vegas baby

so a couple weeks ago i went to vegas for about 18 hours. my friend had her work christmas party there and she invited me to go with her. we drove up saturday morning for her work party that evening. because of church obligations we had to leave early sunday morning. anyways, although we only spent about 12 hours actually in vegas, it was a great time. after the work party we went and rode the rides on the top of the stratosphere. to ride all 3 rides and go to the top its about $24 a person. not terribly cheap, but if you like roller coasters, it it totally worth it. im including videos of each of the three rides. i have been on rides like the one where you shoot up and down. this one is particularly great because it has the added element of being on top of a huge needle in the middle of vegas. the other two are just ridiculous. you cant really tell, but the one where you are spinning, you are suspended in the air over the edge of the stratosphere. there is nothing below you but the ground which is over 100 stories below. its absolutely nuts. you are latched onto this big arm with raises you in the air, then pivots and extends you out so you are no longer above the roof of the stratosphere and then it starts spinning with your chair angled towards the ground. its just stupid. but as crazy as that ride is, it wasnt even the scariest.

the worst for me was x-scream. we sat in the front row for this one. it is truly a 'thrill ride.' not a roller coaster. none of them are really roller coasters. but ive never been legitimately scared on a roller coaster. this one actually got to me, to the point that i wasnt even really enjoying it because i really was fearing my life. which usually doesnt happen to me. normally i know that i am strapped in so nothing will happen, but that wasnt enough reassurance with this ride. which is strange because it didnt seem like the worst of the three. its a simple ride. you just roll out to the end of the track and then you roll back. repeat three times. it sounds harmless. but you roll out so fast and break so hard that you legitimately fear that the breaks wont work. plus, they roll you out to the end and then the track drops. after two times i was begging that we wouldnt go a third time because i wasnt sure if i could handle it. anyways, it was a blast and quite a rush. a ton of fun. i highly recommend it if you like 'thrill rides.' im not sure if i will ever ride them again. i already survived the misery and dont wish it upon myself again. just upon you.

macaroni grill

so i remember awhile ago my friend karl telling me that he felt he was done eating at chain restaurants. i dont even know if he remembers saying that or if has sticked to it. at the time i remember thinking that was something typical for karl to say. i dont really know what that means or why that would be typical of karl, but i thought it was a bold statement and pretty ridiculous and a little pompous perhaps. but im beginning to realize that karl has a good mentality or is on the right track. and i realized this a month or so ago when i went out to eat at macaroni grill. now macaroni grill is a fine restaurant. but its just fine. nothing more, and nothing less. just an average time in my opinion. i didnt hate my meal, but there was nothing wonderful about it either. granted i wasnt expecting any sort of fine italian cuisine, and i realized that i am paying only about $12 a plate which isnt too bad, but i just realized that there is no point in even eating there. once upon a time it was a great restaurant and i loved the bread and most everything it had to offer. now, its just blah and average. ill go there about once a year because ill forget how average it is and remember how i used to love the place, but after going ill realize that nothing has changed and that it doesnt have anything to offer me anymore. like the gap.

now i dont think this applies to all chain restaurants. there are many great ones still. i go to corner bakery often. i still like pei wei. its just that when i first heard karl's statement, i thought it was ridiculous, but im realizing that it is hardly ridiculous. there is a lot of sense to it.

and i dont feel as though if i choose not to go to chain restaurants that im being some sort of food snob. well, perhaps i am and i guess thats alright. but i dont think its really being a food snob. its more of me needing to lower my expectations and recognize what i will be receiving at these restaurants. just mediocrity (not at all of course. some are just delicious and have special places in our hearts etc.). pretty good food at a pretty reasonable price. i didnt hate the food, but i chose to go there so i cant complain that i wasnt blown away by the meal. its my fault. i just dropped $40 for my date and i, which is fine, but i can easily find better food for that price elsewhere. and i think that is what i realized after macaroni grill. i can find better food for the same price. so come on karl. lets go place ourselves above the masses in society and scoff at them because we are food snobs and have convinced ourselves that few places have something, if anything to offer us. i feel special already.