has a lot of detours and seems to get longer as you go.  My last post was asking for all poker degenerates – and those that know what they are doing and have a perfect life balance too – to make the PokerWorks H.O.R.S.E. tourney happen on the evening of the 8th.  One lone poker player registered.  I thank you Andrew – better known as ‘djhomeschool’ in our tourney.

It feels like a year has passed since that post.  Three trips into Las Vegas in three days is too much for this kid, I find it to be totally exhausting.  I do have offers from good friends to give up space in their homes for me to spend the night when I’m in Vegas but I’d rather drive the hour and a half to home and have my quiet, little space welcome me for the night.

The Sunday night Birthday Dinner was quite enjoyable except my budster Riot was a little antagonistic terdball.  He was agitated and acted like the typical bratty kid that you wish parents would never force to you to face when you go out to dinner.  My two sons, Dan and Darian, were quite enjoyable though.  I haven’t had much time with Dan for quite awhile since he’s working a variety of shifts and I’m out in the boonies.

The Monday tax preparation was a bit irritating and exhausting, since the truck driving duo’s truck was sick and had limped into Vegas (they leave a small personal truck parked at the depot and use it when they hit town).  Monte had to hit Vegas to drive the company rig over to a Cummins dealer in N. Las Vegas and when we got into town, we picked him up and took him back to the depot, heading from there to our tax appointment which was conveniently on the other side of town.  The traffic and construction is a real ball buster.  Ugster!  When we got to our destination, we were 10 minutes early.  Not to worry, we waited…and waited…and waited.  It was almost an hour past our appointment time before we got in.  Vickie gets a hefty refund…Linda has to pay a hefty tax.  P-U!  I’m happy for Vickie, I’m sad for me!  I should have paid quarterly last year and it would have been much less painful now.  *Note to self – bleed quarterly during 2009*

Tuesday found me with a lunch date with Jennifer Newell – very enjoyable – and then a Dr.’s appointment to catch up on some meds and general check up.  For the first time, in probably the 20 or so times I’ve been to her office, I got right in.  I almost fainted.  It’s usually well over an hour in the waiting room before I am called to the inner sanctum where I wait another 20 minutes or so.  I do love this Dr.  She always takes the time to visit with me and seriously go through my file and write down new changes and what we talk about (maybe she just scratches on the pages but I feel good about it).  Some Dr.s sit with your file in their hand or leave it lay on the counter and never even open it to see who you are or check any of your history.  After the Dr. visit…

Some of the old group met at Wayne’s place for grazing, gabbing and a few cards.  Long time no card party.  Kram is in town, playing at Wynn, and he sort of jump started the action, even though Wayne had tossed it out to me in an email a few weeks ago…collective thinking in action.  It was great to spend time with the group and four hours went by before I knew it!  Amy didn’t make it, not feeling well, her hubby and one I consider to be one of my dearest friends, Greg, arrived after his day at Caesars Palace.  Gordon and Carole, Gary and Marie, Wayne and his roommate Jim, Mark AKA Kram, and MOI!  Viv couldn’t make it, she had company.

One of my favorite shots is pictures in a mirror…MOI!

Wayne had some of his chip collection out, note the ‘some’, there’s a lot there to see.  Gary and Marie are ‘chip rats’ too, Gordon and Carole also collect but not many people I know that collect are on the scale Wayne is on.

We had lasagne by Wayne, Snickers Cake compliments of Marie, pigs in a blanket (the easy way with crescent rolls and hotdogs) by MOI, along with other snackables.  I left the group early, by a bit after 9pm and before leaving the complex Wayne lives in, I realized I had left my phone…right back to the card party and right back out into traffic and the trip home.

This beauty was out in the early afternoon and turned on full scale gorgeous by the time I arrived at home.

I always have work to do, it’s a given, 1am is close to my bedtime but many days I’m up later and I start early most days.  I’ve been running on fumes lately.

Wednesday was a day of mutter-fumbling through the whole thing.  I hit an email glitch which pissed me off and took a few hours to straighten out, and had usual family phone calls, make another Dr. appointment, meet with Jamie about the wall building project, and just in general creep through the day at low speed because my thought processes were nonexistent.  Vickie prepared a great meal of ribs, baked potato, and salad and invted me over.  I went.

A few more hours of work and I signed out of life along about 1am.