This One's for Thomas C, Josie, Jamie,

... and the rest of you re-clickers out there who still surf your way over here!

Yes, I am still alive. And yes, I actually have some time off. I worked both jobs yesterday, but got an Early Out from both of them, and I have all of today off. In fact, I don't go back to work until 8:00 Thursday night. Woot!

So I'm sitting here at the desk, enjoying a cup of coffee, even though it's 106 degrees outside, and I thought I'd post a little update. Yeah, I should be doing laundry and housework, but this is as good an excuse as any for procrastinating my chores.

A few thoughts about the work situation. As much as I thought I'd like Job #1, it kinda sucks. The money is terrible, I've worked less than half of the hours I've been scheduled, and I don't think they'll be hiring 10 dealers permanently like we'd been led to believe. I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt, but with each passing day, it looks like it was just blowing smoke to keep everyone around until the bitter end. Besides, they've already hired two of the Asian 'lookers'--they showed up last week in full-on official casino uniforms, while the rest of us white-shirted temps just had to sit there and toil away looking like newbies. It was kind of a rude thing to see, and several snide comments have been heard since then. As high of hopes as I may have had, well, I think the reality is not quite what I expected. I'll know more by Monday.

On the other hand, Job #2, which I had no expectations for at all, which just kinda fell into my lap and I said What the hell--I could use the money, has turned out to be an extremely positive experience. The money is good, the people I work with are great, the casino treats me well, and there's an over-all 'we've got our shiat together' vibe about the entire place. And I found out last night that there is a fair chance that they're gonna keep me around permanently. I would love that. I won't know anything about that for a few more weeks, but until then, I'm just gonna keep plugging away at it.

Anyhow... That's what's going on here. I've been working my chubby little ass off, and for the last couple of weeks, every dime I've made has gone into the bank (minus a little gas and grocery money). Speaking of groceries, late last night I went to the WalMart Supercenter and spent about $130 stocking up again. For the past three weeks I've been living on Power bars, granola, oranges, Gatorade, and Five-Hour Energy shots (the employee dining rooms at both jobs just plain SUCK, so I don't eat at work), so I felt the need to get some proper grub in the pantry and fridge. Tomorrow I may actually grill some chicken and make a salad, maybe even uncork a bottle of wine and have a proper meal.

A good chunk of that grocery money I spent last night went to entertaining the troops tonight--Yep, it's poker night at Casa de Mikey, so I bought a case of Corona, another case of 'alka-pops', chips and salsa, little smokeys, fresh sourdough loaves, and the fixin's to make hot ham-and-Swiss dip in the crock pot. To paraphrase Ron White, It's gonna be a good night, Tater!

In the meantime, I have to get this house cleaned up. The 'troops' tonight consist of two of my buddies and a couple of chicks, one of which I met a few weeks back and I kinda dig on. She's not been to the Batch Pad yet, and I must make a good impression. The toilet seat is already down, and all difficult-to-explain items have been removed from the medicine cabinet. Hell, I've even swept the cobwebs from the ceiling just in case things go really well and she spends some time looking in that direction later on, if you know what I mean...

Once I get all my chores done, I think I'm gonna get a couple of hour's worth of quality pool-time in this afternoon, too. Lord knows I ain't seen the sun since sometime in early May, and my pasty hide could use the exposure.

I'll bounce in again next week and let you know the latest. Until then, have a great rest of the week and a fun weekend!

Mikey

Sorry, Gang

As much as I'd like to write interesting stories and tell you all about my many Vegas adventures, I'm just too damn busy these days.

I'm either working or sleeping all the time, although tonight I'm having people over for Chinese poker. Hell, I'm over a month behind on emails, too. And after my one night off this week, it's back to four days of doubles again. So I'm shuttin' it down until sometime after the Fourth of July or thereabouts.

See ya on the other side!

Mikey

Lots of Stories...

Just no time to tell 'em, unfortunately.

I've had a great weekend, though. Anyhow, it's 2:15 in the morning, and I just got home from another long and productive night at Job #2, and I'm a little tired, so I'm off to bed. Gotta do a long day at Job #1 tomorrow, so I need to get a little rest.

I'm off tomorrow night, so if I'm not dead on my feet when I get home, I'll try and post something for Tuesday morning. No promises, but that is my intention.

Hope y'all have a great Monday.

Mikey

More Of the Same

I suppose I could paint my face blue and white and run around yelling They can't take away our FREEDOM!!!, but I don't think it would help very much. My summer of indentured servitude continues apace.

Of course, I knew what I was gettin' in to when I signed the dotted line(s).

I just got off the phone with the boss at Job #2, and apparently, they really really like the work I'm doing for them. Not enough to make me any kind of a formal offer just yet, but enough that they put me on the schedule for five days this coming week--where the rest of the temps are just getting three. Oh, and Job #1 has me down for all seven.

Remember, kids, what's the mantra of dealing poker in Vegas? That's right--feast or famine.

So today was my last day of blessed freedom for awhile. Of course I wasted it. But all is not bad as it seems. The boss at Job #1 just said to plan on coming in every day, but if I need a day off, just take it. So yeah, I'll be working that to my advantage somehow. And also, if I'm not stuck in mixed games or a big tournament at Job #1, I can always take a guilt-free Early Out. So it's not like I'll actually work 96 hours this coming week, but it'll be close.

And just what have I been doing with my sparse time off? Playing poker, of course (gotta supplement the income, I tell myself!) I've played in two of the Binion's Poker Classic events. Last week I did really well--I played nine hours and busted out eight places away from the money. Grrr... (Yep, lost with Ace-Queen again) And today (it's Thursday night as I write this), I busted out 89th out of 148 players. I was stuck in the mud all day--never got any decent cards and the tournament chip leader was directly on my left. Oh, one time I got pocket Tens and got crippled by pocket Queens when we both flopped a set. And then a few hands later I over-raised the pot pre-flop, hoping to pick up the antes and blinds with my pocket Jacks, and got one caller. Of course the flop came out Ace-King-Queen; my cunning plan failed miserably.

So I only lasted a couple hours in that one, which didn't sting nearly as much as last week when I had nothing to show for nine hours of work. I guess it's like the ladies tell me--If you can't be good, be quick!

Anyhow...

I don't see any more tournaments in the near future for me--at least any that I'll be playing in. Oh, I'll be dealing a few, I'm sure.

I won't have a day off again, until next Wednesday, it looks like, and I'm doing doubles all weekend, so I won't be anywhere near a computer for awhile. You'll have to find your online entertainment elsewhere, I suppose. As soon as I get some free time where I'm not sleeping, I'll work on one of those epic posts that y'all love so much. I don't quite know just yet what I'll write about, but I can feel one percolating all the same.

I'm off to bed.

Mikey

I Am So Fried...

I'm beat.

I won't say that it was a day from hell, because it wasn't--it was actually a pretty good day. It's just that I spent it dealing Pot-Limit Omaha for nine hours straight. And now I'm spent. I just got home about a half-hour ago, hungry, but too tired to make dinner. All I've done so far is take a quick shower and check my email.

But I thought I'd pop in here and say hello before falling into bed and going into a coma for a good ten hours or so...

For those of you unfamiliar with the world of pot-limit Omaha, let's just say that it's a big ol' pain in the ass to deal. It seems overly complicated to the uninformed, but it's not, once you get used to it. But still--it's not like going on auto-pilot and dealing no-limit Hold-em all day. You actually have to work and pay attention the whole time, in addition to just running the cards out, gathering the bets, and keeping the game going. There's bit of math involved, and it never stops until the showdown.

And nine straight hours of it was more than enough for me.

Of course, volunteering to do it put me in the good graces of the bosses there at Job #1, as nobody, and I mean nobody, ever signs up to deal PLO in the morning when we all roll in--they're always asking for volunteers. The problem is, once you get in that game, you ain't gettin' out. It's like a street gang--blood in, blood out. And as overstaffed as they are, there still aren't nearly enough PLO dealers lurking around in the morning. Those that know how--they make themselves scarce--you make much better tips dealing Hold-em, and the 'get off my lawn' crowd that gravitates towards Omaha is not always the most fun to deal to (or with).

Anyhow, I paid my dues today. But old-school poker dealers all say, if you can deal PLO, you can deal anything.

So, Today I Am A Man.

But I feel like a car wreck right about now.

I'll write more tomorrow. Right now, I just wanna go to bed and spoon with my pillow.

Mikey

Have You Seen Me?

Yep--I'm about this close to seeing my picture on the side of a milk carton, but I'm here to tell you that I'm still around, just too busy to spend much time at the keyboard.

Right now I've got a few free minutes before I head down to Job #2 for the evening--I had to take an early out from Job #1 because a waitress spilled a cup of coffee down my back while I was sitting at the table dealing a Razz game. That'll wake you up faster than drinking it, that's for sure! Anyhow, I have just enough time to make a quick update, then I'm taking a shower and getting a fresh white shirt before heading back down to the Strip.

Oh, as far as rolling in the bucks goes--it ain't like that at all. I may be busy, but the bucks, well, they aren't that great. Job #1 is almost a joke--I deal almost all tournaments, but the downs are pretty sucky. Better than that free-roll crap at Texas Station I was always bitching about, but not much better. And they overstaffed a bit, too--some days I spend half my day on break, so I ain't gonna get rich there. And I've tempered my enthusiasm as far as being made permanent. First of all, I found out that those dealers they keep won't be getting on full-time. And second of all, it's obvious that the bosses are just gonna hire the attractive Asian chicks. It's been made pretty clear, I think. So I'm gonna have to keep looking for a permanent gig.

Job #2, on the other hand, is usually very good as far as money goes. But I have to be there on the right nights. Last night I only worked an hour before getting sent home, but on the weekends, I make bank. Unfortunately, after tonight, I'm not on the schedule again until Friday. And as much as I didn't think I'd like working there at first, I really enjoy it. If they offered me a permanent gig--even a peon at the bottom of the extra-board like I was at Sunset, I'd take it in a heartbeat.

Anyhow, that's all that's about all I have time for right now--I've gotta hit the road and get back to work.

Peace!

Mikey

P.S. Here's a little something to enjoy while you wait for me to come back--it's Robert Earl Keen performing one of my favorites, For Love :

Can't Talk Now, Must Sleep

Hey gang--I'd love to put up an interesting post for y'all to read, but I just don't have the time. It's almost 3:00 in the morning on Saturday, and I just rolled in from a busy-as-hell night at job #2. And I have to be back at Job #1 at 11:00 this morning for a very long day of tournament and no-limit dealing (will probably be doing overtime today).

I honestly don't know when my next day off will be. Today is going to be a long one, and I'm doing another double on Sunday, so I'm gonna be pretty scarce for awhile.

I'll see you when I see you...

Mikey

Not Now, I'm Busy

Hey gang--I just have a couple of minutes before I'm off to another long day of work, so I thought I'd check in. I know that folks are expecting some stories, but I just don't have the time at present. Monday and Tuesday have been long days for me, but luckily I've only got to work at one job today, then I'm off tomorrow. It's about damn time--I'm worn out.

However, I may be playing in a big tourney over at Binion's tomorrow--not sure yet, we'll know more in the morning. It depends on how I feel and if I'm willing to cough up the $150 or so to play. (I just spent a few bucks on a plane ticket yesterday, so I'm feeling kinda tight today).

Anyhow, I'll write more later, because right now I have to jump in the shower and then hit the road. I've got a long day of dealing ahead of me, but I'm looking forward to having the night off.

More soon...

Mikey


**Update**

Not so fast, my friends... I was just leaving the house and saw my truck 'playing on tilt' in the parking lot. Apparently I ran over something last night and I have two flat tires on one side this morning. So instead of working today, I'm waiting for the tow truck and I get to cough up a couple hundred bucks getting towed and getting the tires fixed. Great.

About Those 16-Hour Days I Was Worried About

Yeah--Not so much...

While it looked scary on paper, the reality has fallen a bit short so far. And I'm totally ok with that!

I did a ridiculously long day at Job #1 on Saturday (my first day), and again, I went the entire shift without getting a break. Yep, we were that busy. It really sucked because I had those first-day jitters the night before, and I couldn't sleep at all. I was awake from 2:00 am, just lying in bed trying to sleep, but it never came. And that really sucks, knowing that you have a 16-hour day ahead of you.

So I was tired when I got to the first job, and working my ass off the entire day didn't help at all. And then, later that evening when I hustled my way down the Strip to get to job #2, I was thinking, Man, there ain't no way I'm gonna make it until 3:00 o'clock in the morning...

Luckily for me, they'd over-scheduled on Saturday night, so they asked for volunteers as to who wanted to go home, and I couldn't raise my hand fast enough. At first I thought I'd work an hour, but then after a few minutes, the last of the tournament tables started breaking down and suddenly there were two more extra dealers. So I got sent home after about ten minutes. Woot! Normally I'd be pissed, because not dealing those cash games means at least $200 in tips I'm giving up, but I was dead man walkin' and would've gladly paid a Benjamin out of my pocket for a cold bottle of Gatorade and three hours of quality time with my pillow.

So I scurried out of there before they could change their minds and I was home in bed by 9:30--out like a light. And I must've been really passed out, because the next morning I saw that I'd missed a call at 10:00 o'clock--one of my gals lookin' for some of that special Mikey attention... Either that, or she just wanted somebody to go drinkin' and pokerin' with on a Saturday night. Anyhow, I was down for the count, and I slept for ten hours straight. It was wonderful.

I made it back down to Job #1 early on Sunday morning, and I found out a couple of interesting things. First of all, out of all the extra dealers they hired, the vast majority of them were straight out of dealing school--no experience whatsoever. That really helps my chances of getting one of those full-time slots when all this madness is over next month. Besides, every table I pushed in to, the players were lovin' me and complimenting me because I was "the first dealer that knows what the f*ck you're doing", as I was told a few times. Every time I heard that, I told the person who said that Yeah, you see that dude up there at the desk in the brown suit? Yeah--go tell him that... One or two of them did, and I got some good feedback from the boss later in the day. So I'm off to a good start.

Also, at job #1, we've got so many games going, that we can actually sign up for which ones we want to deal when we first come in. I dealt a metric ass-load of 'not hold-em' on my first day, so on my second day I took a little brain break and went with No-Limit Hold-em for my entire shift. I used to say that I could deal 4-8 in my sleep, but after a few days of Omaha split, PLO, Hi-Low Stud, and various other whacked-out games, dealing No-Limit is like a walk in the park, Kazansky.

Anyhow, I'm really diggin' Job #1, and although they're working me like a mule, I don't mind at all. I'll sign up and volunteer for all of the complicated games, and let all the rookies deal the simple ones. The bosses will remember me once decision time comes around. Also, on Sunday, they were a bit overstaffed, too, and started asking for volunteers to go home early after a few hours. I offered to make it easier on them and said that I'll bounce after the next table breaks, killing two birds with one stone--making it easier on them, and giving myself time for a nap before my swing shift at Job #2.

I don't care if it costs me a few bucks up front, because one, I could use the extra rest, and two, I want them to remember who was the most flexible and willing to work with them once they decide who to keep around. I'm not gonna be one of these rookies complaining that they're not getting enough downs or saying that they're getting screwed. There's a method to my madness, that's for sure.

So anyhow, I was worried to death that I'd be worked to death this weekend, and that's not the case. Besides, the next couple of nights I'm sure that they'll be sending us temps packing after four hours or so at Job #2, so I doubt that I'll have to do even one 16-hour shift this week, even though I was scheduled for four of them.

It all seems to be working out, at least as far as I can tell.

I wish I had more to talk about, but right now, all I do is work and sleep--I've got no good stories to tell. Except for this--Gus Hansen is a lot taller than I thought he was, and Phil Helmuth is about ten times less of a dickhead when there are no TV cameras around.

Time to charge the batteries, though--I've got another '16-hour' day ahead of me...

Peace!

Mikey

I'm Gettin' Too Old For This Stuff

This is gonna be the last post for awhile--I'm looking down the barrel at five days of hell, so I won't be sitting at the keyboard again anytime soon. Job #1 actually starts tomorrow, and I'm doing doubles for four straight days.

I'm gonna be a busy dude. Tired too. But maybe I'll make a few bucks while I'm at it. It's kind of amazing--a month ago I couldn't find a damn thing to do, but now I've got all the work I can handle. Let's just hope that I can handle it.

Today, I've got nothing planned beyond preparing myself mentally and logistically for the next week. I'm doing the rest of my laundry, making sure that I have plenty of white shirts and black pants ready to go at a moments notice, and I've got all the t-shirts, socks, and underwear I'll need stacked up and waiting to be used. I bought a couple of cases of Gatorade, and all I can fit is already in the fridge, along with a big bag of oranges and a case of granola bars is sitting on the counter. I'm gonna hold off on the Five Hour Energy shots for a few days, if I can help it.

I'm gonna spend an hour or two practicing all the mixed games I'll need at Job #1, but otherwise, I think I'm ready to go. The time has come--my life of leisure has ended in a big way.

I'm glad I've had the last couple of nights off from Job #2--even though the money is great, I know that I needed the rest. I didn't take advantage of it fully, however. On Wednesday, we had poker night over here, and I've got to tell you, we had an absolute blast. It was the most fun we've ever had playing cards.

I had a few friends over, and provided a small spread of snacks--chips, dip, a crockpot full of BBQ'd Little Smokies, a humidor full of cigars, a well-stocked liquor cabinet, and a fridge full of beer and mixers. Of course we played our usual game of Chinese Poker, but since most of us had Thursday off, we got pretty hammered. We started with Pacificos, but then we moved on to margaritas, and then after that we made several pitchers of mudslides. They were a huge hit, and we stayed up till around 2:00 am drinking, smoking, playing cards, and laughing our asses off. It was a great night all-around.

Finally, after everyone left, I was in bed reading, and my phone started going off. One of my gals was texting me, asking if I was still up.

Yep.

Can I come over?

Yep. (Booty call--Woot!)

Ok, lemme finish watching Poker After Dark and I'll be there in about an hour. I'll text you when I leave.

Cool.

So I finished the chapter I was reading, took a quick shower, lit a candle or two, and unlocked the front door.

I laid back down in bed, and fell asleep about ten minutes later. I woke up about an hour and a half later, alone, and slightly confused. So I got up, blew out the candles, locked the door, and went back to sleep.

When I woke up several hours later, there was a message waiting for me on my phone. Sorry--I fell asleep!

No problemo--so did I.

Ah well, no biggie. So I spent the rest of the day on Thursday just kicking around the house, recovering, and doing not much of anything except clearing stuff from the DVR and reading. Amy and Scottie turned me on to the Alan Lewrie Naval Adventure Series by Dewey Lambdin, and I'm already on volume #7, A King's Commander. Of course I loved the CS Forester and Patrick O'Brien novels, but these are much more enjoyable (except for all of the pidgin French conversation in volume six--god, what a pain in the ass that was to read!). O'Brien's works are pretty highbrow, but this series is the exact opposite--lots more wenching and scheming, and a whole lot less political backstory. If you're a fan of Napoleonic-era adventure fiction, I give this stuff two thumbs up.

Anyhow, that's the story here--I've got one full day of 'freedom' ahead of me, and then I'm gonna be a slave to The Man for the next several days. So I'm gonna log off and enjoy the rest of my day.

I'll see ya sometime later next week.

Mikey

If This Is Foreplay, I'm a Dead Man

It was nice to finally be able to get some sleep last night--I really needed it. I'd called down to Job #2 to get my new schedule yesterday afternoon, with the secondary purpose of trying to weasel my way out of being On Call last night, too. Well, the schedule wasn't ready, but I was told that if I wanted to work that I should call in around 5:30 or so and let them know, otherwise, if I didn't get a phone call by around 6:00 o'clock, I'd be free for the night.

I sure as hell didn't want to work--after all of my running around yesterday--so there was no way I was gonna call in. I did, however, set my alarm for 5:30, just in case, but the phone never rang. I ended up sleeping from about 4:00 pm yesterday afternoon until almost 2:00 o'clock this morning. It was wonderful.

I was so tired because of all the running around I did yesterday--I was up early and down at Job #1 getting all my gaming registration squared away. That only took about a half an hour, and then I headed over to the AT&T Device Support Center on the west side to get my phone replaced. It was actually very quick, easy, and painless. It's like they knew that LG Xenon phones were total pieces of shiat, and I was in and out of there in less than fifteen minutes, with a brand new replacement phone in hand. It didn't cost me a dime, either. Oh, and they were able to retrieve my contacts and such from the old phone, although I was told that LG was the one kind of phone that they can't hook up to their magic machine and pull data from. They had to do it manually, which included prying the touch-screen face off of the old phone and using push-pins on the interface like a voodoo doll, but they managed to get everything copied onto my sim card and transferred over. Whew!

So even though I thought that my old LG was a piece of shiat, my new one seems to work a whole lot better (probably has something to do with the fact that there isn't an air bubble in the middle of the touch screen), so I'm glad to have it. And if it breaks, it's still under warranty until December.

Once that little chore got done, I took a drive up the Strip to Job #2a. Yes, I had to go to the HR department at a completely different casino--different than the one I applied at, different than the one I auditioned at, different than the one I work at--to get my employee ID badge that will allow me to swipe in and out and have access to all the locked doors and such. But once I found my way through the labyrinth of their back offices, it only took a couple of minutes to take care of business.

I never made it out to NY Pizza and Pasta for lunch--the AT&T store was at Decatur and Sahara, and the restaurant was further west, on Jones and Sahara, and I didn't feel like venturing further out into the frontier yesterday, so I just did all my errands first. I ended up having an overpriced ham & cheese panini at Sierra Gold, which, oh by the way, doesn't come with sides, so my fruit salad cost me extra. Rat bastards.

After lunch, I stopped at the bank to put a grand in my checking account and I got lucky and found an extra hundred bucks! I'd just grabbed the wad of bills from the coffee can, certain that there was exactly a thousand dollars there, and I filled out the deposit slip before I left the house. I folded it all up together, and when I got to the teller window, I just pulled the whole mess out of my wallet and laid it on the counter.

Of course I got the old teller that I hate, because she's so slow, and she proceeded to count all the money. Twice. And then she did it again... Then she handed me back a hundred bucks and said Sir, you've got too much here--your deposit slip says a thousand dollars but you gave me $1100.

What? Score!

She then counted it out again for me to see, out loud this time, and yep, I had an extra hundred bucks. Talk about found money--Besides the free phone replacement, that made my whole day!

So as tired as I was, I was in a much better mood when I made it back here to the apartment complex and wrote out the rent check for June. I spent the rest of the afternoon trying to straighten up the house and do laundry, but I gave up and fell asleep on the couch not too long after that.

That brings us to this morning--I'm wide awake and well-rested, but I have about four loads of laundry to fold and put away, plus a few white shirts to iron. Then I've got to scrub the bathroom and vacuum the apartment in preparation for tonight. I'm on call, but I'm betting that I don't get called in, so the gang is coming over tonight for cocktails and Chinese poker. I need to come up with some sort of suitable snacks to serve, and I'm also out of ice and tequila, so trip to the grocery store is in order, too.

Oh, and when I got up this morning, there was an email from Job #2 waiting for me in my inbox. If I manage to avoid the call-in tonight, I'm off until Saturday night. But then, I'm gonna get worked like a ten-dollar hooker during Fleet Week. I have four days in a row where I'm doing doubles, working eight-hour shifts at both jobs, then on Wednesday I only have to work at Job #1, and next Thursday I'm off completely from both places. Then it's back to doing doubles again.

I'm gonna be a zombie by then, and I'll probably spend my entire time off--40 hours (7:00 pm Wednesday until 11:00 am Friday)--in bed, alone, with nothing but a bottle of Gatorade to keep me company. But that's ok--I wouldn't have the strength to do much of anything else...

Mikey

So Tired That I Couldn't Even Sleep...

My apologies to Soul Asylum, but that's how I'm feeling this morning. No, not quite exhausted, but kind of worn out with my conscience gnawing at me that I should be asleep right now. I have an appointment at 10:00 am that I can't miss (gotta go down to Job #1 and update my Gaming Registration, and I can't do it remotely), and I'm on call tonight at Job #2, so there is an outside chance that I'll have to work again, too.

I should be in bed, but no, here I am at the keyboard trying to provide entertainment for all of you people. Because I'm a giver, that's why. Just ask the ladies.

Yeah, I worked again last night, and although we weren't crazy busy like we were over the weekend, it was still a pretty full house in the poker room, if you'll pardon the expression. And believe it or not, I actually made more money last night than I did on Sunday, and last night I got cut loose 45 minutes early. Yay me!

I also got my first indecent proposal last night, too. One of the gals in town for the weekend, who I'd dealt to several times over the past few days, kept reminding me that her girlfriend was gone and that she was flying solo for the evening. And she stayed in there playing all night long. Just before I left for the night, I got the pitch. Normally I would've jumped on it, but I'm not quite sure of the policy on shagging the players on property. (I'm guessing it's a no-no). And it's not something you can discreetly bring up and ask the boss, either, so instead of an elaborate excuse, I just said that I have an early appointment, (which I do) and found something to keep myself busy with until I hit the exit.

I told one of the other permanent dealers about it, and he laughed and said That's gonna happen a lot in here--trust me.

Ok! Just another day working on The Strip.

On the other hand, I finally found out where the employee dining room is at Job #2--I went there for the first time last night. Oh yeah, it's huge and all, but I got there so late that they'd closed down the hot food line, so all I did was make myself an Arnold Palmer and watched Spanish SportsCenter for about ten minutes before shuffling my way back to the poker room. (Los Cardenales ganar--Rojos pierden!).

So besides my appointment at Job #1 this morning, I also have to go down to the HR department at Job #2 and get my swipey-badge employee ID card. I didn't start working until Friday night, too late to get one for the weekend, but I got a message yesterday that I had to go in today and take care of that little chore right away or else bad things would happen. Bad things, man--bad things! (RIP Mr. Hopper.)

Once those chores are all done, I have to make my way over to the AT&T warranty replacement center out on west Sahara and see if I can't get another POS phone to replace my current POS phone that's deader than roadkill. Yeah, it's under warranty, but I'm guessing they'll try and come up with some way of getting into my pocket for a few more bucks before giving me a replacement. Since I'll be out on that side of town anyways, I may take a visit to NY Pizza & Pasta while I'm out there. It's been far too long since I've had the second-best pizza in Vegas, and I'm in the mood.

Mikey