Uh...say what?

So me and the boys have a couple of shows in Vegas. One happens to be a private event at "The JOINT", which is connected to the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. Quite by chance, the biggest adult entertainment convention in the entire world happens to be occurring at the same time.

And the same location.

Of course, the convention and award show is happening in the convention center attached to the hotel and our event (for an entirely different group of people) is in a entirely different location, however, suffice it to say that the entire place is crawling with porn stars.

So as I was walking through the hotel from my room to the buses, stopping briefly at a Starbuck's to get some coffee, I couldn't help but notice that there were lots of women walking around, scantily clad, wearing name tags.
- Incidentally, my approach to such situations is very akin to looking at the sun...you get a sense that it is there and look away. You never stare directly at it! -

So that's exactly what I was doing, when I happened to notice that the girls I was avoiding looking at actually happen to be employees of the Hard Rock Casino. After laughing at myself for a moment, I then noticed that most of the women wearing AVN convention badges were actually dressed fairly appropriately for most moral standards of the society that we live in.

I'm not judging anyone here...just simply trying to point out the comedic value of the situation.

New Year...New Dreams

So a little while before I sat down to write this, I happened to walk through the den where my my beautiful wife and one of my daughters were watching television. Actually, they were both in trance-like states on their laptops, but the tv was on. On the screen, I noticed a wedding ceremony taking place...a "Sex & the City" episode, though I couldn't tell you which one...
Well, if you must know, it was the episode where the jaded, cynical one was...sorry, too vague? Ok then, it was the episode where the jaded, cynical, red head was marrying her overtly nerdy "baby daddy". But that's really not the point.
The point is this - Seeing that wedding scene reminded me of the day I married Holly. We had a small gathering here at the house, and we offered our vows to each other in the front yard. It was a dream come true for me...seriously. For many years, I have been madly in love with Holly and always dreamed of one day marrying her. While I watched the few moments of fictitious matrimonial procedure on the tv I began to realize that one of my dreams had been fulfilled when I married Holly.

This instantly led me to an interesting conundrum..."Hmmm, what now?" I thought quietly to myself. What does one do when a dream is truly realized? This has happened to me a lot in the last couple of years. I have been blessed beyond words. I have had many of my life long dreams come true. I have been slowly and surely ticking things off the old "bucket list". So I ask again..."Now what?"

Here's what I came up with.

Fortunately, we are never too old to set a new goal, or dream a new dream. So I will add to my bucket list. I will dream new dreams. I will set new goals for myself...or at least extend the goals I'm working towards. I'm a big believer in chasing dreams. It's the chasing of those dreams that becomes our path through life. And it's not where we are that defines us...it's where we want to go and how we travel there that does.
As far as my wonderful wife is concerned, since I had a dream fulfilled the day we got married, I need to dream a new dream for the two of us. I need to revisit and reset goals. I will definitely keep this all in the forefront of my mind.