A Brief Update and an Old Story

The last two days have been pretty trying, but successful. Yesterday I played so bad for a few hours early in the day that I punished myself by taking a break and staying until 10:15pm. I played for almost 11 hours and happened to break even right at the end. After about the 7th hour, though, I did manage to make the best of it and had a lot of fun. The night ended with me making Aces Full in the 40/80 game, which actually gave me that "rush" that I used to get all the time but now seldom feel. Today I let myself off the hook early, playing 5 hours and posting an ~$860 dollar win. Basically I rivered a full house against a flopped straight (when you flop two pair in the big blind, what exactly else can you do) and rivered a straight in a blind steal against my old buddy JS. Those two pots accounted for more than the total I won I think, and also offset the straight flush I was shown in my second hand of the day while holding the Queen High Nut On the Turn Straight. Alas....

So far for the month I have played 73.5 hours on 10 out of 12 days. Still on pace to make the goals.

Now, an old story that I found as a note in my facebook profile. This is from late May 2008, when I was still working at Oracle and was living alone in Redwood City.



While playing poker at Garden City:

Floor man to 6 of us: "I have 5 seats at the other two tables. Do you guys want to draw or keep playing"

Me, clearly first: "I'd like to keep playing"

The leader of the idiots: "Let's draw"

Other two idiots + other two decent players: "Mumble mumble"

Me, while posting my small blind: "Let's play"

Idiot B: "I'll play or you guys just take the seats and I'll go home"

Leader of Idiots: "I guess we're drawing"

Floor man: "OK, we'll draw. Idiot B, you might as well draw"

Idiot B: "OK"

Me, down 3 racks (red chip game): "I know how this is going to go"

Idiot B now proceeds to draw the 3. I wait patiently for my moment, because I just know it is coming. 3 others draw higher cards, then the leader of the idiots draws the 3, an even lower card. I announce "Here it comes" and deftly draw the 2. I spend 30 minutes on the list. The table is nearly riotous with laughter.

While walking my dog.

This morning I was walking my dog and this woman comes up to me and tells me "that's disgusting and against the law here! you must not be from here, I can tell"

I have had a run in with this woman before when I was, admittedly, letting my dog do his business in the bushes in front of her apartment complex. She yelled at me from inside and threatened to call the police. At the moment I am on the wood chips in front of my building, which has 16 units and at least 12 dogs that I can think of off the top of my head. Our landlord's personalized license plate on her BMW is "PAWSUP" and she personally owns 2 dogs and fosters others in need. If you took a poll of my landlord and every other resident in the building, not a single person would say my dog can't do his business (the solid part of which I'm going to pick up with the bag in my right hand) there, including the 9 year old kid.

Anyway, we continue. I'm taking no liberties with the translation other than perhaps some omissions.

Jesse: "You can't be serious"

Lady: "That's against the law, you can't do that"

Jesse: "You're wrong or lying"

Lady, stunned a bit: "You have to take him to the park. You think he's happy here?"

Jesse: "You're insane"

At this point I unfurl my dogs leash ever so slightly and allow him to walk toward the lady. I do this purposely. She is on the sidewalk, he is on the wood chips, and this distinction is never broken.

Lady: "Don't threaten me"

Jesse: "I did not threaten you"

Lady: "Get him away from me right now"

Jesse: "Get away from me right now"

Lady: "Stop threatening me"

Jesse: "This is not threatening. You'll know when I threaten you"

Lady: "You must not be from here that's why you don't know the law. I'm going to call the police and they're going to come down on you"

Jesse: clearly should have said something but his dog, as if on cue, started to take a dump (he had merely been relieving his bladder earlier)

Lady, making the universal "call me" gesture and turning down the sidewalk towards her building: "That's disgusting. You can't do that! Wilma, call"

Jesse, confirming there is nobody standing over there who's name could be Wilma: "You're insane"

Lady, walking away pushing her shopping cart (she's not homeless though...i know this much from our previous encounter): "You're not from here. You must be from Ohio...or Russia"

Jesse loses it and waves the bag of **** he just picked up: "Where do you live? I can put this on your porch if you like"

Lady: "They're going to get you"

Jesse: "I hope I don't see you at night, because that would be bad"

Lady now walks away. I throw the **** in the dumpster, collect my wits, and take my dog on his daily walk route, which happens to coincide with where the lady is walking. We are on the other side of the street, and she is walking very, very slowly, so we quickly pass her. On the way back she yells something at me that I cannot remember do to an apparent rage black out.