{"id":3208,"date":"2017-04-16T19:20:24","date_gmt":"2017-04-16T23:20:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ordinarylegacy.com\/word\/?p=3208"},"modified":"2017-04-16T19:20:24","modified_gmt":"2017-04-16T23:20:24","slug":"an-introvert-in-vegas-part-one","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ordinarylegacy.com\/word\/2017\/04\/16\/an-introvert-in-vegas-part-one\/","title":{"rendered":"An Introvert in Vegas – Part One"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Most people don\u2019t think of me as an introvert but I can assure you I am indeed of the introverted point of view.\u00a0 It\u2019s not always about being shy, it\u2019s not about being sullen or lacking the ability to small talk, it\u2019s about how and where you gather your strength and what depletes your strength.\u00a0 Vegas, a convention in Vegas, definitely depletes your strength. Let\u2019s be perfectly clear, Vegas is an introvert\u2019s worst nightmare.<\/p>\n

The flight out was relatively uneventful. I ran into some dealer colleagues at the airport who I enjoy very much.\u00a0 These are some fine outstanding individuals and we passed the time with humor and coffee.\u00a0 The flight was relatively smooth although some people thought there was a lot of turbulence.\u00a0 Having taken the bus from Bergen County to the Port Authority in NYC I didn\u2019t think it was all that bad.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Now that we\u2019re in the age of mobile everything, check in was a breeze.\u00a0 My room was lovely, not the highest floor, not the best view but comfortable and complete with a nice big soaking tub. And room darkening drapes.\u00a0 And a goodnight button.\u00a0 Can I get an alright\u2026score one for the introvert.<\/p>\n

Vegas is three hours behind New Jersey, remember all that pissing and moaning I did when I lost one hour\u2026just saying, gaining three was going to take some doing also.\u00a0 My regional colleagues were in practice conferences for upcoming corporate meetings so I was on my own until the regional get together later on.\u00a0 I was on my own, that is, until I opened my laptop and there they were\u2026the zillion emails that had gathered while I flew the friendly skies\u2026she said tongue in cheek after hearing how United is carrying on.<\/p>\n

As caught up as one can ever be on email off I go with a band of merry makers, undoubtedly they had a head start, to the regional dinner, if you can call it that. I\u2019m always reminded of our former regional admin extraordinaire whenever these events take place.\u00a0 They pale in comparison to what she could conjure up.\u00a0 She had a knack for turning a limited budget into a 4 star affair complete with courses, desert, and unavoidable mingling.\u00a0 This was not that\u2026this was something else with chafing dishes.<\/p>\n

Clearly everyone had a head start on me but I\u2019m not one to try and catch up.\u00a0 It must be Vegas when usually reserved people are letting go and instigating questions about God verses religion.\u00a0 I might have written something about that recently never expecting it to become bar room banter.\u00a0 We made it work, note to self, what happens in Vegas\u2026<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>I was grateful to escape for a nice walk back to the hotel with a fellow clear thinker as it was already way passed my bedtime.\u00a0 As I walked by the bar there were plenty of people imbibing among them one of my all-time favorite people.\u00a0 Can I buy you a drink, sure.\u00a0 We chatted for a few minutes and I took my wine to go.\u00a0 Another score for the introvert.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>5:30am I\u2019m in search of the Starbucks. A resort and casino in the early morning is a completely different animal.\u00a0 There\u2019s still music, there are still flashing lights but no people, no winners. There are left overs, the desperate and dazed.\u00a0 There are the \u201cworking girls\u201d leaving rooms, walking more slowly, looking tired.\u00a0 You can see why each was chosen the night before but the morning light doesn\u2019t pay tribute.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>When the convention started on this morning it was electric.\u00a0 So many people, many of them looking a bit\u2026morning after\u2026many of them I hadn\u2019t seen in years.\u00a0 This was a wonderful huge ballroom filled with the excitement of our company and the people who believe in it and make it what it is.\u00a0 This I can do, this I believe in, this is us.<\/p>\n

Communal lunches with people I don\u2019t normally get to socialize with and back to the jazz.\u00a0 Then back to my email, who are these people emailing me while I\u2019m in Vegas?Surprisingly, I was grateful for the familiarity over the course of these days.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Dinners with my car hag counterparts from other regions or other departments were delicious.\u00a0 We are all cut from a similar cloth, something on the light side but fabulous, the wine, the camaraderie all perfect.\u00a0 We lingered over dinner and chatted away then we were on our separate ways.\u00a0 Not to the casino, I didn\u2019t place one bet the entire time I was there, not to the bar but to the sanctity of our rooms. My\u00a0books. My tub\u2026the quiet.<\/p>\n

I did manage to squeeze in a side trip which I\u2019ve been wanting to do for some time.\u00a0 What Vegas lacks in sophistication and culture it surely makes up for in glitz and excess but it does have history.\u00a0 There\u2019s no denying that and I\u2019m a history geek.\u00a0 The Neon Boneyard<\/a>\u2026more on that in a separate post but suffice to say it was a highlight of this trip.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>The convention lasted for three days, me not so much.\u00a0 By the last day I was done.\u00a0 The constant down beat of the music reminiscent of jazzercise classes from decades ago up to the current techno banging of today.\u00a0 I had walked thousands of steps, eaten more exquisite rich food than I had in, I don\u2019t know maybe ever, glad handed and talked shop until I reached my limit.\u00a0 And tonight was going to be the gala. Seriously, me, deaf-in-one-ear and a DJ turning God knows what\u2026the thought of that made me look into flying out early.\u00a0 No luck on that as the flights into EWR were already delayed due to weather.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>So my last day went like this, an hours-long breakfast with a dear friend so we could finally catch up after too long and a tip from the concierge about an amazing hiding spot. Benjamin took pity on the woman standing across from him wanting to know is there anywhere, beside my room, where one could have their coffee in a quiet friendly place.\u00a0 No music, no flashing lights or dinging, nothing.\u00a0 Would soft background music be ok?\u00a0 I think my exhale said it all.\u00a0 Behind the Aria is a sister hotel called the Vdara. Go passed the Buddha, make a right at the modern sculputure that looks like an instillation of canoes, OK…<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>It doesn\u2019t have a casino, or flashing lights, or dinging.\u00a0 What it does have is a quiet lobby bar with no one in it and a Starbucks.\u00a0 I was in heaven, no one knew me, no one cared that I simply had my coffee and journaled to my heart\u2019s content.\u00a0 Benjamin saved a life that day\u2026just sayin he most definitely was an introvert\u2019s hero.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Late that afternoon when many people had already left I was reading, ordering room service, packing and taking a long hot bath.\u00a0 It was the end of a perfect day.\u00a0 I was off for home the next day with a few little glitches but nothing to speak of knowing I\u2019d be sleeping in my own bed with my dear Toti Nonna. Yes there was a welcome home happy dance<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Would I do this again, the short answer is no.\u00a0 My guess is my job designation won\u2019t make the invite list next year, it was probably a mistake this year to be perfectly honest but I\u2019m glad I got to experience the convention once before I retire.\u00a0 There is one less thing to be crossed off my \u201cwhy-not\u201d list and there were some amazing high points.<\/p>\n

In the end Vegas is no place for introverts. Most definitely not this introvert.<\/p>\n

For more pictures from the trip you can check out the Ordinary Legacy Instagram<\/a> page. Yes the Toti Nonna happy dance is there too.<\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Most people don\u2019t think of me as an introvert but I can assure you I am indeed of the introverted point of view.\u00a0 It\u2019s not always about being shy, it\u2019s not about being sullen or lacking the ability to small … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"An Introvert in Vegas - Part One","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[6],"tags":[826,823,824,825],"class_list":["post-3208","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pause-points","tag-notmything-nac2017","tag-introvert","tag-introverts-worst-nightmare","tag-vegas"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p27hQ5-PK","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ordinarylegacy.com\/word\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3208","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ordinarylegacy.com\/word\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ordinarylegacy.com\/word\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ordinarylegacy.com\/word\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ordinarylegacy.com\/word\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3208"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.ordinarylegacy.com\/word\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3208\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3214,"href":"https:\/\/www.ordinarylegacy.com\/word\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3208\/revisions\/3214"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ordinarylegacy.com\/word\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3208"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ordinarylegacy.com\/word\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3208"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ordinarylegacy.com\/word\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3208"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}