Plasma

Owning a house can sure tire you out!

The last week and a half I have spackled, primed, painted, scrubbed, drilled, installed, screwed (not the fun kind), and hammered enough to last me for 20 years. The good folks at Home Depot now wave to me when I show up twice a day. There is still a lot to do, but we are getting there.

Big day yesterday....... deliveries!! I had been in a rush all week to get the living room painted because on wednesday the furniture was getting delivered. We bought a sofa and loveseat for the living room, and a huge sectional couch for the basement. And the TV. The whole reason I bought a house in the first place was so I can buy a kick ass TV. And when I found a house with a BAR in the basement, I knew I found a home for a great TV. I'm glad the deliveries didn't show up until late afternoon, if they were there in the morning I would not have gotten anything done all day!

I am still *slightly* bummed that I am not in Vegas right now. This was supposed to be the week (actually, 10 days) that I was going to be out there for a poker bender, and then the Vegoose music festival. But alas, we bought the house and there was all this spackling, priming, painting, etc that had to be done. The adult thing to do was cancel the trip. Doesn't mean that I like being an adult. Stupid sexy responsibility! BUT, since I missed out on the Vegas trip, I decided that a few days of this "vacation" would be spent in beautiful Atlantic City. I'll be heading down in a few hours (I miss you already plasma TV!), Jess will head down after work, and we'll be meeting up with Jimmy and Jennie down there sometime this evening. I will be looking forward to getting some quality time in @ the poker tables. Jess will head back on friday during the day, I may stick around and see what kind of fishes swim in for a friday night.

HOMEOWNERS!

Check us out.....we have the keys and everything!

The good and the bad

Overall, it's been a good week.

The positives:
*My back is feeling much better, maybe not 100 percent, but definitely 100 times better than it was the past 2 weeks.
*The New York Football Giants got their act together against the Redskins and went to 2-0 in the NFC East. I was able to get up to the game (thanks Jimmy!) and had a blast. I'd also like to take this opportunity to thank my wife, who allowed me to leave her stranded at the airport Sunday morning, so I could drive up to the Meadowlands for the game. She's the best.
*While the past few weeks on the virtual poker tables has been pretty brutal, I had a mini breakthrough of sorts in my Multi Table Tourney play. Well, whether it's a breakthrough, variance, or dumb-ass luck I do not know, but whatever it is, I'll take it. On Tuesday morning I finished 7th out of 425 in bodog's 1am $4000 Guaranteed, and tonight I just finished up the same $4000 G'teed tourney in 4th place (out of 395). 2 final tables in 3 days, not too shabby if I do say so myself. I would have been poised to make a run @ first place tonight, I was 2nd in chips and went out when my KK was cracked by the chip-leaders AQ.
*It's been over 3 weeks since I quit smoking. I've struggled at times, but I'd say 80% of the time it's not an issue. Unfortunately, that leaves 20% of the time when I am ready to physically harm someone.
*And last, but certainly not least, tomorrow we officially become homeowners!!!! We have the final walkthrough tonight, and then closing is friday morning. Excited, anxious, and nervous would accurately describe the mood around Jess and I.

The Negatives:
*The Yankees...... need I say more? And then the odd, tragic story of Cory Lidle. =(
*Several friends of mine have lost loved ones this week. My heart goes out to you. You know who you are.

Pain in the......

It's been so long since I have had a chance to update this thing, I don't even know where to begin.

I missed the Bash @ the Boathouse. Yes, I suck. Seeing as how I had all these cool mofo's here in my backyard with endless amounts of alcohol and debauchery at my fingertips, I am quite ashamed. There's no way I could have gone however.... I couldn't even get out of bed for days. Somewhere along the way, I threw out my back. In a bad way. I missed 3 days of work and took more painkillers than even I care to imagine. It's somewhat better now, over a week later- still sore and stiff, but nowhere near the debilitating pain that it was at one point. But it did keep me from the Bash, and that ain't cool.

It's been over two weeks since I have had a cigarette, and while for the most part I am handling it well, there are definitely moments when I want to rip somebody's face off. Like right now. I hear that feeling subsides at some point. I only hope I don't hurt somebody first.

My father in law is doing as well as can be expected. Home from the hospital and going absolutely stir crazy because he really can't leave his couch. While that sounds nice for a day or two, and Lord knows I have pulled that off for a weekend here and there, I couldn't imagine being confined to that spot for weeks. He has a walker that he can use to get around a little, but the doctors don't want him moving around too much. And of course the insurance companies are going back and forth trying to get the other one to pay for his hospital bills, so that will be fun for the next six months. But we are glad that he is home, and all things considered, still in one piece.

Poker-wise, I have really been stinking up the joint lately. I've been playing way too many MTT's and been busting out on the bubble (at best). My rate of return on SNG's has been awful. And let's not even talk about my performance in cash games lately. So yeah, I'm having bankroll issues. Thankfully I've had 3 winning weeks with the sportsbook since the NFL season began, which is keeping my head above water. Barely. All this has been online, by the way. I haven't had the chance to get down to AC in a good number of weeks, and its probably a good thing with the way I've been hemorrhaging money lately. Plus, in less than two weeks we close on our house (YAAAAAAYYYYY!), and there is a big difference, in my mind at least, between dropping a couple hundred on a table in Atlantic City, and donking away a couple hundered of my online bankroll.

Speaking of online bankrolls, seems like our "friends" in Congress attached an Internet Gambling ban to a defense bill designed to beef up security at our ports, which easily passed over the weekend. Because after all, who doesn't want more secure ports? Unfortunately, the sneaky SOB, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) backdoored a piece of legislation through that will make it illegal for banks, credit card companies and other financial institutions to transfer money to and from gambling outfits overseas. We are still months away from the date when these banks have to comply, but be careful friends, as Big Brother will be watching, and they may just decide to confiscate your bankroll.