Fun, Fast, Fabulous and Furious Trip to Las Vegas

Las Vegas was a blast! We arrived in Vegas on Thursday night, checked into the Bellagio and hit the ground running. The first stop was my favorite restaurant Fix for some lobster tacos, Kobe beef sliders and cocktails. After dinner, we hit the slots and literally, I won on every machine I played!! At 2am Vegas time( 5am Atlanta time) after drinking my fill of my Vegas beverage of choice, Mandarin Vodka and soda, I crashed only to wake up around 8am Vegas time. It was 108 degrees outside at 9am and it was so unbearably hot but we shopped and walked down Las Vegas Boulevard to the MGM Grand to use the $100 Free Play I had and to see the lions. I walked out with an extra $50 in my pocket. We cabbed back to the Bellagio and met a man who advises clients on which slots to play and he recommended that we play the new EBay machines. There is a bank of 8 machines together and every now and then, you get a community bonus. I turned $20 into $200 in no time. It was a blast. Friday night we went to the Lucky Cheng Drag Show and it was a riot. I have alot of good pictures of the drag queens doing their thing. More drinking and gambling ensued. Saturday was a 3 hour all you can drink champagne brunch followed by a 5 hour tear on the Jackpot Party machines where we met the nicest people with whomwe drank and partied. I actually went up to the room around 9pm and decided to take a nap but passed out. My friends were calling but my phone was on silent and I missed the bonus rounds on Ebay. We left the hotel at 4am Sunday for a 6am flight home. We arrived in Atlanta around 1pm.....when the rain had stopped. Fast, furious and fun! Can't wait to go back.

A Once in a Lifetime Opportunity....Telling Off the Worst Boss You Ever Had!!!

This is one of those opportunities you wait for your whole life and generally the opportunity does not present itself. Back in the days when I practiced law full time at a large Atlanta law factory firm, I had a boss from hell. He was a partner who enjoyed terrorizing the new associates and found joy and pleasure in giving you impossible workloads involving overnighters and generally treating you like shit. He was verbally abusive and somehow must be related to Hitler. He was a legend, unanimously hated by all of the associates. He looked like one of the flying monkeys on The Wizard of Oz. I worked in the same office with this jerk for a year and was elated to transfer to another office.

I always told myself that if I ever ran into this jerk, I would tell him off. I am older now, self-confident and basically don't give a shit what he thinks of me. Well, I waited 17 years but the opportunity presented itself a few weeks ago at Chastain Park. I spotted him sitting about 3 tables away and he apparently gained a good 100 pounds and looked like a blown up flying monkey. After I had a few glasses of wine and he walked right behind me with a young woman whom I later discovered was his daughter, I tapped him on the shoulder and asked "Aren't you TM?" to which he responded "yes". I should have told him I couldn't believe how much weight he had gained but instead went right for " I worked for you at the law factory and you are the worst boss Ihave ever had.....you were mean, nasty and cruel to all of the associates". I went on to give him specifics and his daughter apologized profusely for him and said that he had changed. He is no longer with the law factory and as a hard head egomaniac, my insults did not phase him. His daughter even tried to set me up with him and he asked for my card!! The nerve!

I was so proud to have gotten this opportunity after all of those years....it is a once in a lifetime experience to be able to do something like this. I have some others on the list and I hope to run into these individuals one day. I hope you have yours!

The Saint Update

The Saint is out of the hospital after a grueling surgery on Thursday. The doctors discovered a huge growth/cyst filled with fluid about the size of a baseball and with a shunt, through her carotid artery, are able to constantly keep the fluid drained. They couldn't believe that the Saint's headaches were not more painful! I am pleased that she made it through rather easily although she is having some alternating numbness in her body which the doctors have not diagnosed. One day at a time.....

Atlanta Cougar Heading to Las Vegas for some R&R

I haven't posted in about a week and I have so much to report!! The best news of the week is that I am heading to Las Vegas on Thursday night with one of my partners in crime, Spine Doc. We have traveled together many times and as you know, you must be compatible with whomever you travel or your trip will be ruined. She loves to drink, party and have fun so she is a great choice for the Vegas trip. Spine Doc hasn't been to Vegas in 16 years so she will be on sensory overload. I plan to drink, eat and gamble...probably in that order as I don't have much $$$ to flush down the casino toilets. Ofcourse there will be alot of flirting with hot men......a man throwing the dice at a craps table is a major turn on. I am counting down the minutes until Thursday night.

The Saint Surgery Update

For those who have read my post from last week regarding my dear friend, the Saint, she will be going under the knife for the removal of her brain tumor on Thursday. Since it is fluid based, she is going to have a shunt put in to remove the fluid build up on her brain instead of a craniotomy.

I celebrated her son's first birthday with she and her family this last Sunday. The doctor let her leave the hospital for a few days. Please keep the Saint in your prayers and I will keep you updated.

When news goes from bad to worse

As I was still reeling from the surprise diagnosis of the Saint's tumor, I received a phone call late Thursday night. "Are you sitting down?" my mother asked. "I have some bad news to tell you but it does not involve anyone in our family." Oh shit! WTF? I can't take any more. She then told me that my 2nd GBFF had died and he had committed suicide. I immediately went into my out of body experience mode. Paul, my 2nd GBFF and I had just had dinner together on Sunday. He called Sunday afternoon and said he felt like eating pizza and asked if I would join him. Ofcourse I obliged. We just basically ate and shot the bull. He was in a good mood.

To digress for a minute, Paul was in the catering business. His business had slowed due to the economy. He did all of my catering and I have known him since the late 80s when he was a waiter in one of my favorite restaurants which is no longer in existence. As the economic downturn has affected my business as well, we commiserated. We used to joke about getting jobs at Kroger as cashiers as the biggest challenge the job entails is asking "paper or plastic?". These people don't have to "bring work home with them," they are guaranteed a paycheck every two weeks, have great health benefits and get real vacations.....diametrically opposed to the life of a small business owner. I shared very intimate details about my life with Paul, and obviously he did not do so with me. I knew he was depressed but not this depressed.

Paul stopped by my office last Thursday and brought me 2 religious medals...he was a devout Catholic but didn't push it on everyone. He brought some prayer cards about praying for help in difficult economic times. He shared some old family photos with me. On Sunday, he brought me a book entitled "Zen The Art of Leadership" and I told him I would return it to him after I finished it. He said he wanted me to have it. I spoke with Paul on Monday afternoon. I called him on Tuesday and he did not return my calls. I emailed him on Wednesday to say I was worried about him.

As the story goes, he checked into a hotel on Tuesday night, took an overdose of Ambien and Demerol and killed himself. He left a suicide note with explicit instructions. Obviously he had been planning this for at least a month. I did think it was a bit creepy when he started giving me his possessions but now know it was his way of saying goodbye and to leave me a part of him. I later found out that over the weekend he had dinner with all of his favorite people. I am honored to be on that list but wish he would have confided about all of his feelings with me. I am beyond upset and sad. I will miss Pauly deeply.

Who is in Your Fave Five? Remind Them ASAP !!

Tonight I received some news you do not ever want to hear. My friend X, the husband of my very dear friend the "Saint" called me tonight to let me know that the Saint is in the hospital with a brain tumor. What? Am I dreaming? I was just with X and the Saint at the Crosby Still & Nash concert Saturday night and on the previous Friday night, we were at the Boyz II Men/Morris Day & the Time concert. X related that the Saint was having some headaches. She went to her doctor on Monday and he sent her for a Cat Scan on Tuesday. Today he called her into the office for the results. The Cat Scan revelaed a 5x7 centimeter tumor on her brain above the right ear lobe. The tumor had actually moved her brain. Shit......do you think what they say about cell phone usage is true? By 6 pm this evening when X called, the Saint was checked into a nearby hospital getting ready for an MRI. She had already met with a neurosurgeon. By tomorrow morning, they will have a game plan and surgery is a 100% sure thing.

The Saint has a little boy who will turn 1 next week and a 3 year old girl. I was there the day she was born. The Saint and I met in 1997 when she, as the director of company affairs for a n international corporation, sponsored the first big "event" for a charity I founded which is still thriving today. We bonded immediately over our combined dislike of one of the bitches in the non-profit circle. The Saint was at the epicenter of the society and non-profit circles for many years until she had her first child. She has been to the Grammys, the Emmys, every sought after ticket and event in Atlanta, NY and Hollywood. As X did not like to attend many of these events, the Saint would invite me to go with her. She is totally unaffected by all of her time in the spotlight and is above all of the superficial bullshit that many in these circles espouse....she was in it for the good....not for self-promotion like the women on the Real Housewives of Atlanta. In fact, after I saw the preview for the Housewives, she was the first person I called to dish. She personally knows every VIP in Atlanta society and charitable circles and does not know one of the housewives. We laughed about this over the weekend.

I am digressing but I am so upset, numb and sad. The Saint is in my Fav Female Five together with CIT, Real Estate Expert, Georgetown BFF and PR Queen. I lost the #1 in my Fav Five two years ago to an eleven year battle with breast cancer. I cannot bear the thought of having to lose someone else in my Fav Five......these are your friends that you know you would like to sit next to in your hoveround when you are unable or too lazy to walk.....way down the road.

Message and life lesson: Call your Fav Five today and remind them that they are in Fav Five. Life is so tenuous.....you never know when it will throw you a curve ball, all in the snap of your fingers. Please pray for the Saint and her family. You would love her too.

Tabloid Stories...Jen and John married? Having a baby? What do you believe?

Hello, my name is Atlanta Cougar and I am a magazinaholic.....I subscribe to the following: People, Star, Entertainment Weekly, Us, Vanity Fair, Atlanta Magazine, Lucky, Self, Shape, Essence, ESPN and probably a few others I can't recall. This is down from my subscription last year. I read these magazines as a guilty pleasure and to take my mind off of my own issues when possible. Magazines are part of my nightly insomnia ritual. You can ask me about any Hollywood star or starlet and I will dish on the latest gossip. As a slave to fashion, I love to read about clothing, shoes, handbags and the latest trends.

Sometimes the tabloids go too far..... as do the papparazzi.....look at these conflicting magazine covers....OK says that Jen and John (Jennifer Anniston and John Mayer) are married and Star says that Jen is carrying John's love child. Who are their sources? According to Perez Hilton, Jen's publicist denies both stories. There has to be some degree of truth here.

I hope that Jen is happy......she certainly deserves to be after Angelina Jolie stole her husband, Brad Pitt. However, Jen should tread cautiously as the tabloids always describe John Mayer as a womanizing man whore.

Good and Plenty....the candy

I have no idea what precipitated this craving but on Saturday I just had to have Good & Plenty. I am normally not a big sweets eater. I stopped by my neighborhood CVS and bought 2 boxes. on the way home from my mani/pedi. For those of you who haven't tried G&P, it is black licorice candy coated in pink and white. Actually, if you go to the movies and want to pig out, G&P goes great with popcorn.....something about the salty and the sweet combination.

After polishing off overdosing on both boxes this weekend, I have had my fill of G&P for a while....but have decided to incorporate the metaphor into my life and maybe you might want to do the same.....may your life be good and plentiful....filled with good friends, good health, happiness and alot of cash. Sometimes you gotta take the salty and the sweet but hopefully, the combination will work in your favor and leave a good taste in your mouth!

Shopaholic Impulse Purchase Crisis Averted

I have cancelled my Sex and the City the Movie inspired purchase. As I wrote in an earlier post, I probably wouldn't have worn it anyway. I just love the high/endorphin rush I experience from shopping. I love completing a purchase and getting home and looking at everything I bought. I also love to come home and discover UPS packages at my front door.

However, I am becoming fiscally responsible and will not give into those middle of the night shopping urges. Here is my conversation with Nordstrom customer service to memorialize this historic moment in the life of Atlanta Cougar.

We've received your message - a customer service representative will be with you shortly. All of our customer service representatives are currently busy. We should be with you very soon. You have been connected to Matthew J.

Matthew J: Hello, AC, and welcome to Nordstrom!

Matthew J: I see your question: How do I cancel a backorder which has been delayed?

AC 370244 is the order number

Matthew J: I can go ahead and assist you with that. May I have your order number and billing address?

AC: Look above for order number. Address is Shoplover's Lane,Atlanta Ga.

Matthew J: For the Maggy London Print Silk Twill Shift Dress?

AC: yes

Matthew J: One more moment as I cancel that for you.

Matthew J: I have that completely cancelled for you, AC. Is there anything else I may assist you with this evening?

AC: Yes, can you help me stop my impulse shopping caused by insomnia ?And refer me to the closest shopaholic anonymous?

Matthew J: Yes, I would be happy to do so.

Matthew J: Okay, I will have that completed for you momentarily. Is there anything else this evening that I may assist you with further?

AC: No, thanks. I appreciate your assistance

Real Housewives of Atlanta..... Kim's Annoying Commentary...You Be The Judge!

Someone just sent me the following link to the video of Kim Zolciak's, the non wife obnoxious gold digger cast member of the Real Housewives of Atlanta, a diatribe of her whining, bitching and bragging about her life and her need to have her sugar daddy, "Big Poppa", buy her a Cadillac Escalade on a whim that day....waa! waaa! waaa! Her money would be better spent on etiquette and grammar classes and better weave.....click on the link below and you will definitely agree with me(unless you are Kim).

http://jezebel.com/5031765/real-housewives-of-atlanta-looks-just-peachy?autoplay=true

I am anxious to hear your comments! This is dish heaven!!

Deja Vu...Crosby Stills and Nash at Chastain Park Atlanta

Boy were lucky! We had horrific thunderstorms here in Atlanta last night complete with scarey sky illuminating lightening. The thunder gods took mercy on us as the skies cleared up at 8pm, just in time for the Crosby Still & Nash concert at Chastain Park. Their voices are as Stephen, Graham and David did not disappoint. The band played all of their hits and opened up with "Wooden Ships"and closed with "Teach Your Children". I have always had a kindergarten crush on Graham Nash and he looked adorable playing in his bare feet. He played one of my all time favorites"Our House" and David Crosby commented on how many women lost their virginity to this song...quite true(although not for me).

Other songs on the playlist include "Military Madness",(yes they are still political and yes, their music is timeless), "Deja Vu", "You Dont Have to Cry", "Long Time Gone", "Immigration Man" and Helplessly Hoping".

It was a magical night with good friends, good music, good food and thankfully, good weather.

Next up on the concert list: HippieFest on Friday!

The Real Housewives of Atlanta...the Untold Story

According to Violetta Ardoin on the blogsite TV Week .com http://www.tvweek.com/news/2008/06/bravo_finds_real_housewives_in.php

one of the Real Housewives of Atlanta allegedly doesn't pay her bills:

"Sheree Whitfield hosted a party at the Fay Gold Gallery on April 20, 2008. “The Real Housewives of Atlanta" filmed the event & there was other media coverage. Ms. Whitfield enlisted the services of Ardoin Enterprises to replace the event planner she fired on air. Ardoin Enterprises was notified in less than 12 hours to provide desserts & decoration for the dessert table & ice sculpture table. Ms. Whitfield was billed the following day for the bakery bill of $346.61 & an additional discounted charge of $50 for services rendered. Ms. Whitfield wrote a check for $386 which bounced and after repeated attempts to collect the debt has not paid to date (7/31/08). She has been notified via telephone & email & has been presented with various methods of payment including credit card but has failed to make good on her obligation. She is on the verge of being sued in small claims court for the debt owed."

The truth will come out about the "forgettable five"!