The following is a series of journal entries I wrote in my head during my Spring Break. Enjoy:

3/22 6:00 AM – Wow. So this is what it’s like to keep a journal. I feel like I’m in fifth grade again, except this time I won’t be crying relentlessly every time I finish an entry. Anyways, it’s still dark out as we travel through Seattle and into the Pass. We’ve decided to drive straight from Seattle to Vegas, which should take 20 hours. Thank God we forgot to bring CD’s too, because I really want to listen to the same 4 overplayed songs on the radio this whole trip.

3/22 2:21 PM – Hello from Idaho! Not that any of you could hear that, because there isn’t any sign of life here. I think we’ve been driving through this barren wasteland for an hour or two, and all we’ve seen is fields, a cow, and a sign for “Balanced Rock”. Apparently every other rock around Idaho is falling into oblivion along with the rest of the state.

3/22 6:02 PM – “If I could be sweet/I know I've been a real bad girl/I didn't mean for you to get hurt
/Forever, we can make it better/Tell me boy, now wouldn't that be sweet?/Sweet escape/Whohoe, whihoo/Whohoe, whihoo/Whohoe, whihoo/Whohoe, whihoo”

3/22 10:35 PM – We’ve been driving through the desert of Nevada all evening. Similar to Idaho in that there was nothing around, but at least it looked cool. Not to mention it’s warm here, which helps. We stopped in Ely and ate at the Hotel Nevada. Probably the most depressing thing I’ve ever seen. Everyone there looked so miserable, I almost expected to hear Nirvana playing on the loudspeaker in the Casino. To give you some perspective, the level of depression here makes Seattle look like Pleasantville. I’m still looking for the free cyanide next to the slot machines.

3/23 2:10 AM – We have arrived in Vegas. Excuse me while my head explodes from sensory overload.

3/23 4:00 PM - To describe Vegas in my own words seems would be impossible, or just end up looking like this, “WUSHANXK!!!”. So instead I’ll steal a line from one of my friends while we were walking the strip. “And you wonder why the terrorists hate us!?” Yeah, that about sums it up. After enjoying a buffet that could single handedly feed the entire African continent, we hit the strip, visiting almost every casino and hotel. Here are a couple observations from the day.

There a lot of beautiful women here.

There are a lot of hookers here .

There are a lot of beautiful hookers here.

I’m pretty sure Silicone is the most common element in a 5 mile radius of the Strip.

The Venetian and Caesar’s Palace are by far the most impressive thing’s I’ve ever seen in my life.

Scratch that, the Wynn is.

New York New York is more impressive on the outside than it is on the inside.

…Paris is nothing like this.

The MGM is classy.

The Bellagio fountain isn’t as cool in person as it was in the end of Ocean’s 11.

Did I mention the hookers?

 3/24 12:00 PM – Another day in Vegas. This time we’ll be spending most of our day gambling and reminding ourselves that we are poor college students and not high rollers. I’ll admit, we went to bed at 11 the previous night. In my defense, walking in the sun for 8 hours sucks the life out of you. It doesn’t help either when you convince yourself that you could in fact go back to the hotel room to “reenergize” and not end up blacking out for 8 hours.

3/24 3:00 PM – I just discovered something more depressing than Hotel Nevada. Losing 20 dollars in under 3 minutes playing black jack. I’ve never felt more like Kirk Cobain in my life.

3/24 3:30 PM – This women just showed up to a card table my friends are at, and dropped $800 in chips. She’s betting 150-200 every hand. A relative of a friend who we will visit tonight for dinner told us, “If you learn one thing in Vegas, it’s that you may think you know what money is, but you have no idea.” He was completely right. Wait, she just lost another 200 dollars. I think one of her eyebrows twitched. Nope, never mind. No emotional response whatsoever. Meanwhile I just lost five dollars, and I’m about to break the chair into pieces.

3/25 8:00 AM – I turn around to watch Vegas drift into the horizon as we make our way South to Arizona. I’ll admit, if you have never been to Vegas, you need to go. It’s pretty crazy. I’d recommend going a) now and b) again when you actually have crap loads of money to spend.

3/25 11:20 AM – “I wanna take you away/Lets escape into the music/DJ let it play/I just can't refuse it/Like the way you do this/Keep on rockin to it/Please don't stop the/Please don't stop the/Please don't stop the music”

3/25 1:00 PM – The Grand Canyon is a lot bigger than I expected it to be. You could almost say, its…Grand. And yes, that will be the last time I make a stupid pun out of something like that. Am I sure? No, I’m HIV Positive.

3/25 1:19 PM – After taking 30 “hey it looks like I’m falling 200 feet to my death” pictures and walking be dozens of other tourists who are doing the same thing, we call it quits and return to the car. Onward to Phoenix.

3/25 3:00 PM – F*** its hot out here.

3/25 7:54 PM – Arizona has a lot of old people. Which surprises me, because its so hot here, I’m half expecting to see Satan walking towards the 7-11 to get a Slurpee. Maybe it’s as if the elderly are just getting used their future surroundings. Wow, I’m so going to Hell for that one…wait, I’m already here. Eat it irony!

3/26 10:01 PM – We spent the night at another relative of a friends. Actually slept a good night’s sleep. I’ve developed a rash on my arm and foot. Not sure what it’s from, but hopefully it’ll go away. Now we’re in Tucson hanging out with another friend’s brother and cousin at the U of A. Got killed in some games of beer pong (go figure). My friend’s cousin showed us a video of a party that they’re having at their complex again on Saturday. Throngs of people drinking and going crazy, and get this, the complex holds it. As in, they’re completely aware there’s a thousand people going bat shit crazy, and they don’t give a damn. Talk about a different atmosphere than UW. We get shit for have 20 people at our place and making some noise at 1:00 AM, and down here they have cops who watch over the parties. Oh, and every complex/living area has a pool here. But I guess that makes sense when its 85 degrees in March.

3/27 12:15 AM - The people in the apartment below are playing the base so loud that there’s shit shaking in our apartment. Apparently they do this all the time, and this isn’t as bad as it usually gets. Did I mention it’s a Wednesday night here?

3/27 2:00 AM – Woke up to the sound of a whale dying. Turns out it was one of the girls below crying about being ugly or something stupid. Serves her right.

3/28 8:01 PM – “It starts in my toes/Makes me crinkle my nose/Where ever it goes I always know/That you make me smile/Please stay for a while now/Just take your time/Where ever you go”

3/28 1:02 PM – After driving all day through AZ, we stopped in LA for dinner then drove another five hours to San Fran where we stayed the night. Now we’re downtown, making our way to China town for lunch. My foot has begun to hurt like crazy from doing so much walking in my crappy pair of sandals. Thus, I’ve begun to limp.

3/28 1:15 PM – Man, out of all the Chinese restaurants, we chose the one with crappy food. And it’s begun to rain. I feel the end of the trip coming already.

3/29 5:00 PM – “No one no one no one/Can get in the way of what I'm feeling/No one no one no one/Can get in the way of what I feel for you/You you/Can get in the way of what I feel for you”.

3/29 8:14 PM – Back in Seattle. And its half-snowing… Hotel Nevada suddenly doesn’t seem so depressing.