AC + Snakes = good weekend

This is one of those weekends where there are plenty of highlights to go around, you just don't know where to begin. I suppose I'll start off with the event I have been looking forward to for months now, and that's *finally* getting to see Snakes on a Plane! Jess and I went to see it last night, hitting the bar for a few hours beforehand so we could get in a quality SOAP mindset. I have to admit, with all the hype surrounding this movie, I was concerned it would be a let down once I actually saw it. It wasn't. I was absolutely giddy the second the opening credits rolled, and stayed that way for the next hour and half. The jokes were cheesy, the action non-stop, the snakes were scary, and Samuel Jackson was the MAN. Don't expect any Oscars for this one, but this was the most fun I have had at a movie theater in years. And isn't that what going to the movies is all about, being entertained?

We got home from the movie, and lucked out since the Yanks/Sox were in a rain delay so I was able to watch most of the game, even after catching Entourage. I sat down to play in a 10:30 touney on Bodog, but after about 15 minutes I had developed a *nasty* headache, and just wanted to lay down on the couch and watch the Yankee game. So I was about to just go all in with junk and get it over with, but instead I asked Jess if she would want to play it out for me. She sat down at the controls, and I moved to the couch. At first she was asking me every hand what she should do, and finally I just started answering "have fun with it". I ended up watching the game and napping on and off for the next 2 hours, and when I finally looked up at the clock it was almost 1am and Jess was still in the tourney. She ended up busting out just off the money, but I was proud of her!

Dave and I headed down to AC on saturday night. I went down $200 early, by giving away most of my chips to a loose aggressive player 2 seats to my left by playing weak hands out of position, then getting pushed out of the pot after the turn and/or river. I was very upset with my play after the first hour. I went for a little walk and got my head together, figuring I was gonna wait this guy out and get my chips back from him. I rebought for another $200, and played conservatively from there on, waiting for my chance. I picked up a pot here and there, and with about $270 in front of me, I pick up AA in the small blind. A couple of limpers in the pot when it comes around to me, I raise it to $12. Mr Loose aggressive call, as does one other player. Flop comes out A Q 4, no flush draw. I bet out $15, and get raised another $35 by you-know-who. The third person in the hand folds, so it's heads up. I decide not to slow play my set, this guy is likely to hang himself here anyway. I raise him another $35. He asks me how much money I have left in front of me. I don't even count my chips for him, I tell him "it doesn't matter, just put me all in." You could tell I confused him with that challenge, he sat there and stared at me for a good sixty seconds, when he eventually did push all his chips in the middle. I called in a heartbeat, and he flips over A3. Ace-three????? I wish I could play witha table full of these guys. I pull a $600 pot, and my night is looking up.

I ended up leaving with $85 profit, after I lost a pot to a med student who needed the money more than I did. I was dealt QQ, when he fires a preflop raise of $15 into the pot, This kid has been quiet all night, playing very very tight. I reraised him another $25 to see where I stood, and he called instantly. So I know that he has a hand now. Flop came out J 9 3. I still have an overpair to the board, so I throw out another $25. He reraises me all in, another $60 on top. I knew I was beat at this point, but with the overpair and only $60 to call into a $190 pot, I had to call. Sure enough, he turns over KK as I flip my QQ. The turn comes...... Q. The look on this poor kids face was like I told him I just ran over his dog. He was crushed. I felt bad. I really did. River card..... K. I felt better. He was elated. Than he ran over to me and apologized. A few times. I told him he didn't need to apolgize, I was the one who sucked out on him in the first place. He then told me that he was in med school, and he really needed this money, and that he would save my life one day. So I got that going for me.

I have another fantasy football draft tonight, my big money league. I have the #4 pick in the draft, so unless somebody has a brain fart and passes on one of the big 3, I am going to have a tough decision to make. It's a heavily Touchdown biased scoring system, with 1 point for every 20 yards gained rather than the traditional 1 point for every 10 yards gained, so that is going to influence my pick in a big way I think. Either way, I *HATE* picking #4 in this years draft.

A Worthy Cause

I'm still not sure what type of readership my little space gets here, but for anybody who happens to stumble through here, you might want to check this out. It's such a good cause, it even made me figure out how to link to stuff through my blog! There's some cool stuff on there to bid on, or if poker isn't your thing, you can just make a donation if you like. It's all For Peyton.

In other news, fantasy football season is upon us!!! I had my first draft tonight, with 2 more in the next week and a half. I'm happy with the team I assembled, I was able to find some good value picks in the later rounds. Now we keep our fingers crossed that the inury bug doesn't hit my team.

Looking like a trip down to Atlantic City is in the works this weekend. I can stand to rebuild my bankroll a little bit since I had to dip into it to fix my car. I'm sure I will come back with a story or 2, hopefully nobody will flip me the bird and threaten me this time around!

Snakes On Crack On a Plane

I'm sure by now, we have all been introduced to the movie event of the summer, Snakes on a Plane starring Samuel L Jackson. I just happened to catch a little bit of his interview on Letterman, where was talking about the plot of the movie. Turns out these Snakes, in order to get them all riled up and super aggressive, have been sprayed with pheromones and according to Mr. Jackson, pheromones are basically crack to a snake. Well, he should know. Snakes on Crack on a Plane!!!

My excitement concerning Snakes on Crack was shortlived. Right after the Samuel Jackson segment, a commercial came on that I had not seen up until now, and I am thoroughly pissed off about. It seems that one of my favorite songs of all time has been misused to sell jeans, and unfortunately, it's not even the original version of Sir Duke by Stevie Wonder, it's some crappy American Idol ripoff version. I will never buy another pair of Lee dungarees.

For those of you interested in following up on my previous post, it cost over $400 to fix the damage to my car when my tire fell off due to the thievery of my lug-nuts. Bunch of savages in this town. I dipped into my live poker bankroll to cover the expense. I just couldn't introduce an unexpected expense like that into my budget at this time, especially as Jess and I get nearer to buying a house. We went and looked at a bunch of houses this weekend in Delaware, and came away with 4 or 5 that we really liked. This week we'll talk to a few realtors and go with one we are comfortable with, and start moving ahead in the process.

My poker bankroll keeps moving in the right direction. I was on a huge rush 2-3 weeks ago and I have slowed down a little since, but I'm happy as long as it keeps moving upwards. In other news, the Vegoose festival slated for Halloween weekend has announced it's initial list of artists. Follow the link to the right to check them all out. So far, some of the acts I am looking forward to are the Black Crowes, Tom Petty (who I have never seen live before), The Killers, Jurassic 5, Galactic (of course), and Medeski Martin & Wood with special guest, Maceo Parker. I haven't seen Maceo Parker in almost 10 years, the last time I saw him, believe it or not, he was sitting in my living room of my off-campus college house after a show in Philadelphia. That was a killer show, it was a triple bill featuring Maceo, George Clinton, and ironically enough, Medski Martin & Wood. A few of the females I went to the show with ended up backstage, and Maceo and the guys in his band were looking to keep the party going. We got invited back to their hotel, but the general consensus was that we felt like heading back to the suburbs to party out there so we wouldn't have to worry about driving home, so they all came along for the ride. Somewhere in an old shopping bag filled with photos, I have a picture of Maceo and I chilling on a $10 couch in my crackhouse that we lived in while attending Nova. Priceless! I need to find it and get that framed.

Bunch of savages in this town

I had a nice productive day planned before I am supposed to go into work tonight. I made an appointment to bring my car in for a few things that I have been putting off, a run to the bank, and to my insurance agent. With any luck, I'd still be home by noon and would be able to get in a few hours napping on the couch before I had to be at work. Things didn't go exactly as planned. I did jump out of bed @ 7:30 when my alarm went off. So far, so good. I'm out the door @ 7:45, hop into the car to head to the mechanic, put the ole Honda Civic in reversre, then *CRUNCH* loud grinding noise and not going anywhere fast. Hmmm, I put it in drive and try to pull back into the parking space. Move about a foot, and my car drops down HARD. What the fuck? I step outside the car, and there is my right front tire fucking rolling on the ground. Some asshole removed my lug nuts last night. Bunch of savages in this town. So I jack the car up to check the damage, and luckily it looks minimal. I start hiking up the hill into town, while I am on the phone with my wife blowing off some steam. She decides to leave work and head home in case I can't find what I need at the local auto parts store. I don't even know what I need at the moment besides some new lug nuts, so rather than continuing up the big hill in the summer heat, I turn around and head back to the apartment. On my way I give the local police a call to report this vandalism, and they gave the impression that they couldn't be bothered with it, but promised to step up patrols within our apartment complex @ night. Thanks guys!

Jess gets home, and we head to the auto parts store where I get the new hardware. Once home, I put the tire back on and start tightening the nuts, and it is apparent that two of the bolts must be bent because the nuts won't turn. Unfortunately, they weren't even opposite corners, which makes driving on it a risky proposition- but with my frustration level growing, a risk that I am ready to take. So I drive, slowly mind you, to the mechanic and that is where it sits. I'm waiting for a call back when they can assess the damage. So far today I have had three different people... the mechanic, the cop I talked to on the phone, and my apartment complex manager... ask me, "Who did you piss off?" That's the funny thing about it- we keep to ourselves here and haven't pissed off any of the neighbors. I don't think there is anyone out there who would consider me an "enemy", and if there is, I don't think I have pissed off someone that royally where they would track me down and try to kill me. Which pretty much leaves the possibility of some neighborhood kids, trying to be funny. But that is an awful lot of motivation for mischief to be walking around in the middle of the night, with a lug wrench, to cause some damage that wouldn't happen for hours, and that they likely wouldn't even get to enjoy watching happen! I'm 100% perplexed on this one.