2002-04-12 - 2:57 p.m.

I'm back from Vegas. Not that I warned y'all that I was going, but nevertheless, I'm back. It was a lot like last time, but the novelty had worn off, I did a lot more work, a lot less drinking, I lost instead of won at the roulette wheel, stayed at a much nicer hotel, I understood shit a lot better, I walked more, worried more, schmoozed less. Drank more water. Used more Chapstick. Generally stayed healthier. Watched more TV, too. Now I want constant access to SportsCenter, CNN Headline News, and the Super Station.

This year a different flack (both of whom I actually like, which is rare by itself) was eight months pregnant and tromping around two gigantic convention centers.

I rode a rollercoaster this time. And a monorail. Both were intra-hotel. Why couldn't these concepts be combined?

Also I had a much better homecoming this time around. True, it was going to be easy to beat getting sick and then getting dumped. But having someone to meet at the end of the PATH (Port Authority Trans Hudson, fyi) train line in Manhattan at 2am? That's pretty amazing.