Las Vegas now a days...

Film Photography — Seven Magic Mountains photographed on Kodak Gold 200

I used to live in Southern California, from the age of 4 months to probably around 7 years old. I vividly remember us piling into our white Chevy Astro Van. It had grey and navy stripes, with a navy interior, a tv, and VCR, and the back bench turned into a bed. I remember numerous trips where my sister and I would have so much fun in the back watching whatever VHS taped we decided to pop into the VCR to watch. It was always a Disney movie or Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

For me then, those long trips across the desert were dreadful. I remember feeling like the trip was never going to end, and right before I knew it we would descend upon an oasis of lights. The same way you would descend upon Las Vegas today, coming down Interstate 15 from Los Angeles. Except for today, the lights start much earlier than before.

In the 90’s there were no townhomes, or new housing developments for sale along the interstate, just sand, and vastness. Las Vegas then was a whole different beast. Our go-to casino from what I can remember used to always be Circus Circus. A circus-themed casino as the name mentions, with a free acrobatic show. My cousins and I would spend hours on end at the arcade while our parents went off into the jungle depths of the casino. My Mom recently said, “I can’t believe we left you alone, I guess it was a different time.”

Although Circus Circus still stands today, not like many of its competitors of the day, it feels like it is no longer there as it is overshadowed by the Vegas giants. Las Vegas Blvd, is a much different landscape, as is my life.

After those early formative years, I’ve lived in the Philippines, New York City, and grew up In Northern New Jersey. The last 5-6 years have been a game of musical chairs, moving from the East Coast back to California, from the San Gabriel Valley, and up to San Francisco. These days, I reside in the beach city of Long Beach, and my Mom has retired to the city of Sin, Las Vegas.

My trips to Las Vegas have been as frequent as monthly. The older I get, the older my Mom gets, and the more I want to make sure I spend as much time with her as possible.

This last trip was no different, with the exception that I stayed much longer than the typical 2-3 days. With the flexibility of working from home, I am able to pretty much work from anywhere for no predetermined amount of time. I planned to visit Mom for Mother's Day, as one should if one can. Around the time of planning, I learned that my brother-in-law was going to be in Vegas for a bowling tournament, The US Bowling Championship open. I figured instead of driving back and forth within the month, I would save miles and just hang out at Mom’s house for the whole month. Also, since my birthday was the weekend right after the tournament, I figured I’d stay and celebrate my day with my Mom.

Red Rock National Park - photographed on Kodak Gold 200

I had a couple of main concerns as the trip approached. One, how do I pack for a month? Two, will I survive a month with Mom? And three, how much weight am I going to gain?

Well, for the first question, I threw my hands up and said, “fuck it”. I’m driving, so I’ll just bring my whole apartment with me. I practically packed my closet, my bike, workout equipment, workstation, books, and things I don’t use at home, but thought I would use in Vegas.

Secondly, living with my Mom for a month was not bad at all, nowhere near it. I guess my relationship with my Mom as an adult is much different than when I was a teenager. During my visits, I usually work on some little projects here and there that she may need to be done around the house, and this time around was no different.

I decided to tackle her balcony which had turned into a storage unit and a place for her aloe vera plants. The only plants she’s capable of keeping alive. I told her what I wanted to do, and she oblige. So one day, I went through all the junk, I mean, stuff, and threw out pretty much everything. Then we went to Ikea and picked out some outdoor plastic flooring that was easy to put together and covered the whole balcony. Mom already had these white and green outdoor chairs that were still new, so my sister and I bought her this small orange table to go with them. The balcony was already looking very inviting, and one day my mom found some wooden stools by the dumpster, and she brought them in. I decided to paint orange to match the table. Those stools which my Mom can use to look over the wall to people watch, or put her plants on really tied everything together. The morning after the balcony was complete, I woke up to my mom outside with her coffee and a book.

During that project, I was sitting at the table working and glanced at the living room, and said to myself, “this needs to be changed”. So I moved some things around to make it feel more complete and moved a table out of my Mom’s room into the living room to tie things all together. Looking back on it, I used to do this when I was an early teen back in NJ. I guess I always had a creative bug in me.

Aside from that and the occasional errands and grocery runs, our days were quiet and nice. We slipped into a night routine of Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune. Mom would say, “wow you know a lot, and this is why I don't like Jeopardy because I don't know anything.” Mom would then blurt out phrases during Wheel of fortune, and I would say, “these categories don't make any sense! This is why I like Jeopardy.”

One weekend, we drove down to Arizona to visit my Godmother which was nice. It was also the first time My Mom and I have been on a drive that long together. Usually, our long drives include other members of the family.

And for my last question to myself, well, it’s been a little over two weeks and I’ve lost 7 of the 10lbs I gained. This is on top of the 10lbs I gained from the holidays that I was trying to work off. The first week was a barrage of rice and Filipino food, which evolved into smaller portions, then into salads. Until my brother-in-law came, and we ordered a platter good for 6 people for just him, mom, and I, and the food continued on until my birthday.

For my Birthday, my Mom bought us tickets to go see David Copperfield. She had asked me what I wanted to see, and I said, “David Copperfield is getting old, let's go see him before we can’t.” I’m not one to really celebrate my birthday, and Mom kept asking me where I wanted to eat, and I really didn’t have any desire to go anywhere. On the way to MGM, I had a craving for Sushi, so after the show, I google a place that had great reviews, and now it’s one of my favorite restaurants in Las Vegas.

This trip proved to be a lot of firsts for me. First time living with my Mom since I moved out, my first time being away from home that long, my first time hanging out with my brother-in-law without my sister, my first time visiting my Godmothers house, oh and the first time being hit on by two girls and having my mom and god mom wing women me, but that’s a story for another day, or never.

The other end of the face-time - Kodak Gold 200

This trip also taught me how much I truly love where I live. I say this all the time, but my home is a blessing, and it feels good to be home. Miss ya Mom!

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