My First Week in Vegas

Last Saturday I moved everything I could cram into my car up to Vegas. The week since then has been very stressful.

I was supposed to receive my relocation check from my new job at the beginning of the week, but didn’t get it till late Thursday. So from Saturday afternoon until Friday, I was eating nothing but Ramen + Water and going to bed hungry most of the week. My gas gauge barely stayed above the E. It didn’t help that I couldn’t fit my TV in my car with other higher priority items, so all I had to do all week was watch streaming video on the internet or go to the Fitness Room to watch TV as I walked on the treadmill.

Don’t get me wrong, I love my new place and the gym is awesome. I feel like I’ve lost at least 5 lbs. this week. The apartment itself is quiet and comfortable. I have plenty of space. I just started to go a little nuts on my third day eating Ramen and Lean Pockets.

While I was driving to the bank to try to beat the clock to 7:00 closing time, a cop pulled me over no more than a block away from the bank. Now, if I was breaking a traffic law or doing something dangerous or driving a stolen car, I would understand. But he pulled me over because my tags expired 2 weeks ago… 2 weeks! I was going to register in Nevada as soon as I got my relocation check, which was NOW not going to clear in time for me to even try to get my new registration until NEXT Saturday because he pulled me over. On top of that, he informed me that (little to my knowledge) my AZ License is suspended… Would’ve been nice if someone mentioned that to me in Arizona before I left. Apparently, I didn’t pay for a ticket fast enough over a year ago and now I have to pay their EXTORTION of around $550 to get my Arizona License reinstated before I can even attempt to get a Nevada license. Then the fee will be reduced to a pocket change of maybe $200. Oh goody.

I also learned that, like Arizona, Nevada is one of the few EVIL states that actually charges you more money to register your car if it was made after 2000. I am using less gas, spitting out way less pollution, and keeping the roads clean by not being one of the SUV-drivers that ruin any landscape. My reward? I get to pay $300 to register my car every year. More EXTORTION.

Anyway, once I got all the money issues relatively ironed-out, my stress levels began to subside. Supposedly Bank of America will release the rest of my funds Monday and then I can finally start paying bills and debts I incurred in my moving process.

You may notice that all of the stresses I mentioned have nothing to do with the new job. So far, it’s great. My first day in the office was spent installing software on my new laptop and blackberry they gave me, filling out tons of paperwork, signing up to get my Nevada Gaming License, and getting my benefits nailed down. No one rushed me, everyone was nice, and it was an overall comfortable transition. My second day I was given some small projects and got them all done pretty well. The guy I basically shadowed, Jorge, was very complimentary of my work. Wednesday until Friday I worked on several small projects and also designed and implemented a new theme for an existing game we already had. It got approved and came out pretty well 🙂 I’m not having any communication issues or confusion about what they need from me and they are apparently getting what they want from me. It’s all working out very well so far.

Everyone there is very nice and I’ve gone to lunch with some of them a couple times. Las Vegas in general has been very friendly. Almost everyone I’ve met has smiled and said hello, or been generally polite, which is a HUGE change from Phoenix. Even the late night cashier at the Wal-Mart was very friendly and upbeat! Those are usually the most socially inept, zombie-like people in the world. I don’t think I’ll have a hard time making friends here.

I was really worried that this change would turn out like Tucson, but so far it is way better. Especially the workplace. As my finances start to settle in, my stress levels will subside even more and I feel I can truly make this place my home.

Kati came to visit me on Friday afternoon and she brought with her a lot of the things I left behind. It’s great to be typing at a desk in a desk chair instead of on a little hutch in my hallway sitting on a lawn chair. And I definitely love having my TV again. It was really great seeing her again too. It may have only been a week, but I really missed her. She really brightened up my weekend. She’s pretty cool for a girl I guess 😛

She left to drive back down to Phoenix about an hour ago or so and I miss her already.

So my week was a little nuts, but I think next week will be much better. I ordered a La-Z-Boy chair that will complete my living room area and I can’t wait for that to arrive in a month or so. I should have my car stuff all sorted out by next weekend, too. Things are looking up 🙂