On the 6th, I arrived back in SF from my first Las Vegas trip. Ultimately, the vacation was to visit my cousins. It was my first time seeing one of my cousin's kids and seeing everybody's houses. The night of the 6th, I boarded Virgin Airlines. Security was fast and quick and the flight was smooth and relaxing. I had a center seat but it turned out that no one else was in my row. My dad had to sit next to a obsess guy who took up 2 seats. We were both too lazy to find each other when the plane was up and steady.
One of my cousins (H) picked us up and dropped us off at my other cousin's (M) house. M and his wife were both at work, so we were greeted by my other cousin (T) and the nanny. M and his wife came home past 10:30 and we had a late dinner. I met M's kids, one's 2 (S) and the other one is almost 8 months (J). Of course my initial reaction was "ew." Plus, the eldest one sat on me after 5 minutes and farted.
Day 1: T was scheduled to pick me up after her rotation at 3pm to see the pharmacy school. I ended up playing with S most of the day. He was so happy to have someone to play with, since the nanny isn't a very good nanny (more later). At around 3, a thunderstorm woke up the kids from their nap. Rain poured down and flooded the block in front. S made me carry him from the front door window and to the back sliding door so he could point at the rain (he likes to point at stuff). T called at 4 and said all the roads leading to M's house were blocked. She finally arrived at 5 and we got stuck in traffic for half an hour. I told her that it would be okay to see the school another day but she took me anyway.
After switching to pre-pharmacy, USN has always been my first choice (along with UCSF). The only thing I don't like about it is there isn't any lab and the weather in Nevada. I mean, I hate lab in general, but having no lab means that there isn't a great opportunity to go into research. USN is highly geared toward those who are switching careers, so they mostly come out as retail pharmacists. The majority of PharmD.'s still decide to work in retail, but I believe that USN will switch to clinical since the career is advancing national. Anyways, I love the school's layout and the view of the mountains in the parking lot is magnificent!
After the tour, T took my father and I to her place. We then met up H for dinner at Buffet at Asia. I wouldn't recommend the place. The food tasted old. I liked the cream cheese fried sushi though.
Day 2: M took S, my father and I to the strip in the morning after having pho for breakfast. He lives 10 minutes away from Vegas and half and hour away from the strip. We only got to stay for 2 hours because we were afraid that S would get tired. Actually, I think it was so that my cousin could get some rest because S made M carry him around.
I stayed at M's place the rest of the day. I'll talk about the kids and the nanny since I spent all day with them.
S is a hyperactive little brat. He loves cars and the movie "Cars." He can play with his toy automobiles all day. I started teaching him the colors of the cars since all he did before that was point to the car and say something in his baby language. I taught him random letters in his alphabet book since he wouldn't let me flip the pages. He really likes the letter "J" since he can't really say "S" clearly yet. An hour into the lesson he realized that his brother's name started with a J. He was so proud of himself he clapped his hands and started jumping on the bed. I think I grew a little soft and started to like him after that. I know I said that I hate kids, but really..I just think they're annoying sometimes. I still don't want kids though. (Here comes another digression) I've volunteered with kids for a number of years and I'm secretary for an organization that helps kids in third-world countries. I can withstand their wrath but it gives me a headache. M and his wife feel the same way. Whenever they're home they both either sleep in, do house chores, or hide in the office and watch TV. They don't spend much time with their children. Anyways, S also likes airplanes. I tried teaching him the word "airplane." He already knows the word in Vietnamese. I argued with him for 5 minutes when trying to teach him the word. I said "airplane" and he said the word in viet and it just went back and forth like that. I'm known as his aunt in Vietnamese and aunt in viet is "cô" He can't say the letter "M" yet so he calls me "cô kia" which translates to "that aunt." He stuck on me like glue by Day 3. He would whine everytime I left him. Whenever I went to the bathroom he would pound on the door. I don't think he understood because he still uses diapers...lol. When I went to bed he would be so confused. He wanted to come into his room (the room I was sleeping in) and he wanted to go to bed in his parents' room. So, he would stand in the middle of the hallway whaling.
J can stand up when holding on to something, sleep, eat, poop, laugh, whale, throw-up, and say "mama." I didn't spend a lot of time with him since he doesn't do much and the nanny likes him more than S. He likes Nemo and won't eat unless the movie is on. So, the nanny switches the movies back and forth from "Nemo" to "Cars." When the kids are asleep she watches her dramas and Vietnamese music videos.
I don't think the nanny is the best person to watch after the kids. She yells at S even when he hasn't done anything wrong. She doesn't have the capabilities to watch both kids. S has this habit of throwing stuff around (I think it's because he wants to replicate cars crashing). When he accidentally drops something she yells at him for throwing it. She threatens the kids with a ruler or a stick and tells them if they're bad that she'll throw them in the washer and dryer. She makes J sleep all day in his rocker even though it’s obvious that he's not tired. My aunt from SF even said the back of J's head looks flattened because the nanny makes him stay on his back all day. S doesn't like to eat and I wouldn't blame him. The nanny stuffs food into his mouth so quickly I'm surprised that the children don't choke. Her room is neatly put together but the rest of the house is a mess. She sits on her butt watching her shows and the kids’ movies more than watching the kids. I mean, from the conversations I've had with her she sounds like a good person. She's just not a good nanny. M said that she makes the kids sit and watch TV all day. No wonder S can't say much. The time I spent at M's house, S learns so many new words. He's easily frustrated when he can't learn something and throws a fit (it's so funny). The nanny grows impatient and yells at him. I don't think he knew what "pick up your toys" meant. I was able to teach him that in a couple of hours. He might have not picked it up and put it in the right place but I bet if I stayed longer he would have been able to do it.
I feel really bad for the kids. The thing with being a pharmacist is that you’re able to have flexible hours so you can take care of your family. My cousins don't seem to be using that benefit very well. Oh well, I won't do that to my cats...hopefully.
Day 3: I spent all day walking down the strip. I lost $21 dollars from slot machines. I didn't really want to play but my dad said I should experience gambling at least once. What a waste :( My dad got a little drunk after 1 beer since it was so hot. LOL! I still had on a long sleeved shirt even though it was over 100 degrees outside. :)
In the evening, H came over for dinner and took everybody to see his house. I think he bought it around 6 months ago but no one in the family has seen it, besides his mom. I was so happy because I got to swim! M has a pool but he didn't clean it and check the pH until the day I left (arghhh..I didn't want to keep asking him because he always looked tired). I thought M would do it after he saw that I really wanted to swim, but he didn't. Oh wells. S ran around the pool as I swam from one end to the other. The other people talked about H's house. You might be asking, why doesn't J ever get to go on these simple outings? M doesn't let him. I know J is bored and tired of staying in the house all the time though. He tries to crawl to the front door and looks out the window a lot.
Day 4: Stayed in the house during the day. We went out to eat at "Pho So 1" (too lazy to put the tones) and had bo muoc tom nuong vi (beef, squid and shrimp grilled at your table). It
was so good. We had 3 orders of it! I've eaten this dish at home before but it was with a griller instead of an open flame. It tastes so much better when being cooked with fire. H drove my father and I down the strip 
after that. He doesn't go to LV a lot so he didn't know where to park, so we just stayed in the car. We drove by Bellagio just in time to see the dancing water show. That was one time when I was happy we were stuck in a traffic jam.
Day 5: I stayed at M's house all day. T and her fiancé came for lunch. She made yummy sour and spicy Thai soup. She also brought over Trader Joe's ice cream and we ate it with durian *drools* I played with S throughout the day. ughh...It took me 3 hours to get him to take his nap. It worked when I threatened to take him down to his nanny.
Day 6: S ate a lot during breakfast. My dad made it fun by doing the airplane flying into the mouth thing. I bet he wouldn't be underweight if the nanny made eating fun. She left in the morning to go to LA to visit her family, so I couldn't say goodbye. M drove my father and I to the airport at 9:30. I don't think S understood that we were leaving. He just stared as we waved "bye." I hope his parents learn that they need to teach him stuff and not just rely on the nanny and tv. He can be so smart if given the chance.
The TVs didn't work during the flight so we had complementary pretzels during the flight. :)
It was a great first trip. I hated the weather (besides the storm) but I can stand it. Oh! My cousin said that they pay ~$500 per month for utilities; AC in the summer and gas in the winter. CRAZY! H only pays $60 since he doesn't turn on the AC. Argh..it was so hot in his house.
ok..I better end it here or else I'll keep jabbering about the details.
One of my cousins (H) picked us up and dropped us off at my other cousin's (M) house. M and his wife were both at work, so we were greeted by my other cousin (T) and the nanny. M and his wife came home past 10:30 and we had a late dinner. I met M's kids, one's 2 (S) and the other one is almost 8 months (J). Of course my initial reaction was "ew." Plus, the eldest one sat on me after 5 minutes and farted.
Day 1: T was scheduled to pick me up after her rotation at 3pm to see the pharmacy school. I ended up playing with S most of the day. He was so happy to have someone to play with, since the nanny isn't a very good nanny (more later). At around 3, a thunderstorm woke up the kids from their nap. Rain poured down and flooded the block in front. S made me carry him from the front door window and to the back sliding door so he could point at the rain (he likes to point at stuff). T called at 4 and said all the roads leading to M's house were blocked. She finally arrived at 5 and we got stuck in traffic for half an hour. I told her that it would be okay to see the school another day but she took me anyway.
After switching to pre-pharmacy, USN has always been my first choice (along with UCSF). The only thing I don't like about it is there isn't any lab and the weather in Nevada. I mean, I hate lab in general, but having no lab means that there isn't a great opportunity to go into research. USN is highly geared toward those who are switching careers, so they mostly come out as retail pharmacists. The majority of PharmD.'s still decide to work in retail, but I believe that USN will switch to clinical since the career is advancing national. Anyways, I love the school's layout and the view of the mountains in the parking lot is magnificent!
After the tour, T took my father and I to her place. We then met up H for dinner at Buffet at Asia. I wouldn't recommend the place. The food tasted old. I liked the cream cheese fried sushi though.
Day 2: M took S, my father and I to the strip in the morning after having pho for breakfast. He lives 10 minutes away from Vegas and half and hour away from the strip. We only got to stay for 2 hours because we were afraid that S would get tired. Actually, I think it was so that my cousin could get some rest because S made M carry him around.
I stayed at M's place the rest of the day. I'll talk about the kids and the nanny since I spent all day with them.
S is a hyperactive little brat. He loves cars and the movie "Cars." He can play with his toy automobiles all day. I started teaching him the colors of the cars since all he did before that was point to the car and say something in his baby language. I taught him random letters in his alphabet book since he wouldn't let me flip the pages. He really likes the letter "J" since he can't really say "S" clearly yet. An hour into the lesson he realized that his brother's name started with a J. He was so proud of himself he clapped his hands and started jumping on the bed. I think I grew a little soft and started to like him after that. I know I said that I hate kids, but really..I just think they're annoying sometimes. I still don't want kids though. (Here comes another digression) I've volunteered with kids for a number of years and I'm secretary for an organization that helps kids in third-world countries. I can withstand their wrath but it gives me a headache. M and his wife feel the same way. Whenever they're home they both either sleep in, do house chores, or hide in the office and watch TV. They don't spend much time with their children. Anyways, S also likes airplanes. I tried teaching him the word "airplane." He already knows the word in Vietnamese. I argued with him for 5 minutes when trying to teach him the word. I said "airplane" and he said the word in viet and it just went back and forth like that. I'm known as his aunt in Vietnamese and aunt in viet is "cô" He can't say the letter "M" yet so he calls me "cô kia" which translates to "that aunt." He stuck on me like glue by Day 3. He would whine everytime I left him. Whenever I went to the bathroom he would pound on the door. I don't think he understood because he still uses diapers...lol. When I went to bed he would be so confused. He wanted to come into his room (the room I was sleeping in) and he wanted to go to bed in his parents' room. So, he would stand in the middle of the hallway whaling.
J can stand up when holding on to something, sleep, eat, poop, laugh, whale, throw-up, and say "mama." I didn't spend a lot of time with him since he doesn't do much and the nanny likes him more than S. He likes Nemo and won't eat unless the movie is on. So, the nanny switches the movies back and forth from "Nemo" to "Cars." When the kids are asleep she watches her dramas and Vietnamese music videos.
I don't think the nanny is the best person to watch after the kids. She yells at S even when he hasn't done anything wrong. She doesn't have the capabilities to watch both kids. S has this habit of throwing stuff around (I think it's because he wants to replicate cars crashing). When he accidentally drops something she yells at him for throwing it. She threatens the kids with a ruler or a stick and tells them if they're bad that she'll throw them in the washer and dryer. She makes J sleep all day in his rocker even though it’s obvious that he's not tired. My aunt from SF even said the back of J's head looks flattened because the nanny makes him stay on his back all day. S doesn't like to eat and I wouldn't blame him. The nanny stuffs food into his mouth so quickly I'm surprised that the children don't choke. Her room is neatly put together but the rest of the house is a mess. She sits on her butt watching her shows and the kids’ movies more than watching the kids. I mean, from the conversations I've had with her she sounds like a good person. She's just not a good nanny. M said that she makes the kids sit and watch TV all day. No wonder S can't say much. The time I spent at M's house, S learns so many new words. He's easily frustrated when he can't learn something and throws a fit (it's so funny). The nanny grows impatient and yells at him. I don't think he knew what "pick up your toys" meant. I was able to teach him that in a couple of hours. He might have not picked it up and put it in the right place but I bet if I stayed longer he would have been able to do it.
I feel really bad for the kids. The thing with being a pharmacist is that you’re able to have flexible hours so you can take care of your family. My cousins don't seem to be using that benefit very well. Oh well, I won't do that to my cats...hopefully.
Day 3: I spent all day walking down the strip. I lost $21 dollars from slot machines. I didn't really want to play but my dad said I should experience gambling at least once. What a waste :( My dad got a little drunk after 1 beer since it was so hot. LOL! I still had on a long sleeved shirt even though it was over 100 degrees outside. :)In the evening, H came over for dinner and took everybody to see his house. I think he bought it around 6 months ago but no one in the family has seen it, besides his mom. I was so happy because I got to swim! M has a pool but he didn't clean it and check the pH until the day I left (arghhh..I didn't want to keep asking him because he always looked tired). I thought M would do it after he saw that I really wanted to swim, but he didn't. Oh wells. S ran around the pool as I swam from one end to the other. The other people talked about H's house. You might be asking, why doesn't J ever get to go on these simple outings? M doesn't let him. I know J is bored and tired of staying in the house all the time though. He tries to crawl to the front door and looks out the window a lot.
Day 4: Stayed in the house during the day. We went out to eat at "Pho So 1" (too lazy to put the tones) and had bo muoc tom nuong vi (beef, squid and shrimp grilled at your table). It
was so good. We had 3 orders of it! I've eaten this dish at home before but it was with a griller instead of an open flame. It tastes so much better when being cooked with fire. H drove my father and I down the strip 
after that. He doesn't go to LV a lot so he didn't know where to park, so we just stayed in the car. We drove by Bellagio just in time to see the dancing water show. That was one time when I was happy we were stuck in a traffic jam.Day 5: I stayed at M's house all day. T and her fiancé came for lunch. She made yummy sour and spicy Thai soup. She also brought over Trader Joe's ice cream and we ate it with durian *drools* I played with S throughout the day. ughh...It took me 3 hours to get him to take his nap. It worked when I threatened to take him down to his nanny.
Day 6: S ate a lot during breakfast. My dad made it fun by doing the airplane flying into the mouth thing. I bet he wouldn't be underweight if the nanny made eating fun. She left in the morning to go to LA to visit her family, so I couldn't say goodbye. M drove my father and I to the airport at 9:30. I don't think S understood that we were leaving. He just stared as we waved "bye." I hope his parents learn that they need to teach him stuff and not just rely on the nanny and tv. He can be so smart if given the chance.
The TVs didn't work during the flight so we had complementary pretzels during the flight. :)
It was a great first trip. I hated the weather (besides the storm) but I can stand it. Oh! My cousin said that they pay ~$500 per month for utilities; AC in the summer and gas in the winter. CRAZY! H only pays $60 since he doesn't turn on the AC. Argh..it was so hot in his house.
ok..I better end it here or else I'll keep jabbering about the details.
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