Greed vs. Generosity
Many people may be surprised by this one, but I was overwhelmed by generosity, not greed, in Las Vegas. I managed to stay an entire week without booking my own hotel room, and I did not have to go “hooking for housing” as one of my friends so eloquently named it.
It began when my girlfriend who lives in town offered to let me stay with her so I could attend the wedding. The downside? She lived off “The Strip” where all of my friends were staying, which would mean coordinating our late nights with a ride home. But, beggars can’t be choosy so I graciously accepted.
When another girlfriend in town for the wedding heard this, she went beyond the call of duty and demanded that I instead share the room that she and her boyfriend had booked. I protested, sure that they would want some time alone, but she insisted that it had been ages since we’d seen each other, and that most of the time we would be coming home to pass out so it wouldn’t make much of a difference. I showed my gratitude by springing for coffee or a meal whenver they would allow, and was actually glad to be there for her when said bf stayed out until 6:00am playing poker one night, saving her from being left alone in the room to worry.
On Friday, I discovered that my flight home had been canceled due to a snow storm in New York (and let me tell you how hard THAT was to process over the phone while sunbathing in 90 degree weather!). I thanked God for the grace of girlfriends when my Showgirl re-extended her offer to house and chauffeur me around for the next few days. She was excited to have some female company because her boyfriend was expecting out-of-town visitors.
Showgirl and I met after her performances at a vodka bar called Red Square at Mandalay Bay, which somehow manages to maintain a sense of class while bathed in brothel lighting and scarlet curtains. The guys, having just arrived that night, showed up rowdy and ready to party. I was tempted to ignore my exhaustion when one of the friends flashed me a killer grin and I learned, lo and behold, he was from New York! But I knew that I would have to fight through a crowded airport the next day just to get to a customer service person, since I’d tried calling fifteen times that day with no success, and I wanted my wits about me. After a few minutes of introductions and conversation, I politely declined the offer to join this investment banker (sigh!) and friends for bottle service at Jet, and patted myself on the back for this exertion of sheer willpower.
Showgirl, her boyfriend, another girlfriend and I finished our drinks and prepared to head home for some sleep. When we snagged our cocktail waitress to settle up, and were informed that our bill had been taken care of. I came dangerously close to swooning when I realized that Investment Banker had just bought a round of drinks for a group of people he had just met, and vowed that if I didn’t get on a flight the next day, I was coercing Showgirl’s bf into arranging another meeting.