the journal of a fangirly insect

Well, not really...but I am ecstatic. :D

Capital One has apparently sided with me against the Venetian Box Office! :D I was checking my online balance today to see if the gas I purchased yesterday had shown up yet (I was having Issues with the card reader and had to have my card swiped inside, so I wanted to make sure that I wasn't charged twice), and I noticed that my balance was a lot lower than I had expected it to be. So I went to the transaction details, and there was a big shiny PURCHASE ADJUSTMENT in all capital letters. :D I have no doubt that the Venetian did not willing refund the money; not only did the purchase they did refund show up differently (it was from VENETIAN SHOWROOM INT instead), but I've only had one PURCHASE ADJUSTMENT entry before (and that was from a company who did not want to refund my money and really tried to dig in their heels about it). So suck on that, the Venetian! >:D

I'm so happy. It wasn't the money, although the money is nice. It was showing them that they can't screw around their customers like that. They can't promise a refund and then change their minds without explanation and keep the money. They can't treat me like I'm an imbecile and expect me to take it lying down.

Thank you lamath! Without your advice, I wouldn't have even tried to charge it back. And thank you Capital One for kicking so much ass! :D

I think being forced to deal with the unhelpful and downright rude employees at the Phantom Box Office in the Venetian has sapped me of much of my Phantom love, although I'm not sure how that exactly happened. I've been fighting with them tooth and nail for over a month, trying to find someone who works there who isn't an incompetent jerk (I'm still looking), and it just infuriates me. Today I got a form letter from the assistant manager (some dude named Florante Mark V. Gagarin), who honestly expects me to fly back out to Vegas to see Phantom "free" on the house. Except it isn't "free" because they already have $150+ of my money that they refuse to return (and no one is willing to explain why, even though I was assured by a few different people out there that I WOULD receive it back) and it'd cost me at least double that to fly out there! Oh yes, I'm going to jump at that. *rolls eyes*

I have absolutely no desire to return to Vegas, "free" tickets or not, and my continued dealings with these idiots are only reinforcing my belief that Vegas equals HORRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE FROM THE FLAMING PITS OF HELL.

Ironically, before all of this happened, I was already planning to return in 2009 to see the production again. Umm, so not happening now. I don't know what I'm going to do instead. Maybe I'll just stay at home. At least I know that I won't treat myself like I'm an idiot because I've seen Phantom multiple times (I can't say the same about the people who work for the Phantom Box Office).

It's sad. I used to really love the Vegas production of Phantom. I recommended it all of the time! And now, just thinking about it makes me want to become ill. [words that I cannot type in a public entry go here] I honestly do not want to see it ever again, and I never thought that I would say that. :(

ETA: I just filed a complaint with the Southern Nevada Better Business Bureau (the Venetian has an F grade, so I am not hopeful that will do anything XD) and a dispute with my credit card. I don't think that either of these will pan out, but just complaining made me a little happier. XD Thanks for the advice, lamath!

The Phantom of the Opera
Las Vegas, Nevada (The Venetian)
December 19, 2008 (7:00pm)

the cast
Phantom - Ian Jon Bourg (u/s)
Christine - Kristi Holden
Raoul - Andrew Ragone
Carlotta - Geena Jeffries Mattox
Firmin - Lawson Skala
Andre - Michael Lackey (u/s)
Madame Giry - Tina Walsh
Piangi - Larry Wayne Morbitt
Meg - Brianne Kelly Morgan

( REVIEW OF DOOM, PACKED WITH LOTS OF SQUEE )

For the record, I spent over two hours writing this, and the show was only ninety minutes long. This makes me crazy, y/y?

tl;dr: BEST SHOW I'VE EVER SEEN. A+++++++++++++

Also, I'm not sure that I can wait the five and a half months before I see the tour in Charlotte. I want another Phantom fix pronto!

Well, this one was pretty recent; it happened last week, in fact. ;)

I was so excited to go to Las Vegas! It's very cold in Ohio this time of year, so I was looking forward to having some sixty degree weather. We learned a few days before we left that it was going to be chillier than expected - around forty degrees each day - but that was still warmer than it was in Ohio, so no biggie.

When we got to the airport, our plane was supposed to leave at 12:45pm. We didn't start boarding until 1:00pm, and we left the airport at around 1:35pm. No biggie, I tell myself. Then the pilot comes on the loudspeaker and tells us that the trip is going to take five hours instead of the estimated four because of strong headwinds. Still no biggie, I tell myself. We'll make it to Las Vegas at around 4:00pm PST instead of 2:18pm. That's okay.

Then, once we're over Denver, the pilot comes on the loudspeaker again. Denver wanted to ground us for an hour because an unexpected snowstorm had struck Las Vegas, and visibility was less than a quarter mile. There were a few problems with this scenario. 1) We didn't have enough fuel to land for an hour and then fly to Vegas, and for some reason we could not be refueled at Denver. 2) The pilots and flight crew, which were delayed earlier, were fast-approaching "illegal time." If we didn't get to Las Vegas soon, they would not be okay to fly. We had to get closer.

So they decide that we're going to fly to Phoenix instead. We can refuel there, be first in the queue, and fly out as soon as the weather clears enough for us.

No biggie. Right? ( hint - WRONG )

Well, not yet. But I will be in less than 48 hours! :D And I probably won't really have the opportunity to update until at least Sunday. I'm going to try to do a couple of voice posts here and there, but the last time I went to Vegas they didn't work, so I'm not putting much stock in them.

Phantom on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday! :D

Backstage tour on Thursday! :D

See you on Sunday. :)

I really don't know what to do with myself, so I guess I'm going to blog more than I usually do! Sorry guys. ;)

I am looking forward to seeing Valkyrie in a couple of weeks...somewhat. I feel like a horrible person saying that, because I love Claus von Stauffenberg (the guy the movie is about), and I just know that there's no way Tom Cruise will live up to the real man. I have a very nerdy historical crush on Claus, which started when I first read about him in my Holocaust History class back in 2001. I vividly remember calling Shay after I read the assignment, and we squeed about him together. XD He tried to blow up Hitler! He gets an A for effort. And now I have a feeling that Tom Cruise is going to totally decimate him on screen, and I'm going to pay money to see it. Fail, bee, fail. Please prove me wrong here, Tom.

I went to the gym today and really busted my butt, so I'm exhausted. The local radio station that they usually blast on the speakers was down, so they were playing another station. I was there two hours, and I heard "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" by Beyoncé THREE TIMES. Is this honestly what passes as music nowadays? I mean, really. "Woah oh oh oh, oh oh oh oh, oh oh oh oh" is not a proper chorus. I'm stick with my Meat Loaf and Tom Petty, thanks. I'm really sounding like an old lady... And now it's in my head and I can't get it out of my mind. :\

FOUR DAYS UNTIL PHANTOM. YES YES YES.

1) Calamari is really tasty...as long as I don't think about what it's made out of when I'm eating it.

2) It's a very good idea to check your tire pressure regularly, because otherwise you're going to be driving on flat tires and not realize it until you go out to your car one day and say - wow, those tires are flat.

3) I've apparently damaged the ulnar collateral ligament of my right thumb. I'm either going to have to have surgery to correct it or wear one of these hokey looking things for six weeks. Lame. I have to make an appointment with a specialist next week to see what he's going to do about it. If it's surgery, I'm not having it until after I come back from Vegas. I'll wear the brace if I have to during that time, but no surgery until after Vegas!

4) Having health insurance would be really handy right about now...

5) I haven't seen Monj and Anne in person in almost a year. :(

6) I am so excited about the Phantom fic exchange at masked_ball! Submissions are over November 15th, so if you want to submit an idea and haven't already, you'd better hurry up and do it. ;)