Stay Naked Sunday and Mister Las Vegas
Another Stay Naked Sunday has rolled around, and seeing as how it’s time for brunch and it’s his turn to cook, I’m going to see about getting some things done today from the comfort of my bed as I sit here all warm and cuddly under the duvet with the cats keeping me company. Stay Naked Sunday did have a brief interruption tho; I woke up first this morning and threw my robe on to go downstairs and make a cup of tea and grab the Sunday paper from the front porch, but when I opened the door, the newspaper was conspicuously missing. I don’t think anyone swiped it, or at least I don’t think anyone would, but this has happened before. The boy who delivers the papers in my neighborhood is a sweet kid, and on Sunday mornings I sometimes see him with his father and their car loaded up with papers, driving all around the streets that make up our quiet little neighborhood. During the week he does his paper route by himself, but there’s no way that he’d manage that without help on Sundays, and it’s kind of sweet to see the two of them out and about making their deliveries. But, no such luck, and no Sunday newspaper today.
So I went back inside and threw on my sweats and coat and got in the car to go up to the convenience store around the corner to buy a paper. It’s not a long walk, but its way too cold and far too icy still to be walking anywhere, especially on a Stay Naked Sunday morning! A few minutes later I was standing in line waiting to buy my paper and I noticed that the line wasn’t moving. I peered around a rather large man to see what the hold up was and I noticed a particularly older man at the counter engrossed in his morning betting as if he were at the track and had just plunked down a couple grand on Saber-Tooth to win.
I’m not a big fan of the lottery or even gambling for that matter, aside from a free trip I managed to take with my husband to Atlantic City when he was doing some shows with the Isley Brothers at the Tropicana several years ago, I’m just not a big gambler. I’ll admit to throwing down a buck or two every now and then when the Powerball Jackpot gets up there, like say around 100 million dollars or more, but I’ve never been one of those daily lotto players.
But here he was, Mister Las Vegas, holding up the line as he called off all his numbers, combinations of numbers, backwards, forwards, this box, that box, upside down, insurance on the bet, and all out of his head, and all to the dismay of the frazzled girl punching numbers into the state lotto machine as fast as he was calling them out to her. Good lord. All I want is a paper. When he finally settled up his bets, after buying a few scratch tickets for good measure, he had managed to spend fifty dollars on the lottery on this Stay Naked Sunday morning, and I have to confess that this isn’t the first time I’ve seen this kind of thing. I mean, it’s his money and if he wants to take his chances on the state lottery, be my guest, but I wonder what compels someone to wake up on a Sunday morning and spend fifty bucks on lotto.
Gambling is such a huge issue in the part of the country where I live. Two American Indian Tribes have full fledged, absolutely gorgeous casinos in Connecticut; Foxwoods and the Mohegan Sun, and other tribes want to build casinos in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, which for a time caused a bombardment of television advertising all around election season last November. Sadly, the Indians lost, as usual. Another victory for the white man, oh joy. Maybe I’m just feeling cranky and cynical because it took me fifteen minutes just to buy a newspaper which should have been waiting for me on my front steps when I opened the door this morning.
Wow, what a bitch I am! :biggrin:
So anyway, what else is going on?
It’s school vacation time which means that I will get absolutely NO work done this week, and I’ve planned around that, anticipating that I’ll be wearing the mom hat all week; handing out twenty dollar bills as if I were printing them myself, and driving my son and his friends here, there, and everywhere. Good lord, my son has a more active social life than I do! But it should be a fun week. I’m finding that as he gets older the only thing I seem to be good for is serving as his personal ATM and Taxi Service, (as well as his maid and waitress), but that seems to be the way that it’s supposed to be. All I care about is that he grows up safe, doesn’t get himself into too much trouble, stays off drugs and doesn’t get some girl pregnant. If we can manage that, then I think I’ve done my job well.
And what is wrong with Britney Spears? Has everyone seen what this girl did to herself? She shaved her head completely bald! Honey, shave your pussy yes, but keep the hair on your head! The poor thing! This is such a cry for help.
Things here in geishaland are coming along nicely as the build out and content surge continues. I’ve opened yet another section, Geek Girl where I let my inner geekiness shine, and I’ve got some things coming along for the Life Lessons section as well as the Social Issues section. I did say that I thought it could be fun rebuilding my cyber home, and to some degree it has been fun, but it’s a lot of work. The Links page is full, and I hope I’ve got everyone on my blogroll who was there before, and there are quite a few new blogs I’m sharing links with now too, which is very nice! Thank you! I still have to work on some of the pages which are still protected, but I’m getting there.
And I don’t know about anyone else, but I want an iPhone! Isn’t this the most beautiful thing you’ve ever laid eyes on? :silly: Oh yes, the geeky girl is out of the closet now! :w00t:
So, my brunch is ready, I’m getting undressed and slipping back under the duvet to enjoy the rest of Stay Naked Sunday. Try and stay warm and enjoy the rest of your weekend!
1Lady Neaya
wrote on 18 February 2007 at 21:31
Hey Ms Nina,
Sounds cozy over there! Just wanted to stop by & catc up on the happs in geisha-land! Love Ya Much!
Neaya
2nina
wrote on 18 February 2007 at 22:39
Hey there Ms Neaya! :silly:
Mmmm, a very cozy day no doubt. Very relaxed here in geishaland today, but I think things are about to get very interesting in my bedroom in just a little bit!
xoxo,
nina
3The Butterfly Temptress
wrote on 19 February 2007 at 8:05
Oh Nina!
I’m sorry about the delay in getting your Sunday paper. I know the kind of person you’re talking about. How I wish I had fifty to spend every Sunday on the lottery!!
Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun….what memories! When I was living in CT a lot of my friends had family members that worked at one of those places. It was the first time I’d ever experienced a casino for myself. During my time in CT I went to several concerts and gained more than my fair share of weight thanks to the food they serve at both places. Ah….those were the days!
Thank you, my friend, for sending me on a trip down memory lane.
Love,
The Butterfly Temptress
4The Butterfly Temptress
wrote on 19 February 2007 at 8:06
P.S.
Like you, I too want an iPhone!
5Nile
wrote on 19 February 2007 at 8:54
I have experienced the Lotto fiend at the Gas station many times. I cannot understand why someone would drop down 70 plus dollars for some Lotto and scratchers… ugh.
I have gone to casinos occasionally… usually The Casino Queen in St. Louis and I have gone once to Eagle Pass, Texas (that one is owned by the Indian tribes down there.)
Britney is just a big weirdo. If she wants to go all Susan Power for some rebirth, then by all means… do so. I just hope if she does any music videos soon, she gets a nice wig.
The iPhone does look nice… I am still hung up on my Motorola SLVR 7 (pink). I was eyeballing a Blackjack and it also looks pretty cool.
6Richard
wrote on 19 February 2007 at 10:19
Hi Nina: The Sunday New York Times is a must here in this house. I hate to pay five bucks, but I take most of the next week to read it all. Stay naked Sunday sounds so good. I know how busy you will be with vaca this week. You hope for your son is what all Mom’s hope, and I know you are a wonderful mother, and your son is lucky to have been born to you and Jeff.I never forget how lucky I was to be born where I was,and to who I was. My parents were wonderful. Your Dad sounds alot like my Dad. My Dad passed away at 54 from results from the war. I continue to love and respect you Nina, I’m so glad I found your blog. You are a wonderful human being!!! I picture you in my little pea sized brain all the time. It is colder “Than a well diggers ass in the Klondike”
love
richard
P.S. The Cardinals are so bright red on the the white snow, I have three pairs hanging around.
7Terry
wrote on 19 February 2007 at 11:51
Dear Nina,
In my experience, only another addict can understand what drives them to do what they do, whether it’s gambling, drugs or alcohol, or combination of the three (not to leave out sex blogs, but that’s just not an addiction I want to address right now). Being married to a recovering alcoholic (Twice now. He hadn’t been recovering for very long when we split. That was over 20+ years ago - Oh My). I doubt that it’s anything they understand. The money they’re spending may have been meant for the rent, utility bills, food, you name it. Most of them hate it and themselves for doing it. The wheel just keeps going round and round from there. My own personal dealings have led me to believe that it really is a chemical imbalance in the brain along with the way they were brought up. And by no means is everyone who gambles, drinks or anything else an addict. Just an unfortunate few that usually have a hard time coping with the fact that that is an activity that they just can’t handle, not to mention the physical addiction to the substance. It’s a sobering (no pun intended) and humbling experience to realize and face your own faults, and realize that in spite of it all, you’re ok. Sorry, didn’t mean to get off on a rant, and I too get exasperated when in a hurry and find myself in a long line. I have to stop and remind myself that we all have our own demons, mine just haven’t presented themselves to the general public yet, and hopefully never will.
much love & respect,
Terry
8nina
wrote on 19 February 2007 at 14:16
My Beautiful Butterfly,
:cheerful: Oh it was no big deal, lol! It was just something worth writing about, leading up to my rant about Mister Vegas!
Mohegan Sun is gorgeous! As I said, I’m not a big gambler but the facility is stunning! The tribe did an amazing job on the décor there, and they’ve really expanded it too. We saw Mariah Carey there and we’ve seen a few other shows in that lounge they have called “The Wolf’s Den”. Lots of fun! Even if you don’t gamble, you can still have a great night out at either one of them, but I prefer Mohegan Sun to Foxwoods.
Yes! I soooo need an iPhone! :biggrin: I can’t wait until they come out! My husband said he’d get me one for my birthday in July! Yay! :w00t:
Thanks sweetheart,
love,
nina
9nina
wrote on 19 February 2007 at 14:24
Nile,
Lotto fiend! I love it! What a perfect name! Yeah, and I always seem to be the one stuck waiting in line behind them too. It’s crazy! They’ve got all their numbers in their head and they just spend, spend, spend! I knew a girl once who worked as a waitress in a 24 hour diner, and when she got out of work, she and one of the other girls would take their tips and go buy scratch tickets and just sit in the car scratching them off in the hopes of hitting it big.
I’ve only been to St. Louis once on business, and I did get a chance to go to the arch, which was beautiful by the way.
Apparently Britney has already been spotted wearing a blonde wig. I’ll have to check TMZ to see if they have pictures.
Oh cool! The SLVR is a cool phone! I have a pink RAZR right now, and I did check out the new Blackberry and Blackjacks, but the iPhone totally won me over. If you check out the Macworld Keynote, Steve Jobs demonstrates all the features! It’s so cool, but I’m going to have to switch carriers. I have T-Mobile now, and the iPhone is only for Cingular. But, if that’s the price I have to pay to be a slave to geeky girl fashion, then so be it!
:w00t:
Thanks sweetie,
xoxo,
nina
10nina
wrote on 19 February 2007 at 14:29
Richard,
We get the Boston Globe delivered, and sometimes we go get the Sunday NYT at the convenience store near us. We’ll get up and take a short walk together, but that’s only in the warmer months! We’re not walking anywhere in this weather!
Stay Naked Sunday is our tradition, and we try and live up to it as best we can every week! It’s nice to spend some of that quiet time in bed together to just talk and hang out. Sometimes we’ll watch a movie or just the news; and we’ll fool around and just enjoy each other’s company.
My Father? Oh he was a great man. I learned many things from my Father about many things.
Thanks so much for all of your sweet words and your kindness and friendship Richard. I sincerely appreciate it. And yes! It is cold out there!
xoxo,
nina
11nina
wrote on 19 February 2007 at 14:34
Dearest Terry,
Thank you so much for this brutally honest comment. Addiction, to anything really, be it substances, gambling, or any kind of self-destructive behaviors, can be so destructive to not only one’s self, but to everything and everyone around that person. I have no real experience in these things, but I can empathize with those who do, and even at times, I’ve had to question my own addictions to blogging or any number of things. Smoking is one that I’ve battled with for a long time.
I think we need to remember compassion in everything we do, and my post was more tongue-in-cheek about waiting in line, but in reality, spending fifty bucks on the lottery on a Sunday morning really does seem sad, and I think we need to remember that we’re all human and any one of us could become addicted to anything. Some are more susceptible to addiction, but it truly could happen to anyone.
Thank you so much for sharing this with me,
love,
nina
12Terry
wrote on 19 February 2007 at 19:31
Nina,
I apologize. This was not the place for me to go off like I did. I seem to be having one of those days where I’m constantly running into brick walls that weren’t there yesterday. Maybe it’s time to go back to bed.
love,
Terry
13nina
wrote on 19 February 2007 at 19:36
Terry,
Stop. You do not owe me an apology sweetheart. You are my friend and your thoughts and feelings are always welcome here. And babe, if you’re running into brick walls, just slow down a bit. It’s okay to take time for yourself too you know. We can’t carry the whole world on our shoulders even tho it sometimes seems that we do. It’s okay sweetheart.
love,
nina
14JW
wrote on 20 February 2007 at 9:58
Well…yes, but this also caught my eye…Agnes in Vintage Lace.
;)
15Rhoda IV
wrote on 20 February 2007 at 12:42
I once worked as an assistant at a store that sold lottery crap and holy shit babe you haven’t seen anything. We had about 20 regular customers that would buy over $1000.00 worth of lotto crap a week, these people have problems. Lucky for them though they also had a system, they would clear about 10 to 15 grand a month. The really crazy thing is all but one of the people who did this were welfare cheats, can you imagine?
Happy belated valentines day! Austing gave me a lovely pink and white orchid and it is still very much alive and doing well in spite of my very clumsy care
16badinfluencegirl
wrote on 20 February 2007 at 14:05
i don’t know if it’s your html or my browser but your blog won’t let me right click and open things in a new tab. i can click and get a new window or stare at snap loading.
kinda irksome cause i hate hate hate having windows all over the place, i much prefer to clutter my tabs.
regarding this post?
i’m naked right now so i hear ya sister!
17nina
wrote on 20 February 2007 at 15:08
JW,
I can see why! :biggrin:
xoxo,
nina
18nina
wrote on 20 February 2007 at 15:10
Rhoda,
Yes! Happy belated Valentine’s Day to you too sweetheart! Awww, your orchid sounds wonderful and I’m glad to hear that Austin is still in one piece!
Thanks sweetie!
xoxo,
nina
19nina
wrote on 20 February 2007 at 15:12
badinfluencegirl,
Well, at least you’re naked! That’s a start!!
Hmmmm, what are you using for a browser? Oh I see, you’re talking about the external links which are targeted to open in another window. I see. Well, I do have a piece of javascript which does disable right click, but my reasons for putting it there might need to be reevaluated. At the time I was more concerned with “Fort Geisha”, but it might be time to change that.
Thanks babes,
xoxo,
nina
20JW
wrote on 20 February 2007 at 15:30
Well, it looks like they’ve named a line after you too.
(Lazy) Geisha in Red Silk and other colors it looks like too. ;)
xoxox
21nina
wrote on 20 February 2007 at 15:32
JW,
lol! Okay, I’m calling the lawyers now! Someone is getting sued! hahaha!
xoxo,
nina
22Lady Neaya
wrote on 20 February 2007 at 21:51
Hey Ms Nina,
Just popped up for some air & thought I’d stop by geisha-land. Can’t stay long though got a birthday to celebrate. big huggs mamma,
Neaya
23nina
wrote on 21 February 2007 at 13:09
Hey there Ms. Neaya!
Oh you’re always welcome to pop in and say hi! :biggrin:
I hope you had a good time at the birthday party!
xoxo,
nina
24Nicki
wrote on 24 February 2007 at 22:29
Next time it happens call the kid up and have him deliver another one.
25nina
wrote on 25 February 2007 at 12:19
Nicki,
Mmmm, there’s always that too. As it turned out the boy was sick and his father did the route for him and my paper went to my next door neighbors. No bigggie tho!
Thanks!
xoxo,
nina