always double down on [eleven]

memorial day weekend found me attending the las vegas bachelor party of my future brother-in-law, along with 10 of his closest friends.

to say i had apprehension would be an understatement. las vegas is an insane city, and to walk it's streets with 9 people i didn't know at all had me little nervous.  were these guys gamblers? party-ers? crazy? or worse yet, lame or boring?  i had no idea what to expect, and wasn't thrilled about making that discovery while on the strip.

luckily my sister is marrying a great guy, with great friends.  upon meeting them it took a whopping 15 minutes before i could tell we would all get along.  an hour later it was like i was on vacation with my friends.  we lounged by the hotel pool, gambled in old vegas, ate an amazing buffet, golfed, and found a wonderful dive karaoke bar that kept us singing until 8am.

completely out of season, there's a quote from "it's a wonderful life," that says, "no man is a failure who has friends."  if that's true, then i came back from vegas a rich guy, as i now have nine new friends.

if not..

i'm down about $160.