Thanksgiving, this year, completely sucked for me. But I hope everyone else had a great turkey day, surrounded by loved ones and lots of good food. I worked all night on Wednesday--I was very busy in the poker room--not getting home until around 7:00 am. I tried to down a McMuffin and some OJ on the way home, but I really wasn't feeling well, and tossed it out before finishing half of it. I took a shower and then crashed, hard, for the rest of the day. I was out for over 12 hours straight and completely missed the Macy's parade and all of the football games, too.
My family was all scattered to the four winds this year, so there was no big gathering back in Nashville and no phone call where I got to talk to everyone and have them pass the phone around. Hell, I didn't even have a turkey dinner or a single slice of pumpkin pie.
Worst. Thanksgiving. Evar.
And, worked called me in early again, so basically I did a split shift yesterday, so it was work-sleep-work for me. Once I got to the casino, the poker room was hopping. So the money was good, but man, I got worked like a rented mule once again--I was locked down for hours at a time. Of course, when I finally *did* get a break, it was very disappointing.
Remember that scene in A Bronx Tale, about the car door?
Well, I ran into Kimmy just as I went on my break, and while I'll spare the details here, she completely and utterly failed our own version of the 'door test'.
Epic failure--Self-centered-ness taken to a new, unprecedented, level.
Even though I've been pretty much over it as far as she's concerned, I've still always had a soft spot for her. Now, all I can do is shake my head and move on. I now realize that she's very much like a beautiful piece of art that just doesn't go with anything in my house. And as much as I'd like to have it, it would completely clash, no matter where I hung it. I think I'd be better off just finding a rug that would really tie the room together...
After that encounter, I wandered back to the break room to get a bite to eat, since by then it had been almost 24 hours since I'd put anything in my pie-hole. What did they have back there on the buffet line? Why, turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and gravy, of course.
So I grabbed a plate, and decided to have my own Thanksgiving dinner, by myself, a few hours after the holiday officially ended. I sat down to eat in the empty dining room, and while it seemed like it tasted good, it really wasn't. About halfway through, I waved the white flag. I got up to take my dishes back to the dishroom, and I got about halfway there before puking the whole mess up in a garbage can.
Ugh.
I don't know where that came from, but I grabbed a glass of water and made it back to the poker room just in time for the next push. I sat down in the no-limit game for about ten minutes, and I could feel myself getting sick again. So I called the floorman over and said I need you to sit down and deal this game right now! And then I got up and ran to the nearest restroom, where I proceeded to redecorate the bathroom stall for several minutes.
Once that happened, I felt much better. Apparently, the turkey and dressing in the employee dining room just didn't agree with me. I cleaned myself up, and then ran over to Fatburger to get a Coke, and that seemed to settle my system down. A few minutes later I sat back down in the no-limit game like nothing had happened. And I was fine after that.
From then on, I was locked down until the games broke, which was fine with me. I had a good night, toke-wise, and offered a huge sigh of relief once my night ended. Last week was a terrible week for me, and I was panicking, wondering how I'd come up with the rent and first-of-the-month bills. I felt like a complete dumbass for spending a few hundred bucks on toys the week before and then making $23 in tokes last week. So as much as I hated to do it, I sold a bunch of mutual fund shares on Monday and ordered a check, just so I'd be able to pay the rent on time. But because of the past couple of nights, this week turned out ok, and I made all that I needed and more, so my stress was for naught.
As soon as I finish this post, it's all going to the bank.
On the other hand, as up-and-down as things have been for me, there is a slight chance of a HUGE up. I'll find out in a couple of hours, but I may be able to go back to Tennessee for a week over Christmas!
Officially, I'm only scheduled two days a week in the poker room, so I figured that I could get away this year. I found a decent round-trip ticket on Southwest for only $380, but it would require me to be gone for an entire week. Mamasan also has an old flight credit, too, and offered to use it to help me get back. I also still have 40 hours of minimum-wage vacation pay on the books at work, so even though I'll lose a bundle by taking a week off, I'd be able to recoup about $280 from the house.
With all of that working in my favor, I talked to my boss today, hoping to get home for the holidays for the first time in four years. She's working on it, but there are five other people off that week, including three floor people who's shifts need to be covered, plus there is another holiday free-roll tourney going on. So it's difficult--maybe a 50/50 proposition. But she told me that I'm the only one who never turns down a shift, doesn't dodge the phone calls when it's busy, and always does whatever they ask of me, so she'll do whatever she can to make it happen. It's nice to have a boss who remembers all the sacrifices I make.
Hey, I'll take that. I figured my chances might be much slimmer, but all I can do is hope that things break my way.
Longtime readers know just how much it would mean to me to get back to Nashville and spend Christmas with my family. It would be the best thing ever. So I've got my fingers crossed and I'm hoping for the best.
In the meantime, I've got to go and take a shower and get dressed. Doc Al's flight is going to arrive in about 45 minutes, and we're heading downtown to the ElCo for some good old-school Vegas buffoonery. I think we're having free dinner at Roberta's tonight, so I'm hoping the prime rib sticks around a little longer than
Wish me luck!
Mikey
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