Leaving Las Vegas

My job in Las Vegas has ended and I'm finally going to say goodbye to room 16103 at the Palms and my 14 hour days at the Thomas & Mack. My first freelance job was a lot of fun and I am glad everything worked out as well as it did. The NBA is interested in hiring me for some future projects including some D-League projects as well.

I'm excited to finally spend sometime with my husband but first we're headed to Salt Lake to help Kerry move. I'll be heading up in a few hours and Quent will be not be far behind. We're happy that Kerry was able to sell her house so quickly and that we are going to be able to come up and help her.

Hopefully my next post will be about our lives in Big Water, hence the name of the blog. Until next time...

The tournament lives on ....

I am now entering day nine in Las Vegas and day two of the second round of the tournament. Uruguay did advance to the second round with a surprising record of 3-1, this made me happy as their team was not expected to do very well.

I am counting the days (or minutes) until I can leave Vegas. The Palms Hotel is a nice place to stay but is also the party hotel, which means a lot of people. I am excited to get home so I can deal with the crowds of rabbits not the crowds of crazy people.

Quent informed me the other day that we will possibly going to Vegas in December for a couple of days for a convention. This I can't wait for. At least I know I won't be staying at the Palms!

Quent is getting ready to head to Salt Lake and said everything is going well at home. Apparently they moved mud this morning, probably from the rain and flash floods from yesterday.

Slot Machines Anyone?

Yesterday was the first day since the tournament started that I didn't have to work 14 hours, some might say that I got off early for good behavior. So instead of getting back to the hotel at 11:30 p.m. I made it back to the Palms at about 7:30 p.m. After leaving the arena at 5:30 or so I decided to make a quick stop on the strip on my back, and believe me nothing on the strip is quick.

I went against my better judgment and parked in the MGM Grand parking garage, who knew there was a concert there last night. After navigating to the top level to park it took me 30 minutes just to walk through the hotel to get where I needed to be. Once safely back in my car (over an hour later) I decided that I was headed back to my hotel room to call it a night.

I got a little restless about 9:00 p.m. and decided it was time for the chocolate shake I had been craving all day, so I put on my flip-flops and took some cash out of the safe and thought maybe I should test my luck with the penny slots. Believe me this was the best decision I'd made all day. I took my $10 and turned it in to over $100 and then got my chocolate shake. Not soon after than I tried my luck again only this time the stakes were a little higher and my winnings were a just a little bit higher this time.

Quent went fishing with Nob on Saturday and thankfully gave all the fish he caught to Nob. He reports it wasn't very much to begin with. He is getting ready for his aunt and uncle to visit him this week. And then head up to Salt Lake to help Kerry get packed up and moved.

Until the next post...Viva (or FIBA) Las Vegas!

What Happens in Vegas...

What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas, we've all seen the ads on TV promoting Sin City. And believe me with all the crazy things I've seen, I think it's a great marketing campaign. Today begins day four for me in Vegas and the second of the FIBA Olympic qualifying tournament.

Yesterday went better than expected for the opening day of the tournament. After spending 14 straight hours at the Thomas and Mack Center and watching four basketball games this is what I've learned:

• I would like to see Uruguay make it to the second round, those guys have heart. After trailing by as many as 15 in the second half they rallied back and forced overtime and upset Panama in the opening game of the tournament.
  
  
• I have also learned that I need to learn Spanish. It's really tough to run a post game press conference when you have no idea what the participants are saying.
  
  
• Team USA killed Venezuela in a riveting final game of day one. It was a like NBA Stars playing against the local high school team.
  
  
• And the last thing I learned was that if you get back to your room late enough tomorrow's newspaper will already be on your door.
  

Quent reports that Big Water is still the same and I think he is enjoying getting back to the routine of work and life with me on the road. The difference is that after I am finished with this road trip I will actually be returning to Big Water instead of Salt Lake.

Just where is Big Water?

Welcome to our blog! Quent and I were married on August 11, 2007 at the Millcreek Inn located in Millcreek Canyon in Salt Lake City, Utah. After a quick trip to San Diego and a couple of days in Salt Lake, we finally made it to Big Water on Friday, August 17 about 2 a.m. (Utah time).
Big Water is located near the Utah/Arizona border just a few miles from the Wahweap marina at Lake Powell. Quent is a fish biologist and runs the Wahweap fish hatchery located about 2.5 miles north of town.

Quent had to return to work on Monday and I went Las Vegas for two weeks to work for the NBA at the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament. So not much has changed with us, we are now married but still miles apart. After the tournament is over and a quick labor day trip to Salt Lake to help Quent's sister move, we will return to Big Water where Cindy plans on staying for at least two solid weeks.

More about Big Water: The Big Water town site, originally called Glen Canyon City, was first settled in the 1950s as a construction camp for workers on the Glen Canyon Dam. Operation of the dam as well as the Navajo Power Plant near Page, Arizona sustained Glen Canyon City after the dam's completion. In 1976 Alex Joseph and his extended polygamous family settled in Glen Canyon City because they had been forced off Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land they had unsuccessfully attempted to homestead. Joseph and his group became politically active and successfully petitioned for incorporation. Glen Canyon City was incorporated with a new name, Big Water, on 29 Dec 1983. Alex Joseph became the first mayor. *Taken from the Utah State Divisions of Archives & History*