M&G Newbie Finds Pleasure In The House Of Blues: The Novella
Jul 06 '06 (Updated Jul 08 '06)
The Bottom Line Your chance to be a Star. Eps' will pamper you, gift you, wine and dine you plus you get to give them your personal Wish List & mingle.
We may live in Central California's fecund Big Valley, but for some reason we've never made it to any one of the trio of Eps' Meet & Greets offered within our own Golden State. We did have an unofficial gathering. about the time of the first inklings of the dot.com crashes to follow.
Hosted by the delectable Sweeper and his brilliant wife Norma, (who some Staffers may recognize from the eBay HR home office), I had the profound pleasure of meeting such notables of the Eps' firmament as
Counsel, forkids, Cornelia, mrisch and assorted family members.
No, leave it to a mid-June date in the full blaze of Las Vegas, Nevada's infernal desert heat for KCFoxy's official public debut at one of these pressing-of-the-actual-flesh occasions.
Meet & Greet Strategy
Nurses work odd hours, and often weekend ones at that, but luckily this was my regular weekend off, so we decided to make a little mini vacation of our trip, flying out of Sacramento and into Sin City the afternoon before The Big Shindig.
True surfing Nerd, I'd let my keyboard do the walking and found a great package deal for 3 nights at the "Four Star" Golden Nugget Hotel-Casino in the Downtown-Fremont Street zone, several miles north of the official Strip.
Add an intermediate rental car, a shade larger than a Speck, and we'd be in great shape to check out our usual outlet stores, fancy schmancy Casino mega-malls and still make it to way plush Mandalay Bay, located at the extreme South end of Las Vegas Blvd.
Event clothing was most carefully selected. An over-sized, stretchy and forgiving cotton tunic top, the better to camouflage my zaftig charms, and a canny pair of what I term buffet pants, the ample traveler's friend, replete with that all important, multi-stitched elastic stretch waist band, and a pair of deep side pockets for the Foodie's inevitable plastic baggies. Oh, and turquoise Crocs, the better to foil the miles of shock-happy nylon Casino carpet.
This is a gorgeous hotel-actually a series of 3 hotels within one extensive, and pricey property, and home to The House of Blues-host watering hole and eatery of the 2006 Meet & Greet. The main casino is nicely done, upscale with a good variety of table and machine gaming.
We got there about 3 hours before the slated event time, the better for Other Half, http://www.epinions.com/user-Ramsfan, to try out the famed Burger Bar, and me to suss out the lay of the land, find one of my favorite nickel or quarter machines, and partake of a bit of wet n' frosty...social lubrication.
Well, of course I joined the Slot Club, even though the 'Bay is pretty much beyond our price range in every other way. It came in handy, though for the very lucky Haywire Deluxe machine I found within sight of the HOB. My immediate goal: 300 SC points, enough to earn a Buffet complementary, ('comp').
Ramsfan was very content following his luxe $10 beef burger upstairs, and after a couple tall glasses of Planter's Punch freebies, (tempered with rounds of bottled ice water to help combat high desert dehydration), while playing slots, I'd pretty much forgotten the last meal I'd consumed: a wholesome breakfast of leftover Chicken Fingers and hybrid Mocha-Caramel Macciato lo those many, many hours before, (hic).
In this condition, replete with ginormous Slot Club points, and an RN's canny pharmucopia of nerve/stomach and intestinal meds safely consumed, it was onward and upward to our specially reserved spot in the House of Blues!
House Of Blues Layout And Greeters
Although the HOB's Logo Shop and funky wares beckoned, we checked in at the reservation podium, before spying the big Epinions' Meet & Greet Banner beyond. Christal, one of Eps' stellar Community Care players, had reserved the Napoleon Deck for our use from 4 to 7 p.m.
Located up a handful of steps from the main dining area, it was separated by both a decorative wooden balustrade and the sort of Do Not Cross-Police tape more commonly seen on CSI shows. Ubiquitous Epi Dolls peppered the scene like citrus-hued confetti. Yup, this was the place!
As I struggled to see in the semi-gloom, a dark haired young man, attired in the black polo shirt top and khaki Dockers Eps' uniform and a truly welcoming smile, came forward to greet us. Assuming this was dear Garrett Gonzales, I gave him a massive hug.
It wasn't until I actually squinted up into his slightly embarrassed face that I realized: this was some other Dude! A helpful name tag informed me this was Joel. Into this muddle stepped the adorableTomiko, white Pepsodent smile and micro mini and the aforementioned vixen,Christal; soon appropriate name tags were located and raffle tickets for that all-important iPod were doled out.
Within another minute or so the Real Garrett popped up and additional hugs, and a custom, burned kcfoxy sampler tune CD, were dispensed. Like the true host, he pointed out the few tables already occupied by fellow Epinionators as well as the open bar and food offerings off to one side. So even though rank Newbies, we were starting to feel totally embraced and pampered.
So Like, Let's Meet & Greet
Before I could take a single step further into the reserved Deck, a warm, friendly female voice was heard just over my shoulder:
"I recognized you by your waist length hair; it must be kcfoxy. Hello, Casey, I'm Pam!"
Ah, Pam, or Mrsfitts, as known to many faithful readers, is another class of 1999 Eps' alumnae. From her smiling face, sparkling blue eyes and likewise long, auburn hair she was somehow like someone I'd already know for many years-an Old Soul like our dear friend, Helen, Pogomom, who was most sadly, unable to meet with us this day.
Richard ramsfan, being an old Food Service hand, and much less given to wax Epinions' ecstatic, was off through the buffet line while I stopped to check out the open bar. Not just beer and wine, I was extremely happy to find a bottle of Bailey's Irish Cream, with my name all over it. The young and very professional bartender was tall, dark and handsome eye candy indeed!
Next, needing a place to light, I ran into two more M&G alumni, both one of my Book CLs, Pearannoyed, (Amy) and her camera-toting tablemate, Dizzybint. Drinks and conversation were flowing easily, so easily in fact, that I felt the need to slow down and get a plate of the bountiful food offerings wafting delicious scents from just a few feet away.
You Had To Know I Was Going To Dish About The Food
Like many Epinionators, I've avidly read about Meet & Greets through the years. Locations, photos, antics, personalities, chow and swag furnished were all of great interest.
But generally, there were either hot or cold hors d'oeuvres, and judging by the blurb in the Member Center, that's what we were given to expect this afternoon into early evening, too. I'd already made tentative plans for the Hooters, nee San Remo prime rib special, ($7.77, one of the Las Vegas Advisor's foodie bargain tips), never expecting the degree of puttin' on the dog our generous hosts laid out for us.
The menu: Rosemary Chicken Breasts, Cajun Catfish, Prime Rib Carving Station-with au jus and horseradish sauce-Caesar Salad with Wood Oven Croutons & Fresh Shaved Parmesan, Mashed Potatoes, Chef's Selected Sauteed Vegetable Medley and Fresh Homemade Apple Cobbler, (with what Mr. Big assured me his new sources informed him was Granola Crust), and Vanilla Bean Ice Cream, should you have the room.
The chicken was boneless, very tender and not dry. The fish fillets were thankfully boneless, with a medium spicy kick from paprika, cayenne, pepper, thyme and garlic. The salad was about what you'd expect, the veggies weren't overcooked and had a cauliflower, zucchini, carrot mix, and there were soft, fresh rolls on the side.
The prime rib was juicy, not too fatty, with the horsey sauce I love-the creamy kind with a moderate bite.
Daintily, I limited myself to just one thin slice, but later found out from Other Half, that if you schmoozed the Help, hunkier slabs could be had for the asking, never mind refills.
Now, I'm not really sure just what was the culprit, and didn't notice it until returning to our hotel, but something with sauce left a big, nasty stain on the...shelf created by my rather ample endowments. Ahem. Sadly, oh so sadly, I forgot to return to the hot Apple Cobbler serving station, though it was later rubbed in, how my missed dessert was so totally scrumptious and delicious.
A Bit Of Brain Picking & More Pressing The Flesh
Pam, wearing a cool Stealth Bomber tee shirt-without any apparent stains-and hoisting a Corona, returned for a more comfortable chat, and really it felt like we were just continuing a conversation we'd started some time before the M&G. There was some shop talk, especially so when staffer Andy(man) dropped by to pick our brains, er, garner our opinions on what worked and didn't on-site.
(Insider's peek at my initial meeting with Andy. Garrett made the introductions, AH put out his hand. "Hi, I'm Andy." After giving a appreciative, toothsome grin I trotted out my best, breathy Mae West response. "Yes. You. Are", then continued holding his proffered hand for a few extra beats...bada boom.)
Of course we mentioned the Search Engine. Pam wanted access to write about the latest and newest products, (I seem to remember some type of tools, Snap-On perhaps?), while I bemoaned all the duplication of products in Books, Music and H&G, my favorite categories. I'd also like to have more cities listed under travel, as well as restaurants-I had a bunch of reviews on hold for this very reason, and yada yada yada.
I did point out that it didn't make sense to have too many versions of a very same product listed, siting my Sony headphones being listed in white, silver and black variations, when really all else was the same. Ditto washers and dryers. A few times I did shout out the wonderfulness of our favorite, and hardest working CL, Pogomom, Helen, to whatever staffers lurked to listen.
That was only a small portion of the Meet & Greet, maybe 15 minutes all told. Food eaten, second or third Bailey's in hand, I was blessing my ibuprofen, Rolaids and Imodium pre-event cocktail and starting to relax a bit. Over my shoulder, I heard a friendly male voice, a newcomer making introductions to some of the many standing Epinionators.
"Well, you might know me by my Epinions' name, Viper..."
Folks, I'll be 56 in August, and have long lost my slimmer, more supple self, but to see me spring up like a Jill in the Box, leap forward and immediately engulf poor, startled Viper1963/Steve/Kimo, you'd think I was but a young foxette.
Having no idea Steve would make the trek from L.A., it was a great pleasure to finally meet and chat with one of my very favorite Eps' personalities from way back when. We did get a good chance to talk about the particular problems inherent in caring for elderly parents/working and trying to juggle the whole enchilada.
Steve was festooned with a heavy camera on one shoulder and camera case on the other, and told us he'd been on a bit of a working Holiday, shooting a wedding in Las Vegas earlier in the day. He was staying at the fanciest of the 'Bay's 3 hotels, and took plenty of group and individual photos at our M&G as well.
Finally realizing we were maybe the only M&G newbies aboard the good HOB ship, er reserved balcony, I enlisted Gilroy's own El Guapo, (Garrett), in steering me around to meeting several new faces. A gang of boisterous Epinionators planted near the portable bar/watering hole hoisted frosty glasses of a tasty looking concoction dubbed Epi-tinis by that enterprising brunette barkeep, whose enormous tip jar rightly runneth over.
Happily they offered me a taste-yummy: fruity and lethal, I'd better stick to my 34 proof cream liqueur, which handily melted down to ice water every so often. I was quite taken by the attractive, green striped bumblebee grin of Speeddemon/Mike, who stroked my Leo's vanity by declaring "Hey, she's one of those people who look exactly like their profile picture!"
Another friendly soul was Krissieliz, definitely more attractive that her profile pic, but more importantly: intelligent, articulate and just goofy enough that I could stand both the fact that she won the uBid's very cool iPod and looked smashing in a smallish, off-the-shoulder little black number.
I do muzzily recall pointing out my personal dearth of visible wrinkles-not bad for a card carrying Senior Citizen; KL kindly went along, expressing apparent surprise at my chronological age.Good luck with your upcoming move to London town!
Others in attendance? One of my fellow H&G Advisors, and new pals, the handsome, articulate and tastefully goateed, Yakkowarner, and his understanding and tolerant wife, from Richard's own neck of the SoCal woods.
With a nod to include ramsfan, now lurking in the shadowy gloom like some glittering-eyed, albeit sober and observant spider, I acknowledged the important role of our long suffering, non-writing spouses, at times estranged families and friends, less enthall of the minutely flickering monitor, clickity clack keyboard and Eps' Community at large.
Another M&G alumnae, AdrienneFoster, was gracious and lovely as a confection, dressed in baby pink and white. Somewhere in the mix was Lynus, our only true Las Vegan, who I remembered fondly as having praised a Gumbo & Roux recipe and lore piece I'd written years before.
About halfway through the reception, a largish contingent of eBay/Shopping.com/uBid folk melded into the gathering, and as Other Half-the teetotaler-pointed out, made up about half of the estimated total, 25-30 person contingent.
Which was coolness itself, given the generous amounts of tasty eats and top shelf spirits to be had. Hosts, staffers, service helpers all mingled along with the writers in a warm, very friendly and lively brain trust.
In the true spirit of sharing, at one point I seem to recall inviting Epinionators and staff alike to sniff the yummy Hanae Mori perfume I was wearing, whipping out a large plastic bottle of the coordinating hand lotion and gifting Christal, Tomiko and anyone within slathering range with a creamy, dreamy sample.
Final Thoughts And Recommendation
No, of course this isn't a product review, but if you'd made it thus far through a Newbie's admittedly long and detailed scribblings, then there's only a bit more to endure.
The atmosphere was one of low lighting, perfumed with smells of Southern cooking, some tasteful tunes in the background, and some of the nicest, most interesting and bright people you'd ever want to meet.
I never felt I was in the presence of phonies. There wasn't a bunch of posturing or grandstanding, though healthy and neurotic egos were present in equal amounts.
I was taken by the overall attractiveness of the venue. The care and planning that went into making this a delightful and memorable event for all concerned. The staff were unfailingly polite and interested, with a genuine warmth that can't be simulated.
The writers were by turns a bit shy, excited, vocal, buzzed and interested in meeting other who share this strange fascination and brotherhood of the Epinions.com Community. Our common thread? The writer's gift to wax poetic about what sometimes may seem mundane-to share with their fellows on this spinning green and blue planet, something of their experiences with kids, creative writing, food, travel, books, music, movies, on-line businesses, sports equipment, nostrums, software, hardware, electronics and plenty of household helpers and gadgets alike.
I've read this before, and experienced it myself: the time flew by-it seemed more like 1 hour than 3. A super raffle, some neat pens from uBid, big thirsty towels emblazoned with the Epinions.com logo and my favorite, the special commemorative tee shirts, (thanks for the special order, gang!), all were nice frosting on an already lavish cake.
We came together in Las Vegas, at Mandalay Bay's House of Blues on a blistering hot day in triple digits. But the friends we made, or reunited with, the ideas and camaraderie we shared and partying we did were all time well spent. I only wish the folks that RSVPed but were no shows, and the ones I know really wanted to, but due to family emergencies, couldn't make it, had been able to share what we did that special day. Thanks for making it real.
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Epinions.com ID:
kcfoxy
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 - Top 200 |
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Member: Casey Stewart
Location: West Coast Of Mars
Reviews written: 935
Trusted by: 644 members
About Me:
Save the Earth...it's the only planet with Chocolate!
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