In keeping with the school theme, let's visit our high school days and the cliques we had.

I went to Kailua High School (go Surfriders!) back in the mid-70's.  Kailua had a big mix of different ethnic as well as pop-cultures kids.  Being a surfer dude, we hung out on "the benches".  There was a sloped walkway leading from the classroom building to the cafeteria.  Along each side of the walkway were benches, divided by a crossing walkway that sort of divided the upper and lower benches.  All us Oriental (Asian wasn't a word we used back then) surfer guys hung out on the upper benches with some social club girls.  We'd hang out in our Levi's corduroy pants and silky shirts with the "jap slaps" slippers or the neoprene ones (what were those called?).  The girls would be wearing their backless muumuu with the black velvet jacket or shrink tops with pastel colored hip-huggers.  And we'd talk about surfing, socials, and other meaningless topics.

The lower bench was filled with non-Oriental surfer dudes.

On the very top part of the upper benches was the 'Nalo girls because it was next to the C building girls bathroom where they hung out to smoke.  One of those 'Nalo girls was actually a guy, but if you didn't know it, you couldn't tell.

The mokes hung out in the C building boys bathroom smoking their cigarettes.  I remember using that bathroom once in the 3 years that I was at Kailua.

Then there were the "mound hounds".  As you entered Kailua High School compound, there was about a 1/2 acre grassy area.  The mound hounds would sit in a circle of maybe 10 of them and puff the pakalolo.  They strategically sat in a circle in the center of the mound so every one of them could act as a "look out" and would shout out when they saw the "heat" coming.  They were the hippies of the school.

Then there was the jocks.  They'd hang out around the D or E building stairwells or on picnic tables fronting the gym.  The wannabe jocks would be playing basketball on the asphalt courts next to the locker rooms.

Across the gym was DeMello Hall which was an amusement room of sorts.  There was a coin operated shrunken down pool table and a juke box - video games weren't invented yet.  Mostly the future gamblers and hustlers hung out there.

In the center of the campus was a courtyard where the conservative students used to hang out.  These were mostly the ones that didn't fit into an clique.  And in a way, they were a clique among themselves.  Some of them would play chess there.  These are probably the CEO's in today's world.

There was a wall along side of the courtyard where all the drama students hung out.  I always thought these people were a bit strange when we tried so hard to be "cool" in high school and these folks chose to take up theater acting.  But hey, to each his own.

Auto shop would have the hot-rodders hanging out there getting their fingernails all filled with grease and trade stories about Holly quad-carburetors and Hooker headers.

The nerds used to hang out  in the Japanese class or other open classrooms.  And study or play Trumps.  My older brother used to hang out in the Audio/Visual room.  His excuse was that it was one of only a few air conditioned rooms on campus.  But I knew better.  What kind of people hang out in the A/V room?  Dorks.

Personal Computers weren't invented yet so there was no such thing as computer labs, thus there was no such thing as geeks yet.  I don't think the word "geek" even existed back then.

I never did take band, but I suppose the band geeks hung out in the band room.  I stand corrected - is guess the word "geek" did exist back then.  Isn't that right Bruddah Lance?

So what kind of cliques did your high school have?  Which ones did you hang out with?  Jocks?  Band?  Surfers?  Racers?  Nerds?  Dopers?  Social clubs?  Parking lot?

Well, today officially begins the first day of school for public schools.  The summer break that the kids have today is nothing like the 3 months off that we had back in our day.

I remember that our first day of school was always the Tuesday following the Labor Day holiday.  It was a bittersweet time.  Sad that the long days of playing are over, but exciting to see who'll be in your new class.

But to me, it was mostly depressing.  The excitement of who was in my new class wore off quickly.  But the longing for days of playing stayed in my mind constantly.

On that last day of summer, I used to stay out until the sun set behind the Koolau mountains and watched the last slivers of sunlight faded away into the dark sky of the night.  It would seem like an eternity until summer was going to return once again.  I mean, I'd have to go though Fall, Winter, and Spring until summer break was here once again.  And when you're just a kid - it was an eternity.  Very depressing.

I used to get that same feeling during the school year when Sunday evening came around.  Sitting outside, watching the rays of sun shooting up against the sky as the sun slowly sank behind the mountains.  The depression started when I heard the Mutual of Omaha Wild Kingdom closing and the opening of Let's Go Fishing with Bruce Carter.

When the Ed Sullivan show came on, I was already in a deep funk.  By the time Carol Burnett was tugging on her earlobe and saying good-night, I was already resigned to the fact that the weekend was officially over and it'll be another eternity (a whole week) before the weekend would be here again.  I never was one to enjoy school.

How about you?  Did you enjoy school when you were little and looked forward to going?  Didn't mind it?  Or were you like me, where you'd become depressed knowing that the summer/weekend went by too fast and it'll be almost like, forever, until the next break came along?  Any first day of school stories you'd like to share?

Last week Monday (7/21), I hit the big Five Oh - 50 years old.  And what better way to spend it than a vacation in Las Vegas - The Happiest Place On Earth (for Midlifers).  No big fanfare.  Just Paula and me - shopping, gambling, and eating.

We were scheduled to fly out on Thursday at 1:00 PM.  But on Thursday morning at about 9:00 AM, I got a call from Vacations Hawaii.  The airplane is delayed in Las Vegas with mechanical problems.  The tentative flight is rescheduled for 5:00 PM, so we'll need to be at the airport at 3:00, but to call after 12 noon to be sure.  So after 12 noon we call and were told that the plane won't be in until later that evening and the new departure time is 6:30 on Friday morning, so be at the airport by 4:30 AM.  And that we will be compensated for the lost day.

Friday morning we made it to the airport at 4:30 AM.  The moon was full and peeking behind the coconut trees.  It's what tourist live for.

We got in to Las Vegas at around 3:00 PM, got our rent-a-car and made a bee-line for Trader Joe's to pick up some bottled water.  But first, I just had to snap a picture of the iconic Welcome To Fabulous Las Vegas sign.  We checked in, settled down, fed ourselves to an early dinner and then fed the machines for the rest of the evening.  Here's a view from our room at The California hotel.

The weather was clear as you can see.  Oh, did I mention that it was hot?

The next day was Saturday which meant shopping (ok, everyday meant shopping).  First stop was Meadows Mall.  No damage done there (in other words, we didn't buy anything).  Then a stop at the 99¢ store (since Paula's reading glasses broke) to get a few more pairs.  Then on to Burlington Coat Factory.  If you like Ross', you'll love Burlington Coat Factory.  They don't just sell coats there.  Minor damage done there.  Then it was time to hit the Las Vegas Premium Outlet mall - aka The Downtown Outlet mall.  They added a new wing which equates to more stores and a bigger Coach outlet store.  There is even a True Religion outlet store there.  I found a pair for jeans marked down to $89!  But I resisted and told Paula that if I hit a jackpot, then I'll buy them.  Even checked out the French Connection United Kingdom or FCUK store, but came out empty handed.  We headed back to the hotel for dinner and some more gambling.  It was on the Diamond Head poker machines that we were playing.  Actually, I was playing and Paula was watching as she wasn't doing to good - gambling wise.  I held a pair of aces and saw 2 more aces pop up - Woot!  Four of a Kind!  Then Paula says "4 Aces with the kicker!".

A $500 jackpot

Paula says now I can buy myself those jeans.

Sunday morning after breakfast we head straight to the Downtown Oulet mall and I score myself my first ever pair of True Religion jeans.

Then we headed over to the other Burlington Coat Factory store for some more shopping.  Nothing exciting at that store, so we head to the Las Vegas Outlet Mall - aka Belz.  Cruised  the mall and found a few bargains.  Oh yeah, as I mentioned in an earlier blog entry, I was planning on getting my first ever Senior Discount on Monday when I turned 50.  But as we read the sign, the 50 Plus Club discount is only good on Tuesdays, the day we were scheduled to return home so it wasn't going to happen on this trip.  But I still had to preserve the thought:

After leaving Belz, we headed to the South Point hotel and casino to try our luck on the Hot Rod progressive poker machines.  Made a little bit on money, but nothing substantial.  So we decided to head back to the hotel the long way - down The Strip.

Caught a glimpse of the Bellagio water show

When they build in Las Vegas, they don't fool around

We got back to The Cal, took our purchases up to the room, and headed back down for dinner.  Tried our luck on the video poker again - no luck.  Tried the video Keno - no luck.  Walked on over to Main Street - no luck.  Okay, called it an early night.

Monday was our last day for shopping so we headed first to Trader Joe's to stock up on the omiyage.  Then it was back to Belz for a quick exchange that Paula had to do - wrong size.  A quick swing back to South Point hotel and casino to deposit some money, then I told Paula that I wanted to check out the new mall that was built next to Fry's Electronics.  So we did a drive though.  Wow!  I was impressed with this place.  It's named:

And it's built just like a little village.  There's a big Whole Foods in the front corner of the complex that looks like it's just about ready to open, but the rest of the mall consists of smaller upscale shops.  And there are little restaurants with outdoor seating and roads that go though the complex - just like a little town.  There is even a town center.  A multi-level parking structure is just on the outside of the village so as not to disrupt the charm of this little oasis in the middle of the desert.  A map of Town Square can be found on their web site here (roll over Directory and select Interactive Map).  There is even a theater complex.  It appears to be only about 1/2 occupied right now but more shops are opening up in the near future.  We didn't get out and walk around but did drive around to snap a bunch of pictures.  Here's a little preview of Town Square, Las Vegas:

This place is huge

It's very well maintained

It's like it's own little town in Las Vegas 

Cozy outdoor cafe

A nice mix of architecture

Little kiosks outside of Juicy Couture

A gazebo in the center of town for performances

A beautifully manicured lawn in the center of town

Even a water feature for the children to frolic in during the hot summer days

These strings of lights adds to the village charm.  It must be beautiful at night.

What's a town without an Apple store?

If you look closely, you can see the Oakley guy with the Rock On hand sign

Security uses Segways to get around a town this big

Ann Taylor

I told Paula that when we come back in the winter, we'll have to return to Town Square and walk around in the cold, brisk winter air.  I'm sure we can spend a whole day there.  I'm so looking forward to returning there.

We still had some time to kill so we drove over to the MGM to eat a pretzel from New York Pretzel and visit the lions.

Aren't they just too cute.

After the MGM, we stopped by Fashion Show mall to see if any sales were going on and just to make the most of the vacation time we had left.  I was able to snap these pictures of the Wynn and it's new tower, Encore.

We then headed back to The Cal for our last night in Sin City.  Ate a nice dinner and proceeded to spend the rest of our allowance in the machines.  I put my Player's Card in and lo and behold, they remembered my special day!

We packed our things and all our purchases, stayed up the whole night as we always do on the last night of our stay, checked out at 5:00 AM and headed to the car rental return.  Checked in at the airport, forced ourselves to stay awake until the airplane was on it's way home.  We always sleep on the flight back - it just seems to make the trip that much quicker.  And we returned home to 2 happy dogs and our two daughters.

I couldn't think of a nicer way to celebrate my 50th birthday.  I mean, hitting Megabucks would've made my birthday complete.  Heck, it would've made my life complete, but such was not the case.  But I have no complaints.  We had fun.  We won a few jackpots, but ended up leaving our gift from President Bush (stimulus check) in Las Vegas.

One thing that we didn't do on this trip is get our fix of In-N-Out burger.

Oh yeah, and what would a shopping trip be without me bringing home this:

Yup, another pair of shoes

Time for another Friday5.org session.  Today's topic: Metaphors
*Las Vegas recap will be up on Sunday.  Promise.

1. When you go to the beach, lake, or pool, are you more likely to lower yourself gradually into cold water or to take a determined plunge and get it over with?
2. How is this like (or unlike) your approach to other tasks or ordeals?
3. When someone gives you flowers, are you more likely to let them turn completely brown and gross before throwing them out, or to discard them the moment they take on that sick-flower look?
4. How is this like (or unlike) your approach to other gifts, purchases, or relationships?
5. Think of your favorite movie (or a movie you really like, if you can’t think of a favorite). Some people say that the reasons you love your favorite movie are related to what you value in romantic relationships. How is this true or untrue in your case?

I've left the above questions without answers for you to cut and paste them into your reply if you'd like.  You can then type your answers right below each question.

So here I go:

1. When you go to the beach, lake, or pool, are you more likely to lower yourself gradually into cold water or to take a determined plunge and get it over with?
   I lower myself gently - to allow for shrinkage.    Then after I get acclimated (to put it nicely), I take the plunge.
   
2. How is this like (or unlike) your approach to other tasks or ordeals?
   It is very like my approach to other tasks or ordeals.  Perhaps having a programming background, I like to analyze the situation first, then when I feel ready - I'll dive right in.  Some people call it procrastination.  I like to think of it as analyzing the situation. 
3. When someone gives you flowers, are you more likely to let them turn completely brown and gross before throwing them out, or to discard them the moment they take on that sick-flower look?
   Being the sentimental fool that I am, I like to keep flowers as long as I can. When they start to stink, then I throw them out.  Paula says I'm a junk collector.  I just say I'm sentimental.
4. How is this like (or unlike) your approach to other gifts, purchases, or relationships?
   With 30 something bottles of cologne and a closet full of shoes - what do you think?  I even keep empty bottles of cologne.  Old shoes are tossed, though.  I guess there is hope after all...
5. Think of your favorite movie (or a movie you really like, if you can’t think of a favorite). Some people say that the reasons you love your favorite movie are related to what you value in romantic relationships. How is this true or untrue in your case?
   Hmm... My favorite movies are Kill Bill and Young Guns - what does that say about my romantic relationships - I like action?   What guy doesn't?  So it must be true.

Your turn.  Dish out your Friday5 metaphors.

Hey everyone!  Thanks for the birthday wishes and playing the Word Association Game.  Hope you had fun.  And thanks to QueenBee Shauna for making sure everyone behaved - and for playing along too. 

I'm in the process of uploading my pictures and writing my entry but the vacation is catching up with me (in other words, I need sleep) so I won't have an entry ready until Friday.  But I'll leave you with one picture for now:

Treasure Chest poker: 4-of-a-kind brings up 5 treasure chests then you pick one.  The treasure can be 140, 180, 250, 500, (that's credits) and the jackpot is $1199.  Close but no cigar.  Considering that 140 usually comes up a majority of the time, hey!, I'll take it.