I am officially out of Vegas, but I came out on top. I had no intentions of gambling, as I don't like playing with my own money, but my dad was willing to front me a little cash to play blackjack with him. I got up a bunch and then paid him back at the end of the night. Winning is nice.

Despite this, Vegas is mostly annoying. There are way too many people and even the supposedly classy restaurants and resorts are cheesy. I think that Vegas is one of those cities that gives you a fairly accurate view of America. I know there are plenty of freaks (not so many geeks), but when you see people touring the hotels and buying tsochkes in the shops, you begin to understand what the driving force behind our country.

The most poignant moment was when we got dim sum at Noodles in the Bellagio. This is a restaurant that is likely owned and operated by the hotel, but employs Asian people whose english skills are just above average. Clearly, this is meant to recreate the mood of an authenticN Chinese restaurant, but instead it felt very fake. I was a little miffed when I figured this out, but I guess it just fits right into the whole Las Vegas package.

In an hour we'll be taking off on our way to Hawaii -- Kauai to be exact -- and I couldn't be more excited. I love seeing my extended family but I'm really looking forward to the following schedule:

9:30am: Wake up
10:00am: Eat Breakfast
10:45am: Go to Pool
1:30pm: Eat Lunch
2:15pm: Go to Pool
4:00pm: Drink Smoothie
5:30pm: Go to Room, Watch Movie and Check Email
7:30pm: Dinner
10:00pm: Watch Movie
1:00am: Sleep

I will do some variation of this schedule for the next eight days. As of now, I am officially turning off my brain.