Sunday, February 15, 2009

Reno

It's a good thing we drove out to the WalMart, or I would honestly think very very little of Reno. But Tim drove me around, and there are some nice neighborhoods, and a Temple, and a nice looking University that reminds me a lot of CU Boulder. And the neighborhoods around the University remind me of Edgemont, where I grew up.

But where we are?

Yikes.

I won't go out to get something from the car after dark.

We're in an 'apartment building' that really is a refurbished hotel, as far as I can see. Our 'studio apartment' is exactly like many a hotel I've stayed in--actually smaller than most (This one is about 12 x 25 ', including the kitchenette and bathroom). The front door to the lobby downstairs is locked--you have to have a key to get into the building at all. And, in this neighborhood, I'm glad. I realize people can get in anyway (just like they can to any gated community in the world), but when the people are outside yelling in the middle of the night (and they are every night), it's better than nothing.

Outside our window, we can see the flashing lights of Circus Circus, which give our room a red glow at night. Since we're on the tenth floor, we can see the whole neighborhood. Across from us and Circus Circus is a giant 'ball building' that is supposed to have laser light shows inside it. We went to see--very disappointing. There was a laser. A few light effects that were timed to music that conflicted with the casino music that was pounding from just below.

The coolest thing we've seen is the Circus shows that are free at Circus circus. The acrobats were cool, the juggling was neat (and the girl jumped rope while standing on the guy's hands while he had them extended up above his head!). And the dog show had better tricks than the Popovich dog show in Vegas. So that was fun.

Toxic Audio is selling well, and I finally saw the show last night. It was great. Different from Vegas, but good. I'd re-do the costumes, but the rest was great. Very funny, musically strong, fun show. Audience was pleased, too.

It took us a week to adjust to being here, but we're doing pretty good now that I'm starting to figure out how to feed people with a half a fridge and a half a kitchen.