Lights

My cousin got married in Las Vegas this weekend. Sweet! It took my family and me longer to drive to and from Las Vegas than it did for them to purchase their marriage license, get registered and say I do. Fred and I were hoping for Cupid's Chapel or the drive through hitching post but they opted for simple: jeans and matching puma sneakers. Still, it was spectacular. Even Grandma was ecstatic. And I thought I was hip!

The drive into Vegas surprises me every time. At night you can see just how much the city has grown. The street lamps spread from the center strip like a big wave. I've been reading Aldous Huxley's "Brave New World Revisited". The first chapter is about overpopulation and it's devastating consequences for our quality of life. Looking into the Vegas landscape, I imagined that people flock towards this city looking for work, affordable housing, education and new opportunities. Looking for new frontiers and a different way of life.

And different it is. Opportunities abound for employees of hotels & casinos - a free education at the MGM university, meal benefits, daycare for their children - thanks for the info Claire ;) We ventured into Chinatown in Vegas and saw a Lollicup and even Sam Woo. The food wasn't bad at all. Actually, it was more like Asian Fusion Town than Chinatown. There must be Asians living here if they start building restaurants. Fred says HIV/AIDS rates aren't as high here either - there's probably much better regulation and health education/benefits for sex workers because it's legal.

It's amazing but at the same time I wonder how far this city will expand and how sustainable it will be. The Mojave desert is right next door and though I have no inkling at all about urban planning, wouldn't it be a shame if that were to be enveloped by the financial ambitions of some and the simple desire for a new life by the majority of others? I love driving by wide expanses of nothing and though the huge gusts of wind on the way to Vegas nearly knocked my tiny Scion Xa off it's wheels, I wouldn't have it any other way. Fred and I had a great time wondering about what spirits might be lurking there in the dark and then, of course, I love the stars in the desert without the glaring city lights.

I'm sure somebody has this figured out. Most likely, I just have to learn to enjoy a bit of decadence every once in a while without feeling all this guilt! Tonight it would take too long to figure out how all those lights, all that bling bling, and all those little gourmet desserts at the buffet lines came to be. I'm just going to let them be.