We were in the new mall near my sister’s house when I saw this tag line-” Try our clothes and see how you look on Instagram!” Welcome to the US! It was my second trip and it kicked off in style.
On my first trip, I learned a little bit about the US when it comes to “doing things”. So from the time I saw the first commercial on TV at my sister’s place which had a nice tag line “you glue it so that you can see it through” I got myself glued on to two things on this trip- observation and learning things around me in San Francisco and in Las Vegas.
It was time for my trip to Vegas. I kept hearing ” what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas”.
On my flight from SF to Vegas, I met with a lady who was sitting beside me and we had some good conversation. It started with my initiative of taking a guess seeing the cover of a Malcolm Gladwell book. It was time for me to share all the authors I knew with her and interestingly she was on the same page. An elderly woman in the late 50’s she was going for a digital seminar. It amazed me to learn from that she had signed up for a masterclass with Malcolm Gladwell on writing.
I was remembering my stay in Italy as I saw a lot of Roman architecture around the place from Palazzo to Venetian to Colosseum and Statue of David. When in Vegas feast like Romans. We tasted all types of foods and experienced a concoction of different varieties of food. Every moment is a gift mantra, I went around to buy gifts from a branded outlet and I was attracted to brands like Tumi, Under Armour and Ralph Lauren. I had the opportunity to visit casinos and was looking at what drives these people to take on bets in life. I noticed a lot of elderly couples and people above 50 mostly in the clubs. That got me into thinking why we are not seeing Millenials. A quick check on Google and I could figure out that they find the current slot products uninteresting and they want to be engaged and empowered and to exert some control over outcomes.
We were at the airport ready for our extended stay. I was flying to SF and my friend was flying to New York. I bought a small souvenir and gifted it to him. He mentioned that he will pay me back. I told him not required as I enjoyed his company from Bangalore till now and asked him to gift that to his family. On a long flight, it is great and I was lucky to have such a buddy. Buddying up during the journey is to bond, self soothes and celebrate. He was very good at making conversations with strangers and it was a good learning experience.
One of the songs I kept hearing throughout the time in Vegas was “best day of my life”
I jumped so high I touched the clouds
Wo-o-o-o-o-oh, wo-o-o-o-o-oh
I stretched my hands out to the sky
We danced with monsters through the night
Wo-o-o-o-o-oh, wo-o-o-o-o-oh
Woah, never gonna give it up
No, please don’t wake me now
Lovely, Vinod! Was a great read!!! Keep it up, buddy!