24 hours in reno...

i went to reno yesterday for one of my freelance jobs. funny how close it really is to where i live. it only takes a couple hours to get there. and when i first get there it really doesn't seem to be that different on the surface. except for giant clown signs on the street and slot machines in the 7-11. but i realize after a while that i am actually in another state. it is different here. the rules are different. the people are a little different. and people come here from all over to live differently. we created a place where people can indulge. we built a city around desires and made it a tourist destination. in many ways it's a more honest place. a little seedier too. as i walked up to the entrance to my hotel it all looked so blown out. bright lights and the biggest little city. they had built a new facade on the front of the hotel. the old one was just a plain box, but the new one was like a tuscany nightmare complete with cheesy porticos and frescos and neon. but as you looked at it, you could clearly see that it was just an add-on. a face-lift. a distraction. still, we seem to love the distraction. maybe because it looks better close up than the real thing. viva.