Disclaimer: Satire is my preferred literary form for informal work and hence, is the tone for this piece of work too. My experience was totally positive and barring a few moments, was one that I will cherish for a long time.

Viva Las Vegas

A Hurried departure from the bachelor pad left vish and me short of our shaving kits and me, noticably - short of a TIE! The one accessory that makes the look of a professional legitimate, was not in my possession for probably the most important few days in my professional career so far. Thus began the trip to the land of entertainment and lights, also known as - Las Vegas. Bright lights, beautiful ladies, casinos of all sizes and shapes and wealth of a magnitude larger than anything that has come by me so far (or left :) )

The sojourn was memorable for many reasons, most noticable of which was the departure itself. Our arrival at Dr. Steele's residence was just short of a photo finish, with Steve screeching to a halt at the exact time Dr. Steele walked out of the house, ready to roll. We found out the hard way that the beautiful Jaguar would be incapable of carrying the luggage of all 5 of us. Dr. Steele then decided to use the Jeep instead. The inital start itself let a barrage of sounds coming from the jeep, most of which was unusual, but was termed normal by the dealership which parted with the vehicle. About 10 minutes into the already timed-to-the-minute journey, boom went the jeep and immediately lost all power, with smoke emanating from the bonnet and the noise replaced by a smooth whirr. The incident led Dr. Bellaver to conclude that the transmission had something to do with this anomaly and how right he was. The drive bar had dropped to the ground and the vehicle was consequently unusable. There we were, out on McGalliard, on the way to Indianapolis, too far from immediate help and stranded in the middle of nowhere. We had to get to the Airport on time and get someone to fix the Jeep.

What ensued what quite simply due to a lot of luck, and some quick thinking. We needed a fast ride into Indianapolis and we needed it fast. Dr. Steele and Dr. Bellaver figured that Steve was somewhere close-by and he had a vehicle large enough to do the carrying. Calls quickly went out to figure out who had his number. Dr.Steele finally got through to him and then we played the waiting game. Simultaneously, calls went out to the dealership, who promised to come as soon as they could, which obviosuly wouldn't be fast enough. Steve came by and soon, we were locked and loaded. Out came the Radar detector and down went the pedal. In a rush of wind, off we were, skeddadling into the traffic, rushing past onlookers, slowing down only when the terrain demanded it and when the "friendly neighbourhood cop" was close-by. And so, we made it just in time to the airport.

It so happened that the day was destined not to be plesant for me (or was it the price to pay for coming to vegas?) I repeatedly set off the metal detector and the suspicious officer gave me the "full massage", patting me down in front of all the people. Even my shirt kept setting off the alarm, for some unknown reason and had me in binds... Reason to blame??? Bubblegum wrapper! Regardless, on the plane, it was mostly uneventful, except for the fact that I spilt a bucketload of breadcrumbs on my fellow passenger and had her wiggle uncomfortably for the rest of the journey and actually made her jump in fright when the next round of food came :)

Down at Vegas, I knew at once, about why this was called the city of lights - Lights of all sizes, colors and intensity shone on us, from sources as varied as can be. Large HD screens, neon signs, plain old bulbs and every surface that was in plain sight had some kind of advertisement! The shock had not yet worn out, when we descended upon the best restaurant in town - Bellagio's. Another round of "gulp - I'm screwed" came upon me, having sparingly used the infernal knife-fork combination before. But, a very "unwind-and-enjoy" environment greeted me inside and people were anything but formal, which was quite contrary to my fears. The environment was formal-friendly, which is the maximum my limited vocabulary allows to describe the place. I got used to it soon and came out liking the environment better than an informal one. People actually felt better that way :) I guess Dr. Steele was right all along - appropriate professional behavior actually makes for a more engaging human interaction, vis-a-vis the "disorganized outlawed look".

We then trooped over back to "The Venetian", one of the best hotels in vegas. The sheer size and luxury exuded by the place was overwhelming. I was once in the past exposed to such luxury, at the Le Meridien, in Delhi, but this was an unrivaled experience. Vegas is to be seen to be believed! Anyway, we checked in and I began rummaging in my bag for stuff to wear for the night and fished out an old bill for a hotel stay - my last hotel stay in india, before I came to the US. and I was cracking a joke on how they fleeced Air India for the bill. Ironically, when I reached out for the next envelope, I found that someone fleeced me of the money I brought with me to vegas! All $400 of it! Great, I thought - what a welcome... But then,I knew that I was the one to blame, putting it in my luggage instead of my purse. Well, life's like that and I moved on. Crashed onto the bed, to "live to die another day" (Courtesy James Bond) :)