kind of, one foot in front of the other is more like it.  My son helped me install the RV skirting that has been setting in a box in the shed for over a month.  On New Year’s Day, Riot, Darian and I trekked out to my new digs with the thought they would spend the night and we’d start on the skirting the following day.  Everything went as planned, that night anyway.  We played online poker and between some website work and my poker playing, I played Batman the Video Game on the Wii with Riot.  He only lets me play when he gets stuck.  Hey, maybe I should swap out and let him play poker for me when I get stuck.  🙂

It was cold the following day, I got up early and spread out rows of vinyl/canvas skirting on the ground to let the sun hit it.  We worked most of the day and had to make a trip to Home Depot in Pahrump – shit I hate diversions like that – but managed to get everything pretty much hung and finally gave up and went back to poker, food, and Batman on the Wii around 5 p.m.  It’s almost dark by then anyway, when the sun goes down in the desert it’s like turning off a light, it goes from light to plain old darker than hell in a heartbeat.

I got to bed around 1 a.m. and as planned (somewhere in Hell’s realm), the great gremlin of Murphy’s Law was out and about.  I woke up at 5:30 to the wind beating the skirting about the end of the coach.  Up and at ’em.  My hands froze.  And the wind was an evil thing filled with cold malice.   I started staking down parts of the skirting that we had left for the night.  It all worked out.  Some of it still needs a touch here and there but it’s livable and doesn’t look half bad.

We headed back into Vegas around 2 p.m. and called an optometrist I go to, his receptionist said they did eye exams for kids 4 years old.  Darian and I had already talked this over.  Riot tips his head and squints when you ask him if he can see something a ways away.  He started doing that very recently.  We got into the Dr.’s office and found out they don’t have the equipment to test younger children – new receptionist.  We went elsewhere.  Riot will officially be wearing glasses soon.  A stigmatism that can be corrected with glasses.

The truck driving team has been in Missoula MT (old stomping grounds) for around four days.  The truck was semi (that damn pun again) repaired and they made a run to CA from Kingman area and then had orders to head north so the truck could be fully checked out at the head office/garage.  The truck was in lock-up/hospital needing new airbags that blew when it caught fire – and a ton of other things.  They have been idle for so long it’s brutal as they make no money when they are parked. They had planned to come home for a week this coming weekend but now figure to stay out another week probably.  Sure seems like they’ve been gone forever.

In the last few days I have managed to place in 4 tournaments on PokerStars but nothing to sing and jump about.  I placed 4th in a $1.10 buy-in 7 Card Stud 8 tourney and won $24.  Only problem was that I played for over 7 hours before getting knocked out.  Holy Shit!  I could never do that for a living.  And tired?  OMG!  I couldn’t think.

For a little over a year now I’ve devoted a lot of time and effort into playing tournaments.  I’m ready to give them up other than the Sunday 200K guarantee for $11.  I got another one of those beats that made me scream.  It was a $2.?? buy-in and I sat through a dead run of no cards.  Made a few steals and had some chips.  Got involved with K-J where I flopped jacks against an all-in A-K and he caught…of course an Ace on the River.  Wouldn’t have it any other way.  That wasn’t the hand that shredded my brain though.  That came about 20 minutes later when I raised it to $800 pre-flop (same tourney) blinds were $100-200 and got one caller heads-up that had 9-7 suited.  The flop was 10-6-little rainbow.  He bet $700 right at me.  I raised him another $800 all-in.  He called and an 8 peeled off on the turn just like he had paid the fucking Card Fairy to do it for him.  I was out.

It just blows my brain out through my left ear that they know it’s coming, they bet it at you with a gutshot straight draw, and B-I-N-G-O there it is.  If I played like that I would have to work 6 jobs to be able to afford even the low limit buy-in tourneys.  I’m really trying not to remember beats.  I’m forcing them from me and moving on.  But I believe my tournament struggles are about over.  I’ll be playing mostly cash games.

Obviously, I’ll be playing.  C U there!