even though I was asking for anything that is comfortable for them. Some are angry with the university. Others think we’re the Alumni Association, which is a completely different entity. And the people I really dislike either don’t give a reason why they are not interested in donating, or just hang up when I introduce myself.

I then wonder why we have alumni that only use the university just to get a degree, and not even show a deeper appreciation for their alma mater. Do they not realize the consequences of not donating even just a measly $10.00? Have they no idea where they graduated from? Have they no idea what their purpose in life is? Okay, I suppose for the majority of my contacts, their purpose in life is to graduate from a university, get a job for 40 years, then vegetate and do nothing in their retirement while ignoring what got them there in the first place. How sad is that? Is this going to be how Generation Y will be: never learning the lessons of the Baby Boomers and X?

I mean, come on, this is Cal State Long Beach we’re talking about! This ain’t Dominguess Hills, or god forbid, Fail-erton. This is a university with the third-best value in the country! These alumni had the privilege of graduating from one of the best universities in the nation, donning the Brown and Gold (or Black and Gold if you want to be a technocrat) for 4, 5, or however many years they were a student. And for them not to even make any donation of any amount shows that they have chosen to take their education for granted. If every alumni on my Futures list donated 10 bucks each, we could be looking at many corporations across the USA and the world pitching in. See, alumni participation is crucial, because if the alumni donate, then the Fortune 500 companies will pitch in. This doesn’t take rocket science to figure this out. And many of the people I contact are Business majors, so this should not be something of an annoyance for them if they just donate $10 of their paycheck per year. It’s not much to ask. And these people don’t want to do it. While I do respect their decisions, shouldn’t these excuses-for-alumni realize that Cal State Long Beach’s status as one of the best in the nation is fueled by alumni like them who are frequent donors?

It really angers me that they don’t realize that a small donation doesn’t hurt. What’s worse is that many who will graduate this semester, or who will in the future, are going to do the same act of ignorance when they are in their prime of their lives, or retired and what not. May the spirit of Prospector Pete have mercy on their souls.