From Dec 26 to Dec 29, we spent 3 days and 2 nights in Sin City. I've heard so much about Las Vegas and what's expected to happen to me or what I'm expected to do so I was extremely excited to see what the commotion was all about.

Transportation
I believe there are 3 main ways to get to Las Vegas. Flight, car, and public transportation with the more popular form being the bus. There are Megabuses and Boltbuses that takes visitors over, but we opted for a slightly cheaper and lenient New Sun International bus. I paid about $65 round trip from LA to Vegas and back. I think the prices change depending on the dates and times.
Although the ride was bumpy and the bus was not as punctual as I'd hope, it was cheap, fast, and dropped us off right in front of our hotel. As this was my first time going to Vegas, I underestimated how long and big the Strip is. I recommend for all those traveling without a car to take a bus that will take you directly to your hotel or at least, close to it to reduce on-feet travel (not fun when you have luggage to carry).

First glimpse of Vegas from the bus window.

Don't let the sunlight fool you. It was pretty chilly!

Accommodation
There is no shortage of accommodation in Vegas. From the opulent Bellagio and Ceasar's Palace to the more affordable Treasure Island and Flamingo, you will be able to find a hotel with rooms to fit within your budget. We stayed in Treasure Island, which was very reasonable when you book from online booking agencies like Bookings or Hotel.com. The hotel is a little old, but we were very satisfied with the amenities and the cleanliness of our room. Also, the famous original Cirque du Soliel- Mystere was shown there and residents of TI were able to take 35% off of the original price of the ticket.

Our abode for the trip.

My advice is to stay on the Strip, most preferably in the middle of the Strip as that is where most of almost everything is located. If you stay further away, you might have to take a monorail or a bus back. The action is not unreachable, but your life will just be a little bit more convenient if you stay closer.

Length of Stay
We left LA in the morning and arrived in Vegas in the early afternoon. We stayed for 2 nights and 2 and a half whole days (with the half being the first day). Our last day there was very full as we left the city at 10:30pm. I thought this duration was too short and considered extending our trip to stay an extra night. However, I soon found out that with proper planning- 2 nights/ 3 days was the right amount of time for us. Each day will become incrementally expensive and tiring. Of course, everyone has different agendas/motives and preferences when they take vacations. While others might enjoy a more leisurely schedule, others would prefer a more jam-packed day. Me, I'd like to have a full day so that length was perfect.

Where/what we ate
On top of the countless number of restaurants, there were so many buffets in Las Vegas. On our first day, we went to Le Village Buffet (in Paris- the Hotel) where we had a very filling and delicious "Parisan" meal. Their cream-based entrees were very good and their desserts were amazing. The line gets long pretty fast so I'd recommend people to had over during odd hours- maybe 30 mins or so before/after peak times would be the best. Unfortunately, I never knew how to pace myself when I eat so I overate too quickly and made myself nauseous in the end. This is no fault of the food there, but rather my weak stomach and fast hands shoveling copious amounts of food into my month.
On our last day, we headed to Rio World Buffet (located in Rio Hotel), famous for it's offering of food from various parts of the world. You can fill your plates with Brazilian steak, American pizza, Chinese dim-sum, Japanese sushi, Mexican tacos... so on. This time around- I learned my lesson and paced myself when eating. Luckily, I did not get a stomachache after Rio.

In between the buffets, we visited New York where we had Shake Shack and tried different types of Coke and floats around the world in the Coke store in that region. Later that evening, Eric's friend drove us to a Tapas restaurant slightly off the main Strip. The food there was so bold and flavorful that I'd love to go back and revisit...if only I remember the name of the shop.

Another thing that I saw but didn't have room in my stomach or time to try was the Sprinkles cupcake, specifically ordering their cupcake from an 24/7 Cupcake ATM machine. This way you can relieve your cravings anytime of the day. This was located in the lively pocket near Linq.

What we did: 
We did so many things there- we watched 3 shows, went to 1 nightclub, visited almost all of the hotels and window-shopped, tried our luck at the slot number, among others.


On our first day, we went to XS Nightclub located in Wynn. Apparently, if you sign up in their guest list online, you can get free entrance into the club. Ladies also get a complimentary drink with their admission. The ambiance of the club was nice and it was located in a very snazzy hotel. I wasn't really feeling the music that night and the bar was too pricet for its own good. However, I was grateful to experience clubbing in Vegas. I think this club also do a lot of promotional activities as someone commented on my Instagram picture of my time in Vegas, urging me to contact her for free admission to XS.

XS Nightclub in Wynn

On our second day, the first thing we did was buy tickets for a 9:30PM Cirque Du Soliel performance. We decided on Mystere- it was the original performance and some might say it has the most value for its buck. We paid around $75 each for the last row in the venue. Although our seats were far away, we were no less awe-struck by the performance. We also bought the tickets a little last-minute. I'm sure with proper planning, you can find cheaper and better alternatives online. The performers were so talented and so limber. They did so many aerobatics tricks and stunts that I was worried that they might slip and fall. None of that happened, of course. I was blown away by their performance and would love to see another Cirque Du Soliel performance next time.

Amazing show, a must-see.

Before our show in the evening, we headed to New York, NY to grab some Shake Shack for lunch and visited their Coke and M&M store. If you've been to NY and to Times Square, I don't think there is a need to visit the M&M store, Hershey store, or even Shake Shack. They are pretty much the same. The Coke shop was pretty interesting as you get to try different Coke flavors all throughout the world. For $8, you can try 16 different flavors. For $14, you can try a Drink and Float beverage- which is another 8 floats on top of the 16 drinks. I don't recommend this unless you have a lot of people. The two of us couldn't finish the combo and the sheer amount of carbonation left us a little bubbly.

NY in Vegas?

After New York, we headed to Excalibur, Luxor, Tropicana, and other hotels on that side of the Strip. Theme hotels like Luxor and Excalibur were very interesting and you can see replicas of pyramids and medieval castles. Although not at all authentic, it makes for good photo-ops.
Later that evening, Eric's friend took us out for dinner nearby the strip where we had Spanish tapas. He was a frequent visitor to Vegas so we bombarded him for tips on making the best of our time there.

Super pretty interior.

That evening, after Mystere, we visited some of the hotels we haven't visit yet. Namely, Ceasar's Palace and Bellagio. I tried the slot machine for the first time in Ceasar's Palace and won about $33 with just $5. My confidence was boosted as I tried my luck on other machines. I won about $20 on 2 separate tries on 2 separate days. This increased my false sense of ego. I quickly learned my lesson as I lost $10 in quick succession on my last day. My lesson? Don't think luck is on your side, especially if you've won a bit of money.

Visited the shops inside the hotels~

On our last day, we headed to the Tix 4 Tonight discount booth where we bought tickets for a magic show (Jan Rouvin) for a reduced price, a $2 discount to Rio Buffet, and a $10 to go up the Eiffel Tower at Paris. After our very filling lunch at Rio, we headed to Harrah's for a free show to Mac King, a comedy magician. We recieved a free show after signing up for a Total Rewards Card. Actually, it wasn't completely free. We had to pay for a drink voucher which was ~$15. Apparently the sign-on process for the card wasn't difficult so I'd recommend it if you're interested in pocketing some extra savings. I really enjoyed the show and I found the magician to be very funny. It was a very family-friendly laced with subtle adult jokes so audience of all ages can enjoy it. The only complaint I had was the unorganized start of the show where some of the audience was lining up to get drinks from the bar as the show started. Also, the show started 30 mins later than planned.
Despite this, I enjoyed it thoroughly and dare I say it, I like it more than my $43 ticket to see Jan Rouvin, an escape artist. We saw that next at 6pm at Tropicana. Although I was utterly impressed and blown away by Jan, I think Mac King was more memorable for me. Jan's show was a lot more flashy with huge contraptions and showy dances/movements. The two are very different and shouldn't be compared so I think different types of people would enjoy one or the other more.
After these two shows, we used our discount ticket to head up to Paris's Eiffel Tower where we saw the night view of the Strip. I'm glad we got up for $10, because I do not think it's worth the full price. The view was beautiful and the night scenery was romantic, but the space was smaller than I had envisioned and once crowded, it was hard to see anything.

Night view from the "Eiffel Tower"

After this, we headed back to our hotel to grab our luggages and head to Bally's to take the night bus home.
I had a lot of fun at Vegas. I think it was a very eventful and productive trip and we were able to make full use out of our days there. Since it's close to LA and I will be in LA more often in the future, I'm excited to head back and do some things that I was not able to do this time around.

Yesterday was the first day of work at company A. Even though it has only been one day and yesterday was just orientation, I saw immense differences between this company and the company I worked for in Japan.
The most glaring difference is the focus on the employees vs the focus on the CEO. In my previous company, I remember I had to read one of the CEO's books and write a report on it prior to entering the company. Also, the image of my manager dedicating about 5 minutes in the morning meeting gushing over the latest book written by the CEO and encouraging us to purchase it is still etched in my head. On top of that, HR sent out a nearly mandated survey for all employees to evaluate the book. We were expected to pay for the book from our own pockets and set aside our personal time to read the book.
Other than this example, I was not sure if the company's goals were to train their employees and equip them with the best tools to grow professionally and contribute their utmost part to the company or to inundate us with messages on how lucky and appreciative we should be to work in the firm. I heard this story where the CEO absolutely refuses to speak/respond to an employee because he was planning to leave the firm.

On the contrary, the company I am joining now seems to care about our own professional growth. Instead of admonishing us for entertaining the idea of using the company as a stepping stone, the presenter at yesterday's orientation assured us that working there for a few years before moving on was fine and common. The focus seems to be on us, on our career progression, and on how we can contribute to the company. Moreover, they also touched on the importance of doing good for the future generation.

I am excited to embark on this new journey, but I am also nervous. I'm nervous that I might not do so well and that my manager won't like me. I'm nervous about making mistakes and saying stupid things. I think the more I worry, the worse I will carry myself and the worse the impression I inflict on the people around me. I will try to be confident in myself and in my abilities.