Vegas!!

Have done quite a bit of nothing (besides work) these last couple weeks, and now am just finishing a couple days in Vegas, where we're having a family reunion at the condo. It's been really nice, gorgeous weather in the 80s and I love the sun! I'd love moving here except for the lack of water. We spent several hours at the Valley of Fire state park which had gorgeous red rock and stone formations. We missed seeing petroglyphs because my parents/grandmother weren't keen on hiking to those spots, but we amused ourselves by taking silly photos anyway! Who else can I take silly photos with except my twin :) :) ?

Then Wednesday we took some photos in a lovely flower exhibit at the Bellagio (more silly photos), they're always very creative in making their displays. We wandered around the strip more but only got halfway. Did some fake sword-fighting in Excalibur and rode the hideously expensive New York New York roller coaster where we had to wait for front row seats, of course. Fun enough and scenery is cool, but the pictures they take are kinda crappy and don't even include the taxi-cab-looking cars. Then spent hours in M&M world and coke world so Viv could find gifts for friends. Coke world have made these cool shirts which smell like their products, but they're too sweet-smelling and would definitely attract all sorts of interesting bugs in the summer. Good thing we think practically cuz otherwise I'd buy everything under the sun! Then had dinner at Rainforest cafe which is always a blast. I think Viv ate something bad though cuz she spent all last night and today running for the porcelain god....

...which sucked because we were hoping to go back to the Strip and finish off the rest of the half (I love Caesars Palace), but it wasn't to be. She's feeling a little bit better now, but my family ignored my doctory advice and tried pushing some herbal medications which I've never heard of before.

Anyway, to Manhattan tomorrow so I can show my sis and friends the dazzle of NYC!

I think I'm becoming more financially educated, having done my taxes (and paid HR Block an enormous sum to do it for me and fix my errors), and looking up all these Roth IRA companies online, and trying to come to grips with the funds in my 403(b) / TDA. I should take a class one day. But I think anyone who is or will be a resident should try to max out their Roth IRA each year of their residency before we become ineligible when earning an attending salary. I only have 3 years to do that unless I do a fellowship. So word to those who know nothing like me: INVEST IN A ROTH IRA NOW! The market is falling so your money will buy you more shares which will compound more interest when they start rising again.