Night two in Vegas was last night, my co worker and I went to the Hooters Hotel where I was hoping to find Michelle, Ms Hooters 2006, who I met at a trade show in Chicago last month (the Motivation Show) at a random booth, and she was great and nice and pretty and kept INSISTING that she dealt to me in Blackjack at the Hooters Hotel in Vegas. I kept saying, no, I've never played Blackjack at the Hooters Hotel in Vegas, but next time I go I'll stop and say hello. She gave me an autographed picture of herself, something like Ari, see you in Vegas, love Michelle. I had this on my desk in NYC for a while, then created a Las Vegas folder for this conference (which we only went to day one of, today I did nothing at all except much lap swimming in the outdoor hotel pool) and inserted this glossy photo, along with the exhibitors at this conference, my flight into, and hotel confirmation. Getting here I was telling my friend that I would use the signed glossy picture to go to the Hooters Hotel and find Michelle. He was greatly amused by this image because it was very much like Borat looking for Pam Anderson in the new movie. Anyway, I left the pic in my hotel room but we did go there last night, had drinks and played slots a little, then went back here to the Sahara where my friend got into another poker tournament. I won a little money in Blackjack last night here at the Sahara, then lost it today along with a little more. No biggie. Anyway at the Hooters Hotel I asked some of the Hooters girls about Michelle and one of them said that she was traveling and really didn't know when she'd be back, while the other one looked into space uneasily. Suddenly I felt like Borat. HAHAHA. Tomorrow I jet back to NYC - was here entirely too long, on the other hand it's nice to do nothing at all for a couple days, especially within the hectic rat race that is sales, and especially out west where the distances are massive and the sun shines bright. I love it out west. Maybe tomorrow, before the airport, I'll check out the Hoover Dam. Or maybe, more like, I'll just lap swim for another hour - it'll be nice to be back in New York though - I've got a gallery show coming up soon (it was previewed nicely yesterday in Studio and Gallery Magazine, so now I feel a little pressure to make my last few pictures particularly magical) and now a gig in San Francisco immediately after the gallery show concludes - so I have work to do when I get back. All I can seem to play lately are a few covers that I am obsessed with - namely Drinker's Peace and Window of my World by Guided by Voices, and Elevate Myself by Grandaddy. The girl I made the mix CDs for finally wrote back and thanked me, but in decisively unflirty tones. Finally, I am excited to begin my power trio with Adam Greenberglerberg on bass - and also at the thought of a reunion concert by my old New England band Camambert, which was of some note in the town we were based like 10 years ago. Just read in the new Mojo about the new Dinosaur Jr album that's now being mixed, and that's another thing to look forward to. I've always said to myself since I was little, I've always said, if there's stuff to look forward to, especially a string of things, at any given time in a boy's life, then life. is. good.

Just got to Vegas - my buddy from work immediately went to a Poker Tournament, after we spent all flight doing excited Borat imitations about how much fun we'll have ("Niiiice!") . . . but I always forget that this place is a trip but not really my bag. I'm not really in a bachelor party mood most of the time. Just had a nice sandwich and drink and retired to my room at the very top of the Sahara. Nice up here, drinking a Drambuie or however the ass that's spelled, and listening to Eels and Grandaddy and the like on this mix I made for that girl in SF - that infatuation hit me like a ton of bricks and then moved on like the fog - but that's because she got into a bit of a relationship with someone and so to pine for someone like that is just silly, she ain't gonna love ya back. Anyway, the view out my window here is a trip - right now I'm looking out onto a lit up Riviera, on the grungy north side of The Strip, and a brilliant GbV song just came on ("Drag Days"), thank God for my ipod and portable round speaker which I take with me everywhere. There are some really loud frat brothers partying down the hall from me, and every once in a while more will come down the hall loud as fuck. I could try to do something crazy, like the old Same Suit Sam, but I'll try to just do nothing and go to sleep, like the new Same Suit Sam is trying to be... Will discuss Vegas more tomorrow.

Same Suit Sam here, Friday night, waiting for a cousin to come over (she's almost a Federal Judge) to check out my new apartment and then go for dinner at the best Thai place in NYC, which happens to be down the road from me in Sunnyside, next door in Woodside. All good now with girl from last entry. Not good exactly, just not happening - she's seeing someone, I sent her two mixed CDs, pretty awesome ones, but haven't heard from her. That's ok, if she doesn't even write to say thanks. I think at this point she doesn't want to encourage me anymore, and even that sort of contact could do that, based on what she knows of me. However, my infatuation with her ended as suddenly as it began. If someone is genuinely seeing someone and happy, then I'd not gonna fall for them, because I know it's totally hopeless then, and so there's no point.

On Monday, a week ago tomorrow, this new girl started at work, on my team, who is so shmokin' that I instantly forgot my SF crush, and started nervously making friends with this new girl. She's unforgivably young and as the much older guy, I've got to play it a LOT more cool than I have been doing (she's so attractive that I've been literally jumping around in my seat - I sit in front of her, so unfortunately I cannot look at her without turning around, which I must stop doing) and be careful not to enter the just-friends zone. Actually I've probably already very much done that, but I can still undo it, just by paying her less attention, being myself and treating her like I treat anyone else in the office. When I realize someone's "hot" and I want to make sexy-time with them, as Borat says, then I lose my cool and start acting very jumpy and desperate, making the girl change her mind about me even if she initially found me interesting and with potential. It's cool though. This week I go to Las Vegas, and should really start worrying about sales again, as my numbers (while still excellent) have not grown in a long time.

That's it for now, not a very interesting post. Still I wanted to let my gentle readership of one know that I'm cool, I was just angsty last time. Borat was incredible by the way, possibly the funniest movie I've ever seen. My British friend at work that's found a different job, we were going to take him out on Friday night for some going away drinks and instead I got Borat tickets (his real going away do is next Thu when I am in Vegas) and he took it really badly. So much so that we're not even really friends anymore - I thought he completely over reacted and had a pathetic reaction, and he thought that I only ever think about myself. Oh well, nevermind, he's a very negative person in general, and I was ready to cut him loose anyway. But yeah, Borat, instant classic. I might take my parents to it tomorrow night if my mom's back feels better, she's pulled it or something.