Thursday, May 5, 2005

In a heartbeat, in less than one teensy breath, summer is going to be here. It will be hotter than hell and I’ll wish for the days that bloom into the night that I’m experiencing now…my evening. It’s beautiful. A light, gentle breeze that whispers as it wraps around me, a promise of life and fresh thoughts, daydreams coming true, and a new beginning. I believe in new beginnings. We need them to keep moving forward, to protect us from becoming taciturn and jaded, to strengthen us for living our lives. We need progression, always forward, carving a path into a new and unknown side of ourselves and only looking back to remember where we don’t want to be.

Hell yes! I’m drinking. So what? Grab a glass for yourself and possibly some of this will remind you of some part of you.

I have a great friend, Sylvia Hart. We work swing shift together and have the same days off. As of late, we walk the employee parking lot (two laps) after we get off work at night. It’s about two miles and while we walk, we hash and bash our nights and in general, laugh our asses off. We both want to lose some flab. Sylvia has gained quite a bit of weight and on her small frame, it’s very obvious.

I keep chuckling over this one statement she made about two weeks ago. While we are churning up the pavement in the parking lot, she’s stating that she really likes to eat. I’m listening and adding a note here and there. Then she states, “Those fucking bears are so lucky, all they do is eat and sleep.”

I was spitting laughter as she continued the conversation asking how long they hibernated for because that’s what she wanted to do, eat and sleep. Instead we were pounding the pavement at 3:30 a.m. trying to get our girlish figures back.

On the employee parking lot, after about two weeks of walking, we were finally ‘carded’ by Security. They wondered if we work there. We laughed our butts off over that. Like why in the hell would we be cruising the lot at 3 a.m.? Just sneaking in for our usual walk? Sure they have a job to do…

A zillion things I could write about tonight but how much can I send from my brain to cyber before I run out of steam? Remember…I’m drinking.

I have to share a hand that unfolded in the $2-5 NLH game. It started with nothing in particular before the Flop…as in no raising. The Button was in the 10s, Satellite Sam – he’s sort of a legend in poker and he used to ‘floor’ at the Mirage in the old days.

Seven or eight way action, the Flop was 8-5-8. Check all the way around. Sam bet $50. The 1s called, the 2s raised it to $200.

The 5s raised it $439 more all-in.

Fold to Sam and he folded.

The 1s went into count the chips, fidget, think about it, fidget, count the chips out, fidget, “I need a little time.”

He finally called.

The 2s said he would call and raise it to put the 1s all-in. That was about $200 more.

No thinking by the 1s now. He just pushed his chips in.

The 1s turned over 8-3 off. The 2s turned over 10-8 suited. The 5s turned over 5-5.

The 1s mumbled, “A 3 would be nice.”

Bingo! Right off on the River, like it had eyes, as if it’s ears were tuned in and ready to please…a 3.

As I pushed giant mounds of red chips to the 1s, he asked, “What should I do with all of these?”

While this isn’t my normal dealing attitude, I quietly said, “Give me some of them.”

Hysterical. He did give me a tip, after he put them all in racks to see how big the pot was and changed some of them up for bigger chips.

On another note, my friend, Jim AKA The Monkey from CO has been in town for most of the last two weeks. He’s done the chip tango and the dialogue dance with the best of them in the $80-160 and the $30-60. I barely drug him out of the game for a short visit early in the week. He’s going to Aruba with me this year to deal the Ultimate Bet Tournament…and not only that, Wayne, my super buddy, hiking partner, pan playing, ultra cruising buddy is going to deal that event also. That should be some kind of event…the three of us, loose on the island of Aruba.

Wayne stopped in tonight to visit and we did the ‘tourist thang’ of Bellagio’s Poker Room while I was on a break. Love that guy! We are going to Jeff’s house (Thor is my pet name for him) for a poker tournament this weekend. Chit Mon! I’d like to win one of these events! But if I don’t, the company will be great and I’ll just be packing around my little glass of ‘never empty’…wine that is.

So…while dealing tonight, $15-30 H, I sat down to mostly strange faces and greetings. Nice! No one was grumbling and ugly looking…just came to play. About the fourth hand I dealt, I had this dipshit thought zip through my brain and I just spit it right out as I pushed the ‘green’ button on the Shuffle Master, “I wonder if I’ll get carpal finger doing this?”

The 5s looked right at me and said, “If you aren’t getting carpal finger from your husband at home, you won’t get it here.”

I almost spit!

Then I hit a $30-60 H game in which a long time jerk, crab-ass, never happy, plays as bad as he can play just to prove that when he wins a pot he isn’t going to tip, named Tom, was in the 2s. He played almost every hand I dealt. Once, when he was the BB, he called a raise heads-up with Q-6 D. The Flop had one Diamond and he runner-runnered a back door flush to beat A-A. Of course he was a star then and the cards didn’t come ‘zinging’ in trying to burn my fingers off at the first knuckle. What a diptard!

One hand, raised pre-flop, on the Turn and River it was heads-up with Cal and Tom. The board was A-K-8-8-5. Tom turned up A-Q and Cal turned up A-5 Suited. I started splitting the pot.

Tom blurted out, “What are you doing?”

Mike was in the 8s, IMHO has the ability to be one of the best players in any limit as soon as he’s got his own mindset settled, exclaimed, “Yeah…what are you doing, dealer?” He was laughing his butt off.

Several other players chimed in that it was a split pot.

No shit, Diptard. Figure it out!

I never said a word, just carved the pot into two equal stacks and pushed it. Cal tipped me. Tom sucked his thumb…or whatever it is that losers do.

I spent my last down in The Bobby Baldwin Room. Did I mention that I love life? I do! I know I mentioned I’m drinking…so…