What Happens in Vegas Stays in Vegas

Until you have to call your bank.

The weekend of the 12th was the birthday trip to Vegas. I have to say, it was one of the better birthdays. But if you read the highlights I put up last year, they weren't hard to top. 

We stayed at the Venetian, which was gorgeous, and it wasn't weird to have a room with his brother. We actually had a lot of fun. Normal, clean fun. No freaky stuff going on there.
Birthday dinner was at Mon Ami Gabi in Paris. I'd told Tee I wanted a French dinner, and asked him to make the arrangements and surprise me. It was really good, and I got a surprise birthday cream puff with a candle in it. On a bad note, I could feel blisters forming before we even got to the restaurant. But hey, we got a few catcalls about how good I looked, so I guess it was worth it. And the food was great. We had paté for an appetizer, and for entrees I had trout and he had steak. We were discussing dessert when Tee mentioned it was my birthday, so the waiter said he had a surprise. We ended up with (ordered) chocolate mousse, and a surprise cream puff with a candle. We couldn't finish either one, but they were both fantastic. 

Our adventure next took us to the Chandelier inside the Cosmopolitan. Guys. Guys. It was soooo coooool. I was inside the sparkles! I imagine a really awesome dressing room like that. Plus, they have this drink called the Verbena. It's trippy. The drink is kind of like a margarita, but tastes a bit like lemonade. It also comes with a Sichuan flower, which you eat after trying the drink. That's when it gets weird. Your mouth gets numb and tingly, and the drink tastes completely different. I wasn't even able to describe what it tasted like afterwards, but it was definitely an experience. We had 2, and then the fun kind of wore off. That was about enough, as I couldn't even walk back to the hotel, and took my shoes off as soon as we were inside. Gross, sure, but so were the horrific blisters. Especially the one that created the blister on the blister. Blister-ception! Gross.

Let's see. Oh. Saturday we had to go shopping, because I obviously couldn't wear heels again. And shop I did. So much so, that my card got declined. I've never had an issue in the US, and I was able to just switch it to debit, but I decided I better call the bank. I always have good experiences with the customer service people from the bank, and this time was no different. 
He asked if the last purchase I made was at Victoria's Secret, I affirmed, and he kept saying he wasn't judging, then said "what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas!" To which I replied "yeah, until you have to call your bank!" Tee-hee, I'm so clever!
We went back out for more shopping; Tee is such a trooper! Even when I got tired cranky and couldn't find shoes that I wanted, he was patient and sweet.

We got all our shopping done and went to see Zarkana that night. It was amazing, just like the other Cirque shows I've seen. We were also 3 rows from the stage, so that was definitely a plus. The things those people can do are ridiculous!

The next day I did some outlet shopping with the girls, and then we had one last drunken evening, but ended pretty early. I just can't party like I used to, but I guess that's okay. 

It was a great birthday, and a great trip. Course I needed a vacation post-vacation. Viva Las Vegas! 

Open the Wound

"Your heart won't heal right if you keep tearing out the sutures."

Soldier sent me a message on the facebook last night. It was quite innocent--he wanted to order a Christmas gift for his mom and thought I might have a better idea of what size he should get. It was surprisingly difficult to find a size chart, so we chatted while I looked. (On that subject...what the heck? Why do some places make it so difficult for you to give them your money?! Jerks.) 
Eventually we both gave up and picked the best option, but we kept chatting. I let him know that I had gotten a book for his new nephew and would like him to pass it along, and take credit for it. He said he objected to that idea on the moral grounds that he didn't want to lie and say the book was from him when it was from me. 

En garde. 

At this point it kind of turned into a verbal fencing match. Not that I've ever seen a really fencing match. Do they even call them matches? Also, it wasn't verbal, it was written. Typed. Man, this is a really terrible analogy. I actually only want to be able to use some fencing terms, so just go with it. On a semi-unrelated note, I think I'd like to learn how to fence. How much fun would that be?! And I did indeed look up fencing terms for this sole purpose. There are a lot of them! Forgive me if I use them incorrectly. I'm just trying to be a cool kid. I think I'm doing it wrong.

So my first attaque was telling him that I had no tie anymore to the nephew or parents, that I didn't want to be the weird ex that won't go away. His dérobement was that I was a nice person and they'd appreciate it. He went on to say I could come to the family Christmas party and give it to them myself and, for the contre-attaque he told me that Tee could come to. Shit, there are way too many fencing terms and stuff I don't understand. 
Soldier then pulled a changement de rythme and started asking about Tee, and our relationship, while giving an excuse about making small talk. I told him Tee is still wonderful. He attempted a remise by asking if Tee wants kids. This should have resulted in a carton rouge for him. My esquive was simply to say that I didn't know, hoping he'd drop it. He continued his attaque, saying that I should find out, because I want kids. Then he wanted to know why I haven't asked. I finally made my contre-attaque by saying the last time I focused too much on the future it went quite badly. 

It kind of fell apart after that. He once again apologized for the way things went, and I reminded him that we both made mistakes. He denied that, and said I was perfect; a vast change from what he'd said before. Somewhere in this he also admitted that he was enjoying some wine. Knowing he was drunk and lonely, I tried to keep the conversation civil and platonic. 
He paid me some more compliments, peppered with admissions that he was drunk and probably should go to bed. Eventually I took the initiative and cut the conversation. 

So what's this new attitude? Maybe he's just looking for a fuck buddy. (Sorry, Mom, I know you're probably cringing right now. But to be fair I did tell you that you probably shouldn't read the bloggy-blog). But what if it's more than that, and the guy I haven't been able to get out of my heart has finally seen the error of his ways? 
Don't worry, I'm not about to break things off with Tee to find out. Thankfully I'm not that stupid. But it is cruel the way the world works. I do feel for him though, and I'm having a tough time with it. Besides, I know that this is a shitty time to be alone. It is interesting though...no matter what they say, they always come back.