Another Successful Poker Night

It had been far too long. The natives were gettin' restless. I hadn't hosted my usual weekly poker night in almost a month and something had to be done.

So I sent out a mass text message to my crew on Monday, seeing who might be interested in cranking it up a notch. I got two maybes, one 'I'll be there really late', and three other definite attendees. Sounded like just enough to run a game of Chinese poker.

That meant that Wednesday was clean-the-house day. Not only did I have to make the bathroom sparkle in case any of the gals showed up, but I had to bust out with the broom, mop, and vacuum, too.

I also did a bunch of shopping beforehand, too. I made the usual spicy Rotel queso dip with hot sausage, but I also made a pot of bbq'd Little Smokies (everyone loves those things!) and then I went out on a limb and made a big bowl of homemade salsa. I mentioned it earlier--the black bean and pineapple salsa. Oh hell yeah was it ever good... Everyone raved about it. It's pretty simple--just a can of black beans (drained and rinsed), a couple cans of pineapple tidbits, a chopped red pepper, a chopped jalapeno (minus the seeds), a handful of chopped cilantro, the tops of six green onions, a quarter cup of pineapple juice, and a generous splash of zesty Italian dressing. Mix it all up and let it marinate together for a few hours, and oh holy hell--some of the best damn salsa you've ever eaten. So good!

Luckily, there was a little bit leftover, so tonight I'm gonna grill some tequila lime chicken and garnish it with the salsa.

Oh, and we had a whole mess of Pacifico, Corona, and Smirnoff blueberry lemonade. No mudslides or margaritas this time--all the gals bailed on us, so it was just the dudes last night.

We had a great time, too. James was the big winner, racking up a $35+ win. I came in second place, with a $24 profit. Dave lost about twelve bucks, and Zack got the collar, losing his entire stake and then some. After he bailed out, the three of us hung out for a bit--AC called and said he be there around 11:00, but he never made it (he was in the chair getting some elaborate ink done, and it took all evening). So James, Dave, and I cashed in our chips and then played another card game called 'golf' for a few hours, finally calling it a night sometime around 1:30 this morning.

For having an epic poker night, the kitchen and dining room were in surprisingly good shape after all was said and done--I did a quick post-party cleanup, but left a sink full of dishes to worry about sometime later this afternoon once I get some sleep. But man, there are a ton of empty bottles to get rid off. It's funny, when the gals come over to play, I have tons of leftovers, and they hardly drink anything. But when it's all dudes, it's like a swarm of locusts hit. Which is totally cool with me--I need the room in my fridge.

I'm off tonight, but since the FedEx man dropped off a bunch of books for me yesterday, I'm not going out or spending any money. I'm going to stay in, enjoy a cool beverage and the breeze of the ceiling fan, and just chill like I'm getting paid to lounge around.

You office drones have a lovely Thursday, and all you clowns up in Wisconsin try to be safe this weekend. No more hospital visits or wrecked ATVs. And try to limit the number of gunshot wounds this year, too.

Mikey