Coming from Yuma, AZ, I realized that I'm one of the few new Las Vegans who've actually experienced a drop in temperature.

Two days after I arrived in town, I was leaving a Walgreens pharmacy. There was a young guy sitting on the sidewalk, with his face in his hands. His shoulders were shaking and I realized this guy was actually sobbing. Not something you often see, unless a guy has been kicked in the junk, or had his heart broken. There was no crotch-grabbing involved, so I'm assuming a troubled love-life.

My wife visited from AZ this weekend, and we decided to mingle with the tourists (which we were, technically, up until a few weeks ago). We experienced a rare event -- my wife and I trumped the sales staff at Bloomingdales and some trendy tea shop. She asked for a particular brand of cookware, and the sales assistant admitted to never having heard of it before. Later, we asked the attendant at the tea shop about chrysthanthemum tea ( a tree-barky tasting tea I've developed a taste for), and we received the same reply. I was feeling pretty impressed with myself, up until the moment I banged my head against the clear glass door as we left. PWANG! Damn you, karma!

I was informed (politely) that I was pronouncing Nevada incorrectly. Apparently, it's not 'Neh - va -dah', but rather 'Nuh - vat - uh'. Because I will make public presentations on occasion at my new job, I've been forcing myself to make this sound -- and it's never going to feel right. But I have to, as it's a matter of developing credibility with born & bred locals. Yeesh. I still have to fight off the urge to wince -- like hearing Canadians say 'paa - sta' instead of 'pah -stuh'. I can still hear Tony Fortunato (Brooklyn) from my freshman year at Plattsburgh State, after hearing a commercial on the CTV network . . . "What did they say? It's 'pah -stuh', you stupid mother-f . . . . .!"

I really, really like neon.

I'm disappointed to have not yet made an Elvis sighting.

My driving habits quickly devolve to the lowest standard of those in which city I am driving.

After moving here from the Mexican border, I've actually had to re-adjust to seeing so many white people.

The billboards and taxicab advertising placards show lots of hineys. Not that I'm complaining.

Did I mention that I like the neon?