After 9 days and I don’t know how many thousand miles, a well-received address at the International Conference on the Gaming Industry and Public Welfare in Macau, an interview on Macau TV, and loads of hospitality, I returned to Las Vegas today. And I’m not even out of my car before the fun starts.
After driving around, I finally find a faculty/staff space. And I’m particularly happy, because Stevie Wonder’s “My Cherie Amore” has just finished, and “Superstition” is just starting–a local radio station has, fortuitously, played two my two favorite SW songs back to back. I notice some stupid-looking guy staring at me as I pull into the space, but I crank the volume, hoping to enjoy a little bit of “Superstition” before going into work–just after an 18-hour sea, rail, and air journey. I am nothing if not dedicated.
But then there’s this rapping at my window. “Jeez,” I think, maybe I ran someone over. I pop open the door, and it’s the stupid-looking guy. “Are you staff?” He asks me.
“Yeah!” I shout back, and flash what might be interpreted as a hostile glare, as if to say, “what of it?”
“Well, it’s just that, they’re giving a lot of tickets and…”
SLAM! goes the door, and hopefully the clueless hammerhead is off to bother someone else. If you wonder how to be a hammerhead, here’s a start: go up to a complete stranger, for no good reason, and question their credentials, particularly after they’ve returned home from a long but fruitful trip abroad.
If the genius had glanced at my windshield instead of looking clueless, he would have seen a perfectly valid faculty/staff permit clearly displayed.
Some people should have the wisdom not to bother other people.
Anyway, I just thought that anecdote reveals a lot about my day-to-day. Feted as an industry expert abroad, hassled over a parking space at home.
I’ll have more detailed thoughts about my travels–and a whole new Macau image gallery page–up soon. I’ve got a busy day tomorrow, so it might be a bit of a wait.