Amos and Puck

As a young boy growing up in suburbia Kentucky in the mid-west you are pretty much in conflict over yourself from the moment you hit puberty. Am I a momma's boy or dad's boy? Am I a Wildcat's fan or a Card's fan? But this story isn't so much about where I was brought up, rather what my surrounding were. For most children you have a simple revelation at an early age that will grow and define you for the rest of your life. Are you a dog lover or a cat lover. Some of my friends had both dogs and cats, and therefor they got the best of both worlds. The companionship of a dog through thick and thin following you, sometimes leading you through the woods off on some unknown adventure. And the mystery of a cat, often perched high atop the refrigerator scoping out the scene trying to find just the right opportunity to sneak down, avoiding the family dog, to brush up against your hand hanging off the side of the couch and slowly maneuver it's body into your lap only to find you petting it continuously for hours while you caught up on a rerun marathon of Alf. For myself however it wasn't quite that simple. From a very young age I was exposed to dogs only and when you are 5 or 6 years old you don't really think much of this. My Gamma would tell me stories of her childhood dog friend, who would travel with her to school. Would wait outside the schoolhouse for her to get out of school and then walk her back home in the afternoon. She continued of this childhood dog getting stuck with her in the snow and always finding her when she needed guidance as a child. These romanticized stories at such an early age would be held dear to me even to this day. The thought of being a dog lover still wasn't at issue and I just went about my own childhood with my 2 best friends. In my case it was Brooke and Toddles. Both dogs were of course the beloved family pets to a very normal, run of the mile, suburb household. Brooke was a mutt of no distinction other than she loved to growl and get into fights with other dogs and sometimes humans. Toddles was a beautiful long coated collie that had the heart of gold. She would follow you around the house through thick and thin. Toddles was the type of dog that would be the first person to go into your pillow fort made up of every pillow in the house, that you spent an hour or so setting up to make it just right to play with you and laugh with you. And she would also be the first dog to arrive on the scene in that same pillow fort when you were crying your eyes out from whatever had caused you to start crying in the first place. Much like any child of 5 or 6 having two amazing dogs to run around with and explore with there was not enough time in the day to ponder, am I a dog person or a cat person? The question had to come much later in life, despite the fact that mom and dad were both very much dog lovers. At the age of 9 it was determined, as had been determined in my father many years to my junior, that I was also highly allergic to cats. And again, as a kid, these sort of questions don't really come to mean much of anything. I had already decided at a young age that I loved dogs. I never had any idea that my fathers allergies and now my allergies had pigeonholed me into becoming a dog lover. As a child, one just never puts much thought into these sorts of things. Man did my life ever take a child related turn when i was indeed highly allergic to cats. To be honest up until the age of 9 I had never even spent a single moment around cats. Had never taken the time to pet them, had never enjoyed there soothing prrrrr as they settle in next to you. Cats to me were very alien and much the reason why the topic becomes such a polarizing issue. Some people just aren't meant to be around cats, they are unapproachable, quiet, withdrawn, and moody all characteristics dog lovers would tell you why they would never own a cat. And much the same, the dog is very needy and compulsive and dependent and that too are valid reasons why cat lovers never entertain the idea of owning a cat. For most people this isn't even a topic and the thought of even putting it into words is a silly conversation. For the simple fact that cat lovers and dog lovers don't even think twice about who they are. Most people, except my best friend Jon. Jon wasn't much of a dog or cat lover, but just that his family had both. As a young kid going over to his house was much a hassle, but you don't just stop going over to your best friends house! Not going over to your best friends house at the age of 11 is like committing suicide on said friendship. That friendship just meant that i would have to be aware of the surroundings i was going into. And many of days and nights were spent with scratchy throats, watery eyes, itchy eyes so bad you want to claw at them, stuffy noses, tiny little hairs stuck in your nose you want to pick your nose for hours just trying to get at that one hair stuck to the inside of your nose. It really was that bad. And that would be the end of the story. My life would have continued as normal as a dog lover, obviously. Growing up and on into adulthood i have had no additional interaction with cats. Infact, I have spent most of my adult life avoiding cats, constantly washing my hands when around cats, intentionally not touching the cat. And actively going to friends houses for super bowl parties and the like in full fear of encountering a cat. My life was full of dogs in every aspect. And much like my mom and her mom, when the time finally came I got 2 adorable and amazing dogs of my own, Maggie and Rufus and my life was complete. Or so I thought. You see life has a way of introducing to you obstacles that you don't really for see coming. Minor issues of course, that really have no need to develope. I had dated woman from time to time and always said in the back of my head "look out for those cat-loving woman". And it wasn't a concrete thought, but was at least a fore thought. What was never really thought about was that middle range of person. The type of person that my best friend Jon was, that was really on the fence. Not as much a dog or cat lover, but more just an animal lover in general. In the summer of 2012 on a warm and relaxing night you could feel the cool air blowing in off the ocean. A typical southern California night, much the same that you would encounter on any night. And as i walked into the Covell wine bar on Vermont street not much was thought about as to if i was a dog lover or any silly notion like that. One just cannot and does not think about these things as you are walking into meet a girl for the first time. We talked for hours in that wine bar and when the night had run it's course I asked her if she wanted to head to the beach to further continue our amazing night. So we went down to the beach and set up a quiet little picnic blanket under the boardwalk on the Santa Monica pier. And over the next hour we just lay there and enjoyed the waves crashing in and that cool, relaxing ocean breeze driven California night. I would say it was at least 2 or 3 weeks before i finally had the chance to make it over to her place. And in that time frame my mind had nothing to do with the fact that i was highly allergic to cats. So in I walk into her apartment and bam. Though she had told me she actually had 2 cats within the first few hours of meeting her, who really puts any thought into THAT when you are meeting an amazing woman for the first time? And so my mind drifted, over months and many days I now had to come to grips with this. Does a relationship come to an end over some cats? How do you deal with being allergic to cats and now you are spending all your time, literally 24/7, with a girl that has loved and cared for and can't be separated from her 2 cats, Puck and Amos. Days went on and on and slowly, eventually I found myself coming to the conclusion, I was fucking screwed. She's not going to pick me over her cats, nor should she have too as I am as much a lover of animals as she is. I understand the bond one has for their pets and how much they bring joy and happiness into ones life. As Megan and I depart on what will be the next defining chapter of our life I have really come to love those cats. She may not even know it yet, but I personally have already vowed and written the next, unknown paragraph of this story. I am ecstatic to unleash my love for her and share it with those 2 cats. Never before had I even considered I would move in with a girl that had 2 cats, but it is going to happen. And it is going to work. Though with some separation from the cats, the idea of living with the cats has completely left my mind and because of my love for this woman I am ready to take on the responsibility of caring for something that I never cared for before. And that to me is the most exciting thing that has ever happened to me. The fact that 1 woman has shown me that love has no boundaries, I feel unleashed, and ready to love whatever comes my way. Matthew 6-20-13

Things To Do in VEGAS

Hope this is helpful to some of you coming to Vegas. Let me know if you want to know my favorites.

Things to do in LAS VEGAS According to Matthew

*Vegas Strip (North to South)*

Stratosphere: Rides at top(fee), Top of the World Restaurant(try for lunch, rotates 360)
Largest Souvener Shop: Best place on the strip to get cool stuff
Circus Circus: Free Circus Acts every half hour, Theme Park-Adventuredome
Peppermill: Nice 1970’s restaurant w/ fireside lounge
Wynn: Casino Canopies, Parasol Down (with 50’ waterfall and nightly shows), Porsche Showroom
Treasure Island: Siren Show (nightly every 1.5 hr, worth skipping)
Palazzo: Live statue Art, Registration architecture
Venetian: St. Marks square, canal rides (fee), canel
Mirage: Entrance is cool, Sig & Roy Secret Garden (fee), Volcano(every hour after 8pm)
Bellagio: Registration glass, conservatory, Art Gallary (fee), Cahuli gallery shop, Fountains(every half hour)
MGM: Lion Habitat, Vintage horse race gambling game
Mandalay Bay: Mix Lounge (nice view of strip from South), Shark Reef (fee)
Silverton: Mermaid Show

*Off The Strip*

Freemont Street- Nightly free outdoor shows
Golden Gate: .99 cent shrimp cocktail
Nugget: View largest gold nugget, pool and shark tank
Sam’s Town- Laser light show
Rio- Show in the Sky (every hour), wine cellar
Other/Random: Leberace Museum, Vegas Mob Museum, Pinball HOF, Ellis Island(cheap beer, great BBQ)
Awesome Restaurants: Hash House a GoGo, Capo’s Italian, Hawaiaan Mkt. Place Indian Restaurant.
Transportation: The Duece Bus (all day on strip is $7), Monorail (Runs behind Eastside casino’s)

*Cirque and Other Shows*

O, Mystiere, Ka, Viva Elvis, Zumanity, Le Reve, Believe, Penn/Teller, Jersey Boys, Garth Brooks, Lion King, Cher, Celine Dion, Love, Defending/Caveman, Carrot Top, Blue Man, Haunted Vegas, Fantasy(A), Thunder/Under, Menapause, Phantom, Mob Tour, Rat Pack, Crazy Horse(A), Jubilee(A), Bite, Chip/Dales, Tony/Tina’s, Lance Burton, Barry Manilow.

You Had to Be There

Hola!!!

SO i have to start this blog by thanking any of my readers that still check back in on my blog from time to time. Clearly i don't have the discipline to write a blog every week or even every month. But i do find a certain relaxation and clairty in finding the time to write out things in my head or just use it as a forum to vent frustrations of everyday life. And oh course, i love telling you all of my excitement and fun i have with my current jobs.

So this blog may quickly turn into a long, rambling mess because as of persent i am sitting in the back of the Encore theatre babysitting the designers and technicians for the Beyounce event we have going on here. It has been a 8 day marathon for myself, but the show it self is 4 evening performances. As billed, it is "an intimate up close personal look at one of today's hottest star's". Beyounce, as we all know started performing at 9 then joining the group Destiny's Child and launching her solo career.

Getting back to the work aspect. So currently I am working full time on Cirque's KA at MGM and it has turned into a great experiance. I am enjoying it enough to both challenge me and keep things on the edge to where it doesn't get old. And i took this week off, so that i could do this Beyounce show. I went Sat at 1230pm into load in for this on Sunday at 9am. And up until today (Friday) working 14-19 hour days. Crazy in the long run, but nice on the wallet. I estimate my hours worked to be about 130 this week(OT after 40)!!! Uhh, you are telling me!!! Currently, hour 87. So right now i am dreaming of next Monday in which i will be doing the following: sleeping endless amount of time, eating sushi, drinking something involving Makers Mark, getting a manicure and pedicure, and laying by the pool!

...Come monday, it'll be alright. Come monday, i'll be holding you tight...

I am working hard trying to solidify myself within this theatre and hopefully have it turn into a fulltime job! So the Beyounce show has been a great experiance. Beyounce is a wonderful performer and you can tell that she really cares about the production she is putting on. The show involves a 20plus band with full strings, brass, 4 percussionist, and keyboardist. It really is a wonderful setup. And Beyounce has full costume changes with full choreography and see SINGS every song. Frankly, i know this holds no weight to any "old school" musician/act, but as far as performers today. SHIT. that is top notch. I will save you the my rant on why all performers in today's day and age suck, but needless to say, Beyounce is bringing it to the stage "old school"!

So the show startes with her band playing and the audiance in anticipation to Beyounce's entrance. Only behind them, coming down the aisle, she startes to make her leasurely entrance unexpected. She is singing her song "hello" and begins to greet all aisle seated guests, very laid back, no security, no big arena, just in an intimate 1500 seat theatre. After spending 2 mins or so walking down greeting everyone she gets to the stage. House-right there is a 20ish kid going CRAZY for her. And she startes to play it up towards him, singing directly to him and getting on her knees to sing. He is going crazy in excitement. And as she sings "Hello" 10 or 15 times.... every time... he waves at her franticly back at her. It really was one of those moments you had to be in the crowd to witness. Perhaps the true breakdown of a mega-popstar and her fans. And for that reason, the tickets for this production are priced at $1000-1500 a POP. And that isn't even the half, the kicker is that you MUST be staying in the Wynn or Encore Hotel for 2 nights, in order to buy the tickets. How is that for good business???

Apartment Hunt

Alright, so if you don't know, Amelia and I are on the hunt for a new apartment. Mainly tring to get closer to the strip (our job), not have to deal with nearly as much construction or traffic, and find a nicer neighborhood. What do you think? Everyone should comment!!! Seriously, comments very helpful. Oh, the move is September 20th, so we also expect you to help us move.

Desperado in Primm, NV

I have always wanted to do this!!! Enjoy the Desperado in Primm, NV. It goes up to 92 mph and is about 2 minutes long. It took me 3 tries to get it right (or at least to this point).

Bryce Canyon

I don't think i ever posted photo's of our wonderful trip, but here is a great video i shot.

A Great Night In

Back around Janurary or so, Amelia and I spend a few hours playing on the WII. This is a video i made. HURRY AND WATCH IT, before she makes me delete it. HAHAHA.