Got back from the trip from Vegas and Cali. Had a good amount of fun, but it was a really tiring trip. Me, my brother, Henry, and Hsiang in my family's van. We left mid-Sunday and drove non-stop to Vegas and got there late Monday afternoon. The drive was insane though, we ran into two snowstorms along the way. We stayed with some of my brother's friends at Mirage, then we gambled all of Tuesday before heading for Cali. I lost $150 gambling (my pre-determined quitting amount), but I actually had a good bit of fun while losing it, haha. I learned to play craps, and I love it now- it's my gambling game of choice. But dang, I was down to my last 10 dollars (down $140), won back up to only -$10, got greedy and lost it all again. Hsiang said how it was more fun watching our facial expressions change with our winnings than actually playing the games- "drama of the human spirit," if you will. We crashed Tuesday night in Newport Beach with another of my brother's friends, Steve. Wednesday, we walked around the beach a bit, ate at a restaurant by the beach called Lynch Mutt's, cruised the town in Steve's convertible, got some Vietnamese coffee, then headed south towards Mexico. On the way, I spotted an illegal immigrant crossing sign and laughed out loud; it was particularly funny cuz we'd seen like deer and ram crossing signs on our drive so far. Anyways, we parked in a lot by the border, then walked across into Mexico. We got a taxi to Tijuana (TJ) but it was deserted- it was kinda freaky seeing a complete tourist spot like that turned into a ghost town. (Apparently that's just what it's like on weekdays.) So we ended up taking a taxi to Rosarito (another tourist spot) and went to a club called Papas & Beer. The club was amazing; I dunno if you'd even describe it as a club- it was like a fortress with a sandpit in the middle with beach volleyball. It was a really cool place, but I just really wasn't digging the crowd. Passed through TJ again and crossed back into the US (apparently all you need to get back in is your driver's license). Stayed the night at a Motel 6 like 5 minutes from the border. On Thursday, we went to San Diego and I chilled with the Mouse at UCSD while everyone else went to the Beach. We had lunch at the UTC (mall) and then hung out at her place. (Props to the Mouse for hanging out with me instead of studying for finals.) Met back up with my group, and we headed back towards Texas on Thursday night. Drove non-stop again and arrived in Dallas Friday evening.

Overall, I guess it was a pretty positive experience. I don't know if I wanna go on a roadtrip that long again anytime soon though. We spent two solid days driving to play for 3 days. I dunno, I personally think it woulda been smarter to fly it. But I guess everyone's gotta take a roadtrip at some point in their college experience- it's just one of those things everyone has to do before they graduate (and reminisces about when they're middle aged), and I suppose it was the last chance for my brother before he graduates in May. If nothing else, it was a memorable trip. Those Napoleon Dynamite quotes that eventually got so old by the end of the trip: "freaking idiot!" and "pyuma". And those terrible (drunken) attempts to speak Spanish: "diez y cinco" and "negra". That's what I'll remember from this trip I think.