I haven't blogged in over a week. The longest stretch since I started blogging. I have little in the way of excuses. I have been super busy at work (what recession?) and Lynn has been using the computer a lot at home thereby blocking me from usibut I do still have time to blog if I really wanted to. I guess I just haven't been into writing or creating all that much. Call it writer's block or laziness, whatever the reason I just haven't felt myself lately. Heck, I haven't even seen The Watchmen yet and wonder if I'll even see it in the theaters at this point.
Hopefully, the nice weather will bring a change of mood and start the creative juices flowing again. In the meantime get excited about this-
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Arrested Development: The Movie!!
Big thanks to Chris who posted this youtube video on his blog yesterday of some fun behind the scenes antics of the new Arrested Development movie -
Those who know me well, know that I think Arrested Development was one of the best sitcoms to ever grace the network airwaves. The show was not only hilarious the first time you'd watch an episode, but there were so many jokes that you wouldn't catch the first viewing that you would notice on repeat viewings. The dialog was clever, the characters were great and the actors were perfect. Of course when you have a show this good, people will not watch it and instead watch something mindlessly stupid like According to Jim. The show only lasted 3 seasons (and the last season was short) and I'm sure the movie will not garner much box office either. But nevertheless, I recommend that if you haven't already, rent or buy the TV show DVD's and GO SEE THIS MOVIE!!
Those who know me well, know that I think Arrested Development was one of the best sitcoms to ever grace the network airwaves. The show was not only hilarious the first time you'd watch an episode, but there were so many jokes that you wouldn't catch the first viewing that you would notice on repeat viewings. The dialog was clever, the characters were great and the actors were perfect. Of course when you have a show this good, people will not watch it and instead watch something mindlessly stupid like According to Jim. The show only lasted 3 seasons (and the last season was short) and I'm sure the movie will not garner much box office either. But nevertheless, I recommend that if you haven't already, rent or buy the TV show DVD's and GO SEE THIS MOVIE!!
Rating the Kids shows part V- Batman: The Brave and the Bold
In the 60's DC Comics had a popular comic book series titled, The Brave and the Bold. At first, the series featured heroes from the past like Robin Hood and Knights but it moved on to showcasing new superheroes. The Justice League, Teen Titans and others made their debut during this time period. Eventually the series morphed into a team-up series where a random hero would team up with one of DC's most popular characters, Batman. The series ran for a long time until the 80's and then it eventually died during the comic rebirth and popularity of The Uncanny X-men. It did eventually get a revamp and the series is up and running again. Recently, Cartoon Network took the same concept, pair Batman with another DC hero, and debuted a new animated series for kids this past fall.
Gone is the dark brooding Batman that we've recently seen in great movies like Dark Knight and just about any comic book made in the past 30 years. The animators actually chose to use the silver age costume from the 60's where the costume is actually blue and not black or dark navy blue. Batman even smiles quite regularly in the show! As much as I enjoy the rich and complex stories of Batman and his obsessive drive to stop crime due to the murder of his parents, I also very much appreciate what direction, look and feel this show took.
It is a kid's show after all, and I once devoured superheroes when I was a kid as well. I watched corny and hokey cartoons like Spiderman and his Amazing Friends show, The Superfriends and even live action shows like Wonder Woman and The Incredible Hulk. It's what ultimately drove me to read the comic books. As inane as some of the shows were, they were a joy to watch as a kid as you could fantasize that you yourself had superpowers and could save the world against super villains who lived in a huge Darth Vader head in the swamp.
This show reminds me of the superhero shows I would watch as a child, however, it took all the hokey and corny out but still kept it light, upbeat and most importantly, fun. The end result is something really good. It reminds me of the creative and innocent comics that came out of the 60's, which is why I think it was a good choice to use this format. The show usually starts with a 3 minute opening where Batman and another superhero like The Red Tornado are trapped by a villain. They make their way out of the trap in a clever or interesting manner and bring down the crooks. The show's theme then starts and a completely new story starts usually with another superhero. Most episodes are self contained and there's no long drawn out ongoing dramas or serial stories that need to be followed.
While the intended audience is 7-13 year old boys, I find myself looking to see when I could watch the show. It brings out the old fantasies and fancies that I had as a child myself. The violence is very light and the darkness of Batman is all but gone. This a truly fun show to enjoy with your son and watch.
The show isn't perfect, but I'm afraid to mention why as I know I'll be labeled as a comic book nerd. (ie. one thing that annoys me is that Aquaman is characterized as a pompous ass, which my son thinks is funny, but annoys the heck out of me since that's not the Aquaman I know and love!) But the flaws are small and only noticeable because the overall concept and execution itself is so well done. I give this show a 9 out of 10.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Party Season
As spring approaches, I am reminded that soon my weekend social calendar will be filled to the brim for 3-4 months straight. We have my birthday, my son's birthday, my nephew's birthday, mother's day, Marge's day (more on this later) father's day, my wedding anniversary, throw in some Phillies games and other parties we need to attend for family and Easter and Memorial day as well. What's even more insane is that for some reason we have added a party to the mix, so now we have 2 parties in one weekend to throw.
As much as I like attending and hosting parties, there is such a thing as too much. By the time my anniversary rolls around in the beginning of May, I feel drained and stressed. (and that's only the halfway point!!) Nevertheless, this time of year is when we emerge from the bleary confines of our homes. We've been trapped too long from the cold and the dark and wish to see some happy faces, drink some grog and ale and perhaps hunt for some colored eggs.
I suppose we can't ignore tradition and the rites of spring or my mother-in-law for that matter.
As much as I like attending and hosting parties, there is such a thing as too much. By the time my anniversary rolls around in the beginning of May, I feel drained and stressed. (and that's only the halfway point!!) Nevertheless, this time of year is when we emerge from the bleary confines of our homes. We've been trapped too long from the cold and the dark and wish to see some happy faces, drink some grog and ale and perhaps hunt for some colored eggs.
I suppose we can't ignore tradition and the rites of spring or my mother-in-law for that matter.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Pat the Bat's class act
For those of you who don't read the paper (which is most of us these days...), Now ex-Phillie, Pat Burrell, took out a full page ad. Click on the picture to read it:
I'm still sore at the front office for not resigning him and since my season tickets are in left field, it will be weird seeing someone else out there every Sunday. Pat spent his own money (well he did make millions here) to take out the ad and it wasn't something he had to do. Pat's a class act and he will be missed.
I'm still sore at the front office for not resigning him and since my season tickets are in left field, it will be weird seeing someone else out there every Sunday. Pat spent his own money (well he did make millions here) to take out the ad and it wasn't something he had to do. Pat's a class act and he will be missed.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Speaking of Magic Hats...
Talking about Magic Hat beer reminds me of the days back in college when me and my housemates would attempt to get liquor and beer for our parties. It's not the beer that's reminding me of this story either, it's the name itself, "Magic Hat". It's a moniker that me and a few of my friends came up with for an old ivy wool cap that seemed to fool people into thinking that you were 21 or older.
Most of us at that time were only 19 or 20 years old, so obtaining any amount of beer or liquor required an older friend which wasn't always available at the time. We had heard through the grapevine that there was a liquor store owned by a Korean man in Greenbelt, MD that would sell liquor to college students without asking for ID. So, we all piled into the car and headed to the liquor store. Once there, we decided that only one of us should go in and attempt to get some cases of beer. (and we usually bought some nasty swill like Milwaukee's Best aka "The Beast" because it was like $11.25 a case or some absurdly low price.) We all agreed that Gene looked the oldest of us, but in hindsight, I think Gene had a rather boyish face. We dressed Gene as old as we thought we could make him look. After dressing him in an argyle sweater and slacks, we topped him off with an old woolen ivy cap (see above). Gene came out of the liquor store 10 minutes later with the booty and we all rejoiced. Later that night, we celebrated this wonderful miracle by getting shit-faced drunk. It was a good thing we now had some swill and cheap vodka.
Later that week, I took my roommate, Jeff, with me to the same liquor store. Feeling confident that I needed no ID to get beer, I marched into the store with no costume to make myself look older. At this point I just figured that the owner had no morals when it came to under-aged drinking and just wanted to make some money, so I thought I'd have no problem.
Think again, Brian.
The old Korean man immediately asked for some ID after I put a few cases of the "good stuff" (MGD) on the counter. I told him that I had left it in the car and would be right back. I ran out like the scared wuss that I am. When I got back to the car, Jeff decided he would take a chance and give it a try himself. The hat that Gene had worn was still in the back seat, so I told him to put it on in the hopes it would make him look older.
Even though Jeff was a year younger than me and looked it- Jeff came out with the case of MGD, it's gold label shimmered in the setting sun.
It was truly a thing of beauty.
It had also made us realize that we were in possession of a magic hat. Much like the glasses that Superman wore to become Clark Kent, the magic hat blinded people's ability to judge someone's true age. We had to use the hat wisely and not succumb to it's lure of power and not abuse its wondrous abilities. Lest you think that it was me that the Korean liquor store owner would not serve, I went into the store a week later with the hat on and had no problems.
The hat itself was actually my friend's, Gary, hat. He liked to wear strange and vintage style things like that and I think he may have worn the hat himself 3 times tops. It was just his style to do something like that. He had no problems letting us use the hat and after he left Maryland to go to Rutger's University, he left behind the hat, either because he forgot to take it or just didn't care for it too much. I grew to love the style of hat over the years, perhaps because I missed my friend. This day I still wear an ivy hat that's made of leather when I play poker. It's one of my favorite things to wear.
Eventually we all aged a few years and didn't need the magic hat. By that point we had moved out of the dorms and really didn't have any younger friends to pass the hat on to. The hat traveled with me to Pennsylvania when I dropped out of school. I even donned it a few times when the mood struck me. I eventually lost the hat in one of my moves and my wife eventually bought me a nice leather version of the same style hat.
Sometimes, I wonder if the magic hat's real magic was not that it fooled people into thinking you look older but rather that it gave you the confidence you needed to walk up and not look like you're trying to get away with something. Perhaps, it was a little of both.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Saturday, March 7, 2009
They're back!!
Last night...
No I wasn't there and I don't have tickets either for the upcoming Camden show (sigh). Nonetheless, it's exciting to see them back and doing Phishy things again. Apparently they dusted off a lot of old songs like Fluffhead, so I can imagine it being a great show.
Also- be sure to sign up at livephish as you can soon download the three Hampton shows for FREE. Limited time only, so sign up now!!
No I wasn't there and I don't have tickets either for the upcoming Camden show (sigh). Nonetheless, it's exciting to see them back and doing Phishy things again. Apparently they dusted off a lot of old songs like Fluffhead, so I can imagine it being a great show.
Also- be sure to sign up at livephish as you can soon download the three Hampton shows for FREE. Limited time only, so sign up now!!
Friday, March 6, 2009
Rub some dirt on it
As I previously mentioned, my oldest son, Jonathan, is a rather sensitive 10 year old boy. My wife and I are growing ever more concerned that he is becoming too much of a wuss, to put it bluntly. Don't get me wrong, my wife and I accept who Jonathan is and will become with all of our hearts as we love him dearly. He is a great kid and the concern comes from where both Lynn and I went through as pre-teens. We both experienced the pointed end of the stick when it came to teasing. Hell, they even called my wife "ogre" and I was, well, a nerdy wuss. I know the ogre comments still affect my wife to this day as she brings it up on occasion. I wish she could see herself through my eyes (and most likely anybody else) as she quite the opposite of being an ogre.
So, we are wary when it comes to Jonathan crying openly at such trivial matters and his inability take a little pain. You know how the old playground rules were, you'd get beaned by a ball and instead of crying they'd tell you to rub some dirt on it and get back in the game. My son, unfortunately, will go to the nurse at any sign of sniffle or some little ache that he gets. He always looks to get sympathy or some sort of band-aid or ice pack for any minor injury. I know he's only 10 but I see how even my almost 8 year old, Gabriel handles some pain and while he may try to milk some goodies out of you, he won't dwell on it like Jonathan does. Jonathan will worry about all sorts of things that may happen and get upset over things that haven't even taken place. If it hasn't happened already, Jonathan will develop a reputation of being a crybaby or wuss. I don't want him to go through the same painful childhood that we did.
Just 2 days ago I came home to him bawling loudly in the living room. He said with his lips quivering that he was on top of "T-Rex Mountain" (a snow mound where the plow sticks the snow in the parking lot behind our house) and fell and banged his knee "very, very, VERY HARD!!" (and how it must be broken!) I asked him how he made it home as it takes about 3-4 minutes to walk home and he said he walked. Right then and there I found my father channeling his parenting skills through my body and mouth and I immediately dismissed his pain and basically went cold to his crying.
"Well, if you can walk on it, it's not broken."
"Sniff, really? But it feels broken."
"Well, it would swell up if you did something serious to it. Take off your pants and I'll take a look at it."
"BUT I CAN'T, it'll hurt!!"
"Stop, yes you can, do it!"
He made a big production out of how much it hurt to take off his jeans, but I wasn't buying his crocodile tears. I took a look at his knee and saw no swelling or anything that indicated that his leg was seriously hurt. He then made another big production out of getting his pants back on and just then his mother came downstairs from her shower. He took one look at her and the water works started flowing like a broken dam.
She gave him exactly what he wanted, a big hug and some sympathy. I sometimes wonder if it would be better if I showed a little compassion. But as bad as it sounds I feel that I don't make a big deal out of it he eventually won't either. Maybe I'm wrong and if I give him some TLC he can feel better and go do his usual thing, but I doubt it as his behavior over the next day and a half was almost comical. He was fake limping around. You could tell that the limp was fake since he was doing such a bad job at it. His refusal of making his leg straight was making my wife crazy. He was more worried that it would hurt if he would straighten his leg than actually getting hurt from the crazy limp he was doing.
We sent him to school despite his protests. We also informed him the he shouldn't go to the nurse about his leg pain as we weren't going to pick him up for it. We should have known better as his weird limp caught the eye of the teacher and then Jonathan blabbed that he wasn't allowed to go to the nurse. (I'm hoping that she hasn't reported us to child services yet.) Last night I finally forced him to straighten his leg out and walk on it or else he was getting punished. He complied and claimed it hurt but you could see he was walking fine.
This morning I had confirmation that he was fine as he ran into the kitchen after I told him we had Munchins from Dunkin Donuts that his Uncle Duane gave him and his brother.
I honestly don't know what to do at this point. I might even seek professional help for some of his behaviors and moods. I want him to be happy and stop worrying so much about things that are either out of his control or might not even happen. I know I had similar issues and it hits you harder when you see your own child go through the same thing. Maybe I should just be like my father and let him work it out on his own (because I turned out so well? HA!), but my gut tells me that isn't the best thing to do.
Can you rub some dirt on your soul and get back into the game?
So, we are wary when it comes to Jonathan crying openly at such trivial matters and his inability take a little pain. You know how the old playground rules were, you'd get beaned by a ball and instead of crying they'd tell you to rub some dirt on it and get back in the game. My son, unfortunately, will go to the nurse at any sign of sniffle or some little ache that he gets. He always looks to get sympathy or some sort of band-aid or ice pack for any minor injury. I know he's only 10 but I see how even my almost 8 year old, Gabriel handles some pain and while he may try to milk some goodies out of you, he won't dwell on it like Jonathan does. Jonathan will worry about all sorts of things that may happen and get upset over things that haven't even taken place. If it hasn't happened already, Jonathan will develop a reputation of being a crybaby or wuss. I don't want him to go through the same painful childhood that we did.
Just 2 days ago I came home to him bawling loudly in the living room. He said with his lips quivering that he was on top of "T-Rex Mountain" (a snow mound where the plow sticks the snow in the parking lot behind our house) and fell and banged his knee "very, very, VERY HARD!!" (and how it must be broken!) I asked him how he made it home as it takes about 3-4 minutes to walk home and he said he walked. Right then and there I found my father channeling his parenting skills through my body and mouth and I immediately dismissed his pain and basically went cold to his crying.
"Well, if you can walk on it, it's not broken."
"Sniff, really? But it feels broken."
"Well, it would swell up if you did something serious to it. Take off your pants and I'll take a look at it."
"BUT I CAN'T, it'll hurt!!"
"Stop, yes you can, do it!"
He made a big production out of how much it hurt to take off his jeans, but I wasn't buying his crocodile tears. I took a look at his knee and saw no swelling or anything that indicated that his leg was seriously hurt. He then made another big production out of getting his pants back on and just then his mother came downstairs from her shower. He took one look at her and the water works started flowing like a broken dam.
She gave him exactly what he wanted, a big hug and some sympathy. I sometimes wonder if it would be better if I showed a little compassion. But as bad as it sounds I feel that I don't make a big deal out of it he eventually won't either. Maybe I'm wrong and if I give him some TLC he can feel better and go do his usual thing, but I doubt it as his behavior over the next day and a half was almost comical. He was fake limping around. You could tell that the limp was fake since he was doing such a bad job at it. His refusal of making his leg straight was making my wife crazy. He was more worried that it would hurt if he would straighten his leg than actually getting hurt from the crazy limp he was doing.
We sent him to school despite his protests. We also informed him the he shouldn't go to the nurse about his leg pain as we weren't going to pick him up for it. We should have known better as his weird limp caught the eye of the teacher and then Jonathan blabbed that he wasn't allowed to go to the nurse. (I'm hoping that she hasn't reported us to child services yet.) Last night I finally forced him to straighten his leg out and walk on it or else he was getting punished. He complied and claimed it hurt but you could see he was walking fine.
This morning I had confirmation that he was fine as he ran into the kitchen after I told him we had Munchins from Dunkin Donuts that his Uncle Duane gave him and his brother.
I honestly don't know what to do at this point. I might even seek professional help for some of his behaviors and moods. I want him to be happy and stop worrying so much about things that are either out of his control or might not even happen. I know I had similar issues and it hits you harder when you see your own child go through the same thing. Maybe I should just be like my father and let him work it out on his own (because I turned out so well? HA!), but my gut tells me that isn't the best thing to do.
Can you rub some dirt on your soul and get back into the game?
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Happy Square Root Day!!
Just a quick note to wish everyone a good and fun Square Root day. Today is 3/3/09- which, or course is one of the few times where the day and month are the same and multiply to make the year (last 2 digits- 3X3=9). The last time it happened was 2/2/04 and 1/1/01. The next time will take place in 7 years on 4/4/16. Hopefully, I'll still be blogging then.
Even more exciting is that we are prime number of days away from Pi day- which takes places on 3/14. (an approximation of Pi is 3.14) On Pi day I suggest we all run around in circles to honor the event.
Even more exciting is that we are prime number of days away from Pi day- which takes places on 3/14. (an approximation of Pi is 3.14) On Pi day I suggest we all run around in circles to honor the event.
Signs of aging that they didn't tell you about
I'm fast approaching my 39th birthday in less than 2 months. It will be the last year of my 30's and the very thought scares the crap out of me. I just want to go back to 1992, where I can still drink and gamble but still have my youth. Nonetheless, I trudge on as if I have no other choice, well, because I don't have another choice.
The obvious things that are happening to my body like male pattern baldness, gray hairs, and general aches and pains are things I expected and things that are widely known about getting old. I'm sure one day I'll require reading glasses as I become farsighted, I may lose some of my sex drive and memory and I'll wear polyester shorts with black socks and a sweater in July. I'll probably shrink to 5 ft 3 from 6ft 1 by the year 2060, should I live so long, since the spine compresses as you age. Luckily those things haven't happened yet, however, some things have started to pop up that are really bumming me out as I had no clue I was destined to have such changes by age 40. For a public service and so people can benefit from my experience (see below), here they are outlined below-
The obvious things that are happening to my body like male pattern baldness, gray hairs, and general aches and pains are things I expected and things that are widely known about getting old. I'm sure one day I'll require reading glasses as I become farsighted, I may lose some of my sex drive and memory and I'll wear polyester shorts with black socks and a sweater in July. I'll probably shrink to 5 ft 3 from 6ft 1 by the year 2060, should I live so long, since the spine compresses as you age. Luckily those things haven't happened yet, however, some things have started to pop up that are really bumming me out as I had no clue I was destined to have such changes by age 40. For a public service and so people can benefit from my experience (see below), here they are outlined below-
- Your ears slowly spread out. My wife, Lynn, claims that this is a common fact but so far no one else I've talked to seems to know that it happens. But I've definitely noticed that my ears are catching more and more wind resistance when I walk down the street. Why I'm turning into Dumbo in my middle age is beyond me but apparently your cartilage keeps growing after your bones stop.
- You get attacked by moles. No, I'm not talking about those little blind fuckers that dig up your lawn. I'm referring to what they call age spots. I knew of age spots as a kid from that horrible commercial but had no idea that you get these awful marks all over your nose and face. The sun is just awful for you. So, kids, be sure to wear of plenty of sunscreen and don't stay out in the sun too long.
- You become a crank. The character of "grumpy old man" is a stalwart in the annuls of archetypes and recurring characters. They scream at the neighborhood kids to get off their lawn and they write long letters to the editor complaining how in the old days people would tip their fedoras and no one these days has any respect. (let alone fedoras) But as a teen, I always thought that these people were always that way. I thought an entire generation was full of whiners and cranks. Turns out that your brain shrinks as you get older causing you to become more cantankerous. If you don't believe I'm becoming more angry and irate in my old age, just look at my blog posts on Ebay and GE servicemen.
- You always have the answers for young people and try to give advice whether they ask for it or not. I'm at the age where I feel my experience should count for something. I also find myself dispensing advice to people younger than me even if they look squeamish and like they wish to leave to go do something dangerous and impulsive. I think to myself, "If only these 20-something year old brats would listen to me, I've been through something similar before and they could make their lives a lot easier if they would heed my advice." Of course, I always forget that when I was 20-something I would think to myself, "Why is this old dude going on and on about when he was young? Can't he see that he's making a fool of himself? I really would like to get away from him and go do something impulsive and dangerous."
- You have hairs pop up in the weirdest places. One look at Abe Vigoda and you know that this will happen. He is an extreme example of hair foliage gone unchecked. But I really had no idea that it would happen so quickly. I have ear hairs so long that they could be used to hem my pant leg. Perhaps, it is directly tied to male pattern baldness and every time you lose a hair on your head you gain one in your nose, ear, bicep, ass cheek or ankle. Seriously, there are some spots that you had no idea were capable of growing hair that these wiry and coarse suckers pop up.
- People around you get old. Okay, so maybe this one seems obvious and I'll agree with you. But it still shocks me how old some people are when I hear their ages. Here are some examples- Uma Thurman- 39, Brent Spiner (aka Data from Star Trek)-60, Michael Jackson- 50, Madonna-50, Frank Oz-64 , Henry Winkler-63 , I remember when Christina Ricci was a child actor, now she's 29!!
- You need less sleep at night but nap more during the day. I can only guess that this trend continues to get worse as you always see octogenarians walking in the mall at 7am, 2 hours before they open, but are always the first to doze off at parties. I never used to nap at all but lately on the weekends I find myself dozing off for 30 minutes or so in the middle of the day. In fact, I feel like I could use a nap now. Maybe, it's because you don't sleep as soundly at night. Always getting up to pee since your prostrate is bigger.
Monday, March 2, 2009
The Fallen
Here in the Northeast, we got a bit of snow last night and today. The weathermen made it sound like the rapture was on its way but, alas, only one horseman showed up. (it was Famine and he was looking pudgy if you ask me.) It was, however, enough snow to really screw things up for the day and cause me to fall on my ass not once, not twice, but three times.
Recently, I've become my brother's chauffeur since he's had his foot in an orthopedic boot. He can't drive, so that leaves me to do all of the banal errands that our company needs doing. So, on top of my already busy day (always lots of orders on Monday) I had to drive around in the snow and go banking and to the post office.
The first time I took a spill today was actually indoors. I was waiting in line at the bank and noticed my bootlace was untied. I knelt down and tied it and on my way up I actually lost traction on the bank's tiled floor with my wet boots. I banged my elbow and knee before rolling over on the ground like a upside down turtle. It's probably the least graceful moment of my life, and I've had quite a few doozies, let me tell you. Who the fuck trips while they're already halfway on the ground? Yet, somehow I found a way.
Not even 20 minutes later I get out the car and amble my way over to the post office's exterior mailbox. I guess with the limited amount of snow that we've had this winter I've lost my snow legs as I took a really big spill on a patch of ice near the mailbox. I even noticed the ice and made a point of treading carefully. I fell straight on my fat butt and a shot of pain went up from my lower back to my neck, where it still resides tonight. Now I was getting pissed.
I get back to the warehouse and work through my pain while putting the orders together. A half an hour before UPS is due to show up I notice that our back ramp hasn't been plowed like it's supposed to be. So, on an empty stomach (I had no time for lunch) and a back, neck, knee and elbow screaming in pain I grabbed our shovel and did what I had to do. Shoveling on a ramp isn't easy either and again I had to keep my balance on slippery surfaces but this time I also had to deal with an incline. I don't think I need to say much more but I will tell you that my fall was really more of a split that I'm really not capable of doing with an hour's worth of stretching. It's tough to hurt your inner thigh muscles but I found a way.
Fear not, I can still blog as my fingers and brain remained unharmed- I think. I also banged my head a few times on my brother's Bravada hatchback that wouldn't open all the way up. It takes real talent to be this clumsy and you have to have a big heart to keep injuring yourself and keep going.
Recently, I've become my brother's chauffeur since he's had his foot in an orthopedic boot. He can't drive, so that leaves me to do all of the banal errands that our company needs doing. So, on top of my already busy day (always lots of orders on Monday) I had to drive around in the snow and go banking and to the post office.
The first time I took a spill today was actually indoors. I was waiting in line at the bank and noticed my bootlace was untied. I knelt down and tied it and on my way up I actually lost traction on the bank's tiled floor with my wet boots. I banged my elbow and knee before rolling over on the ground like a upside down turtle. It's probably the least graceful moment of my life, and I've had quite a few doozies, let me tell you. Who the fuck trips while they're already halfway on the ground? Yet, somehow I found a way.
Not even 20 minutes later I get out the car and amble my way over to the post office's exterior mailbox. I guess with the limited amount of snow that we've had this winter I've lost my snow legs as I took a really big spill on a patch of ice near the mailbox. I even noticed the ice and made a point of treading carefully. I fell straight on my fat butt and a shot of pain went up from my lower back to my neck, where it still resides tonight. Now I was getting pissed.
I get back to the warehouse and work through my pain while putting the orders together. A half an hour before UPS is due to show up I notice that our back ramp hasn't been plowed like it's supposed to be. So, on an empty stomach (I had no time for lunch) and a back, neck, knee and elbow screaming in pain I grabbed our shovel and did what I had to do. Shoveling on a ramp isn't easy either and again I had to keep my balance on slippery surfaces but this time I also had to deal with an incline. I don't think I need to say much more but I will tell you that my fall was really more of a split that I'm really not capable of doing with an hour's worth of stretching. It's tough to hurt your inner thigh muscles but I found a way.
Fear not, I can still blog as my fingers and brain remained unharmed- I think. I also banged my head a few times on my brother's Bravada hatchback that wouldn't open all the way up. It takes real talent to be this clumsy and you have to have a big heart to keep injuring yourself and keep going.
Friday, February 27, 2009
Where has all the customer service gone?
As I write this, my poor wife, Lynn, has experienced something most of have in this day and age of repairs- the 4 hour window that wasn't met. We had an oven that wouldn't heat up and most modern ovens aren't very easy to fix if you don't know what you're doing. Instead of a pilot light there's some sort of electronic heating ignition device and damn if I know how to replace it without blowing up the house. It's the sort of modern convenience that isn't very convenient to the end user. The GE oven is barely 5-6 years old, so we decided to call a GE repairman.
Since appliances are so cheap these days, we have to pay some guy about 1/4th of what we spent on the actual unit itself to just come out and take a look. The money meter starts ticking as soon as he arrives. I'd be willing to bet that if he had to rebuild the unit with parts that you'd spend 25 times the value of the unit on parts alone. As much as it seems a waste of money the more worrisome part is the waste of your time. Whether it's the cable guy, a delivery of a mattress, or a GE oven repairman, you always get a 4 hour window of when that person will grace you with his presence. Half the time, they don't even do that.
Anyways, Lynn makes her appointment of 8am til 12pm thinking that she could get her sleep in shortly after the repairman leaves as she needs to get about 3-4 hours of sleep in order to work her night shift at the hospital before the kids get home at 4pm. She actually gets an automated call at 10pm telling her that she's the next one to be serviced and to get any dogs out of the way. A nice feature except for the fact that no one shows up. She waits til 12:30pm and no one has shown up. Frustrated she calls the service center.
Now here is where the good companies get separated from the bad companies. Anyone can run a business and have most things go right. Make a good product or service, have that product or service do its intended job and have a satisfied customer, it's the end of story for 95% or more of transactions. But as I've learned so aptly from a beach T-shirt I saw in 1987, "Shit Happens". It's when that shit happens and how that company reacts and takes care of the shit is what makes invaluable service or products.
They could make a great customer out of us by doing the right thing and solve the problem or make Lynn happier by offering some sort of concession. But instead, just like most large corporations, the customer service fought with her. If the word sorry was used it was in regards to how Lynn felt (ie. "I'm sorry you feel this way") and not that they are sorry for making her wait all morning and not have the repairman show up on time or even call to say that he's running late. The rep couldn't even tell her when he could come or if it would be anytime soon. No concessions or discounts were offered until Lynn actually cancelled the order.
It's like when you get a new credit card and cancel the old one the old company suddenly starts offering you a much better rate than before. Well, if you could have given such a great rate before I wouldn't be looking for a new card, would I? So once the words, cancel and stop the order were used the rep changed her tune. But by that time it was too late. I can only guess that they are actually trained to stand pat with the goodies until the customer threatens to fly the coop. How awful is that?
I run a small business and when I get a customer upset that my product broke or didn't show up in time or whatever else that could go wrong, I do something to correct it right away. I don't wait until I hear the customer get so upset that they threaten to cancel their order or go to another place. While it's true that there are some irrational customers who you can never satisfy, most people want someone to listen, correct the problem and do a little something for having their time wasted or go through a bit of a pickle.
Instead most companies would rather do what they can to hold onto their nickles until the very last moment before conceding and some don't even concede at all. We as consumers seem to have less and less power when it comes to the big corporations. Customer service has reached an all time low in my opinion. I guess I sound like a cranky old man, but Ebay, GE and all of the other virtual monopolies can go fuck themselves. We need more competition and we need people to start speaking up to getting treated right.
Since appliances are so cheap these days, we have to pay some guy about 1/4th of what we spent on the actual unit itself to just come out and take a look. The money meter starts ticking as soon as he arrives. I'd be willing to bet that if he had to rebuild the unit with parts that you'd spend 25 times the value of the unit on parts alone. As much as it seems a waste of money the more worrisome part is the waste of your time. Whether it's the cable guy, a delivery of a mattress, or a GE oven repairman, you always get a 4 hour window of when that person will grace you with his presence. Half the time, they don't even do that.
Anyways, Lynn makes her appointment of 8am til 12pm thinking that she could get her sleep in shortly after the repairman leaves as she needs to get about 3-4 hours of sleep in order to work her night shift at the hospital before the kids get home at 4pm. She actually gets an automated call at 10pm telling her that she's the next one to be serviced and to get any dogs out of the way. A nice feature except for the fact that no one shows up. She waits til 12:30pm and no one has shown up. Frustrated she calls the service center.
Now here is where the good companies get separated from the bad companies. Anyone can run a business and have most things go right. Make a good product or service, have that product or service do its intended job and have a satisfied customer, it's the end of story for 95% or more of transactions. But as I've learned so aptly from a beach T-shirt I saw in 1987, "Shit Happens". It's when that shit happens and how that company reacts and takes care of the shit is what makes invaluable service or products.
They could make a great customer out of us by doing the right thing and solve the problem or make Lynn happier by offering some sort of concession. But instead, just like most large corporations, the customer service fought with her. If the word sorry was used it was in regards to how Lynn felt (ie. "I'm sorry you feel this way") and not that they are sorry for making her wait all morning and not have the repairman show up on time or even call to say that he's running late. The rep couldn't even tell her when he could come or if it would be anytime soon. No concessions or discounts were offered until Lynn actually cancelled the order.
It's like when you get a new credit card and cancel the old one the old company suddenly starts offering you a much better rate than before. Well, if you could have given such a great rate before I wouldn't be looking for a new card, would I? So once the words, cancel and stop the order were used the rep changed her tune. But by that time it was too late. I can only guess that they are actually trained to stand pat with the goodies until the customer threatens to fly the coop. How awful is that?
I run a small business and when I get a customer upset that my product broke or didn't show up in time or whatever else that could go wrong, I do something to correct it right away. I don't wait until I hear the customer get so upset that they threaten to cancel their order or go to another place. While it's true that there are some irrational customers who you can never satisfy, most people want someone to listen, correct the problem and do a little something for having their time wasted or go through a bit of a pickle.
Instead most companies would rather do what they can to hold onto their nickles until the very last moment before conceding and some don't even concede at all. We as consumers seem to have less and less power when it comes to the big corporations. Customer service has reached an all time low in my opinion. I guess I sound like a cranky old man, but Ebay, GE and all of the other virtual monopolies can go fuck themselves. We need more competition and we need people to start speaking up to getting treated right.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Libras are irrational
Lately, I've been finding myself arguing or debating with people on completely different levels of thinking. Far be it from to claim that I'm right in my opinions (even though I am), it's becoming apparent to me that it's incredibly futile to try and discuss rational thought when the other person is using emotion and feeling as their argument. Yet, still I find myself arguing and huffing and puffing. It becomes infuriating to watch that persons silly grin as they discuss how Taurus is a big influential sign on her life and relationships with Geminis always end badly.
Honestly, I try to understand and I can see where Karen came to the conclusion that she does better with Taurus men than Gemini men as her 3 biggest and most successful relationships were all men that are born between April 20th and May 19th and her divorce was with a man who was born a Gemini. But to me- there's no causality, it's a small sample size and she may even have selective data as she probably only includes the data where it matches up with her conclusions (and not on purpose either, a lot of us tend to have selective memories when trying to make a point).
Perhaps I should convince her to date a million men. If she wasn't married, she probably could fulfill that task or at least give it the ol' college try. (I'm kidding Karen!) And after you get a large enough collection of...ahem.."data", she could perhaps see that her chances of having a positive relationship with a Gemini is as equally likely as having one with a Taurus. Or maybe, she even could be proven right and she could nanny nanny poo poo me all she wants. And I would accept the razzing because she used a scientific way to prove her point.
But she doesn't think that way.
And it's not that thinking by emotion makes her always wrong. It probably gets her pretty far with most things as most people use their "gut" to get through life anyways. Heck, some really good poker players are "feel" players who ignore the math completely but still manage to be rather successful. There certainly is something to be said about emotive capabilities.
So why can't I accept that and move on? Why do I have to even view emotion itself as simple chemical reactions and synapses firing and nothing else?
It's not like I give my wife a Valentine's day card and write a note that says, "My endorphin levels escalate every time I am aware of your presence. My hormonal response to your sex organs is a positive experience. I have no plans of mating with other women in the foreseeable future, Brian" Instead I write, "I love you and love being around you. You have an ass that won't quit. Yours forever, Brian." So, why do I have such trouble accepting arguments from the emotional side. Why won't my line of thinking allow me to embrace spirituality?
I'd say that science is my religion but that would be a cop-out and completely untrue. I am without all faith and science is not faith as it constantly changes. Scientists abandon the latest scientific theory as soon as a better one comes along. I also feel what you would could call spirituality at times, it's just I have a voice that tells me that's it's a weird chemical reaction. I think I've somehow learned to detach myself from certain emotions in order to survive my own destructiveness and emotional carnage from my bipolar nature.
I also tend to surround myself with cynics and doubters like myself. It's also why I have become such a pompous ass about my belief system. I was constantly being reinforced as my line of thinking as being the right way of thinking. I would scoff at the religious right and view them as the enemy who was ruining my libertarian way of life with their intrusive morality laws. I started to associate the extreme kooks with your average person who had any faith whatsoever.
In other words, I became an elitist.
Then one day I watched someone else berate their own relative for having a faith based belief. He tried his best to berate that person in front of me and even looked to me for back up. While I thought that this person's belief was correct and logical, I wanted no part of his utterly disgusting display of pompous indignation and audacity. I actually defended the other person. I didn't defend their point of view but rather their right to have that point of view and their right to not take such shit from anyone for having that belief.
It's opened my eyes to a certain extent. While I still have no tolerance for the extremists and people who wish to shove their faith into the law of the land, I've come to accept people who have spirituality and faith as someone with a different take on things. I don't embrace spirituality but I do understand it better and while I may not ever understand anyone's own particular sense of bliss, I do acknowledge and respect it much better than I ever have the past 10 years.
Now all I have to do is learn how to sidestep getting into all of these debates.
Honestly, I try to understand and I can see where Karen came to the conclusion that she does better with Taurus men than Gemini men as her 3 biggest and most successful relationships were all men that are born between April 20th and May 19th and her divorce was with a man who was born a Gemini. But to me- there's no causality, it's a small sample size and she may even have selective data as she probably only includes the data where it matches up with her conclusions (and not on purpose either, a lot of us tend to have selective memories when trying to make a point).
Perhaps I should convince her to date a million men. If she wasn't married, she probably could fulfill that task or at least give it the ol' college try. (I'm kidding Karen!) And after you get a large enough collection of...ahem.."data", she could perhaps see that her chances of having a positive relationship with a Gemini is as equally likely as having one with a Taurus. Or maybe, she even could be proven right and she could nanny nanny poo poo me all she wants. And I would accept the razzing because she used a scientific way to prove her point.
But she doesn't think that way.
And it's not that thinking by emotion makes her always wrong. It probably gets her pretty far with most things as most people use their "gut" to get through life anyways. Heck, some really good poker players are "feel" players who ignore the math completely but still manage to be rather successful. There certainly is something to be said about emotive capabilities.
So why can't I accept that and move on? Why do I have to even view emotion itself as simple chemical reactions and synapses firing and nothing else?
It's not like I give my wife a Valentine's day card and write a note that says, "My endorphin levels escalate every time I am aware of your presence. My hormonal response to your sex organs is a positive experience. I have no plans of mating with other women in the foreseeable future, Brian" Instead I write, "I love you and love being around you. You have an ass that won't quit. Yours forever, Brian." So, why do I have such trouble accepting arguments from the emotional side. Why won't my line of thinking allow me to embrace spirituality?
I'd say that science is my religion but that would be a cop-out and completely untrue. I am without all faith and science is not faith as it constantly changes. Scientists abandon the latest scientific theory as soon as a better one comes along. I also feel what you would could call spirituality at times, it's just I have a voice that tells me that's it's a weird chemical reaction. I think I've somehow learned to detach myself from certain emotions in order to survive my own destructiveness and emotional carnage from my bipolar nature.
I also tend to surround myself with cynics and doubters like myself. It's also why I have become such a pompous ass about my belief system. I was constantly being reinforced as my line of thinking as being the right way of thinking. I would scoff at the religious right and view them as the enemy who was ruining my libertarian way of life with their intrusive morality laws. I started to associate the extreme kooks with your average person who had any faith whatsoever.
In other words, I became an elitist.
Then one day I watched someone else berate their own relative for having a faith based belief. He tried his best to berate that person in front of me and even looked to me for back up. While I thought that this person's belief was correct and logical, I wanted no part of his utterly disgusting display of pompous indignation and audacity. I actually defended the other person. I didn't defend their point of view but rather their right to have that point of view and their right to not take such shit from anyone for having that belief.
It's opened my eyes to a certain extent. While I still have no tolerance for the extremists and people who wish to shove their faith into the law of the land, I've come to accept people who have spirituality and faith as someone with a different take on things. I don't embrace spirituality but I do understand it better and while I may not ever understand anyone's own particular sense of bliss, I do acknowledge and respect it much better than I ever have the past 10 years.
Now all I have to do is learn how to sidestep getting into all of these debates.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Riding a wave into a wall
After tipping a dealer free money, you'd think Karma would repay me back and allow my trip to Vegas end well. But, alas, I am not Earl of TV fame and such cosmic balances don't apply to my life. Once I walked away from the Let it Ride table, I figured my winnings were just shy of $2200. I knew that I shouldn't be stupid in my remaining few hours and not risk much more than $200. But my mood started to turn sour from a very frustrating ordeal in obtaining my storage crate to ship back to work, a fairly bad meal (although comped!!) and a nagging cold that started to develop. I probably shouldn't have played anything at that point and instead just go to my room, masterbate and go to bed early.
Dummy me went to the poker room back at the Bellagio. They had 1/2 again thankfully and I went up again after a quick start. Then I just sort of petered out. I kept getting hands that were excellent draws like open ended straight draws and the nut flush draws, but they always missed so I was losing money fast. Then I just got plain cooled when my set of 4's lost out to an AK flush draw that hit a final heart on the river. My intial buy in was gone. I considered rebuying as the night was somewhat still early but reconsidered when I thought about the following:
The players at the table seemed to be better in skill than previous nights although not unbeatable.
I was in a bad mood and getting sicker.
I was steaming from the suck out.
$2000 is still an excellent amount of money to go home with.
While possible that I could have rewon my buy in and more, I'm glad I walked away when I did. I think I've learned better discipline this trip and while it's very certain that I could've made better decisions along the way to maximize wins and minimize losses, I am still proud of myself for keeping the big picture in mind and not risking more than $300 and usually $200 at any one point. I kept focused most of the time I played and I identified players who were worse than me and tried to isolate them. Overall I give myself a solid B+ for the way I played in vegas.
I went back to my room and tried to get some sleep as I had a morning flight back to Philly. My cold at that point was driving me nuts as my sinuses made me feel like my head was going to cave in. Not to mention that annoying nasal drip was making my throat sweel like a balloon. I ended up with less than 4 hours of sleep. I was happy, however, with my last ride down in the "inclinators", the Luxor's elevators that go sideways and up and down at the same time since the building is pyramid shaped. The inclinators are not very fun to ride when tired, sick, drunk or stone cold sober for that matter as well.
Once back in Philly I came home to some upsetting news which I can't even repeat here (strange for me, yes, I know) so my high from the trip came to an abrupt end. I can describe the feeling as surfing a great wave and instead of gliding into shore you hit a brick wall. Perhaps next time I'll keep the money and let the dealer cry, Karma is a cruel mistress.
Dummy me went to the poker room back at the Bellagio. They had 1/2 again thankfully and I went up again after a quick start. Then I just sort of petered out. I kept getting hands that were excellent draws like open ended straight draws and the nut flush draws, but they always missed so I was losing money fast. Then I just got plain cooled when my set of 4's lost out to an AK flush draw that hit a final heart on the river. My intial buy in was gone. I considered rebuying as the night was somewhat still early but reconsidered when I thought about the following:
The players at the table seemed to be better in skill than previous nights although not unbeatable.
I was in a bad mood and getting sicker.
I was steaming from the suck out.
$2000 is still an excellent amount of money to go home with.
While possible that I could have rewon my buy in and more, I'm glad I walked away when I did. I think I've learned better discipline this trip and while it's very certain that I could've made better decisions along the way to maximize wins and minimize losses, I am still proud of myself for keeping the big picture in mind and not risking more than $300 and usually $200 at any one point. I kept focused most of the time I played and I identified players who were worse than me and tried to isolate them. Overall I give myself a solid B+ for the way I played in vegas.
I went back to my room and tried to get some sleep as I had a morning flight back to Philly. My cold at that point was driving me nuts as my sinuses made me feel like my head was going to cave in. Not to mention that annoying nasal drip was making my throat sweel like a balloon. I ended up with less than 4 hours of sleep. I was happy, however, with my last ride down in the "inclinators", the Luxor's elevators that go sideways and up and down at the same time since the building is pyramid shaped. The inclinators are not very fun to ride when tired, sick, drunk or stone cold sober for that matter as well.
Once back in Philly I came home to some upsetting news which I can't even repeat here (strange for me, yes, I know) so my high from the trip came to an abrupt end. I can describe the feeling as surfing a great wave and instead of gliding into shore you hit a brick wall. Perhaps next time I'll keep the money and let the dealer cry, Karma is a cruel mistress.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
More Watchmen sneak peaks
The Watchmen comes out in about just 2 weeks so lots of sneak peeks are coming to light, here are a few I've found. I still have mixed feelings on if the movie will be good but, damn, some of these clips are awesome.
Things start to get weird
The third day in Vegas wasn't as profitable and fun as the second but I still continued my winning streak and I had a nice dinner with an old high school friend I hadn't seen in 20 years who was now living in Vegas. The show had run all day so I was feeling quite drained but I managed to get in an hour of poker before meeting Rob. The players again at the Luxor were quite bad. I only managed a small win of 50 dollars.
Dinner with Rob was very pleasant. I wasn't very close with Rob but I always remembered him to be a nice guy, I wish I had spent more time with him back than as he was a joy to spend dinner with last week. After he dropped me off, I went straight back to the poker tables and managed to win yet another "best hand" and an extra $100 when my Queens full of tens held up. The game itself was very wild compared to the night before as there was a very loose aggressive and drunk player present who was splashing chips and making raises with nine deuce off suit (and making hands!). I tightened up and waited and managed to isolate him in a hand and win a decent sized pot. Then 3 hands later he managed to suck out on me and hit his gut shot straight draw so I lost the money I had won from him. The real shame was when he got stacked by another player and left.
Nevertheless, I walked away a $300 winner for the day if you included the best hand win. That put me at $1800 for the trip. I felt great and nothing was going to bring me down- hahahahahahaha!!
Okay, so maybe I wasn't that manic, but it's hard to contain yourself when you keep winning. I was certainly having a good time and remained undaunted when some weird things started to happen the next day.
The next day I was waiting for the show to start so since I was in the Mandalay Bay casino, I decided to kill 45 minutes playing some stupid poker variant where you play against the casino. It was called Crazy 4 poker and despite not really knowing what I was doing, I still managed to win $220 playing it. While that in of itself wasn't weird, it did lead me to see another game that interested me called Let it Ride. I didn't play it that morning but I did make a note to come back and try it later.
That day at the convention, a man came up to my booth and started to give me a small amount of grief in a teasing manner. I immediately recognized as the man who made his straight when I made my full house and won the best hand promo and I took close to $200 from him on that hand. I nervously gave him lots of free samples and whatever I could grab to make him forget that I had taken his money. He was actually nice about it and I may have him as a customer some day. Even still, it's weird when take money from strangers and see them later in your professional life.
The show finally ended and I knew I had to wait a bit for them to deliver my crate. As a result, I made my way back to the casino and tried that Let It Ride that interested me. Again, without really knowing what I was doing, I actually managed to go up about $70. I was having the best dumb luck of my life this trip or so I thought...
Just then a guy walked up to the table. He was the sort of guy who had douche-bag written all over his face. He was dressed in a black suit with a white T-shirt underneath. He had lots of gold chains dangling from his neck and his black hair was slicked back with lots of mousse. I'm not one to racially profile but if I had to guess, I would have said that he was one of those young Iranian men who loved to go clubbing. What's weirder is that he was rolling his carry-on suitcase through the casino. He was just dropped off and fresh from landing at the airport. He almost walked completely by but stopped at our table and plunked a hundred dollar bill. He placed his bets and the amazing happened- he hit a royal flush and won $25,000.
First Goddammed hand of his trip and this lucky fucker wins $25,000. After the excitemet died down the dealer presented him with a full rack of $1000 chips. I was in awe. She also gave him some lesser denomination chips like $25 and $100- obviously meant to tip her. After all, these dealers work mainly for tips and dream of when they finally deal that big winner and get a nice pay day.
The guy takes out 3 $100 chips and give me one and one to the other 2 players at the table. "Thank you! That's very generous!" I quickly said and then he took his racks and left- stiffing the dealer. The dealer became visibly upset and was holding back the tears. Without much thought I then tossed her the $100 chip and said, "Thanks for the excellent service." The other 2 players followed suit and did the same thing. While tearing up she thanked us over and over again. I was just about to cash out my $120 winnings when the pit boss came over and told us that even though he normall can't do as such, he would comp us all for a free dinner for tipping the dealer like that when she got stiffed. I was proud of myself for doing the right thing.
to be continued...
Dinner with Rob was very pleasant. I wasn't very close with Rob but I always remembered him to be a nice guy, I wish I had spent more time with him back than as he was a joy to spend dinner with last week. After he dropped me off, I went straight back to the poker tables and managed to win yet another "best hand" and an extra $100 when my Queens full of tens held up. The game itself was very wild compared to the night before as there was a very loose aggressive and drunk player present who was splashing chips and making raises with nine deuce off suit (and making hands!). I tightened up and waited and managed to isolate him in a hand and win a decent sized pot. Then 3 hands later he managed to suck out on me and hit his gut shot straight draw so I lost the money I had won from him. The real shame was when he got stacked by another player and left.
Nevertheless, I walked away a $300 winner for the day if you included the best hand win. That put me at $1800 for the trip. I felt great and nothing was going to bring me down- hahahahahahaha!!
Okay, so maybe I wasn't that manic, but it's hard to contain yourself when you keep winning. I was certainly having a good time and remained undaunted when some weird things started to happen the next day.
The next day I was waiting for the show to start so since I was in the Mandalay Bay casino, I decided to kill 45 minutes playing some stupid poker variant where you play against the casino. It was called Crazy 4 poker and despite not really knowing what I was doing, I still managed to win $220 playing it. While that in of itself wasn't weird, it did lead me to see another game that interested me called Let it Ride. I didn't play it that morning but I did make a note to come back and try it later.
That day at the convention, a man came up to my booth and started to give me a small amount of grief in a teasing manner. I immediately recognized as the man who made his straight when I made my full house and won the best hand promo and I took close to $200 from him on that hand. I nervously gave him lots of free samples and whatever I could grab to make him forget that I had taken his money. He was actually nice about it and I may have him as a customer some day. Even still, it's weird when take money from strangers and see them later in your professional life.
The show finally ended and I knew I had to wait a bit for them to deliver my crate. As a result, I made my way back to the casino and tried that Let It Ride that interested me. Again, without really knowing what I was doing, I actually managed to go up about $70. I was having the best dumb luck of my life this trip or so I thought...
Just then a guy walked up to the table. He was the sort of guy who had douche-bag written all over his face. He was dressed in a black suit with a white T-shirt underneath. He had lots of gold chains dangling from his neck and his black hair was slicked back with lots of mousse. I'm not one to racially profile but if I had to guess, I would have said that he was one of those young Iranian men who loved to go clubbing. What's weirder is that he was rolling his carry-on suitcase through the casino. He was just dropped off and fresh from landing at the airport. He almost walked completely by but stopped at our table and plunked a hundred dollar bill. He placed his bets and the amazing happened- he hit a royal flush and won $25,000.
First Goddammed hand of his trip and this lucky fucker wins $25,000. After the excitemet died down the dealer presented him with a full rack of $1000 chips. I was in awe. She also gave him some lesser denomination chips like $25 and $100- obviously meant to tip her. After all, these dealers work mainly for tips and dream of when they finally deal that big winner and get a nice pay day.
The guy takes out 3 $100 chips and give me one and one to the other 2 players at the table. "Thank you! That's very generous!" I quickly said and then he took his racks and left- stiffing the dealer. The dealer became visibly upset and was holding back the tears. Without much thought I then tossed her the $100 chip and said, "Thanks for the excellent service." The other 2 players followed suit and did the same thing. While tearing up she thanked us over and over again. I was just about to cash out my $120 winnings when the pit boss came over and told us that even though he normall can't do as such, he would comp us all for a free dinner for tipping the dealer like that when she got stiffed. I was proud of myself for doing the right thing.
to be continued...
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
In memormiam: Joyce Klaus 3/8/1944-2/17/1995
Hi Mom,
It's now been 14 years since your passing and I still have trouble believing you're not here. I think the thing you would have enjoyed the most aside from your grandchildren is the fact that Duane and I get along much better than we have in the past. Well that and the Game Show Network and the reruns of The Match Game. The celebrity gossip certainly hasn't dried up either so you would've enjoyed that awful show TMZ as well. Since you passed from colon cancer, I got my first colonoscopy last year and the good news was that I was polyp free. I wish you had more warnings or an early checkup that would have given you better fight. But it's too late and I can do is learn from your mistake. I do miss you so and I think of you often.
Love,
Your son Brian
It's now been 14 years since your passing and I still have trouble believing you're not here. I think the thing you would have enjoyed the most aside from your grandchildren is the fact that Duane and I get along much better than we have in the past. Well that and the Game Show Network and the reruns of The Match Game. The celebrity gossip certainly hasn't dried up either so you would've enjoyed that awful show TMZ as well. Since you passed from colon cancer, I got my first colonoscopy last year and the good news was that I was polyp free. I wish you had more warnings or an early checkup that would have given you better fight. But it's too late and I can do is learn from your mistake. I do miss you so and I think of you often.
Love,
Your son Brian
Monday, February 16, 2009
A good day
The next day of my Vegas trip turned out to be a very good one. I woke up completely refreshed and excited to play some more poker. I wasn't expected to start the trade show until 3:30 that day, so I had plenty of time to try my luck at the tables. I made my way to the Belagio again and to my immediate dismay I found out that they only had a $2/$5 NL table running and no $1/$2 tables. I decided against my better judgment to take a shot with a short stack but this turned out to be lucky thing for me.
I sat down with $300 and proceded to get pocket Kings, pocket Queens, pocket Aces and pocket Jacks within the first 10 minutes. Not only did this put me up rather quickly but it also led the other players to avoid me in a lot of pots which enabled me to actually win a few pots uncontested. I was also amazed at how the level of play was no better than the play found at the lower stake games in Vegas. I guess Vegas tends to get more touristy players than AC or other places get. The horrible decisions made by most players was truly a great way to make money if you played tight and straight forward and focused. While it was true that the deck was hitting me pretty well I felt that I played my best poker in quite a while. I played for a good 3 and half hours until I realized that I needed to get some lunch and make my way over to the convention. I was up a good 400 dollars or more when I announced to the table that I was playing my last hand. I was dealt pocket nines and was on the button. The under the gun raiser made a more than usual raise which led me to believe that he had a big pocket pair like aces or kings. A bad player from middle position made the call so I decided to call as well and see if I could hit my set and maybe stack the guy. The flop truly was a great flop for me- 983 rainbow. I had top set and the original raiser was betting big into me. Ultimately, we ended up all in and I raked in a huge pot of $1500 when my trip 9's held against his pocket Kings. It was my biggest pot ever and I was walking on air during the convention.
The convention itself was also the biggest I've attended for the type of show it was. There was a lot of students which really do me no good business-wise except to get my name out but I did make a lot of decent contacts and I hope to see some business from it. Even as trade shows drain the life out of you I still managed to let my big win carry me through the 3 hour shift and I dropped into a restaurant on the way back to my hotel. It was called RM Seafood (the RM stood for Rick Moonen) and it was probably the best sushi I've ever had, the Artic Char was absolutely and incredibly delecious.
After a quick change of clothes I planned on going back to the Belagio, but saw that the Luxor actually had a 1/2 table going. I figured I'd save myself a cab ride and took a seat there. Again, with the exception of a few decent players, the level of play was rather bad and I quickly went up and was making some money. They had a special promotion where once an hour the highest valued hand (with some stipulations) would win $100. During my time spent there, I managed to get Aces full of fives and it held up as the best hand for the remaining 50 minutes. That combined with the $200 I won playing made me an $1500 winner for the day.
Up $1500 with a great meal in my belly, I slept like a baby that night. Blissfully unaware of any problems at home I had a great day where the only thing I wish for was my wife by my side to share it with.
to be continued...
I sat down with $300 and proceded to get pocket Kings, pocket Queens, pocket Aces and pocket Jacks within the first 10 minutes. Not only did this put me up rather quickly but it also led the other players to avoid me in a lot of pots which enabled me to actually win a few pots uncontested. I was also amazed at how the level of play was no better than the play found at the lower stake games in Vegas. I guess Vegas tends to get more touristy players than AC or other places get. The horrible decisions made by most players was truly a great way to make money if you played tight and straight forward and focused. While it was true that the deck was hitting me pretty well I felt that I played my best poker in quite a while. I played for a good 3 and half hours until I realized that I needed to get some lunch and make my way over to the convention. I was up a good 400 dollars or more when I announced to the table that I was playing my last hand. I was dealt pocket nines and was on the button. The under the gun raiser made a more than usual raise which led me to believe that he had a big pocket pair like aces or kings. A bad player from middle position made the call so I decided to call as well and see if I could hit my set and maybe stack the guy. The flop truly was a great flop for me- 983 rainbow. I had top set and the original raiser was betting big into me. Ultimately, we ended up all in and I raked in a huge pot of $1500 when my trip 9's held against his pocket Kings. It was my biggest pot ever and I was walking on air during the convention.
The convention itself was also the biggest I've attended for the type of show it was. There was a lot of students which really do me no good business-wise except to get my name out but I did make a lot of decent contacts and I hope to see some business from it. Even as trade shows drain the life out of you I still managed to let my big win carry me through the 3 hour shift and I dropped into a restaurant on the way back to my hotel. It was called RM Seafood (the RM stood for Rick Moonen) and it was probably the best sushi I've ever had, the Artic Char was absolutely and incredibly delecious.
After a quick change of clothes I planned on going back to the Belagio, but saw that the Luxor actually had a 1/2 table going. I figured I'd save myself a cab ride and took a seat there. Again, with the exception of a few decent players, the level of play was rather bad and I quickly went up and was making some money. They had a special promotion where once an hour the highest valued hand (with some stipulations) would win $100. During my time spent there, I managed to get Aces full of fives and it held up as the best hand for the remaining 50 minutes. That combined with the $200 I won playing made me an $1500 winner for the day.
Up $1500 with a great meal in my belly, I slept like a baby that night. Blissfully unaware of any problems at home I had a great day where the only thing I wish for was my wife by my side to share it with.
to be continued...
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
What happens in Vegas gets blogged about in Vegas
Considering how much I love poker, it's kind of amazing that I haven't played in Vegas in the last 5 years. The last time I was able to get here was 2003, just months before I started playing regularly. Instead, I've languished as the trade shows I have to attend are in places like Indianapolis and Nashville. I was overjoyed last year when I saw that I was finally getting to go to Vegas this February.
And here I am.
Not after a arduous trip, mind you, it's never easy. I did myself the disservice of booking a 6:15AM flight out of Philly. That meant I had to wake up at 3:30AM. Of course, I was manic the night before so I barely got 3 hours of sleep. The flight itself was okay if not for the extremely noxious and gassy passenger located some where near me. I'm not joking when I say that there was a 2 hour period where you smelled a nasty fart every 5 minutes. He or she was laying them low too, so there was no warnings, just an awful odor coming from somewhere. As a result I didn't get to nap on the plane as I desired,
Fortunately the Luxor hotel was able to check me in early and I freshened up and decided to get a bite to eat. I ate at their buffet but they were only serving breakfast and my body clock was wanting lunch. Usually I have no problems eating breakfast foods for lunch or dinner (or "Brinner" as Turk from Scrubs would call it.), but I was just in the mood for a hamburger. Not to be daunted I ate my omlete and bacon and made my way to see what the poker room at the Luxor looked like.
It was maybe 7 tables tops and only one table was playing. I hoped it was a cash game but it was the end of their sit n go from the morning. It appeared that the Luxor only runs small sit n go's as they can't seem to get enough interest in cash games. Maybe they run some in the evening. I decided being tired and not wanting to go anywhere that I would just sign up for a $32 sit n go for noon. 22 ended up playing and the level of play was mostly very bad. But the tourney helped those players as it went very fast in blinds and thatstructure allows for luck. Even still, I managed to stay alive until I finally got too short stacked and had to push with Ace Ten and lost to a person who won with K rag. It paid out to 3 so I missed the money. C'est la vie.
After setting up my booth I skipped lunch and went back to my room to nap. For whatever reasons I couldn't fall asleep and at around 6pm Vegas time I got up and headed to the Bellagio for some cash poker. The Bellagio is the nicest casino you'll find and the poker room was rather ornate. After sitting down at a 1/2 no limit Hold 'em table I noticed that my ass was literally 5 feet away from the doors to "Bobby's Room". I turned around and looked inside and saw the nice comfy chairs reserved for the highest limits. The big famous pros including Phil Ivey and Doyle Brunson will play their high stakes games when they are in town. I guess no one was around as the room was empty. Still, I felt appreciative of the history and felt a little star struck.
I managed toget up a hundred or so until I got cooled when my pocket two's hit their set on the flop of a limped pot (A82 rainbow). Me and another player got all in on the turn when a second ace filled me with a full house. I figured he had trip aces but just about the only reasonable hand that beat me (A8) was what he had. I rebought and managed to double up an hour later with pocket Kings vs. someone's two pair on a board of QT3 (I also had two pair when a the turn brought a second 3) and played cauiously until I felt really tired and went to bed only down by 20 bucks. I got about 11 hours of sleep and woke up today refreshed and ready to play some more poker.
to be continued...
And here I am.
Not after a arduous trip, mind you, it's never easy. I did myself the disservice of booking a 6:15AM flight out of Philly. That meant I had to wake up at 3:30AM. Of course, I was manic the night before so I barely got 3 hours of sleep. The flight itself was okay if not for the extremely noxious and gassy passenger located some where near me. I'm not joking when I say that there was a 2 hour period where you smelled a nasty fart every 5 minutes. He or she was laying them low too, so there was no warnings, just an awful odor coming from somewhere. As a result I didn't get to nap on the plane as I desired,
Fortunately the Luxor hotel was able to check me in early and I freshened up and decided to get a bite to eat. I ate at their buffet but they were only serving breakfast and my body clock was wanting lunch. Usually I have no problems eating breakfast foods for lunch or dinner (or "Brinner" as Turk from Scrubs would call it.), but I was just in the mood for a hamburger. Not to be daunted I ate my omlete and bacon and made my way to see what the poker room at the Luxor looked like.
It was maybe 7 tables tops and only one table was playing. I hoped it was a cash game but it was the end of their sit n go from the morning. It appeared that the Luxor only runs small sit n go's as they can't seem to get enough interest in cash games. Maybe they run some in the evening. I decided being tired and not wanting to go anywhere that I would just sign up for a $32 sit n go for noon. 22 ended up playing and the level of play was mostly very bad. But the tourney helped those players as it went very fast in blinds and thatstructure allows for luck. Even still, I managed to stay alive until I finally got too short stacked and had to push with Ace Ten and lost to a person who won with K rag. It paid out to 3 so I missed the money. C'est la vie.
After setting up my booth I skipped lunch and went back to my room to nap. For whatever reasons I couldn't fall asleep and at around 6pm Vegas time I got up and headed to the Bellagio for some cash poker. The Bellagio is the nicest casino you'll find and the poker room was rather ornate. After sitting down at a 1/2 no limit Hold 'em table I noticed that my ass was literally 5 feet away from the doors to "Bobby's Room". I turned around and looked inside and saw the nice comfy chairs reserved for the highest limits. The big famous pros including Phil Ivey and Doyle Brunson will play their high stakes games when they are in town. I guess no one was around as the room was empty. Still, I felt appreciative of the history and felt a little star struck.
I managed toget up a hundred or so until I got cooled when my pocket two's hit their set on the flop of a limped pot (A82 rainbow). Me and another player got all in on the turn when a second ace filled me with a full house. I figured he had trip aces but just about the only reasonable hand that beat me (A8) was what he had. I rebought and managed to double up an hour later with pocket Kings vs. someone's two pair on a board of QT3 (I also had two pair when a the turn brought a second 3) and played cauiously until I felt really tired and went to bed only down by 20 bucks. I got about 11 hours of sleep and woke up today refreshed and ready to play some more poker.
to be continued...
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