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When I was wondering what to do for my birthday, a friend told me that Prince has a club at the Rio in Las Vegas, where he plays on Friday and Saturday nights. We kept checking in Feb, but the Purple One didn't let the Rio know if he was playing in March until March was already here. I sent a silent request to Prince in February that he please, please, PLEASE play there another month!

When K called in March, he found that Prince had extended his concert there another month, but the ticket prices had doubled to $250! Each! I guess I should have been more specific in my silent request...

Nevertheless, he booked the tickets and we had a spot to see a very expensive show in Las Vegas. The rooms were not cheap last weekend either, the only deal we got was on a rental car for $35 for all weekend, but that was a good deal. But we bit the bullet because, after all, we're not really going on vacation at all this year (other than visiting family in August). This was to celebrate BOTH our birthdays!

We arranged for the kids to be in various places overnight, but that morning I woke up early with the clear signs of a bladder infection. Bah! So before we could leave for Vegas, we spent the morning at the doctor, getting meds for my malfunction. Maybe they heard about my performance last time, when I started crying because the whole ordeal took so long, because the doc gave me a prescription and said he'd call about the lab results. Yay!

And so we were on our way! We made great time and got there in about 4 hours! We didn't leave until about 3 and got there around 7.

I didn't feel like eating much, so we just got ready and headed over to the Rio around 8:30 or 9 pm. They'd told K on the phone to dress up and "no jeans or t-shirts", so he was wearing a tie and a jacket. He looked wonderful. I curled my hair so that it was fabulously curly.

We found our way to the "Club" because we thought we should pick up our tickets, but when we got to the line a lady put a wristband on us, and told us Prince wouldn't be out until midnight!

So we walked across the casino and got a little something to eat and drink while we waited. We looked at gambling, but nothing caught my intrest. I looked at the roulette table for awhile, but I never like to see the green "house" slot come up, as it's not a very good sign.

Around 11 we got back in line, picked up our tickets, and made our way inside. While waiting in line, we noted that K and I were probably the ONLY people not wearing jeans. About shirts, we heard a girl working there tell someone "As long as it's a button-up." Clearly, K was the best-dressed man there. He looked fantastic!

The interior is a big circle, with two rows of booths with tables around the top. Those were the $500/each tickets that include a meal. The rest of us got to stand around in a smaller circle right underneath the stage. We got a pretty good spot near the right side (stage left?).

Once I went to the back to retrieve my boots, which I'd taken off because they HURT from so much standing, but seeing the bottles being dropped on the floor, decided I'd better brave. But making my way back was a bit difficult, as people didn't want to step aside for me to scoot by! Finally they looked at me and recognized that I had indeed been in front of them, but they weren't moving aside for just anyone!

There was a video playing around the sides of the interior, with dancing scenes from old movies combined with scenes from Under the Cherry Moon, and various Prince videos. The closer it got to showtime, the more Prince songs they played, along with other jams from the past. I figured that when they played the video for "When Doves Cry" that he wouldn't be playing that song.

There was quite a mix of people there - all ages (over 21!), lots of different ethnicities. Two tall lesbians were providing a good show for awhile, as they danced energeticly to the soundtrack and stared into each other's eyes. Another lady looked familiar, and now I think she must be New York's mother, from "I Love New York." She had taken her shoes off and was taking up a lot of room.

I took a moment to feel grateful that we had the ways and means to go to something special like this. I appreciate the fact that K and I like a lot of the same things.I felt pretty lucky to be there.

Finally it got to be midnight, and they raised the curtains for the first song - which sounded like the riff from "Soft and Wet" but sequed into another tune. We were close enough to see the little hairs on his chest, and the mole on his cheek. He played a Sly and the Family Stone song, and some other songs I didn't recognize. It was a "Las Vegas" style show, in that he sang some jazzy tunes, and covered some tunes from other people (i.e. "Love Roller Coaster"). He has twin girls sing his backup, and they are just beautiful. Plus they danced up a storm, and were definitely working hard up on stage.

Prince looked like he was having fun the whole time, flirting with the audience as he played. After awhile they brought some people up from the audience to dance along with the band. One guy in a purple hat picked up a guitar and started playing, and the band acted surprised, but we later recognized him as being from the band "Sly and the Family Stone." A white guy in a red hat sang "Play that funky music, white boy" and Prince acted surprised he could sing, but the whole thing was clearly planned all along. It's a show, right?

Then, from out of nowhere (somewhere to my right), OJ Simpson came barreling into the crowd and stopped right next to me! I turned to K, and asked, "Iis that...?" and he said, "Yup." I asked, "Can I kick him?" and he (uncharacteristicly) said, "Yup." I actually even looked down at his ankles, but after awhile I wasn't sure it was him. When I looked over at his face, he looked so old... He was having a great time tho, and dancing to the beat. His jacket was really scratchy against my bare arm. Was it wool?

Then Prince walked out on our side of the stage, and OJ was right in my way! I jumped up and down some more to see over him, and then Prince moved back to the middle and I was OK. Some older guys around us were shaking OJ's hand and slapping him on the back, but me, I was just trying to make sure OJ didn't get in the way of my seeing Prince! Then, just as suddenly as he'd appeared, OJ ran off and was gone. Whew!

Prince looked at his watch and said, "So many hits, so little time..." and the crowd started yelling their requests to him. He played "Let's go Crazy" and of course "Purple Rain", but not many of his old hits at all. K recognized a guy in the expensive seats that looked like George Lucas - he just sat there the whole time wearing a T-Shirt.

Soon it was time to go. Prince had played for an hour and a half, and his dancers needed to rest! He came out for one encore I think, and that was it. After standing and dancing for several hours, we were about ready to go anyway. On the way out I took off my boots again, and walked the rest of the way in my socks. My hair had completely flattened out - either from humidity or the stress of my dancing all night.

It was a great night.

I was glad to see that Prince looks happy. I know he's had some changes and challenges - his little baby died and he got a divorce and became a Jehovah's Witness. So I guess he doesn't believe in drinking or anything anymore. I was glad to see that he's still enjoying making music, and that he seems to be in a really good place.

I think he keeps his show fresh by incorporating people who happen to be in town, etc. My friend's sister went to a show in Feb, and that night he had some players from James Brown's band, and so they played a lot of James Brown songs.



The next day we got up and went to the buffett at the Paris hotel - which I LOVE!! (the buffett, not the hotel) The scrambled eggs are even creamy and light. We filled up, then headed over to UNLV to take some pictures for the Boy.

Then we drove home, and made good time despite a bit of traffic.

Happy Birthday to us!!

Over and Out

Well, the girls played their hardest, and that's about all you can ask out of a bunch of little girls. Our shots were just not falling as they had usually done all season, and one of the best players on our team got really frustrated with herself. I think all the parents on our team were happy, as all the girls played a lot in that game, and had some good chances.

The other team was playing great, and scored some crazy shots from way outside. There's not much you can do about shots like that. We really wanted to win and we deserved to win, we just didn't play our best game last night. The green team had only lost twice during the season, and both times was to us. Both times were close.

They went out of their way to be good sports though, so it seems like they'd either thought about their behavior or had a good talk with all the parents.

There were some game high points, like a girl scoring who hadn't scored in a long time, or the 3 blocks another girl had. We had a nice ceremony afterward, when the Boy said something nice about each girl on the team, and handed them a trophy.

Then two parents brought snacks, so the girls got extra snacks. Then we had everyone come over our house and have a swim in the heated pool, so they ended up having fun, which took some of the sting out of the loss. The Boy even joined them in the pool, which is amazing because we've had the pool a year and this was his third time to get into it!

I think the parents were happy to come away with second place, as they didn't have any expectations at the beginning of the season. Some of them even gave the Boy a parting gift, and gave the family a gift certificate to have a good meal at a local restaurant we like.

Even though it was tramatic at the end of this season, I think it had some unexpectedly good consequences. I think it showed the Girl how much her brother loves her, as he defended her from the negativity of Saturday's game. Maybe it showed him how much he loves her, too. I think it brought the whole team closer together, and helped us to win Tuesday's game.

I genuinely like all the girls on the team and their parents, so it's a little sad that we won't be seeing them regularly anymore.

Meanwhile, what happened to Duke? I had them picked to go quite a long way!!!

Sheesh. Think how THEY must feel!

Lucky Us

Well, we won by 3 points Tuesday night, so tonight we live to play again.

Wish us luck (again!)

Under Pressure

It's still hard for me to believe what happened on Sat. My 9 year old daughter plays on a little basketball team that her brother coaches. We're headed into the playoffs, and Sat's game determined who went to the championship game, skipping the playoff game before it. An email had gone out before the game asking the coaches to respect the refs, etc.

I was familiar with this green team and the coaches, and thought they were all pretty nice. After we got there, and before the game even got started, the main coach from the other team started telling one of the refs that our team does such and such, and so to watch out for us. I said,, "Hey, we're not supposed to be influencing the refs!" and the ref turned to me and said he was right, our team does do whatever! I think that ref doesn't like us.

Another time, when he was at it again, I said, "I didn't know being a crybaby was going to help! If it is, maybe I should do it too."

So with that start, the game did not get much better. Most of our games have been close, so that was no surprise. What surprised me was that any time their girls fell down, they claimed outrage and focused mainly on my Girl! I swear they told their girls to simply fall down whenever she was around, because they know she's very aggressive.

Also, another coach, who I considered a friend of mine, was keeping track of our girls and how much time they played! At one point she was telling the table that one of our girls had only played 24 seconds in one quarter, so since it wasn't 30 full seconds, it didn't count! I mean, they were working every angle they could think of!

Silly us, we just took our girls out there to play, and hoped they would do their best!

Things came to a head near the end of the game, when a girl on the other team fell down when the Girl blocked her shot. Their coach ran onto the floor with his arms outstretched in an appeal to the refs, who had already called a foul. Then a fan ran out of the stands toward the Girl, until K cut him off. Then he ran over to the Boy, saying, "Did you see that? Did you see that?" What did he want us to do?

One of the refs told the guy to go back. Then some other fans joined in the yelling and complaining, to the point where the ref gave them a Technical Foul.

Unfortunately this didn't help us, and we ended up losing a few minutes later by 2 points.

After the game I turned around to pick up my purse as the teams slapped hands, and when I turned around again, people were telling me that my daughter had just punched 2 of their girls, and what was I going to do about it?

Well, I was very surprised! I told them I couldn't believe it, that she had never done anything like that before. They insisted it was true, so I made my way over to her. It was ackward asking her, "Honey, did you punch anyone?" and she said, "Noooo!"

Even the ref that doesn't like us turned to the Boy and told him smugly, "By the way, your sister just punched someone!" Like they all think she's a bully or something!

Then the ref decided the teams should leave separately, which felt a lot safer. When we got outside, the coach from the other team came over and apologized, saying my daughter had NOT punched anyone, and the girl had simply complained that her fingers got bent backward in the high-fiving.

As we walked to the car, a mother from our OWN team said she understood how they got so upset, because the Girl had a look of "rage" on her face as she ripped the ball out of another girl's hands. I asked why rage? Couldn't it have been determination or frustration? Why doesn someone on our own team have to criticize her like that, for something she probably can't control? (i.e .the look on her face)

As it was, she ran to the car and hid until we got there. I asked her why, and she said, "I didn't want anyone to talk to me. They were just trying to make me feel bad, but I didn't do anything wrong!"

Which I thought was rather wise of her.

So I don't know what people want. I asked her to next time she's wrestling for posession of the ball to try to have a sweeter look on her face, but I think that will not come off well either.

I just hate it that people are focusing on her, as though she's a bad person or something. She's still learning what a foul is, but she's not out to deliberately hurt anyone.

It's hard to beleive that we have nothing to apologize for, because it feels like we're in trouble. Aparently they told the people in charge that we were influencing the refs or something, because in the email that came out about it, we seemed in just as much trouble as the people who were out of control.

I hate it that in life, it's the people who complain the loudest that get listened to.

We weren't planning on coaching again next year, as the Girl will probably be promoted to the Travel Team. But now I'm wondering if I want to spend any more years around these people at all!!

It's funny, but I don't ever remember anyone complaining about aggressiveness in my Boy. It seems that girls are judged much differently...

That sucks. I feel like we have a big target on our backs. I wish we were done now, but we have to play the yellow team tonight, whose coach is definitely a yeller. And if we're lucky enough to win, we get to play that lovely green team again.

Wish us luck!

Sleeping Dogs

Well, I guess it's been coming. The Boy, who we've faithfully driven all over Southern California (for YEARS!) in the interests of helping him become good at basketball, has now decided that he's "done" with basketball. Now that he's a Junior and it's time to try to tell college coaches about him and have them see him at Tournaments, he's decided he doesn't like it enough. He can't tell me why, altho I've asked many times.

Personally I don't think he wants to work hard, or even THINK about working hard. He's a teenager and a bit lazy by nature (which I can understand.) But it's not me that has to DO the work, and I can't want if for him. If he chooses now to NOT take advantage of how good he's become, I just don't feel I can make him.

I think he'll probably regret it, but I have to start letting him make his own choices. So maybe basketball isn't for him.

But I told him it can't just be about quitting something. He has to replace that goal with something else. So he says he'll try to get a scholarship in Track (high-jump.) He loves track because it's laid back and his friends are in it. But he's not as good at it as he was at basketball, so I've told him he has to train at least twice as hard now to get his jumping at least 4 inches higher than where he is today.

So I'm trying to make it clear that he's not going to get out of this without working hard - at something. And it's not going to mean more time with his friends, not if I can help it.

Yesterday was my birthday, and I had a very nice day. K took me to PF Changs for dinner (if you eat at the bar, it's easier to get in) which was delicious. Mongolian beef, lettuce wraps, and Singapore Street noodles. Yum! Then after church yesterday we went to brunch at my favorite local restaurant. I had a greek salad and 1/2 brie and roasted garlic pizza. Double yum!

I got some nice flowers from my work - well, one of my works. It's nice that some employers have so much class, eh?