I am driving from Minnesota to New York to pick up my boys and rather then listen to the 20 mix CD's I made for my drive to Vegas (which I have subsequently wore out from overuse) I spent the day listening to talk radio. A couple of comments:
1) Everything is not about race. I could not believe how many people were calling in saying that Michael Vick was being persecuted because he was an African-American. Are you kidding me? I guarantee if Brett Favre did the same thing he'd get persecuted just as much (if not more). I understand that this country has a history of civil unjustice and at treating minorities like shit but when people start throwing the race card at things like this it really takes away from issues that really deserve closer scrutiny.
2) Many Republicans are ignorant: now before I explain what I mean here let me preface this by saying that I am very tolerant of opposing political views... many of my best friends are Republicans. With that being said I spent two hours listening to a Republican talk show host take calls from Republicans (I can't remember what his name was but it sounded like a nationally syndicated show) and discuss how if the Democrats take over and we pull troops out of Iraq that we are going to have another 9/11 on our hands. *sigh*
Wake. The. Fuck. Up.
Driving through Chicago and Western Indiana is quite possibly the ugliest drive known to mankind. Besides the traffic, the scenery consists of train tracks, electric cables, power lines, power poles, transmittors, electrical switches, and all kinds of plants including power and sewage. For miles and miles... and because of traffic (even at 1 in the afternoon) you are forced to take it all in very slowly and painfully. I've visited Chicago before and enjoyed my visits... but I don't think I'd ever want to live there.
What is up with all the country music stations? Since when did country music take over the country (bad pun intended)? No wonder so many people get road rage.
Get to see my boys tomorrow... I am SO excited for that.
I sent the pink kitty to a 6 year old girl in Arizona. Her aunt wrote me today to tell me:
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I came back from a meeting to a voicemail from a very excited Samantha, "someone sent me Poker Kitty". And tonight an e-mail from my sister:
Samantha takes kitty everywhere. She even ate dinner with her.
She had to leave school today and go to Urgent Care, so the arrival of Kitty today was just purrfect (I can't believe I did that, but it's been a long Monday.)
Thank you so much for making her so happy.
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Things like that are what life is all about to me.
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Friday, July 20, 2007
Home... for now
Well I made the 1680 mile trek in under two days. I drove 860 miles the first day. I stopped at pretty much every scenic viewing area and took pictures, especially in Utah. Unfortunately it was raining while I drove through the Rockies so it wasn't as breathtaking as it was the first time I drove through. Something about the sun shining down through the mountains made a difference. Don't get me wrong, it was still spectacular, but not quite as much so. I was dead tired about 8 p.m. so I stopped at Fort Morgan, Colorado (an hour past Denver) for the night and fell asleep by 10. I woke up at 6 and was off the next day through the most boring stretch of highway ever (Eastern Colorado, Nebraska, and Iowa). Made it home by 9 p.m.
I had a friend feed my cats while I was gone. Cat's are not the neatest animals in the world... I don't think I'd ever own a cat again on my own... I inherited these from an ex-girlfriend. Cat hair, vomit, and kitty litter mess everywhere. Not my idea of fun, but I cleaned most of it up right away. And of course the one cat who loves me to death (well ok, I kinda like him too) would not stop scratching at my door when I tried to go to bed. I don't let them in the bedroom though because I don't want cat hair all over my clothes and bed. Anyway, I spent some time out in the living room this morning so he would calm down but he's still acting like a spaz. I guess I'm too loveable for my own good. ;)
Today I ran a few errands. A light was green but traffic was backed up so if I would have proceeded I would have blocked the intersection. They guy behind me was not too fond of my decision. He started flailing his arms like a crazy man and giving me all kinds of versions of the middle finger. Quite amusing but it didn't sway my decision to not move forward. So then he swings over into the left lane and zooms through the intersection... after the light had turned red. The whole time he is doing this he is still flailing his arms and giving me the general fuck off. I'm laughing my ass off. And then a siren... Ha Ha Ha... I love karma. The idiot got pulled over for running the red light. Good times.
I'm staying in a hotel tonight because I have no cable or Internet and I don't want to set it up again when I am leaving on another trip to see my kids in a few days. I had some free nights racked up so I decided to use one tonight. Tomorrow I'll probably rent some movies and spend the next two days watching them.
Going to hang out with my best friend Jordan tonight so I am looking forward to that. Jordan is my ex-girlfriend and is probably the coolest woman I know (she even plays poker... she cashed in the main event in 2006). We've been broke up for a year now but have maintained a very good friendship and see each other whenever we have time... usually we catch a movie, dinner, or watch our favorite television shows (Lost, Heroes, The Office) together. I think the 7 weeks I spent in Vegas is the longest we've not seen one another since we first met.
I think that's it for now. I have some gig apparently from PSO (pokerschoolonline) that will give me employment for the next three months. Thank God! I did sooooo not want to have to get a 9 to 5 for a couple months.
I had a friend feed my cats while I was gone. Cat's are not the neatest animals in the world... I don't think I'd ever own a cat again on my own... I inherited these from an ex-girlfriend. Cat hair, vomit, and kitty litter mess everywhere. Not my idea of fun, but I cleaned most of it up right away. And of course the one cat who loves me to death (well ok, I kinda like him too) would not stop scratching at my door when I tried to go to bed. I don't let them in the bedroom though because I don't want cat hair all over my clothes and bed. Anyway, I spent some time out in the living room this morning so he would calm down but he's still acting like a spaz. I guess I'm too loveable for my own good. ;)
Today I ran a few errands. A light was green but traffic was backed up so if I would have proceeded I would have blocked the intersection. They guy behind me was not too fond of my decision. He started flailing his arms like a crazy man and giving me all kinds of versions of the middle finger. Quite amusing but it didn't sway my decision to not move forward. So then he swings over into the left lane and zooms through the intersection... after the light had turned red. The whole time he is doing this he is still flailing his arms and giving me the general fuck off. I'm laughing my ass off. And then a siren... Ha Ha Ha... I love karma. The idiot got pulled over for running the red light. Good times.
I'm staying in a hotel tonight because I have no cable or Internet and I don't want to set it up again when I am leaving on another trip to see my kids in a few days. I had some free nights racked up so I decided to use one tonight. Tomorrow I'll probably rent some movies and spend the next two days watching them.
Going to hang out with my best friend Jordan tonight so I am looking forward to that. Jordan is my ex-girlfriend and is probably the coolest woman I know (she even plays poker... she cashed in the main event in 2006). We've been broke up for a year now but have maintained a very good friendship and see each other whenever we have time... usually we catch a movie, dinner, or watch our favorite television shows (Lost, Heroes, The Office) together. I think the 7 weeks I spent in Vegas is the longest we've not seen one another since we first met.
I think that's it for now. I have some gig apparently from PSO (pokerschoolonline) that will give me employment for the next three months. Thank God! I did sooooo not want to have to get a 9 to 5 for a couple months.
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Bittersweet
I was excited to cover the final table of the Main Event. So much so that I was unable to sleep... I was up at 5:30 a.m.
But unfortunately I have an idiot savant for a boss... a 22 year old kid who burned so many bridges with the Harrah's and WSOP staff that after a couple of errors were made in the Day 6 coverage they revoked our pool reporter privileges. I have mixed feelings about the kid I worked for. He does have some talent and at certain times is a likeable guy... but he completely lacks people skills, management skills, has emotional/temper issues, lacks maturity, and pretty much centers everything around him. If it's to his benefit, he's going to do it. If it's not, someone else would do it. It was a me, me, me thing with him and it got old real quick. Not to mention the fact that I got tired of being his fucking alarm clock. I woke him up pretty much every day for the first three weeks before I finally said enough was enough and quit doing it.
Enough of that whine. I was pissed that I worked my ass off for so long and then had to sit in my condo and cover the main event there by watching the pay-per-view broadcast.
I'm amazed this kid still has a job. All I can figure is he has incriminating photos of the boss. It's the only thing that makes sense... because if I was running a company, this latest transgression would be the breaking point for me. But c'est la vie... I don't run it... I made my opinion known to the people that matter (as did the rest of the people on the team... it was definitely not just my opinion) and now it is in their hands. I'd do tournament coverage for pokerpages.com again but not if he was in charge of the reporting team.
I leave for home in a few hours... I'm excited to see friends I haven't seen in a couple months. Then on Tuesday I am going to leave for New York to pick up my boys and drive down to Florida so they can see their Grandpa for the first time in 5 years.
But unfortunately I have an idiot savant for a boss... a 22 year old kid who burned so many bridges with the Harrah's and WSOP staff that after a couple of errors were made in the Day 6 coverage they revoked our pool reporter privileges. I have mixed feelings about the kid I worked for. He does have some talent and at certain times is a likeable guy... but he completely lacks people skills, management skills, has emotional/temper issues, lacks maturity, and pretty much centers everything around him. If it's to his benefit, he's going to do it. If it's not, someone else would do it. It was a me, me, me thing with him and it got old real quick. Not to mention the fact that I got tired of being his fucking alarm clock. I woke him up pretty much every day for the first three weeks before I finally said enough was enough and quit doing it.
Enough of that whine. I was pissed that I worked my ass off for so long and then had to sit in my condo and cover the main event there by watching the pay-per-view broadcast.
I'm amazed this kid still has a job. All I can figure is he has incriminating photos of the boss. It's the only thing that makes sense... because if I was running a company, this latest transgression would be the breaking point for me. But c'est la vie... I don't run it... I made my opinion known to the people that matter (as did the rest of the people on the team... it was definitely not just my opinion) and now it is in their hands. I'd do tournament coverage for pokerpages.com again but not if he was in charge of the reporting team.
I leave for home in a few hours... I'm excited to see friends I haven't seen in a couple months. Then on Tuesday I am going to leave for New York to pick up my boys and drive down to Florida so they can see their Grandpa for the first time in 5 years.
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Leaving Las Vegas
I've had this Blogger account for several years but have never really used it other then to read other people's blogs. Time to change that since I've gotten to know so many people who do.
I have spent the last seven weeks in Las Vegas reporting on the World Series of Poker. I am leaving with mixed emotions because quite frankly I've loved every second of it. While I hear most of my colleagues and peers say how they can't wait for it to be over, I'm of the opposite frame of mind... I wish it would never end. The World Series took place over 47 days. I worked 40 of them. 40 of 46 if you consider the fact that I was off on the very first day of the World Series. I would have worked them all if they had let me.
I have had the good fortune of having done nothing but poker for a living over the past five years. Either as a player, a mentor, and know as a reporter, in some shape or form I have paid my bills through this wonderful game. That being said I have learned more about this game and the people that play it in the past 7 weeks then I have in the previous 5 years. It was one of the reasons I took the job in the first place... I wanted to see what the poker world was like... I looked at it not only as a job but as an educational experience.
The second thing it did was it made me realize how much I need to be playing rather then teaching or writing about it. I started out solely as player but over the course of time and because of opportunities that were presented to me I moved away from playing (not completely, but it was more a hobby then a profession). Watching people play for 7 weeks... I know I belong at the table and I know I can compete with any of these players. I saw mistake after mistake being made. Players getting tired and burnt out and making poor decisions. Gambling when gambling wasn't the best way to proceed. I'd see players make calls when I knew they were beat... only they didn't know they were beat.
So that's my goal now... to play in next year's World Series. Not just one or two events like I have in the past, but all the ones I want to play in. The problem I have is that I'm the kind of guy that lives in the moment which means I have little to start with. I had a small bankroll but recent situations in my life depleted that. So I am starting from scratch... well not completely, but close enough that it's going to be a lot of work to meet this goal. But I know I can do it. I've never lost over the long run in poker. I've been fortunate that way. Just three months ago as an experiment to prove to my students some concepts about bankroll management I turned $100 into $2700 solely playing $1 and $2 rebuy tournaments (I actually cashed in 18 straight at one point... it was sick). I had turned $500 into $8000 a year and a half ago before I was a victim of identity theft. So I know I can do it. I just have to do it.
That being said I still want to do some more tournament reporting over the course of the next year to fill in the blanks and provide myself a little security. I'm going to use this blog to talk about the trials and tribulations I go through. The good. The bad. And everything in between. I might even talk about stuff other then poker. But I doubt it. LOL.
I have spent the last seven weeks in Las Vegas reporting on the World Series of Poker. I am leaving with mixed emotions because quite frankly I've loved every second of it. While I hear most of my colleagues and peers say how they can't wait for it to be over, I'm of the opposite frame of mind... I wish it would never end. The World Series took place over 47 days. I worked 40 of them. 40 of 46 if you consider the fact that I was off on the very first day of the World Series. I would have worked them all if they had let me.
I have had the good fortune of having done nothing but poker for a living over the past five years. Either as a player, a mentor, and know as a reporter, in some shape or form I have paid my bills through this wonderful game. That being said I have learned more about this game and the people that play it in the past 7 weeks then I have in the previous 5 years. It was one of the reasons I took the job in the first place... I wanted to see what the poker world was like... I looked at it not only as a job but as an educational experience.
The second thing it did was it made me realize how much I need to be playing rather then teaching or writing about it. I started out solely as player but over the course of time and because of opportunities that were presented to me I moved away from playing (not completely, but it was more a hobby then a profession). Watching people play for 7 weeks... I know I belong at the table and I know I can compete with any of these players. I saw mistake after mistake being made. Players getting tired and burnt out and making poor decisions. Gambling when gambling wasn't the best way to proceed. I'd see players make calls when I knew they were beat... only they didn't know they were beat.
So that's my goal now... to play in next year's World Series. Not just one or two events like I have in the past, but all the ones I want to play in. The problem I have is that I'm the kind of guy that lives in the moment which means I have little to start with. I had a small bankroll but recent situations in my life depleted that. So I am starting from scratch... well not completely, but close enough that it's going to be a lot of work to meet this goal. But I know I can do it. I've never lost over the long run in poker. I've been fortunate that way. Just three months ago as an experiment to prove to my students some concepts about bankroll management I turned $100 into $2700 solely playing $1 and $2 rebuy tournaments (I actually cashed in 18 straight at one point... it was sick). I had turned $500 into $8000 a year and a half ago before I was a victim of identity theft. So I know I can do it. I just have to do it.
That being said I still want to do some more tournament reporting over the course of the next year to fill in the blanks and provide myself a little security. I'm going to use this blog to talk about the trials and tribulations I go through. The good. The bad. And everything in between. I might even talk about stuff other then poker. But I doubt it. LOL.
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