Vegas Recap

Whew, I'm back home . . . finally. Vegas was a super blast and all, but it's no Greencastle, IN!

An inside scoop as to why I was in Vegas to begin: ALA has a program called Students to Staff (S2S). The program provides accommodations such as registration, hotel, and per diem in exchange for a few hours (16) over the course of the annual conference. This year the conference was held in Las Vegas, NV.

I was scheduled to work everyday while I was there, excluding arrival and departure dates, at the Press Room. While working there, I met so many interesting people, including librarians from Colombia and Puerto Rico who spoke Spanish with me. They also gave me advise regarding practicing my Spanish. Name badges with titles and locations definitely helped to connect me with people, especially Youth Services Librarians. One gal gave me a shout out on Twitter because I let her use my phone so she could order Celine Dion tickets. Pretty snazzy! My "accomplice" and I were also on the look out for nerdy librarian types, if you know what I mean ;D.

Working the Press Room was a sloooow station. Few "press" were checking in. There were so many "where's the bathroom" questions, I thought I was working reference. Other common questions were, "where's room N116" or "where's the 's' rooms" (in the south hall). The lack of responsibilities was appreciated since it gave me ample time to peruse the schedule. I hit up a few important sessions and met authors (see previous posts).

Of course, the conference shut down after somewhat normal business hours, and since Vegas is open 24 hours a day, I did go out for some fun. I was on a limited budget (which, of course, I went over) so I didn't check out any shows. My per diem stretched as far as it could, but the (Win)Wynn Buffet was $30! I saw many of the Vegas "staples" such as the Belagio Light Show, The Mirage Fire and Water Show (these are not actual names of the shows) and Fremont Street. As I mentioned in other posts, I met so many great people. The best part was meeting fellow S2Sers and meeting up with them to tour Las Vegas. This was my first night in the city.

Half of the group at Carmine's

P. S. Keep your eyes peeled for video of me doing Karaoke and whirling around with a hula hoop! As my friend said, "What happens in Vegas sometimes gets posted to social media."