Thursday, May 28, 2015

Titles in Politics

It's a bit odd, but if you are a politician, after you are out of the office, your title follows you. Such as, Senator So and So. You could be out of office decades but the title is what people use instead of Mr. or Mrs.  when announcing the person.

And if, say, you had a number of jobs in politics, senator and congressman, the one with higher value is the title used. Or if the titles are about the same value, the latest title is used.  So for Hillary Clinton there are 3 titles; First Lady, Senator, and Secretary of State.

It's a bit weird in the real world to have your job title follow you around. I'm not introduced as Rigger Brad. Or there's not IT Larry. Or Walmart Greeter Bud. But in politics the title is everything. Also in politics, once you are out you sort of stay in. There's lobbying and public speaking to do. Which pays much better than working at Walmart.

Sunday, May 17, 2015

Vegas


I was working in Las Vegas for a week. It was a business conference. I was staying at a hotel about an 8th of a mile away from the hotel the conference was at. As I would walk back to my hotel from the conference I would see all sorts of people. Las Vegas gets visitors from all over the world. And all over the USA. Because it was in May and the weather had started getting hotter, I saw women in bikinis with sheer wraps or shirts over the tiniest of bikinis. It was actually a little strange and weird. Nowhere else would you see a bikini as evening wear. And I know it was evening wear because of the "fuck me pumps" high heels they were wearing. You don't see people dressed like that in Paris.

There were lots of people out in Vegas looking to have a good time. Drinking and loud carousing. It was not unusual. The dress of the women was generally an impossibly small dress and incredibly high heels. After a night of drinking the heels were a problem and I saw a number of women crash and burn as they drunkenly staggered down the strip.



Also, all over the streets were performers of some kind. Musicians playing drums, a really good guitarist who played it flat on his lap with all parts of the strings used to make music. And for the tourists, people in costumes who were dressed as the Avengers or showgirls or minions or the snowman from Frozen. then there was one night there were the 2 women above. She and her friend were getting pictures taken with people or passing out flyers for a strip club. I don't know. I was merely passing by and took this picture because, well, boobs. She had gaffers tape over her nipples and in silver sharpie was written "Censored." It was kind of funny.
 
In the early mornings I would walk to work. I'm talking around 5:30 am. By this time all the revelry and fun for the night are over and you see the seedy side of the town. People staggering by on their way to whatever lodging they had. I interacted with hookers almost every day I was headed to work. One looked at me as we were passing each other on an escalator, thought of hitting me up to be one last trick for the night, then she noticed I was in a suit. At 5:30 am. "You going to work?" She asked. "Yes, I am." I said as I passed her, reached the top, and headed on my way.

You saw homeless people in the crowds on the strip, but in that sea of humanity you didn't really notice them. They were just slower and shabbily dressed. In the morning on the way to work I would pass a grating which emanated heated air from some underground machinery. There were always people asleep on the grate. I always kind of wondered about their stories. They had to come from somewhere and somehow ended up sleeping on a grate to keep warm. The people, including me, just walked by. Or jogged. I did see people jogging at that time of day. Training never stops for some people.

One of these days I will go to Vegas with friends to partake of the drunken shenanigans. The week I was there I was never up past 10 pm. I was tired and needed rest...