DC FORUM: Just Been Busy Doing What I Love...

A NOTE FROM THE EDITOR

BY DC CUEVA 

■ linktr.ee/dc408dxtr

Hello, it's been some time since we last spoke to you here... and we hope that you and yours are fine, healthy and alright in your part of the world wherever you are reading this little blog entry. I am okay on my part -- nothing's wrong with me... but this blogger here wants to come on to let you in on what I have been working on -- something I've been counting a whole summer & early autumn for. And as this one returns from blog hibernation this October's weekend, I am also getting prepared for another installment of the one thing I have looked forward to most every year for almost two decades.

DCBLOG is something that I take great pride in during my evolution into becoming a well-rounded and now full-time content creator -- it's been thirteen years since the very first post here. But me transitioning into doing this gig on a self-employed basis was made possible in part by what's transpired in the Cueva household the past few years: me taking on the role of man of the house after we lost our patriarch back in 2022. Those in the house I call my casa still continues to feel the absence of my late dad as we reach what would have been his 75th birthday come next month. And it's me being the dad of our family that has been the reason for me taking a step back from the blogger's chair... though we do look forward to getting to resume offering more of these here with lots of posts already in draft mode.

However, that hasn't dampened my passion for doing what I love being able to do best: create content and putting forth my very best work whatever the platform may be. Take for example what I got to do over the winter and during the summer, all leading to an autumn tradition known as #DCVegas.

DC VEGAS XIII: And The Countdown Begins Again...

BY DC CUEVA 

■ linktr.ee/dc408dxtr

A little short but sweet reveal here: as I return to active duty on this website, not much has changed in my world. Two years have now past since my dad's passing and funeral, and that has forced me to take a sabbatical from regular blogging and video work to tend to being the big man in my family... and we continue to feel his absence every day since, even as my kids, sister & bro-in-law are with us along with my cousin & her hubby from L.A. for this long weekend.

As this summer concludes today with that first Monday of September known as Labor Day, it was just another 104 days of sorts. I spent nineteen of them watching the world's best, and the Paris Olympics represented a chance for all of us to take our minds of everything going on in our world to watch what became one of the most memorable Games ever. The time before all of that with all the division and everything else going on made wanting to escape all that much more worthwhile... and if you know what the slogan I got to preach during that awful time we just got out of is one thing, then there is that time where the need to escape out of that shell of being at home is very much needed. That's the basis of this.

More Pix at IG & Facebook @dc408dxtr

Thirty years ago came the year when OJ became a murder suspect, soccer and skating creeped into our consciousness just as baseball was going on strike, and I got a first glimpse into what the internet would be like as I was about to enter 6th grade. But 1994 was also when the first opportunity for me came by to visit Las Vegas, when it was a city that was still on the outskirts of sorts of not being in the big leagues just yet. The city had gone through a slump of sorts during the eighties as the lure of Atlantic City and new forms of gambling became commonplace... but thanks to the opening of The Mirage, Excalibur and MGM Grand which brought the tourists back to town, things began to turn the corner towards this town becoming a major player.

My very first Vegas trip was during that summer of '94 when my family, cousins and relatives flew to the Desert... and when you have a lot of kids too young to roam the casinos, you pretty much are resigned to having to stay at Circus Circus, which we did for one long weekend. And it was in that playhouse of a resort complex where I actually got lost, and was separated from my party for a couple tense hours before we reunited in our hotel room. But that was just an inauspicious prelude to a relationship with a city what would ultimately join music, sports and reality TV as a major passion of mine by the time I returned to Vegas, not as a wide-eyed kid but a 25-year-old adult in 2007.

So began what has become an annual to biannual tradition of coming to Las Vegas that has now lasted for more than half of the last thirty years -- twelve trips in all during that time, and eleven in this current era. My trips to this city have become just as anticipated for me personally as waiting anxiously for the Olympic flame to be lit, and where every one of the twelve trips in the twenty-nine previous years have been memorable in producing many stories worth telling and documenting. And just about everyone in my whole family have come with us at one time or another for the best time of our lives, which is almost always the case when you take a 90-minute flight or nine-hour drive to the desert.

The past few Vegas trips have brought me a better appreciation of how important Vegas is to me and what it is also to my family: the tenth in 2019 came months before both the world and Vegas shut down by the pandemic, while the eleventh in 2021 came months before my world came crashing down by my dad's cancer battle... and the twelfth last year was the first Vegas trip I ever took without him at our side with me and mom. There was also some drama with momma and our third member of our traveling party that led to a falling out afterwards... but that's not of anything else to elaborate much more here.

Earlier last year, I officially severed the last contractual tie I had before the lockdown where I officially transitioned into becoming a full-time and self-employed content creator... and I have always seen my Vegas trips as a playground for me to put those video and camera work to great use. Just a glance over at DC YouTube and the hundreds of videos I've posted there in the eight years, and it is perhaps a major reason in why Sin City has grown in stature on a personal level -- and it doesn't put into account the thousands of hours of Vegas content I've watched from various YouTubers just about every day in the past several years as our family's daily escape.

It was obviously no surprise that a few of my favorite moments of the last trip came when I met not one, but four Vegas YouTubers in Jaycation, Norma Geli, The Other Me and Sin City Angel. The first two came as it happened live on his YouTube channel as he celebrated reaching 100,000 subscribers, and the other two came during what has to be the single most memorable of the forty-four days of my Vegas experiences: Freakmont Friday on Halloween weekend in downtown at the Fremont Street Experience. And even now, because of my inactivity the past several months the entire YouTube vlog series from last year has still remained stuck on that Friday... but need not worry, work will resume on getting new videos from that trip prepared to be produced for the next couple months ahead.

That is because, by the time that the season finale of that series covering DC VEGAS XII is finally published, that will be just at when I will be COMING BACK to Las Vegas for trip #13. The dates on which that trip will go down are now set in stone as far as the hotel is concerned (that place we're staying in shall remain a secret until before we leave), and all that's left is to just book plane tickets... then, the countdown will officially begin for the week of NOVEMBER 11th, just after everything from that thing the week before should finally die down. It will be the second time that I will have celebrated a birthday in Vegas: the last came in 2009 when Manny Pacquiao fought Miguel Cotto, and where I went by myself to the MGM Grand to soak in the fight night atmosphere... and also, when my late dad came back to our hotel room completely wasted after seeing the Pac-Man win.

As the promo video that proceeded my 2021 trip can attest (and unfortunately, there is no such clip to accompany this reveal), Vegas represents that ultimate of all escapes from both the world and our lives. And as I get to work on both the blog (recaps on the first elimination and team challenge on Battle of the Eras are forthcoming here, among other things) and the DC Vegas XII vlogs, the preparation for this 2024 trip will get underway. I have started mapping out the best laid plans for this year's extravaganza which will only begin once I walk through the terminal towards the baggage area at Reid International - from putting together my arsenal of technology (six cameras & other gadgets) and fashion, to the playlist and possibilities for the many experiences there... don't be mad if I get behind on the content schedule -- it's likely I'll be busy getting set for four days in the desert again.

And there is a reason I why come to see these trips as, what I always allude to, my very own Super Bowl. And as we are a few days from the start of the pro season as far as football is concerned, now Vegas is on the clock: it's now seventy days until #DCVegas XIII... may the countdown begin again.

- I AM DC

@DC408DXTR

DC Vegas: A Spotlight on the Vloggers

BY DC CUEVA                        

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB/TK

A much beloved aspect of normalcy that began to spring back up in the course of the past year has been of taking advantage of spare time to fly or drive to the destination of your choosing outside the place you call home and have been stuck in for most of this time. Over the years, I have had the opportunity to travel to some amazing places: the Philippines, Hawaii, New York, Southern California, and the Reno/Tahoe area. Sure, my travel itinerary is not as broad as what you have, but I don't get that much in the way of vacation time because of various factors that I would rather not elaborate on.... it's not the case for my parents, who have gone to well more places than I have. But for a quarter-century, one place has stood out above all others: Las Vegas.

Since 1994 - and most especially in the past decade & a half, it's become a near-annual tradition for me to emerge out of this shell of doing blog work like this in my Bay Area home and venture out on a 75-minute plane trip (or sometimes a 9-hour drive) to the playground that, if you're at least 21, you can treat as your own adult amusement park -- and lately I've referred to it as my happy place. The thing I refer to by the social media hashtag of #DCVegas has emerged from just the kid in me roaming the Circus Circus midway in that first trip into becoming my own Super Bowl: the biggest thing I look forward to and something I anticipate just as much as the Olympics, music awards shows, or a new season of an MTV reality TV show. It's always a huge deal for me to let my guard down in joining family and cousins for these vacations, and it is always a good time whenever I step foot in Southern Nevada.

The pandemic lockdown last year might've caused a lot of stress for many, but it afforded plenty of time at home to pursue another passion of mine: videography. Not being able to travel opened an opportunity for me to create plenty of escapable and enjoyable content from eight of those Vegas trips for the DC Vegas series on my YouTube channel which number in at over 180 videos. That total can be disputed a bit, as in truth it includes reposted versions of some of those due to having a faster internet speed and affording me the chance to reproduce them in higher definition. Just get a glimpse at the vlogs, and you can understand why I make my videos stand out from your usual Vegas YouTube videos in me taking greater steps to have it be just as nice as anything you see there but visually and sound-wise.

When the opportunity finally presented itself for me to safely travel to Vegas last month - and where conditions were favorable enough to also tackle my first big vacation since this world lost its mind, I will have been well-prepared to once again not only enjoy the experience of this amazing city, but also capturing it (thus defying the adage that "What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas"), Along with marking a belated birthday for me, a new goal coming into this trip was to also use this city -- the Strip and all -- as a canvas to creating great content for my digital channels, having watched a lot of Vegas-related content on YouTube during the pandemic. That, along with upgrading my technology to a new phone, gimbal and other gadgets since the last trip and gaining lots of experience in the last few years in videography and editing techniques, set the table for me to take my Vegas experience to the next level.

Tomorrow night before you gather either in person or virtually with your family and friends as I will for our holiday meet-up (no need to worry about all that's going on health wise for us, we'd rather save that chatter for another time), yours truly will be offering the perfect Christmas gift in "The Ultimate Escape" -- the DC VEGAS XI vlog series on YouTube. I have been working long and hard the past few weeks putting together an amazing array of videos that will help take your mind off of what's going on right now, and to make this an enjoyable experience that will bring the Vegas feeling into your homes and to your screens. But before the premiere of this year's videos, this blogger would like this opportunity to put a spotlight not on myself... but on those who I've gotten to enjoy watching during this time: the community who vlogs on everything Vegas.

DC Vegas: Behind the Vlogs

BY DC CUEVA                        

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB

For the past seven years, DCBLOG has been a labor of love for me, having posted over 1200 posts over this timeframe to do what I love being able to do: writing, blogging and translating my passion for being a longtime fan of MTV Reality television into this site. But along with this, I have also been progressive in being able to pursue another passion that I'm been loving just as much.

The global COVID pandemic which has changed all of our lives this year has also afforded me ample time to not only cover the MTV beat on this blog, but also take advantage of my newfound love of videography to also put just as much time into growing my YouTube channel. And thanks to the relatively light schedule that has just The Challenge, Siesta Key and a few other shows air on MTV this year with production on other shows which we normally cover here being halted as with other TV & film content, this has given more a little more time to devote energies into my video work.

And perhaps, there is no better place for me to put my video skills to work than in the place that I have grown into becoming my favorite city other than where I live. And when you have a city that you go to almost every year for the past decade as the breeding ground, and having that famous three-mile stretch of lights, landmarks and the like as the playground, then you have an ongoing series on YouTube that stretches my love for Las Vegas into the video sphere.

And while I'm working on a special set of videos going back in time to my earlier trips there - which has also drifted me over there from my MTV coverage, it's worth a trip for a brief moment to how I do DC Vegas on YouTube.

DC Vegas: Time for Number Ten...

DC FORUM SPECIAL
BY DC CUEVA                        

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB

There are certain things that gets this person in a state of being anticipatory: a Bay Area sports team is playing for a championship, the every two-year fortnight known as the Olympic Games, a new season of any MTV Reality series, or anything that's related to the passions I have. It's likely that you have had those occasions where you are ready for something you've waited some time for and just can't seem to sleep at night. Well, that's something I have whenever my parents make reservations for something that, for them, happens a few times each year when they travel out of town and force me to be the man of the house for a week at a time.
   But once every year for most of the dozen years, either they or my sister & brother-in-law have tagged this one along to go on a few days' vacation outside of the Bay Area. Over my lifetime, I've had the chance to travel to some great places, though in reality I have only stepped foot in just one country outside the U.S. and four other states other than California... it's unlike those who, thanks to social media, have grown a strong rapport with in the people who make up the family who star in the shows I have considered my favorite for two decades.
   A few times, the Cueva family has made that long plane flight over the Pacific to the homeland of my parents & relatives, the Philippines - the "Motherland" as we call it. Five times, we've taken that 7-hour drive down the Los Angeles area--three to Disneyland & Universal Studios as a kid, a fourth to my sister's graduation from UC Riverside in 2002, and a fifth two years ago when we celebrated my niece's birthday with Mickey & friends. A couple times, I've joined my dad to visit my relatives in New York City, and I've been to Hawaii also a few times. And before the advent of the nearby Indian casinos in California, I traveled to Reno a few times, even spending a spring break week in Lake Tahoe. And the most recent vacation saw me win $2,000 on the slots much to my stunned self.

But in the course of the past decade - and whose lineage goes all the way back 25 years, there is no place outside of where I live in the San Francisco Bay Area where I have developed such a great love affair with than with the city of Las Vegas. It seems that when the first talks of us possibly going there, I begin getting into that mood. The thing I have referred to on social media as #DCVegas has become my own personal equivalent of the Super Bowl: the biggest event in my own universe. I've been there more often than any other vacation destination: nine times dating back to the summer of 1994.
   To prove how big a Vegas enthusiast I am, as an online shopper I've collected many things related to the entertainment capital of the world: travel guides, movies including the entire Hangover trilogy, two Real World seasons that have been filmed there, and other souvenirs. I have several private playlists on my YouTube channel devoted to Vegas and things related to it: travel videos, live slot play, things related to the city and other matters so I can watch and put myself in that mood. And there's many SD cards with photos and video I've taken from my adventures there which have been posted across my social channels.
   For a trip that takes anywhere from three to five days to enjoy the sunshine and the pleasure, it takes as many as three months for me to meticulously plan out all the details to have the best possible trip experience during the 50+ hours that I am actually on the ground in Vegas itself. I have a dedicated folder full of Vegas material ready for me for every trip, so I do not have to go back to square one again to plan each trip, and will only need to get updated guides and print-outs to reflect any changes to the town since the last time I was there. This process is the same for everyone who plan trips months in advance to make sure things run smoothly come vacation time.
   And there's nothing like the week and the last 24 hours leading into any #DCVegas trip, or any big vacation I go on, for that matter. There's having to buy new gear and clothes, wash any garments I may consider to put into my luggage, dusting off my Under Armour shoes that I only take out of my closet just for these occasions, and buying enough music to fill the many devices I have & keep my checkbook happy. And there's also a tradition I have of getting a fresh haircut the day before, or the day of, any big trip. These are all signs that I'm ready to head out of town for the time of my life... and it doesn't officially begin until I play in my plugs ZZ Top's version of Elvis Presley's "Viva Las Vegas" the moment I arrive in the city - a modern day tradition of all of my Vegas journeys.

DC FORUM - "The Luckiest Man in All of Reno"

From the Editor...

BY DC CUEVA                        

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB

Back in April in this site's story in Bradley Cooper, his now-ex and their family photo bombing two members of the Ex On The Beach Season 2 cast, the post began in our usual style with some analytical perspective that didn't relate to the our primary beat of covering MTV Reality shows. There, I made reference to something that seems to happen just about as much as the Warriors making the NBA Finals and the Patriots playing in the Super Bowl: me traveling out to Las Vegas on a near-annual basis. So much has happened in my nine previous adventures to Sin City: meeting 'N Sync's Joey Fatone, seeing Mike Tyson and Pete Rose, and everything else during this journey, for which whenever I go out to Vegas next, it will my tenth time going there.

As someone who doesn't gamble as much as his parents do on a weekend, it's a rarity for me to go inside a casino and play whatever game is out there for me to play on the floor. In fact, I am stringent and conservative when it comes to gambling: my strategy has been to play just the coin games and to not place maximum bets on any game out of risk of losing so much so fast like most everyone else who go to Nevada, Atlantic City or the casinos near whey they live. And whenever I'm in Vegas, gambling plays an equal or lesser role as I also juggle doing sightseeing along the Strip, doing any shopping and everything else in those three miles.

On Father's Day weekend back in June, I've got to experience something that had never happened to me in the eight times I've gotten to gamble there since the modern era of #DCVegas began twelve years ago. That would be of winning an amount so big it spurs an incredible reaction from those who play these games of chance that would change their life and become superstars in their inner circle. And it would take a moment like this to have something take place that would never happen in regular circumstances: hearing the voice of yours truly as one who doesn't like hearing himself in playback and would never speak whenever I'm recording video on my phone or a regular camera.

Here's the story: I had been playing just light on the slots after we had lunch on the Saturday afternoon of my Reno weekend, going about my business on the casino floor at the city's largest hotel, the Atlantis. We came to Reno for the reason that my cousin and her fiance were getting married, and I had only a few hours to gamble and just hang out before I went upstairs to our hotel room there and dress up - one of the handful of times where I get to do so. Just before 3:00, I placed a voucher worth $11 into a game called "Crazy Money Deluxe" with the intent of only playing a couple rolls before heading over to the gift shop and buy a snack. What happened next is embedded below, as it unfolded live on my social media channels.