Hello and welcome back! I am returned from a very fast-paced 48 hours in Las Vegas. But am I recovered? Doubtful. I have been enjoying all the spontaneous nap times in the days since—something that my body only seems to excel at when I am truly exhausted—as well as multiple very languorous baths (which I can do again now that I have a functional hot water heater huzzah).

“So how was Vegas?!” I hear you wondering. In short, it was an adventure, and a learning experience. Las Vegas is… not a real place, you know? At this point I would not even call it a shrine to hedonism, as gentrified and censored and “family friendly” as it has become (I didn’t get handed a single escort card! boooo). A shrine to capitalism, perhaps, a hubristic quest for min/maxing life. Las Vegas is non-stop propulsion through slot-machine lined hallways, boombox-laden promoters around every corner, lights mounted on every surface that hasn’t already been turned into an LED-billboard.

Veritably, it is a sensory nightmare for someone like me. There is no escape from any of it; Las Vegas is not a place that allows regulation, as you are only rewarded for your ability to keep moving, keep experiencing, keep seeing. I had hoped that the hotel room at least would be a safe haven, but even that environment was ever-filled with light, loud television, and the boisterous conversation of a group of people who all knew each other well (not me! haha I was the outlier and, thusly, Never Not Masking).

Do not get me wrong: inasmuch as it was An Experience, it was an experience I enjoyed. I knew what I was signing up for when I agreed to go, which is why I spent the week beforehand doing absolutely nothing beyond Preparing To Be In Las Vegas, and why I have spent the week since engaged in post-travel aftercare. But truly, nothing can prepare you for a place like Las Vegas except having experienced it yourself.

And inasmuch as it’s true what they say: what happens in Vegas… I also took a bunch of photos (obviously) and we’re going to look at some of them now. 🎉 It’s like I’m busting out the slide projector now that Janet’s given her Tupperware presentation. But fortunately for you, I know better than to try to include all of them… neither your nor my email servers would be too happy with that, and I’d prefer to not get marked as spam. So please enjoy a somewhat concise selection of travel documentation, and over the next week I’ll try to assemble a more thorough photo diary in a separate post.

The first day of the trip was easy enough, though we definitely hit the ground running and never quite stopped! We roamed here and there, stopping at various bars that all seemed to be their own “thing” that varied somewhere between niche and kitsch. I think overall The Chandelier was one of my faves of the trip, if only because I am very partial to sparkly crystals but also it was surprisingly calm for being in the middle of things. The Spring installation at the Bellagio was also surprisingly calm despite the crowds, and was quite a pleasant spectacle.

After a quick stop at the hotel we ventured out to the High Roller and climbed into one of the 21+ cars with a nonstop open bar, and enjoyed the perfect views backed by an evening sunset. Once we were back on the ground we hoofed it over yonder to the Sphere for the No Doubt residency, which I can only describe as “surreal”. Being on the floor only enhanced the absurdity of the experience, and admittedly I would get rather dizzy trying to look up and keep track of the immersive graphics. But it was fun! And somehow it was everyone’s birthday! Especially the white lady next to us, who was turning 40 and I honestly can’t blame her for being very drunk and feeling hella good.

The only full day we had in Las Vegas certainly packed in pretty much every off-strip Vegas experience. But first it was breakfast near the hotel and some time treading water at the Flamingo Go Pool, and then jumping on the bus to go explore. Circus Circus, thrifting in the Arts District, drinks at Dark Sister (I will never ever forget you, Low Tide cocktail…). Our last stop before heading back was Fremont Street, which I absolutely was not prepared for and did. not. enjoy. due to the Everything. This was also the day Las Vegas was hit by a crazy windstorm, which certainly added to the adventure vibes! 😅

Sunday night was spent ringing in my friend’s birthday at a strip club, so obviously no pics there. 😅 Shout out to champagne for really holding it down that night.

After a late start on far too little sleep, we headed back over to the Bellagio for their buffet; personally I believe that top sirloin should be a more common breakfast item! After that we made our way over to Meow Wolf, which is apparently where all the EDC folk decided to go to come down off their festival night lol.

If Freemont Street was a hellscape of flashing lights and pounding beats, Meow Wolf was its heaven-sent counterpart of amorphous lighting flows and aural weavings. I could have spent hours yet there, just sitting and vibing (the EDC kids chose correctly). I didn’t do the whole augmented reality game thing, just explored and enjoyed the space for what it was.

That was the last big activity we really had planned so from there it was grabbing our bags at the hotel and heading back to the airport. We got there a little early, which was too bad if only because our flight kept getting pushed back and pushed back. We eventually boarded almost four hours late, getting back into town well past midnight. 😅 But even a prolongued airport adventure isn’t so bad when you have good company at hand.

Viva Las Vegas (and happy birthday to my friend).

☑️ Done and Done - Got home at 1:30am Tuesday morning, and spent the rest of the day null. Had a dental cleaning on Wednesday. Took multiple very long, very hot baths. Went to a burlesque show/cancer benefit. Rested a lot, read a lot, drank a lot of water.

📋 Coming up - Still taking it easy this week but slowly ramping back up into a more regular work routine. Aiming for at least one (01) gym. End of month admin day on Friday. Another trip to the internal specialist for Irma to do more bloodwork. Lunch with a friend early in the week and a quick camping trip to wrap up the month.

📺 Watching - I’ve been slowly chipping away at Frieren with a friend, and it’s got to be one of the most endearing, least traumatizing anime I’ve ever watched.

📕 Reading - Someone recommended Kushiel’s Dart (aff link) as a good follow-up after I finished the ACOTAR books, so reading this in the bath has been half of my recovery time this past week. It is impressively grandiloquent in a way that feels more immersive than performative.

☕ Drinking - Chamomile tea and electrolytes, on repeat. 😴

⚜️ Wearing - I swapped out all my usual body jewelry with gold pieces for the trip, but have yet to reset things since getting home. So I’m a mishmash of metal tones but hopefully in a way that works?

While Las Vegas is not a very good place to try to recover from autistic burnout nor chronic illness flare, I still had a lot of fun on this small but mighty Adventure and it’s somewhere I’d absolutely go back to. Hopefully, if and when I get the chance, I’ll be a little bit healthier and a little bit more prepared to go All In on the experience. 🎲

In the meantime, I’ll be back on my anti-grind hurkle-durkling and three bevvies on my desk routine. Stay hydrated, friends. I’ll see what kind of newsletter I can cobble together for next weekend since I’ll be out in the woods. 🌲

xox,