Chillin' in Vegas...

Well, the good news is that the toilet is now gone from the front yard (I believe it's under a pile of junk at the curb waiting for the garbage man. I'm sure he's gonna love it). The bad news is that the batteries on my digital camera died again, so I was unable to get a picture of me posing like Rodin's Thinker...

As far as the rest of the household is concerned, the new AC unit is in and working like a champ--The laundry room looks like the set for The Day After Tomorrow, with all of the frost on everything and a glacier creeping down the wall from the vent. To say that it works well would be an understatement. We also got the pool finished, filled, and the backyard cleaned up, too, so I think I'm gonna buy some tiki torches this afternoon to celebrate. Yep, BBQ time!

Anyhow, it's been a busy week. I started poker-dealing school this past Monday, and hopefully it'll lead to an even more lucrative job. But I've got a lot to learn before I can start thinking about that. Hell, I have to learn the other games--I've been playing Texas Hold-Em almost exclusively for about the past three years, so I'm working on Omaha Hi-Lo and even Seven Card Stud again. Although Omaha Hi-Lo is about the hardest game on the planet to deal, it's seriously one of the most fun to play. If you haven't tried it, I highly suggest hitting the ATM and giving it a shot. But be prepared to lose big the first few times you play.

The one thing I'm starting to hear is that dealing poker, while a good job, doesn't pay as much as I'd been led to believe. Word is that I'll top out at 60K per year--not bad since I'm single with no kids, but I was hoping for bigger dollars. Apparently, being a pit dealer at a high-end resort/casino like Bellagio, Venetian, Palms, Hard Rock, etc pays much better. Makes me glad to know that I can deal all those other games. I'll find my niche, I'm sure. I just have to get some experience under my belt and build my list of contacts. I remember when I first got here thinking--Man, I can't wait to see where I'm at three or four months down the road... Now I'm wondering what the next year will bring.

I can tell you this much, even though it's a lot harder work, I enjoy it a whole helluva lot more than watching little red and green numbers flash on a computer screen, explaining what a Stop Order is a dozen times a day, and pretending I'm interested every time somebody wants to tell me about their hottest new stock tip...

Mikey