Conquering the Adult Playground of America

Many of you know that I recently took a trip to Las Vegas at the beginning of July. Me and two friends from college (let's call them Sasha and Ivy because those were the fake names we donned while there....mine was Harley in case you were curious) packed up and flew out for five days. I would be lying if I said I wasn't nervous. It was a new place after all and nicknamed "sin city" for a reason -- an adult playground where most anything goes and is accepted behavior. But, I can say with confidence that I had an amazing time, experienced things that I'll never forget, and would love to go back again someday. Before I get into the details, was there anything that happened in Vegas that stayed in Vegas? Yes. It was wonderful and exciting and no regrets and that is what I will say about that.

Being in our early twenties, the one thing we wanted to experience was the nightclub scene and experience we did.....EVERY night. We went to small clubs and huge clubs and clubs with lounging couches and even had a V.I.P. experience on our last night there at the Playboy Club at the Palms Hotel. I met so many different kinds of people from all over the world. We were stuck on a double-decker bus with two native (and handsome-as-hell) French men who taught us a bit of french, partied with two girls from England whose word for drunk was "pissed", a hilarious cab driver from Virginia and two older ladies from New Hampshire who we met in the pool with their big hats and jewelry who officially labeled themselves our "Vegas grandmas" and were two of the funniest and most genuine people I have met. Oh....and the MEN in Vegas........they are something else......I swear. One man offered to be our pimps and help us make money, I had a man bluntly say this exact phrase to me -- "You have beautiful eyes. Want to f*** in the elevator?" When I politely declined his offer, he counteroffered with "How about a hand job? Or a feel?" Another man I danced with at the club told me I made him hot and he wanted to "marinate" me if I'd come by his hotel room.....no joke...marinate? Like you marinate meat before you cook it? Had to chuckle at that one so good thing it was loud and dark in the club.

You need to come to Vegas with an open mind and heart and not take anything too seriously. It's about coming to the party and making it fun. You meet some doozies and may have an offensive remark thrown your way once in a while and if you let it get to you, you will have a miserable time. But if you can throw the remark back in a whitty, humorous way or brush it off or laugh it down, then you will fit in just fine. For every gross or preverted person you might meet, there are 10 or 20 good people you will run into. Well, this is Part I of three blogs I will be doing about Vegas. There's so many subjects to talk about, it hard to fit them in to one blog. My next blog will talk about being a girl in Vegas because being a girl in Vegas is GREAT and being a guy in Vegas SUCKS. I'll tell you why next time!
Later dayz,
Steph

Having a Passion for Hauntings

So, me and a very good friend of mine Emily recently took a trip down to Decatur, IL to attend the Lucky 13 Haunting Conference. It is basically a gathering of paranormal groups, investigators, and paranormal fans like me and Em who come together and talk about the paranormal. They had different speakers on many different subjects (one of them sex...go figure!) and lots of stories to tell. We were unable to get onto any of the sold out haunting tours that were happening, but it was still something to experience. Best of all, I was able to meet with Troy Taylor. He's like the king of paranormal. He's traveled all over the country holding investigations and has written over 60 books on the subect. And to my deligtful surprise, he is one of the most down-to-earth and coolest people to talk to. By coincidence, he was staying in the same hotel as us and came into the bar where we chatted a bit. I met so many different paranormal groups..ordinary people/friends who get together and check out haunted places. I met the owner of the Bartonville insane asylum that me and Em toured together back in November. We bounced back and forth our own stories of our haunted experiences and it was excited to have people who have a passion for this as much (and sometimes more!) than I do. I've loved learning about hauntings since I was a kid in front of the television watching "Unsolved Mysteries" while others were tuning into "Party of Five." To do this for a living would be such an experience -- to travel and meet people and hear their stories and try to get them some validation. We had groups with techology galore, others with matching T-shirts, and little ole me and Em, who probably looked outta place, but we soon got comfortable with the atmosphere. There was one other highlight of our weekend and that was the reading we signed up for with the famed psychic Ken Berg. Though I will not say what he told Em (in case she'd rather keep that to herself), I will share some things he saw for me:


1. I will be taking an exciting trip within the next two months and will have a great time

2. There is a change of residence within the next year

3. I will be getting more responsibility at my job but I will not hold that job or stay on that job path by the next year

4. No sudden deaths or health problems within my family for the next year.

5. I will be a mom someday -- he is saying 3 kids

6. I have a fear of rejection

7. A relationship dynamic will change within the next three months

8. I really hold back with men and should put myself out there more. The results will be good if I do.

I think that was the gist of it. I was kinda unprepared because he does a tarot card reading and then you can ask him questions. I would like to do it again and have questions prepared. I would like to learn more about what areas he thinks I would be good at with a career (since I'm stuck on that right now). I know maybe I shouldn't rely on a psychic to find that out but another opinion wouldn't hurt. He had some good insights with not only me but on Em as well. Wouldn't mind doing it again sometime. He's back in October. :)

I've attached a couple articles that explains more about the various speakers and activities that happened over the weekend. He does a really good job at reporting the details of the events and tells it better and with a better memory than I have.
http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977718294
http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977718310

If you are interested in coming with me on future endeavors, I get the ideas from this great website. They have overnight excursions, haunted tours, conferences, and other events. Take a look and let me know if you want to go! Visit http://www.prairieghosts.com/
Later Dayz,

Steph