Saturday, T - Minus 9

Wow--it feels so great to be able to sleep regular hours again. Seriously, it's been over five years since I had the sleep patterns of a normal person, and I'm amazed at how you can take something so simple for granted. For the first time in years, I don't wake up exhausted or bummed out that the sun is up. What a concept!

So, I've definitely decided to bail out of here first thing next Monday morning, which is the 30th. That'll give me plenty of time to make it to Nashville, only 1600 miles away, in time for the festivities of Labor Day weekend. (Another bonus--first holiday weekend in over five years I don't have to work!) That means I have a little less than nine full days to get this place packed up, cleaned up, and emptied out. I can do it.

I started on it last night, trying to be diligent, but the phone rang and my buddy Dave and his wife Bobbi were lurking about and wanted to stop by--she wanted to take a look at the pop-up coffee table. So I told them to come on by. We ended up playing cards and socializing for a few hours, but by the time they left, they decided that they wanted the liquor cabinet, the coffee table, and the nightstand, too. Of course, AC already has dibs on the liquor cabinet, but then again, he's gotta get permission from Mama Bear first. So if that deal falls through, then I've got a backup. I also found out that one of Dave's friends definitely wants the couch, so that will get moved to a new home later this week.

Now I have to find somebody who wants to take my old TV, and oh yeah, 900 or so rounds of .45 ACP and a thousand rounds of Russian made 7.62 x 39 FMJ (can't advertise ammunition on Craigslist). I'd like to get rid of some bookcases, too. After that, that's pretty much it--just gotta get rid of some junk and some old clothes, and then I'm headin' on down the road.

Also--I found out that I have a whole mess of readers in the Oklahoma City area. Who knew? In the past couple of days, I've gotten no less than three separate offers for a place to crash within spitting distance of I-40 in OKC. Thank you all very much! I'm gonna do some calculatin', and it looks like it'll take about 19 hours to get that far. If I leave here at 4:00 in the morning, that'll put me in town around 10:00 pm. I'll have to think about it, but yeah, I'll probably stop there for the night and save the expense of staying at the Motel 6. (Although, putting a few quarters into the 'Magic Fingers' machine on the bed at the end of a long day of driving has an appeal all it's own, doesn't it?)

Speaking of expense, a generous soul in Australia hit the ol' tip jar last night for a little bit of gas money, which I appreciate. Not that I've got the tin cup out and the 'Will work for food' sign in hand, but if anyone has any couch change they wanna toss in there, well, it'll be put to good use, stimulating the economy all along the I-40 corridor at the end of the month. The ol' Dodge gets about 13 miles a gallon around town, and I shudder to think what the mileage is gonna be like hauling a fully-laden trailer, so I'm guessing I'll be no stranger to the gas pumps on this trip. (Thx again, E5!)

As far as today goes, I've got a pot of coffee on, and I've promised myself that I'd tackle the laundry monster and start working my way through all the stuff in my closet. But the first thing I'm going to do is empty out and pack up every single bookcase in this apartment. I'm also committed to filling up two storage totes with things other than books. If I get all that done today, I'll feel like I've accomplished a lot.

Later this afternoon, Dave and I are making a trip to Costco to get a case of Mexican Coke and a pack of thick ribeye steaks. Tonight it's lounge-by-the-pool time, then we'll grill a bunch of good grub, and then a few of us will probably play cards until the wee hours.

As a reward for all my hard work, it's not a bad way to spend a Saturday...

Mikey

Wired Before Noon

Man, it's only 12:00 and I've gotten a ton of stuff done today! I can't believe how productive I've been. (And those of you who know me really well would truly be amazed). I can probably attribute it to the fact that I finally got some sleep. Like I said yesterday, the stress has evaporated from my body.

Out of 24 hours on Thursday, I slept 19 of them. And last night, I went back to bed at 8:30 at night, and didn't move until 6:30 this morning. It's incredible how much it affected me, and now it's like my system is totally catching up. No more worries for me--I feel like a million bucks!

Since I didn't really do a damn thing yesterday except mess up my house--yeah, I was actually doing stuff, but it looks like all I did was trash the place--I got up early this morning and got moving right away. Since it was still relatively cool outside, the first thing I did was take the truck down to the local Terrible Herbst outpost and gave it a good scrub down and vacuum, in anticipation of the upcoming road trip. It's funny how your vehicle runs so much better when it's clean. I also cleaned out the interior and took a few measurements, trying to figure out what's gonna fit in the cab next week.

After that little chore was done, I headed over to WalMart and bought about $50 worth of Rubbermaid storage totes (the kind with the clip-lock tops), and a few other doo-dads. I brought all that home and then did a bit of address changing and such on the computer. Then I got hold of Southwest Airlines and changed my plane tickets for the cruise. Luckily, on the first leg of my journey back to Vegas at the end of the trip, I was changing planes in Nashville anyways, so the cancellation/rebooking process wasn't as complicated as it could've been. And, good news, once all that was done, I have about a hundred bucks in flight credit on account with them. Hmmm.... March Madness, maybe?

As it turned out, I was able to get on the same plane as the rest of the gang when we head down to the Sunshine State, so that will be a rather enjoyable flight. Well, maybe not for everyone else on the plane, but I'm sure my crew will have a good time.

Once I took care of everything on the computer that I could, I put my shoes back on and headed across the freeway to the huge U-Haul depot here in Henderson (seriously, it's not even a mile from my house). I've been sweating the expense of renting a trailer--their online system was quoting me ridiculous prices--but I thought it would be better to go and talk to somebody face-to-face.

I'm glad I did. It turns out that my truck has a 2,000 lb. capacity bumper, so I don't need to get an expensive frame-mounted hitch put on. So that means I don't have to haul one of those huge 6 x 12 dual-axle trailers that costs about $750 bucks, either. Basically, all I had to do was get a ball hitch attached to my bumper and get a wiring harness installed. And Dodge, being smarter than GM, had a snap-in junction box already built in to the rear-end of my truck, so I saved the expense and time of a complicated wiring harness.

It turns out that my truck can easily pull a single-axle 5 x 8 trailer, no oil cooler needed, no fancy hitch needed to be bolted on the frame. And my transmission has a towing setting, too. There will be no Ghetto Sled-style mechanical drama this time around. So I had them install a ball hitch and do the wiring, and while I was there I bought a new road atlas and a padlock for the trailer. With labor, everything cost me a hundred bucks this morning. And I have a reservation to pick up the trailer next Sunday morning--instead of damn near $800, I'm gonna get away with paying just south of $500. Not too bad. And I've got a week to get from here to Nashville and drop it off.

So my plan is to spend Sunday loading the truck, then I'll catch a few hours of sleep, and then I'll take off at oh-dark-thirty on Monday morning. There will be no traffic on Hoover Dam at that hour (and they'll let me cross with a U-Haul trailer), and my plan is to make it as far as Oklahoma the first day. Of course, it'll be a whole lot less fun this time around--no Eddie B and no Amy, my usual road-trip compadres. This time, I'm making the drive all by myself, with nothing but the iPod and CD player to keep me company. At least this time there will be no blinding snowstorms, and hopefully I won't see any tornadoes, either.

So that takes care of today's to-do list, although I'm going to spend the balance of the afternoon filling up those storage totes. At some point I'll have to make a few treks out to the dumpster to get rid of all the trash I'm creating as I pare down the contents of my nest, too.

Oh, and since I've gotten so good at it, I might also take a nap!

Mikey

The Heat of the Day

It's still awfully hot outside, and even though I've got a to-do list a mile long, I'm gonna spend the next few hours chillin' out under the ceiling fan with a nice icy-cold cocktail in my hand...

So, what else is new?

Oh yeah, almost forgot--I dropped a small bomb yesterday. Yep, I'm leaving Vegas, maybe in about ten days or so. I was gonna wait until Wednesday, September 1st, but as it turns out, some of my people back in Tennessee want to go camping over Labor Day weekend, so if I adjust my timetable, then yeah, I'll be able to get there, unpack, and get settled for a couple of days before heading out to Lake Barkley with the hippies and hillbillies.

Of course, the big question on everyone's mind is--What brought this on?

Well, I've been thinking about it for a long time. A very long time. After visiting Tennessee for two weeks back in April, I really didn't want to leave. I love it there, but I like living in Vegas. It's been home for over five years. I have a lot of friends here, a good social scene, and plenty of things to keep me entertained. But the shine is off the diamond, and it has been for quite some time.

First and foremost, working for a casino, bottom line, in comparison, sucks worse than any job I've ever had. And I've had some bad ones in the past. Seriously, as a front-line casino employee, you're nothing better than an easily replaceable piece of meat. Back when times were good, when I first moved here, casinos had to compete to get quality employees--that's why I found a damn good job right off the bat and got off of the extra-board in less than a year. But now, the economy sucks so bad that there are a hundred people competing for each and every job. That means minimum wage, no benefits, and maybe three days a week on the schedule--if you're lucky. And if you don't like it, well, there are dozens of people fresh out of dealer school who barely speak English who will be happy to have the scraps the casinos are handing out.

I know that sounds bitter, but it's not. It's just reality. I learned back in my 'pit' days just how little a casino cares about the people working there. Believe me, if Vegas could get rid of every table game and convert the entire city to nothing but penny slots and video poker, they would do it in a heartbeat. Working as a poker dealer was great, money-wise, but unless you got hired on full-time in a room that was just opening, you never had a shot of ever getting full time, much less ever seeing any benefits.

For a relatively healthy single guy with no dependents, it was a damn good gig. At Sunset Station, I could count on making an easy $150 or more every night in tips, tax-free. But if I worked a full shift, than that number would go up to $200 or more, and I had more $300+ nights than I can count right off the top of my head. Working at Bally's--previously known as 'Job #2'--it was always more than $200 a night. That's right--in the entire time I worked there, almost three months, I never made less than $200 a night unless I took an early out. That's a gold mine right there, folks. If you're working at least thirty two hours a week, that's over 50K a year tax-free! (We kept the IRS happy by signing a tip-compliance agreement--the Evil Empire would pay us minimum wage, but we'd get taxed at a significantly higher amount, but it would all come out of our bi-weekly hourly paycheck. Everything that went in the pocket at night was ours to keep). Imagine what a single person has to make out in the real world to net $52,000 a year, and you can see why I really wanted to get that job.

But alas, it was not meant to be. Harrah's after all, is still a huge corporation, and even if I made it through the other dozens of applicants and got down to the last group of candidates for the final two spots, the white guy ain't gonna get the job when the other people are women and/or minorities. Just ain't gonna happen, no matter how much experience I had, how qualified I was, or how damn good of I dealer I am. (And I know, as does everyone else I worked with, that I was the best damn dealer they brought on for the summer). That's just the way life works. We're in the age where diversity trumps ability, so it's not surprising. My only hope is that the people that end up getting the job have more experience than me, that's all.

But here's the thing. I'm not disappointed. And let me tell you all something that I never told anyone; I had decided a few weeks ago that even if I got the job, I'd only work it for another year--just through the 2011 World Series, and then I would quit and leave Vegas anyways. There was no shot of ever getting to be full-time or getting any benefits or insurance, and being in the casino business, no chance whatsoever of stability (Seriously, everyone I know out here who works in the casino business has been laid off or fired at least once or twice in their Vegas tenure. Everyone. No exceptions). I had grown disaffected with Las Vegas some time ago, as far as employment goes, and was already laying the groundwork for my escape. But the sucky economy (15% unemployment in southern Nevada) and the fact that there are only six companies to work for in this business only served to accelerate my plans.

I came out here five-and-a-half years ago looking for a fresh start and hoping to do something interesting. I was bored shiatless in Nashville at the time. I had the most boring job in the world--good money, but dear god it was a long eight hours every day--not too many friends outside my family, no brother-in-laws to hang out with, Reverend Dave was married and too far away to goof off with, none of my nieces were 21 yet, so they couldn't go out and have fun, and I was renting the back room at Mamasan's place, which really curtailed the ol' social life.

This time around, I've got a much wider social network, leads on some good jobs, I'll be living down in Spring Hill, and all of my sisters now have cool husbands, so I've got three brothers-in-law to hang out with, and Reverend Dave is single again and only a hundred miles away. Plus all my nieces are old enough to drink and they're much more fun to hang out with nowadays.

I'm really looking forward to getting back, and I'm not stressed in the least.

This past month or so, I've had the worst insomnia, and I attributed it directly to the stress of not knowing about my job situation. Once I got the rejection call from Bally's yesterday afternoon, it's like the weight of the world was off my shoulders. Surprisingly, it put me in a great mood!

We had poker night again last night, and after it was over, instead of staying up all night like I usually did, I went straight to bed and slept like a baby for seven hours. Then I got up this morning, puttered for about two hours, decided to lie down again, and immediately went to sleep for another six hours. I didn't move--I was like a rock. I swear, it's like the stress evaporated from my system and I feel like a whole new person.

So now I've got about ten days to take about the Batch Pad and prepare to pack it all up and move. Tonight, once it cools off, I'm gonna go wash the truck and clean out the interior, then head over to Walmart and get a bunch of storage totes and start packing up the books, CDs, and DVDs. Tomorrow I start on my 'office', shredding stuff I know longer need and packing up all but the bare essentials associated with my desk and computer. Oh, and laundry and the closet will need to be addressed. I've also got to get a towing frame hitch put on the truck and arrange for a U-haul trailer.

As much as I'd like to keep all the furniture, I've already got a few offers. My buddy Dave love love loves my coffee table and is gonna buy it. AC wants the liquor cabinet if he can convince mama into coughing up the cash. And another guy wants the couch. Plus I think James wants my tall bookcase.

I'm keeping my dining room table, my headboard and bed frame (the mattress and box spring are going to the dumpster), and my TV stand. Everything else is for sale. Reverend Dave wants my old secondary 27" TV, but if I can find a buyer out here, I'm gonna get rid of it--one less heavy thing to pack. Oh, and I had a big pile of books I was gonna take down and donate to the library, and one of my buddies already laid claim to them and took 'em last night.

Mamasan has a big, empty, and most importantly dry storage shed at her place, and has kindly offered me the use of it for as long as I need, so I can bring back as much stuff as I want. My only limit is the amount of stuff I can fit in a trailer and drag behind the truck.

As far as the future of this blog goes, for a minute or so I'd considered shutting it down, but that ain't gonna happen. Of course, once I pull the plug on the cable and such, I'll be incommunicado for a week or so, but once I get settled, I'm back in business. One of the main reasons that I didn't post much lately was because of the job situation and the need for discretion. Now that time has passed, so I can spill every bean I've been sitting on for the past several years--no bridges to burn, but then again, no need to keep secrets anymore, either. I've got a feeling that this here website is about to get a lot more interesting.

Anyhow, that's the news. I'll post more tidbits as I can when I take a break from tearing down the batch pad and packing up my stuff. But my time in Vegas is short, and I've got to make the most of it.

Talk again soon--

Mikey

Now It Can Be Told

It's official. Earlier today I gave Las Vegas my two-week notice. More details tomorrow morning.

Can't Find A Date!

Do you mind if we dance with yo dates?

Ok, so as far as stuffed dates go, we won't be having them at poker night tomorrow night. I've gone out searching for Medjool dates, and I can't find them anywhere. Well, I'll admit that I haven't been over to Whole Foods yet, but by the time I hit three different grocery stores, I'd given up. Oh, you can buy dates alright, but all of the ones I found are chopped. That doesn't do me much good if I want to stuff 'em.

So scratch that off the list. Maybe next week. I've got some free time later in the week, so maybe I'll head over to the District and visit Whole Foods. Not only did I come up empty on the dates, but this morning when I was at Smith's, I couldn't find toothpicks anywhere, and they didn't have any plain roasted almonds in stock, either. All they had were doctored up flavored ones--not what I was looking for. So I gave up on the stuffed dates idea at that point. I'll still do the sausage balls for some finger food/appetizers, but I think I'm gonna take the easy way out and just order a couple of pies from Villa Pizza for our main grub. Besides, I've got about a million things to do on Wednesday, starting fairly early in the morning, so I can't tie myself up all day in the kitchen making all kinds of tasty treats.

Hey, remember how I said I don't want to be one of those internet toads on Full Tilt who play multiple tournaments at the same time and slow the game down for everyone? Well, last night I got into another 27-player sit-n-go, and when we got down to seven players at the final table, the little announcement thingy scrolled through talking about the $20,000 guaranteed tourney coming up in a few minutes with only an $11 buy-in. So I was all over that--besides, they paid 306 places and only about 1500 people had signed up.

I figured the final table wouldn't last much longer anyways, so there I was, playing in two tourneys at the same time. Well, as it turned out, I don't think I'll be doing that very often. Maybe I need a bigger display, but the old 15" monitor here on the laptop isn't conducive to running two screens at the same time. Well, maybe my eyes aren't. Actually, I don't think I prepared for it, with the off-screen bouncing in at the exact wrong moment several times, farking with my concentration.

So I screwed up a few times with the 'big' tournament, because once I got into the money in the sit-n-go, I devoted all of my attention to it. I guess it worked out for the best, because I took down that tournament, winning it outright. And of course I busted out of the big one even before I won the initial tournament. After that, I shut it down for the night. I still sorta have to treat it like a part-time job, but I don't want to get burnt out on it. My game is very good right now, so I don't want to overdo it.

Once I got home from the store this morning, I logged on and found another 18-player SNG, and of course I got to the cash. Once we were five-handed, I had a huge stack and figured that I'd cruise to a win. I called a small raise with Ace-Queen suited, and the flop was Nine-Queen-Queen. Then the dumbass with the second highest chip stack went all-in. I had to call, and they showed pocket Jacks. No problem there, except then the board turned a 10, and rivered a King, giving my opponent a perfect-perfect straight.

I was crippled then, but managed to survive and make my way to third place, losing with two pair against a rivered set. I can't feel too bad about that--I was still pissed off about the pocket Jacks beating me. Oh well, ya can't win 'em all, and I still turned a decent profit. I might play in another one later tonight, but right now, I think I'm just gonna relax and take some time away from the computer.

I still have plenty of housework to do in preparation for tomorrow, and I haven't eaten a damn thing today, so maybe lunch is in order...

Mikey

Coffee Weather!

Yeah, so here I am, wide awake at 4:30 in the damn morning on a Monday. That's just wrong! But the first thing I did once I got out of bed was hit the ol' homepage on the laptop, and I saw that it was a wonderful 72 degrees here in Hendertucky. Digging a little further, I saw that it was only 70.4 degrees here in my neighborhood!

Oh hell yeah--after a summer of blazing heat where it was at least 110 every afternoon, and the truck was too hot to touch, it felt like heaven. The first thing I did once I saw how nice it was outside was open up a few windows and the patio door, and then shut down the air conditioner for the first time in months.

Wonderful!

I still have a couple of fans going, just to circulate the air here in the apartment, but I'm going to enjoy a few hours worth of free cool air, sipping my morning coffee again (I swear, due to the heat and the fact that I haven't been able to sleep for the past month or so, I haven't made but one pot since the first of July). Oh, it'll warm back up once the sun rises, but today's high is only supposed to be 99 degrees, the first non-triple digit day that I can remember in a very long time. I'll have to close the joint back up and turn the AC back on in a few hours, but right now, it feels pretty damn good. Almost good enough to have a cigar on the patio for breakfast...

So what else is new around here? Not too much, I've got to tell you. My last 'official' day of work was on Thursday night, so I've had plenty of time to relax and wind down from my whirlwind of summer jobs, but do not despair, dear readers, for there are good things on the horizon. I'll share more when the time is appropriate.

With all this newly found free-time on my hands, I have to do something to fill the days, right? Well, I'm not going to go out and spend any money--there are just too many diversions in this town and right now I'm in conservation mode. So I prefer to fall back on my favorite activities. I still have a stack of paperbacks to read, plus a couple more books on the nightstand that I need to digest.

Over the past several days, I tackled Ludlum's The Bourne Identity, which I thought would be pretty good. I remember enjoying the first movie back when it came out, although the second one sucked like crap on a stick--too much of that shakey-cam thing going on in the fight scenes, where it ended up looking like the only person getting their ass kicked was the cameraman. I swear, I've never gotten seasick in a movie, but that was a close one. Anyhow, I figured that the book had to be really good.

Boy, was I wrong.

Oh dear god what a piece of shiat. Anybody who's spent any time on this site knows that I read a lot--probably about ten times more than your average person--so I know when I've got a good book in my hands. Well, as far as I'm concerned, Ludlum sucks. Seriously, the entire book was just one big steaming fly-covered pile of dog poo. Oh, it started out well enough--a dude fished out of the Mediterranean, barely alive, with enough bullet holes in him to turn him into Swiss cheese, and no memory. But from there, it went completely downhill. I plodded through all 500+ pages of the dreck, but believe me when I tell you that it sucked.

First of all, I get that it was originally set in the 1970's--and I'm totally down with a good cold-war era spy thriller--but the amount of 'suspension of disbelief' required on the reader's part was just too much to swallow. And not only that, the plot was thinner than a Brazilian supermodel on a coke bender (nothing at all like the film, but then, they couldn't make this book into a current film without bowing to the age of the internet and instant communications). Oh, and there must've been about a dozen or more extraneous characters that added nothing to the already ridiculously unbelievable premise.

So yeah, the bottom line, it sucked. And now I'm completely bummed out because I bought the entire trilogy in paperback. I really doubt that I'll get around to even cracking open Supremecy and Ultimatum.

On the other hand, currently I'm in the middle of reading Seized: A Sea Captain's Adventures Battling Scoundrels and Pirates While Recovering Stolen Ships in the World's Most Troubled Waters by Max Hardberger. Well worth the effort--the man has some great stories, and some of them are downright scary. My only gripe is that I wish it were longer--I'm almost completely through it, and I can tell that I want more.

Some of you may have thought that I've lost the sailing bug, but it's not true. It's just that the day-to-day stress of my life these past few months have gotten in the way of daydreaming about the good life of palm trees, sandy beaches, steel drums, and salt air. Well, I still have plenty of options to fuel my escapism. One such website is Cruising with Prudence, about a couple who suddenly one day decided to drop everything and go cruising, and within a couple of years they went from inexperienced landlubbers to full-on living the dream. I've been reading every single one of their entries from the very beginning (still only about halfway through), and I've enjoyed the hell out of it. I think with a few tweaks here and there to convert the content from blog entries to more of a daily journal, it would make one hell of a fine coffee-table book. (There are hundreds of pictures to look at, too).

While I'm sitting at the computer reading that, sometimes I multi-task, too. About a week ago I downloaded Full-Tilt onto the laptop and opened a new account. A couple of years back, I used to play on PokerStars quite a bit, but gave it up after cashing big in a couple of tournaments. First of all, I remember reading somewhere how they programmed the site for 'action' boards--lots of possible straights and flushes and paired boards--instead of dealing out truly random hands. I don't know if that's true or not, but damn, it sure seemed like there were a lot of ridiculous suckouts every day, so once I built my bankroll up to a respectable four digits, I cashed out and eventually deleted the site from my hard drive.

And part of it had to do with the fact that once I cashed out most of the money, I actually left a few hundred in my account, but that got ground into dust by suffering bad beat after bad beat for a couple of weeks. That kept me from wanting to go back, too. Besides, I figured, who needs to play online when there are dozens of live poker rooms just a few minutes from my driveway.

But I kept pretty good records while I was on there, and those last few months I was with PokerStars, I was a winning player. Not big stakes, that's for sure, but enough that I didn't have to reload my account, and collecting the occasional check was a nice feeling, too.

Well, when I went jobless back at the end of March, I pretty much supported myself for the following two months by playing poker. I guess you could've technically call me a 'pro' because that was my only source of income, but believe me, I'm not that good--I'm no pro like you see on TV. I'm more of a low-stakes grinder. And I remember the elated feeling I had when I hit the day (about three weeks into the calendar month both times) when I'd finally made enough from playing poker to cover all of my regular monthly expenses. I wasn't getting rich, that's for sure, but it was a minor cause for celebration to hit that target number when there was still over a week left until the rent was due again--especially when you're working without a net!

So now I'm temporarily without an income again, and since the job market out here is still in the litter box, and I had to do something. On the other hand, I know I'll never make it as a poker pro because 1) I'm impatient as hell, and 2) lately, I've been bored stiff by playing cards. Seriously, the last couple of trips to the poker room have been boring as hell for me as a player. I couldn't concentrate, I wasn't having any fun, and I just wasn't feeling it. That's a recipe for bankroll disaster. So I've stopped, at least for now, going out to the casinos to play cards, and that's why I joined up on Full-Tilt. I can do other things while I'm playing.

So far, it's been good. I've not made a fortune, but my account is still in the black and I'm heading in the right direction. I remember the first day after I funded my account, I got into a 27-player sit-n-go tournament. In the first round, a couple of people limped in for the minimum bet, and the player right in front of me went all-in. With my Six-Deuce offsuit, it was an easy fold, but not being used to the setup and not quite paying attention, I accidentally hit the 'Call' button.

Doh!

I'm sure the entire table thought I was the world's worst donkey when my shiatty cards were exposed, while I was screaming NO! NO! NO! at the computer as soon as I realized what I'd done. So in my first tournament, I went out in 27th place. After taking a few minutes to calm myself down, I got into another sit-n-go, this time with only 18 players. I did much better that time--I won the whole damn thing.

Since then, I've been off to the races. I hit a couple of obstacles a few days ago when I played in 45-player tournaments. I went from being chip leader at the final table to being Bubble Boy about ten minutes later. (Bubble Boy, for those of you not versed in the language of poker, is the unfortunate soul who busts out one spot away from the prize money--truly the worst feeling in the world, playing all that time and then falling just short). I was so pissed off about that one that I logged out and refused to play again for the rest of the day. (It was a ridiculous suck out--I had Ace-Queen [of course], flopped two pair, and some jackass with pocket jacks went all-in in front of me. He was drawing to a two-outer and of course caught his miracle card on the river, sending me to the proverbial rail)

The next morning, I swore that I wouldn't bubble out again, and got into another 45-player tourney. This time, I went out in 8th place--Bubble Boy plus one (they only pay the top six). Grrr!

After that, I scaled it back to playing single-table and either 18- or 27-player tourneys, and I've done well--cashing every time and winning a couple outright. And last night, while I was reading that sailing website, I played in another 45-player tourney. On the very first hand of the tournament, I doubled up and knocked somebody out, taking a huge commanding chip lead. I almost went wire-to-wire, but when the blinds got huge at the final table, I fell as far as fifth-highest stack. I breathed a huge sigh of relief when we got down to six players, knowing that I'd cashed. When we got down to five players, I caught a huge hand with Ace-King, tripling up and knocking out two players. I think I had about $34,000 while my two opponents had less than $14,000 each.

But I took a couple of beats (three-way and heads-up play is tricky, and much less predictable), and relinquished the lead. Then I outsmarted myself and went out in third place, overvaluing my top pair to the chip leader. Oh well, at least I didn't bubble out, and I got a nice chunk of change for winning the bronze medal.

A few things I've noticed, now that I've gotten back into the online game. Full-Tilt seems to be catering to the Red Bull swilling backwards-hat crowd. It seems like there is too much time for a player to act, giving the people that play a half dozen games at a time plenty of room to maneuver. That annoys me to no end, as I've never been one to play multiple games at the same time. Oh, I may succumb at some point, but right now, I prefer to concentrate on one tournament at a time. It's worked so far--I've made the final table every time I've played in a tourney that had 27 players or more.

Also, I'm surprised by the complete lack of limit Omaha cash games. There are none. Zero. Nada. Everything is pot-limit. Also, I can tell that the economy still sucks because every time I sign up for a tournament, I have to wait several minutes before enough players register. A few years ago, when times were good, it was instant-on when you got into a sit-n-go. Now, after I register, I have to sit-n-wait or other players to join, even in the cheaper games.

Anyhow, that's what I've been doing with my free time--lots of reading, a little bit of online poker (I'm not hitting it nearly as hard as I used to). In the meantime, I'm still planning a menu for poker night at Casa de Mikey on Wednesday. (BTW Josie--my schedule is completely full on Wednesday, so I will be unable to play in the Very Josie tournament--sorry!)

Of course, the fellas want me to make BBQ pork again, but hey, you want to keep 'em beggin' for more, so I think I'm not gonna make that two weeks in a row. I've pretty much decided to do Bisquick sausage balls (a party staple down South), and Firefly-style bacon-wrapped dates. Not quite sure what else to go with, but I'm open to suggestions. I was thinking about a veggie tray, but since none of the gals will be joining us this week, it won't fly at all with this crowd. I have to come up with something that the beer-drinking dudes are gonna want.

I think that's about all from here. It's time to refill the coffee cup and make a shopping list. Once I get moving, I'm gonna head to the gas station, the bank, and the grocery store, then spend the afternoon reading and maybe playing a little online poker.

Until next time, kiddies...


Mikey

Leftovers? Not So Much

Again, I apologize for the lack of interesting posts right now, but the stress of the unknown has been weighing heavily on my mind lately, and it just saps the creativity right out of me. However, all is not lost--there is a glimmer of hope and the wheels of progress are turning ever so slowly. I'll say no more until I know more, but right now, I'm cautiously optimistic.

But enough about that. Let's talk about what really brings in the crowds--food!

Yep, even though I have no creativity at the keyboard right now, I still have mad skillz in the kitchen, and man oh man, did they ever shine on Wednesday night.

It was our usual poker night, and lately, I've felt like we've been in a rut as far as munchies go. It seems that we always have either pizza, wings, little smokies, queso dip, or some combination thereof. Nobody complains, that's for sure, but I felt like we needed some variety.

Not only that, but we didn't even play poker this time around. After I taught the fellas how to play 'golf' last Wednesday, that's all they wanted to play this week. New game, new menu--it had to be done.

So I thought that I'd make something special this time around, and eventually I decided to make pulled pork bbq. Now, I don't have a smoker, but that's an easy fix. So here's what I did:

First of all, I had bacon for breakfast. This is a very important step. I cook my bacon in a huge cast-iron skillet that weighs about as much as a TV set--it's the most useful implement in the ol' kitchen toolbox as far as I'm concerned. So anyhow, after I had my bacon, I got rid of most--but not all--of the drippings, and I didn't wash the pan, either. I heated it back up, and tossed in a nice hefty $9.00 pork roast that I picked up at the grocery store. I gave it a good sear on all sides, letting some of that bacon goodness seep into the meat. Once it had a nice bacony caramelized outer shell on it, I transferred the whole thing into the crock pot.

I set it on low, at first, and doctored the meat up a bit. Into the pot went an envelope of Lipton onion soup mix, a couple of cloves of minced garlic, a little fresh cracked black pepper (no salt needed--there's plenty in the onion soup mix), about a quarter cup of water, and a quarter cup of Coca Cola.

I let that slow-cook for a couple of hours, then turned it up to 'high' for two more hours after that. That's when the house really started to smell good. After four hours, I turned the crockpot down to 'low' again, this time for another hour. After five hours in the meat sauna, it was just about ready. So I carefully transferred the pork roast to a huge Pyrex mixing bowl, and attacked it with two forks, shredding the meat. It was extremely tender, and very easy to work with--it basically fell apart with very little effort.

Once the meat was all shredded, I poured off all but about a quarter cup of the drippings in the crockpot, and whatever was left, I poured over the meat in the mixing bowl to keep it moist. Then I added an entire bottle of KC Masterpiece BBQ sauce, a generous squeeze of Sriracha hot Thai chili sauce, a few drops of liquid smoke, and another quarter cup of Coca Cola. I mixed it all up an put it back in the crockpot. Then I took the empty bottle of BBQ sauce, added a splash of water to it, put the lid back on, shook it up, and emptied the dregs into the crockpot also--a little extra moisture doesn't hurt at all, and you want all that bbq sauce goodness.

I left the crockpot on low for about another hour, when my guests started arriving, but I stirred it around every ten or fifteen minutes or so (you don't want the bbq sauce to scorch, so you kind of have to babysit it, and also, when you take the lid off, the smell is just amazing...) After about an hour, I turned it down to the 'Keep Warm' setting.

Anyhow, once people started showing up, their reaction was the same--Holy shiat it smells good in here! I had some good onion buns to make the sandies with, and they were a hit, too. And of course, one can't have good bbq without coleslaw, so earlier in the day I ran down to the KFC on East Tropicana and picked up two large containers of the good stuff. I think we also had kettle-cooked Maui Onion tater chips, plus an assortment of beer and other drinks.

Let me tell you--everyone raved about the food this time around, and they tore through my kitchen like a biblical horde of locusts. And oh by the way, they want me to make the same thing again next week. (Everyone went back for seconds and thirds until there was nothing left but an empty crockpot and a garbage can full of dirty paper plates)

I didn't think about taking any pictures at the time, but then, I wasn't thinking about writing about it, either. Hell, I had no idea that it would turn out to be such a hit, so y'all will just have to use your imagination (or Google Image Search, like I did).

Anyhow, poker night went well, and we stayed up goofing off until almost 2:00 in the morning. Once the food was gone and the game was over, we lounged about smoking cigars (well, AC and I smoked the pipes). Overall, it was a very enjoyable and fun evening, highlighted by some damn good food.

And I know what you're thinking--Why Coca Cola? I don't know, but it's one of those magical ingredients that makes pork taste better. Some hillbilly discovered it years and years ago, and now it's a staple of southern cooking. Baste a baked ham with it sometime, and you'll know what I mean.

So that's what went down on Wednesday night here at Casa de Mikey--lots of good food, plenty of beer and cocktails to drink, a great game of cards, and lots of fine tobacco was smoked. Yep, it was a pretty good Hump Day, one that I can't wait to do all over again next week.

Mikey

I Got Nuthin'

Seriously. Nothing interesting to write about. I wish I did, but the ol' brainpan is a blank slate. As far as the job goes, I think that they're quietly easing me out the door. I'm not on the schedule again after Thursday, and there hasn't been a peep about the paperwork I submitted for sticking around.

Oh well. I knew it was a temp job going in.

So I'm back to pounding the pavement. Kinda sucks that there are basically only six places to apply for jobs in this town, iffin' you want to work in a casino.

I'll be back in a couple of days.

Mikey

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

The REAL Cruise Week

Y'all remember back a couple of years ago when I did my own 'Cruise Week' post? I think, at the time, I was a year away from the next planned cruise with the family. Well, due to circumstances beyond my control, I was unable to go on that one--my sisters went without me.

However... That won't be the case this year.

In less than three months, I'm eastbound and down! Yep, it's creeping up on me--the regularly scheduled Sibling Revelry cruise is just around the corner. I can't wait. We planned this thing a year ago, and I paid it off a few months back, and not only that, I also got my plane ticket as soon as Southwest opened up the dates. All I have left to do is gather a little spending money and rent my James Bond tuxedo and I'm good to go.

This time, we're doing it right. No more piling four of us into one interior cabin down in steerage with the goats, chickens, and Irishmen. Instead, we've got four cabins in a row, all with balconies. And Sherry and her husband Steve have a mack-daddy suite on the stern of the ship, with a huge balcony.

It's gonna be a good time.

Of course, now that it's getting close, the emails and chatter have started to increase in volume. Lots of 'what should we do in this port?' and 'who's gonna sneak which booze onboard?' type of stuff.

Since I live so frickin' far away from our departure port in Florida, I'm heading out a day early--already have the hotel room paid for, too! There are just no flights leaving Vegas early enough in the day to get me to the ship on time for embarkation, not to mention any extra time for delays, so I'm just gonna go ahead and get out there a day ahead of everyone and then just meet up with them once we board.

Man--I can't wait. I haven't been on a cruise since 2004, and I'm good and ready to go. It's been far too long. Hopefully, at one of our stops, I'll be able to get some daysailing done. I really miss that. If not, I'll be content to plant my ass on the beach somewhere--toes in the water, ass in the sand, not a worry in the world, a cold beer in my hand--and just enjoy the view and the tropical breeze.

Three months, baby. That's all. It'll be here before I know it.

Mikey

Long Nights, Impossible Odds

Well, at least I think I'll be able to sleep tonight.

I was running on about three hours of quality snooze time when I went to work yesterday afternoon, and I was beat. Although I didn't sign the Early Out list when I got there, I think in the back of my mind I was totally cool with getting the quick hook.

And once I clocked in, I thought for sure it would happen. We only had two games going and five dealers. But we managed to scrounge up enough players to start a sit-n-go type tournament, and before I knew it, it was 11:30 at night and I was looking at completing a full 'hard eight'.

That was nice, since I only had two days this week. But I'm back to the grind with plenty of hours next week, and I've already got a few days on the schedule in August, so things are looking good.

Another side effect of that rut I've been talking about is that I haven't been eating anything either. Too unmotivated to go grocery shopping, much less cook, I've been back to living on granola bars and Gatorade lately. So when I got out of work last night, I was starving. Casa di Amore is closed on Tuesday nights, so that was out of the question. Instead, I just made a midnight run to Del Taco. I haven't had that in months, maybe years. Hell, I don't remember the last time I went to Del Taco. But it was damn good. Waaaay better than Taco Bell (although the Bell has it's place too). So I enjoyed my two Big Fat Steak Tacos and a nice watery fountain Coke while surfing the net and trying to come up with a to-do list for when I wake up.

Oh, I've got to run to the post office and the alterations shop (six weeks of double shifs beat the hell out of several pairs of those sexy black polyester work pants, so they need to go in for a tune-up), and then I'm gonna hit the grocery store to get a few more munchies for poker night. I'm gonna go ahead and make my spicy Ro-Tel dip, but Mamasan turned me on to a black-bean pineapple salsa dip recipe that everyone raved about this weekend, so I'll probably do that, too.

But I've got to get all that stuff done early--the FedEx man in bringing me all kinds of goodies from Amazon, and they never knock on the door. They just throw the boxes into my camp chair out on the patio and keep on truckin'. At least UPS has the courtesy to knock and wake my ass up, which I appreciate, but it also kinda sucks because the damn UPS man has seen my lucky Elvis boxers a whole helluva lot more lately than any of my lady friends have.

Oh well. That's all there is from this corner of the neon playground. Y'all have a wonderful hump day.

Mikey

Bored, Can't Sleep, Unmotivated...

Man, I am in a severe funk this week. I just can't seem to move on all eight cylinders.

Remember how I was so tired for so long because of work? Well now, I cannot sleep at all. I have the worst insomnia every night and end up lurking around the house doing not a damn thing, but then I eventually pass out around 9:00 or 10:00 in the morning. Usually I get about two hours of sleep, but without fail, the phone rings, somebody knocks at the door, or there's enough noise outside to wake me up. So I get up, drag ass around for several hours, then lay in bed all night trying to sleep. It's been an endless cycle for a couple of weeks now.

That would explain the dearth of interesting posts. Seriously, I've gone back and read everything for the past month or so and I must apologize. I'm ashamed of my lack of effort. But right now, I'm just not feelin' it--in a big way. It's not like I don't have the time to do it, either. It's just that my brain feels like a cold cup of coffee, forgotten on the nightstand.

I suppose that most of it has to do with being up in the air about the job situation. I'm highly confident that I'll have a permanent spot, but damn, I just wish they'd tell me already--one way or the other. It seems that most of my decisions--even little piddly ones, hang in the balance waiting to find out. I mean, I'm not gonna go to Costco and shell out a couple hundred bucks on economy-sized laundry soap and other non-perishables if I find out that I'm out of a job next week. So I don't do that. Same with going to the regular grocery store--do I stock up, like I usually want to do, or do I sit and wait, because there's an off-chance that I'd bail out of Vegas completely if I'm unemployed again. And who the hell wants to pack up a pantry full of canned goods?

I have a little money stashed away to survive on for awhile, but even so, the economy out here still sucks, and if it doesn't improve soon, well, I'm not gonna be out contributing to it, either. I'm kind of in 'bunker' mode right now. I haven't gone out and done anything fun in awhile, and part of the reason is that I just don't want to spend the money.

Oh well. That's the way it goes. Maybe I'll know something this week. Believe me, if I find out that I *am* going to be kept on permanently, well, it'll be like the weight of the world off my shoulders and I'm guessing that the floodgates of creativity and productivity will come crashing open.

Other than that, right now I'm working my way through a couple of less-than-stellar books that have been sitting on my shelf for awhile. On the other hand, we have a full crew confirmed for poker night tomorrow night, so that'll be a lot of fun. AC still has softball, so he won't be around spilling drinks or burning holes in the green felt this week, but we'll somehow manage to still have a good time. I still have plenty of mudslide and margarita mix on hand, and a case of Mexican beer in the fridge, so I guess all we need is some munchies and we'll be good to go.

Later kiddies...

Mikey

So Why Don't Ya Kill Me...

Yep. I'm a loser, baby!

Just let me tell you how much...

I set my alarm, showered, shaved, got dressed in my black & whites, sat in Saturday night strip gridlock, and showed up to work. All good, right?

Except that when I got there I found out that I wasn't even scheduled to work. I just went out of habit. I work every other Saturday night--I have all summer long. But apparently, I can't read a schedule, and I was actually off. In fact, I only had two days scheduled this week--I don't work again until Tuesday.

First, I was a little irritated because weekends are usually a good chance to make some great money, but then I stepped back and took a look at the big picture. We're down to just a handful of temps now, and another one is leaving on Sunday. I figured, if they were gonna dump me, they wouldn't keep me on the schedule for just two days, especially when it's kinda slow. So I'm liking my chances. Besides, before I turned around and split, I saw that next week's schedule was already up, and I've got four days on it, plus another on-call day. That's more like it!

But still, no official word yet.

I know things are gonna pick up again in September when football season starts, and I can survive on two or three days a week until then. But I'd just like to know that I've got a permanent job. This long-term temp stuff, I think, is directly responsible for the fact that I just can't sleep at night anymore.

Normally I'd be out looking for another job, but I'm not gonna make the mistake of having schedule conflicts if I can possibly keep this job--it's by far the best I could hope for in this economy, and anything they want from me is top priority. Besides, if I get a permanent gig, I won't need a second job. I lived quite comfortably on the peanuts I was making at Sunset Station for the past two years, and this new gig is a cash cow compared to that job.

Speaking of Sunset, I had drinks with AC last week and he told me some interesting stuff. They fired another dealer for some sketchy-sounding reason. (It seems to be a well-known trade practice there that they'd much rather fire people for the slightest thing so that they don't have to pay severance that comes with doing proper layoffs). Second of all, they also booted four full-time dealers back to the extra board, taking away benefits and such and making them part-time, on-call. Truly that place is circling the bowl, and I'm guessing that a year from now there won't even be a poker room--probably two tables at the end of the pit, Terrible's style.

The more I think about it, the more I'm glad I got out of there when I did. If I were still there these past few months, I'd probably have been booted a couple weeks ago when they did their latest housecleaning; and right now, two weeks after the World Series, is *not* the time to be out of a job if you're a poker dealer in Las Vegas.

Hell, I went down there on Wednesday night to play a little bit, but it downright sucked. At 9:30 at night, they only had two 4-8 games going, and both of them were shorthanded. Not even a half hour later, our table broke, so there was only one game. And it was pathetic. I don't think I've ever been so bored in my life at the poker table. After a couple of orbits, I just said the hell with this lame-ass casino and colored up. I don't think I'll be going back.

Green Valley isn't much better, and as much as I love The M, it's still 15 miles away--downtown is closer, and I'm only seven-and-a-half miles from the Strip. I'm gonna have to find another 'home' poker room soon. Until then, I signed up with Full Tilt, but I still haven't funded my account yet. I'm debating whether or not to do it at all. I think I'd rather find a good live Omaha High game, but the nearest one at Boulder Station is a smoking room, and their regulars make the crowd that hangs out at the trailer park laundry mat look like a bunch of blue-bloods at a country club.

So what else is new?

Well, I've gotten some more reading done. Normally I'm not a fiction fan at all, but based on recommendations, I've gotten extremely lucky. I've already mentioned how much I enjoyed the Dewey Lambdin books, and my dad told me about a good one that he liked a lot: Scorpion in the Sea, by P.T. Deutermann. So I ordered it last week and it arrived Thursday afternoon. I stayed up all night reading it--another one I couldn't put down--and finished it around eight o'clock the next morning. Yes, that good. So good, in fact, that I ordered four more books by the same author. They'll be here on Wednesday, which sucks, because that's when my new work-week starts. I've got nothing to do for the next two days, so I think I may hit up the local Barnes & Noble in the morning.

Since I'm so bored and there's only so much housecleaning and reading I can do (still too damn hot to play outside), I'll probably host another poker night on Wednesday. It's been a few weeks and I think the natives are getting restless. And permanent job or no, I'm getting to the point where I want to bust out that big-assed 2000 piece puzzle and start putting it together.

Maybe tomorrow night I'll get adventurous in the kitchen, too.

Mikey

It's Hump Day... Again

Happy Wednesday, everyone! I hope all you working stiffs are enjoying the midweek grind, while I, well, I'm not doing much of anything.

I had a lot of grandiose plans for getting things done yesterday, but I'll admit. It just never happened. I swear, I had zero motivation all day long. On the other hand, I've gotten a lot of reading done, something I really enjoy. Especially since it's too damn hot to sit out in the sun by the pool in the afternoon. I mean, 114 degrees--fark that. There is no shade until early evening out there, so it's just too damn hot, no matter how many contraband bottles of beer I haul out there with me. 'Tis much better to lounge around in the air-conditioned comfort of my living room while basking in the pleasant breeze of the ceiling fan.

What was I reading, you ask? Well, on Monday night and into Tuesday, I was reading Check Raising the Devil, the autobiography of Mike 'The Mouth' Matusow. It's actually a very good book--much much better than I expected. And you get a whole new perspective on him, the side the ESPN cameras never seem to show. Well worth reading, if you get the chance. But you can't borrow mine--it's a personally signed copy, and the inscription in the front says: To Mikey -- If you suck out on me again, I'll kick your ass!

Yes, I met Mike Matusow a few weeks back and had a very interesting conversation with him. And to tell you the truth, he's actually one of the nicer poker players I've ever met. All that stuff you've seen on TV is highly edited, and he's definitely the not the same person he was five years ago. Same thing for Phil Hellmuth--I've talked to him a couple of times this summer and he is 180 degrees different when there are no cameras around. People have told me that his whole 'poker brat' shtick is just an act, and I'm a believer. He's actually a pretty nice guy. The only pro I've seen act like kind of a dickhead lately is Phil Ivey. I wasn't impressed with him very much at all. But I only saw him for a few minutes, so it wasn't like I was at the table with him for hours.

I could go on and on (Jerry Yang--also extremely nice, as is Dennis Phillips), but I won't--lets just say that my jobs this summer have afforded me some pretty interesting opportunities...

But back to the books. I actually finished Matusow's book, cover-to-cover, in just over four hours. I literally couldn't put it down. Last night, I was looking for something else to read, and I picked up The Requiem Shark, by Nicholas Griffin. I think I bought it about five years ago, and it's been on the bookshelf ever since. So far, I'll give it a five on the one-to-ten scale. It's ok, and I think most people that are into seafaring adventure fiction would probably like it, but having digested 16 volumes of the Alan Lewrie series in the past couple of months, well, the bar was set pretty high, and this book falls a little short, at least to me. The premise is good; a young and educated fiddler is pressed onto a merchant ship in the early 18th century, but the ship is then captured by the pirate 'Black Bart', and the protagonist is taken aboard in the employ of the pirate captain as a biographer/historian of all of their seafaring adventures and misdeeds.

Like I said, it's ok, but it doesn't feel nearly as 'authentic' as some of the better books I've read in the genre. I'm about two-thirds of the way through it right now, and will probably finish it off sometime this morning.

As far as the rest of my day goes, I'm still looking for inspiration. Wednesdays, this summer, have been my busy errand-running and housecleaning day, as it's usually poker night, and it was generally the only day off I got every week. But today, I don't think I'm gonna do much. There are no plans for poker tonight, and frankly, I don't feel like cleaning, shopping, or cooking, so I'll probably spend another well-deserved quiet evening at home with a good book and a bottle of something tasty. I might even fire up my ol' briarwood pipe and do my thing as an armchair sea captain.

Mikey

This Has Been A Typical Monday...

Yeah, it's been sucking so far...

Like I said, I've had a very busy week, but that came to an end last night. I've worked 11 out of the past 12 days, and now I'm not on the schedule again until at least Friday. Woot!

I haven't had two days off in a row in the last two months, so right now, I'm kind of at a loss as to what to do with myself. But of course, the fickle hand of fate raised it's middle finger at me this morning, and I've been dealing with the fallout for a good portion of the day.

T-Rev was in town for the past few days, and came by the casino to play some hold-em last night. When I got the boot at 1:00 o'clock in the morning, we took off to get some dinner. We hit Casa di Amore (again) and had another helluva feast. I don't recall what he had, but I know we had toasted ravioli and a bottle of damn good wine (half price after midnight on Sunday and Monday nights!). For my dinner I had fettucini alfredo with shrimp and scallops. It was soooo good. The chef really knocked it out of the park with that one.

Anyhow, once I dropped him off back at his hotel, I headed back home to the East Side to try and get some sleep. When I emptied my pockets, I saw that my new replacement phone was jacked up again. It looked like somebody had taken a hammer to the touch screen. No, the glass wasn't broken, but the display looked like a tv test pattern on some really good acid. Of course, it was useless. I managed to make a couple of calls this morning before it completely died, but I figured another trip out to the AT&T warranty center on Decatur and Sahara would be on the top of the to-do list this afternoon.

So I tried to sleep, but then, text messages and stuff started coming in, and I was not only unable to retrieve them, but also unable to see where they were sent from. Even after I popped the SIM card out of the LG and into the spare G0-Phone I have, it didn't show any messages. So if any of you have tried to contact me today before 4:00 pm, I have no way of getting the messages. Sorry.

I managed to get a couple hours worth of sleep, finally, but got up around two in the afternoon, gathered my deposits, paid my bills, got dressed, and headed out. First stop was the bank to deposit a stack of hundies, then over to Costco to fill up the tank (it's $2.75 out here, if anyone is interested).

Then I said Fark it, it has to be done, so I saddled up and made my way over to the west side--a place that I hate to go. And there is absolutely no good way to get from my neighborhood to the corner of Decatur and Sahara, so I mentally prepared myself for eight miles of stoplights in the 114-degree heat as I made my way down Boulder Highway. Stupid traffic all the way, and nobody refusing to come within five miles-per-hour of the speed limit. Not only that, but once I turned onto Sahara, there were dead cars blocking the road everywhere. This heat just kills batteries and radiators out here, and usually, it's taxicabs that break down. It may be 114 in the shade, but in the direct sunlight it's a good 130+, and I hate driving in that, especially in stop-n-go traffic, but it had to be done.

Luckily, I made it to the service center without incident, but of course the toad behind the counter took one look at my phone and said Sorry--this is 'physical damage', and that voids your warranty--nothing we can do. Next! or something to that effect. So they wouldn't do a damn thing for me. The lesson here kids, is NEVER buy an LG phone. Hell, after this whole experience, I wouldn't purchase any electronics made by LG. Seriously, their stuff is such pieces of shiat that I wouldn't use a toothbrush that they manufactured.

So I was there for about, oh, three minutes or so, and then turned around and headed back out into the heat to make my way back over to Henderson. What a waste of time. So once I got home, I dug out the old cheap-ass Samsung Go-Phone, charged it up, and now I'll be using it for the next six months until I'm eligible for an 'upgrade'. At first I'd thought I'd lost all of my contacts, but everything I had up until May (the original breakdown) was saved on my SIM card, so I only lost a few numbers. It doesn't have a full keyboard or all the normal capabilities of a regular 'smart' phone, so those of you who like to send me a lot of texts and pictures and such, please try to curtail it until after the holidays.

But that's not the only thing that's been pissing me off today--I was excited that the Phillies/Cardinals game was on ESPN, so I sat down to watch it. But the past few days, the picture has been disappearing for a few seconds (or minutes) at a time, and wouldn't you know it, in the Cardinals half of the inning where they got three home runs, I missed every single one of them because the picture kept blanking out. (Of course it works fine during the commercials!) So I've been on the phone with the Cox-suckers for the past 20 minutes trying to get that ironed out. I don't know why I even bother to call them--their answer to everything is the same as Microsoft's--just reboot it!

They're also sending some sort of magic signal to my cable box, and they said it'll take a half hour before it diagnoses and cycles through everything, so even though my team is on, I'm unable to watch the game (but thank god for gamecast on ESPN.com!)

Anyhow, that's enough negative vibes for one day. As far as good news goes, I found out today that they will be for sure hiring a few permanent dealers at my casino (formerly known as Job #2, but shall from this point forward be known as The Good Job, or probably just 'the job'). So I spent some time this afternoon doing all the paperwork that they wanted me to do, so now I just have to sit and wait and hope that I'm one of the people that they are keeping. I like my chances though--my co-workers all want me to stay, and my supervisor told me that he'd give me an enthusiastic recommendation, so I hope hope hope that it all works out.

On the other hand, I have absolutely no idea what the time frame is. But as soon as I know--you'll know.

So what else is new? Not a damn thing, to be honest with ya. I've been working so much that I haven't had much of a life, although I did manage to squeeze in a few hours of fun here and there when random friends have come to town. But now that life is somewhat back to normal, I should be able to get back into a routine. Hell, we haven't even been able to do a poker night in almost three weeks!

Once I find out that I have a permanent job, however, it'll be a little bit easier on me and I'm sure I'll sleep better at night, and I'll be able to make plans and such. I've already decided that once I get 'permanent' status (fingers crossed), I'm gonna start on another puzzle and get it framed, buy a poker table, and also maybe get a hookah (the kind you smoke, not the kind that tries to crawl in your car window when you're sitting at a stoplight--get your minds out of the gutter!).

Anyhow, that's the news for now. I'm gonna relax tonight, but tomorrow is full-on housecleaning and laundry day. Now that I've got a bit of time on my hands, I'm gonna get this place organized and stop living out of the basket and the dryer. Oh, I might have a rum drink and spend some time at the pool, too, now that I think about it...

Mikey

Until We Close Our Eyes For Good...

Hey gang.

Sorry for the protracted absence from the keyboard, but damn, I've been a busy little free agent lately. But as of today, I have--count 'em, folks--four full days off in a row!!! That hasn't happened since sometime in late May, and let me tell you, I am good and ready to enjoy them.

So once I get some sleep and get a few errands run, I promise to sit down at the keyboard and pen a few thoughts and maybe get back into my regular writing routine. I've got a 'to do' list that's long and distinguished, so I have to address that stuff first. But then, I'm back to having too much time on my hands, so maybe you re-clickers out there will reap the benefits.

Until then, have a wonderful Monday!

Mikey

Dinner with Steve & Edie, Frank, Sammy, Dino...

... Mayor Oscar, Ray 'Boom Boom' Mancini, Natalie Cole, and a host of others...

Yep, I have found a new place to hang out.

Back in the day, my favorite after-work joint was Chilly Palmer's over in Henderson. But when I left the pit for the poker room and all of my friends moved on to other jobs or other shifts, we stopped going there. Once I made a bunch of new drinking buddies in the poker room, we started hanging out at Sierra Gold. But James went to day shift, A.C. took a new job, and me, well, I got kicked to the curb. Besides, Sierra Gold is just a little too proud of their prices, I think, and every time I go there, I end up feeling like I got shaken down Mandalay Bay style. (You Vegas veterans know what I'm talking about!)

Anyhow, now that I spend most of my time on The Strip (it only took five years!), I decided that I need a new place to go after work. All the joints out in Henderson are kind of depressing, seeing how the local economy is still in the shiatter, so I felt like I wanted to go somewhere a little more Vegas-y. And I certainly wasn't going to loiter around in my own casino after work, either.

Anyhow, after a month of commuting, I've discovered that the easiest and quickest way back to Hendertucky in the middle of the night is to make my way to Tropicana and take it east until the neon glow in the rear-view mirror disappears below the horizon. At that point, a few twists and turns aside, I am back home in the comfort of my occasionally gated community. And since the employee dining rooms I've been subject to have been less-than-stellar, I'm always starving when my shift finally ends. Besides, one can only live on Gatorade and granola bars so long... So I've been looking for a restaurant/coffee shop/bar/pub to visit a couple of times a week where I can take care of my hunger and my thirst.

Well, I need to look no longer--we have a winner. Ladies and Gentleman, a big round of applause for Casa di Amore on East Tropicana.

Oh, I've been there before. Angy and I talked about going a few times, but we never made it. I think Linda Lou and I had our pre-Thanksgiving dinner there last November. I remember it being pretty good, but I hadn't been there since.

But what got me in the door this time was the fact that somebody last week was sitting in the poker room eating some sort of damn-good-smelling Italian food from somewhere, and ever since then, I've been craving it. For days now, I've been thinking about fettucini alfredo and veal marsala, garlic bread and red wine... And every night I drive by Casa di Amore and I see that blue neon 'OPEN' sign beckoning me, yet I never stopped.

Until last night.

I had a long and busy 7-hour shift before getting cut loose, and yeah, besides being thirsty, I was pretty hungry, too. My first order of business was to stop and get a bottle of Gatorade and damn near shotgun the thing (I swear it's 110 degrees in our poker room every night, so we go through bottled water by the 55-gallon drums on swing shift), but then after that, I told myself that no matter what, I was stopping for a bite to eat at Casa di Amore on my way home.

I pulled in and parked in back (can't use the front door after midnight), and was surprised to see that they were pretty busy once I got inside. I took a seat at the bar (the exact same one the dude in the white t-shirt is sitting in in the picture) and ordered myself a Captain and Coke, with lime, of course.

For those of you that have never been there, the place just oozes that Old Vegas vibe. If it were in Jersey, you'd swear it was mobbed up. Seriously, the first time I had dinner there, I halfway expected Michael Corleone to come out of the bathroom and put a few bullets in Sollozo and McClusky at the next table. It's dark, it's got brick walls, red furniture, and lots of photos of old Vegas celebrities and casinos adorn the walls. You can almost feel the ghosts of good times past lurking around.

The bartender told me that the entire late-night bar menu was half-price from midnight until closing time at 5:00 am, so that's where I looked first--lots of appies, a selection of five or six sandwiches, and any pizza. Of course, the entire menu was available all night long, but at regular prices.

So I settled on some fried ravioli as an appetizer (and I should've stopped there). Of course, they ask you what else you want while you're sitting there hungry, so I ordered some veal parmigiana with a side of fettucini alfredo. Oh, and a glass of that MacMurray Ranch Pinot while you're at it...

The ravioli was excellent, and it came with a mild red sauce for dipping. And just as I was finishing off the last piece, thinking Man, I shouldn't have ordered dinner..., my dinner arrived. Sitting before me were three pieces of thin-pounded, breaded, pan-fried veal, covered in browned and bubbling mozzarella and a ladle full of that same house red sauce, accompanied by a too-large-by-half bowl of creamy pasta.

Of course I dove right in.

It was excellent, as expected, and a few minutes later the chef brought me out a basket of their straight-from-the-oven Italian bread, gratis, with butter.

I got about halfway through the meal when I realized that there was no way I'd ever finish. Seriously, I felt like that dude on Man Vs. Food, minus the camera crew and stupid jokes.

I gave it the ol' college effort, but gave up soon thereafter. I was so full that the idea of taking the rest home in a to-go box almost put me over the edge. So I just asked for my tab, instead. It came to almost fifty bucks (wine, plus ordering off the regular menu), but it was well worth it. And the crowd in there was a lot of fun, too. Lots of nice, friendly people sitting about the bar (not like that sketch crowd over at the Double Down), who also work the swing shift on the Strip, so it was nice to have a good conversation with strangers I could relate to.

So yeah, I'll be back. I'll stick to the late-night happy hour menu from now on (but I had to address my craving this time), and maybe have a drink or two while listening to some Rat Pack music and imagining, just for a second, that maybe Frank, Dino, and Sammy will come strolling in for a nightcap, fresh off the late show in the Copa Room.

Mikey

Same As It Ever Was

Well, I thought that life was gonna get a lot less busy and that I'd have a bunch more free time on my hands now that Job #1 is history. But that's just not the case. Job #2 (the *good* job) is working my ass off.

I just got home from another lucrative night at the casino, and checking the schedule, I have to work six nights this upcoming week--I don't have another day off until next Wednesday. I'll take it, but man, it sure doesn't agree with my innate laziness. And two years of barely working 20 hours a week didn't help prepare me for this. Oh, believe me, I'm very happy to be working right now. The economy out here stills sucks like you wouldn't believe, and a lot of my contemporaries would kill to be in my position, because I've stumbled into a little gold mine this summer. I'm going to enjoy this feast as long as it lasts.

So basically, now that I'm down to just one job, I've been spending all my free time catching up on all the sleep I lost these past six or seven weeks. Usually I have Mondays and Wednesdays off (no consecutive off days for me), and my Mondays are spent in bed until late afternoon, coming off of five very hectic days of work. Wednesdays are my busy days where I'm running errands and doing my shopping and stuff like that. The rest of the time, I'm either working or trying to sleep.

So that's why I haven't been posting anything interesting lately.

Hell, even poker night this week got canceled at the last minute--all of my friends were hungover or sick, so we took the night off. It was because of Tuesday night--my phone started blowing up at work--it was all the buffoons from Job #1 telling me that there was an 'End of the Grind' party on tap for that night, and that I was to ask for an Early Out and get my ass out to Chinatown, post haste.

Apparently, some of my former co-workers had reserved a 'VIP' room in a karaoke lounge in a seedy strip mall that had three massage parlors and four different karaoke lounges as tenants. Anyhow, I found my way over there at like 2:00 in the morning and the party was going strong. There was bottle service and everything, and we had our own private 'studio' to party in. It was kind of funny, because it was some serious Asian karaoke--nothing like the stuff you're used to seeing. And instead of just words on the screen, the best part was the home-made videos they featured with every song.

Anyhow, I lasted about two hours and two drinks, then made my way home once we found out that there was no Neil Diamond or Robert Earl Keen to be had. But some of my compadres made a full night and day of it and didn't come crawling home until sometime after noon. So yeah, poker night got canceled as everyone was pretty much still in bed at 7:00 pm on Wednesday.

I didn't do much--I wandered down to Sunset and had a drink with a couple of friends for an hour or two, but then I came home and stayed up all night futzing with my iPod. My old iTunes bypass software decided to take a dump, so I downloaded another thing called 'CopyTrans Manager' and man, it worked like a charm. So I messed around with that for several hours, making playlists and editing my music and such. Then I went to bed around 7:00 in the morning, but I spent another couple of hours listening to newly-loaded music before falling asleep. That was pretty much it for Thursday--I slept all day and then had to work.

Today (Friday), I'm gonna try and get up early in the afternoon and run down to Job #1 and pick up the last of my tournament tokes--they owe me about $80 or so for my last day on the job. After that, I'm pretty sure that's the last I'll hear from them.

Other than that, I still need to get down to Costco and renew my membership and do some shopping--I haven't had any of that good Mexican Coke in months, and I'm out of cashews, too. Once those errands are run, I'm gonna just relax for a bit before another crazy night in the casino gets underway.

Peace out, y'all!

Mikey

And on the Seventh Week, He Rested

Finally. The worst is over. I have been burning my candle at both ends for over a month now, and I can finally relax a little bit. Job #1, such as it was, is thankfully over. I'm kinda bummed out because I had such high hopes for it, but on the other hand, it was such a grind that I was glad when it finally wound down.

I don't think that they'll be keeping me--I've heard nothing one way or the other, but that's the vibe I'm getting. I guess I'll find out for sure on Thursday when I go in and pick up my last bit of tokes. Of course I'll post my final thoughts about the experience then, too.

On the other hand, things are cooking right along at Job #2--it has exceeded all expectations, and I hope I get to stay on once the circus leaves town in a couple of weeks. I swear, I've made more money there in the last ten days than I did in the past month at Job #1, or the last two months I was at Sunset Station. It helps, also, that I've had no time to spend any of it, either. Not only that, the people I work with are top-notch, and that helps more than anything to make a job more enjoyable. I actually look forward to going to work there every night.

Anyhow--I finally have today, Monday, off. I'm so excited about being able to rest and not having to worry about making sure I have enough clean work clothes on deck to get me through a seemingly endless parade of double shifts that I barely know what to do with myself. Seriously--it feels like my life has revolved around the washing machine for the past six weeks, doing one load of blacks followed by another load of whites every other day, and getting my shirts ironed, when I had but maybe seven or eight hours a day that I was home. It really cut into my sleep time.

But all that is behind me. I'm down to one job now, and luckily, it's the good one. I can relax and do nothing. I think my plan for the day, once I go to bed (I just got home, so it's only 3:30 in the morning right now), is to just lay in bed all day like that dude in Office Space and ignore the clock and the phone. Oh, I may go do some grocery shopping and run some errands, but then again, I might not.

Of course, I'm not getting measured for the baby-blue leisure suit just yet--I'm still working my ass off at Job #2 and I only have the one day off--I'm back at it again on Tuesday. In fact, I'm on the schedule five days this week, and the other two days 'off' (not consecutive, mind you), I'm on call. So yeah, I am the casino's bitch, but at least they're paying me for it and treating me well. Back when I was the casino's bitch at Sunset, all I ever saw was their pimp-hand--I never got any of that sweet sweet lovin'.

That's all for now, kiddies. I'm tired and my bottle of Gatorade is empty. Time for a shower and about 12 hours of uninterrupted sleep.

Y'all have a lovely Monday!

Mikey