on to part three of my highlights of my US trip.  things have been increasingly hectic at work so i apologize for taking kinda long in following up my stories.  anyways, here we go:

november 19, 2007 – monday – day four – "casino royale" – i noticed during the longer i stay on that part of the world, the more times i wake up during the night (wee hours of the morning) and have trouble getting back to sleep.  i don't know if it's the weather, but if it is, then it doesn't make sense because i sleep comfortably on cool nights.  in any case, i woke up at around 7AM and had breakfast.  our itenerary for the day is to go to cache creek and check out their newly opened casino resort, as opposed to the plans of going to reno this past weekend.  the drive to cache creek is about two and a half hours long, so for us to make the most out of the day, we left at 8am but had to pick up my aunt's sister who was also joining us.

the long drive began and immediately, my mom, aunt, and her sister began talking.  me, well, silent as always, trying to enjoy the scenery along the way.  my aunt's sister and i would have conversations from time to time, but mostly it was about her asking me about my life back home since it was the first time she met me.  we drove through an indian reservation land, orange plantations, and crossed some small towns reminiscent of the countryside scenarios i have seen on hollywood movies.  upon arriving at the area, i marveled at the sheer size of the structure.  it was like the only modern landmark put up on an isolated area.  we then proceeded to the registration area.  first-timers get a free US$25 loaded card that can be used on all slot machines upon presentation of identification, so good thing we brought our passports along.  i still have the card with me in my wallet as a souvenir.  since my aunt was a regular casino goer together with my uncle, she showed us how to play a certain slot machine game.  it was not the old-school slots where there is a lever on the right side, and you insert a coin, pull the lever, and hope to the high heavens you get the three sevens for the jackpot prize.  i was actually imagining it to be that way, but things are much more sophisticated now.  there are now computer-based game slots where patterns are analyzed and a certain combinations had to be made in order to get back an amount from what you initially bet on.  at least that's how i understand it… sorry, first timer here… hehehehe….

my aunt settled on her favorite game and i was on her right side, watching her play.  she then showed me how to operate the game where i was at, from placing bets, to playing the game itself, and all the mumbo-jumbo of hoping the big money pieces turn up.  i got the hang of it pretty quick and started playing on my own in no time.  my mom also started playing on the opposite side from where my aunt was.  for about 45 minutes of playing, i won some and lost some, but not completely using up my game card.  i continued playing until i noticed that my winnings were piling up.  i tried not to be conscious about it, for i think that's where losing starts.  so i played on, until the remaining US$8 i had on my game card rose to near US$50!  my aunt was noticing that my money was piling up and quickly suggested that i cash out.  it seemed a good idea at that time, so i hit the "cash out" button, and a voucher came out with a value of US$50.65.  my aunt told me that there is an atm-like machine where i can insert the voucher and the money will be cashed out.  i suppose beginner's luck was with me and i felt good about my first casino experience.  we then took a break to have lunch at a chinese restaurant within the casino premises.  as we walked towards the restaurant, we passed by all sorts of slot machines and different gambling tables for blackjack, poker, roulette, and craps.  the place was really huge, yet it wasn't full of people due to it being a monday.

after having a sumptous lunch, we tried the other machines for fun.  since i had already more money than when i came in, i gamely hopped from one machine to another.  big mistake.  slowly, what winnings i had turned into losing streaks, and trying new machines didn't bring back the beginner's luck i had earlier until i was now inserting bills i had since my game card read zero.  i finally thought of going back to the first game i played in the hopes that familiarity with the game can bring back my winning ways.  i started playing again, until the familiar sounds of winning were being heard.  playing safe, i calculated how much i put in, and waited until it reached the total of all that i had bet on, and then cashed out.  break-even sounds better than pushing my luck to win, only to lose.

we had other plans that day, mainly to go to costco to continue shopping for items that i'll be bringing back home and for my aunt to buy the thanksgiving turkey in order to avoid the rush on the eve of the holiday.  so after an eventful day at cache creek casino resort, we headed back to vallejo.  my aunt's sister's daughter–princess–called, asking where we were.  she replied where we're going, and asked if she wanted to meet us at costco.  her daughter agreed and told her she'll meet us up in a couple of hours.  i fell asleep along the way, and woke up when we're just about to park the car.  it was 6PM already, but the skies were already dark.  weather was chilly as always as we headed inside the store.  princess was already there and my aunt finally introduced me to her and her to me.  "nice to finally meet you," she greeted me with a handshake.  now, if only i could see myself while she offered that handshake to me, i swear that i was like a deer-caught-in-the-headlights-stunned to see a beautiful relative smile at me.  now i admit that i'm a sucker for women i can't have, but come on!!  i was like, "she's my cousin?!?  like, are you sure??"  not that i said that out loud, but inside i was screaming, "how cruel can this be?!"  i later found out that i was double-whammied.  first, she's my cousin, second, she's only 20 years old.  i swear to you, she don't look like no 20-year old hottie.  damn…..  while all of this was going through my mind, i kept a straight face, making sure that no one realizes how utterly disappointed and dejected i am in meeting a beautiful young woman who happens to be my…. cousin.  son of a…. 😦

realizing that my silent whining would get me nowhere, i just focused on getting the items that we came for.  i also took some time to look around some of the cool stuff for sale.  we got mostly food items like chocolates, mac n' cheese, cookies, etc.  i paid for everything by the way.  that's what the loan was for…. hehehehe….  so, we then had our items paid and headed back to the car.  i learned that princess was driving her own car and saw that she was parked not too far from where we were.  she's driving a 2006 honda civic, which was not bad.  we passed by a filipino grocery store to get a box that i'll be using to pack the stuff to be brought back home.  as we parted ways, princess waved at me and told me, "nice meeting you!"  i just smiled back and waved at her in acknowledgement.  within a few minutes, we were back home.

i unfolded the box and started to see if what we bought would fit.&nbs
p; everything wasn't final though, as i still have my other check-in luggage to fill.  we had dinner, i watched sportscenter until eventually i became sleepy.  as i was settling in bed, only one highlight of the day was present in my mind…  and i guess you all know what that was….

on the upcoming installments, more chinese food, getting to finally ride in a mercedes benz, a walk in the park, the universal thanksgiving greeting, having my first thanksgiving celebration, and the flight back home.