my random ramblingsan infrequent (and these days, mostly Mira related…) blog

went out to the DZ early but only got in a single jump as one of the planes was down and things were pretty backed up. first time jumping solo since last summer. went to Kunaal and Neha’s late for Neha’s masquerade birthday party. lots of fun, lots of dancing.

dropped by Navy Pier for a couple of hours after work with Лена. met up with Rajesh, Kunaal, Tarun, the wives, and the kids at Carnivale for a fun dinner. good to see everyone, been too long.

second night in a row hanging out with Jeffrey. dinner at Alhambra to enjoy the Flamenco performance.

late start, taxied to the Field Museum. enjoyed showing Лена around my favorite exhibits, and even ended up with a Mold-a-rama plastic T-rex from the basement on our way out.

up early and taxied to the airport for our flight out. very late leaving Las Vegas and convinced we’ll miss our tight connection in Salt Lake City. pleasantly surprised that our second flight into Chicago is also late, so not an issue. arrived and took the train back to the apartment through a light rain. night spent looking at our wedding photos and watching the video. work in the morning…

managed to convince Лена to get up and join me by the pool early. enjoyed body surfing in the wave pool and swimming in the lazy river all morning before hurriedly packing and moving next door to Luxor. afternoon spent shopping for trinkets and walking the Strip on a really hot day. grabbed a late lunch at some bar-b-que place and decided to try my hand at their mechanical bull. returned to Luxor and ended up moving rooms from the pyramid to the tower, which was better but still disappointing. hung out in the room for a short while, napped, then finally motivated to dress and make our way to the Stratosphere to meet Jason and his friends for his bachelor party dinner. restaurant appropriately named Top of the World, which is the top floor of the Stratosphere tower – awesome views of the city from the rotating restaurant. good time, nice to see Jason again. taxi back to Luxor, chilled for a little while, then finally some shut eye for the night.

both got up early to spend some time by the pool, but was too shady. took the train to the Mandalay Bay and checked into our room, which was again very nice. went down to the pools and spent some time in the wave pool, lazy river, and jacuzzi – very impressive “beach” atmosphere. back to the room for a short nap, then the limo picked us up and brought us back to the chapel to review our photos. was pleasantly surprised how good the photos turned out, and ended up buying another cd of photos from the second photographer. left with 1000+ photos plus a dvd from the ceremony, and now we’re both eager to get home and spend some time going through them. back to the hotel, and got dinner at Auroele, a nice spot at Mandalay Bay. leisurely made our way to New York New York for the 10:00 pm Zumanity show, which was great, although we were both disappointed that Felix Cane wasn’t a part of the show that night. headed further up the Strip, enjoying the madness on the street. got some good pictures of the “Eiffel Tower” at Paris, then jumped in a taxi and came back for a little sleep.

unfortunately had to be up for an early start. quick breakfast then the limo picked us up and drove us down to collect our marriage license. swung by the Chapel of the Flowers to view the grounds and meet with our coordinator. taxied over to the Tropicana, where our tux and dress were waiting, and was impressed with our corner suite overlooking New York New York, Excalibur, and the MGM Grand. walked around for a bit and grabbed lunch in an Irish restaurant in New York New York. returned in time for Лена’s hair and make up appointment which was a bust. Лена quickly fixed both and we still had lots of time left before we needed to get dressed. finally got ourselves ready, and i was in awe at how incredibly beautiful my bride looked. limo picked us up and we were off to the chapel. briefing from the photographers and the officiant, then the moment was upon us. very much enjoyed the short ceremony, and was happy to know our family and friends were able to join us through the internet broadcast. Jason was waiting for us outside as he arrived a couple of minutes too late to sit in the audience. 30 minute photo shoot, then we were back in the limo and deposited back at the Tropicana. was nice to sit and relax, reflecting on the experience together. Лена called home then we threw on some less formal clothes and had a nice dinner at Emeril’s in the MGM Grand. returned to our room and was intending to put our wedding outfits back on for a night out, but instead chose to spend a more subdued night together in our suite before falling asleep utterly exhausted. perfect day, start to finish – life sure is wonderful… 🙂

tight connection through MSP and arrived around 4:30 pm. taxied to the rental shop and found a dress and a tux. got checked into the Hilton and in our room as the sun set. dinner at the Italian restaurant in the hotel and in bed early for some sleep before tomorrow’s excitement.

fun day walking around the stores on Michigan Ave. and Millennium Park. picked up the last few things before our Vegas trip, and signed Лена up for English lessons at a cool spot on Michigan and Randolph.