Thanks for trashing my town, folks....

Vegas should've erected a sign that I've seen in many a BYU student's apartment/dorm, "Your mother doesn't live here, clean up after yourself." Maybe a giant billboard would've sufficed?

A massive clean-up crew was brought in to deal with the mess so that Las Vegas Blvd could be opened as soon as possible to allow the masses to return home and forget about their night of debauchery. If only everything in life could be the same way.

This was my first New Years on the strip. Being a native of Las Vegas, I never really had a desire to be a part of, 'America's party.' This year, the fireworks show and the prospect of being with old friends from high school enticed me to venture onto the strip. Little did I know that the fireworks show wasn't going to be like previous years, with numerous fireworks going off the rooftops of various casinos. Because of (last years?) Monte Carlo fire, crews were forced to light fireworks off of parking structures, causing the fireworks to be barely noticeable from ground level.

OBSERVE:
Seeing my old buddies from HS was definitely worthwhile-never mind that they were drunk! ;) Harry and I, being total novices to the whole strip experience, weren't aware that LV Blvd would be entirely closed after a certain time. After an hour and a half of desperate parking spot searching we gave up and parked on Industrial, a very far walk from the bar/club we were going to. Luckily, a cab driver noticed our frantic/desperate hand waving to get a cab, and stopped to pick us up. Harry couldn't understand his accent, especially when he said he was from "Cooo-ba." One of my favorite songs is from the 'Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights' CD, so I immediately recognized that he was from none other than Cuba. Thank you Diego Luna! (hottie!)

Our Cuban cab driver couldn't save us from our walk back to our car after the night was over. No thanks to a pair of unbecoming shoes from Hong Kong (I believe they were only 6 US dollars) I painfully hobbled the entire 2 (or was it 3) miles. Harry will probably claim that my estimate is overstated-whatever.

Final note: Vegas is not just for tourists-there are thriving residential communities that exist just a few miles from the strip. I think tourists tend to forget that-or maybe they're just too drunk to remember such a "minute" detail. It's incredibly disheartening for a native to see a symbolic part of her town being desecrated in such a manner. When I go to your house, I pick up after myself. Now it's your turn to return the favor.

Thanks and Happy New Years.