I figured I would rip off Rob's number system to write about my adventures back home. Sorry Rob. Sue me.

I didn't really have much time back after the wedding. We flew back to LA on Dec 4th and I had to be at work on Dec 5th.

Ked wasted no time and had a job offered to her on the 6th or 7th. I picked her up on my lunch break and took her to a Thai restaurant near my office.

I knew the owner was Thai because of the name on the business license hanging on the wall and told Ked to order in Thai. She was too nervous but the owner heard her accent and started speaking to her in Thai. Next thing you know, the owner offered her a job.

My employer was kind enough to give everyone Dec 23rd - Jan 3rd off for Christmas holiday so Ked and I went to Vegas. That had been a dream of Ked's. She's been talking about going to Las Vegas since we met so this was one of those things she could mark off her list of "Things to do before I die."

I hadn't been in Vegas since 2006 when I went there for the World Series of Poker. A lot has changed on the Vegas strip since then. Many old casinos are long gone and many new casinos have risen up to take their place.

We had a great time . . . well, I had a great time. Ked had previously had the misfortune of winning playing slots machines the first few times she played them in Singapore and Australia. I say the misfortune because anybody who is involved in gambling will tell you that if you when the first time you gamble it has a totally different psychological effect than if you lose.

When you win, you think you can always win and view gambling as a way to make money. If you put a bunch of money on the table and lose you view gambling as a way to lose money.

Over our little trip she pumped a few hundred into those machines and walked away with a lot of nothing. I tried explaining the economics of gambling to her. I tried telling her that they don't keep building these multi-billion dollar casinos by losing money but I don't think it sunk in until the ride home when she had time to reflect.

Not that she went crazy or anything. We had a daily budget for gambling and unlike many other folks I've seen, we kept to our gambling budget with enough left over for some nice meals and some partying.

When we got back we took a day off and then went to Disneyland which is only about a 15 minute drive from our place.

I have to say I was a little disappointed. It was way, way, way too crowded. The average wait time for the rides was between 90 - 120 minutes. All of the quick passes had been handed out. Basically, if you're there for 12 hours you *might* get to ride 6 rides. Even getting a quick bite for lunch was a half hour standing in the food line.

I think Ked summed it up pretty well, "I don't really want to come back here. Maybe if we have a kid one day. But only if the kid is old enough to walk because I'm not pushing them around all day." LOL

We took another day off and then went down to Sea World in San Diego. Sea World was much less crowded and it's more centered around shows than rides so I think that suited us a lot better. We could bop in and out of shows and see different things without waiting in huge lines.

Also, they had a special, buy one day get all of 2012 for free. So, if you buy a ticket you get a pass to come back as often as you want until 12/31/2012. San Diego is only an hour drive away so we will get some use out of the tickets during the year.

New Year's Eve we played pretty low-key. We just had dinner out and stayed home to ring in the new year.

Now the new week begins. I have to go back to work tomorrow :-(

wow Ked is lucky to get a job shortly after arrived......congrats......

logic and gambling are two words that just don't go together!!!! nice post mate!!! I went to Vegas many years ago I don't gamble but I liked the reasonably cheap food and drinks in the casinos!!!!

Yeah, well it's even funnier when you know guys who analyze slot machine returns for the casinos and you're trying to explain that there is no such thing as "lucky" machines or "lucky" ways to play.

I played in one tournament and busted when my set ran into a flush draw that got there but the rest of the time I just played blackjack which I like to play because you can keep fairly even and rack up comp points.

Looks like you had a whale of a good time, hahaha!

You'll be hearing from my lawyer soon.

wooooooooooooooooooooooow!

And her list is Paris as well so, see you both in Paris hehehe