Two-week update

It’s been quite a while since I wrote anything here. Why? I’m lazy.

Ok, so what’ve I been up to? Well, I’ve had two basketball games since my last post and I’m finally starting to play pretty well. Last week, I had 12 points on 4-of-6 3-point shooting. This week, I had 10 points–2 3-pointers, an 18-foot jumper and a couple freethrows. Those are decent point totals since this league plays a 36 minute game with a running clock and a 2-minute half time. Our team is averaging somewhere in the low 30s per game. We lost both games, but against decent teams and both games were pretty close. Last week, we just couldn’t hit our freethrows and this week, we basically didn’t have an answer for their big man.

Poker

Well, I have played for about a year online and have seen moderate winnings. Mostly, I’d been playing to get experience and learn more about the game. Recently, I decided to try and grind out some actual steady money, so I started playing Limit Hold ‘em cash games. I started at Micro Limits–$.5/$1, 4-tabling–and am gradually moving up. My win-rate was just over 4BB/100 hands for almost 6,000 hands. I just moved up to $1/$2 Limit and I’m up, but I’ve only played a couple hundred hands. Anyway, I’ll play $1/$2 until I’ve won about 300BB, then I’ll jump to $2/$4. Slow and steady.

Reading

Since I returned from Europe, I’ve been reading a lot. Mostly, I’ve been reading books on poker, but I’ve also read some good fiction. Right now, I’m reading David Sedaris’ Me Talk Pretty One Day. Sedaris is just a great author with a unique perspective and writing style. It’s just fun to read his stuff. Next, I think I’ll move on to John Irving’s latest book, but first it has to come out in paperback.

Work’s been rough

That about says it all. When I returned from Europe, I assumed the responsibilities that had previously been two peoples’ jobs. Actually, it seems I’ve taken on even more responsibility than that. Anyway, I’ve been ultra-busy and it’s been keeping me from pursuing acting like I want to. I know I should continue pursuing acting, but my schedule at work is very demanding and volatile and I don’t want to over commit myself. Hopefully, things will calm down by the end of the year and I can get back on the bus.

Headin’ home for football

I will be going to Florida to see the UT vs. UF football game next month. Really, I’ll be hoping to see the game since I don’t have a ticket. Basically, I plan to fly into Orlando, rent a car, drive to G-ville and start hunting for a ticket. I’ll be getting to G-ville on Thursday afternoon, so that’ll give me almost two full days to find a ticket.

I really should find something more interesting to write about.

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Mom’s in town

My Mom is in town for an annual conference that she always attends. Of course, she’ll be spending most of her time at the conference, but I got to spend some time with her yesterday. We went to Kathleen’s Art Cafe, which is probably my favorite local place for getting really good food. The atmosphere is also really great. I think Mom liked it a lot.

After dinner, we went to Starbucks for some coffee and she finally got to see all my pictures from Europe. There are about 1,000 of them, so we just kinda’ skimmed most of them. All in all, I had a super time and I’m glad I got to spend some time hanging out with my Mom.

Another basketball win

Last week, we got our first win (I think we started 0-3 this season). I don’t really remember it, but I think we played a pretty good game. This week, we got another win, but in a very unusual way. First of all, we only scored 33 points. Second, one (of six) of my teammates scored 22 of those points. Third, we won by one point in Double Overtime. In this league, Double Overtime is “Sudden Death”. That’s right, I said “Sudden Death”. But I should go back a bit before the end of Double OT.

Just before the end of regulation, the other team had possession with 1:18 remaining. They got it across half court and then the Point Guard said, “One shot! One shot!” A team will usually go for “one shot” if there’s approximately one shot-clock worth of time left in the game. We don’t have a shot-clock, but 1:18 is a lot longer than the shot-clock in any league. Fifty seconds later, they finally decided to go for a shot and their Point Guard made a nice 3-point play (in our defense, it’s tough to defend for 50 seconds and still get a stop). Our super scorer immediately answered with a 3-pointer and we went our first OT.

We made it through the first OT without scoring. Neither team could score and no one was hitting free throws. It should be noted that OT was only 2 minutes with a running clock, so there weren’t really many scoring opportunities. We began the second OT looking about as well as we began the first. With very little time remaining, their big man got two free throws. He missed the first. Then made the second. But wait! He also stepped over the stripe for one of the few “lane violations” I’ve ever seen called. It was a good call, but a pretty unusual one. We got the ball back, used a couple time outs and took it up the floor. On what looked like a broken play, one of our guys pulled up for a three-pointer and intentionally double-clutched to try and draw contact. Lucky for us, he succeeded…at drawing the contact, at least. He connected on the second free throw attempt and that ended the game (remember, we were playing sudden death).

So, that was probably the most bizarre ending to any basketball game I’ve ever played. That is all.

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Finding Neverland

Several people have told me that I should see this one and since I recently spent some time in Hyde Park, I figured I’d give it a go. Turns out, it’s a super movie and I really enjoyed it. It’s easily one of the best films written about writing. It really seems to capture the writing process and, of course, it’s interesting to see how Peter Pan may have come to be.

Jazz in the Park

Last night, some friends and I went to see a jazz concert in Addison. It was pretty cool and I was glad to get out. I haven’t listened to much jazz and I was reminded that I should definitely go out and get some. It’s great music and it’s refreshing to hear something so different from most of the music I typically listen to. I also think listening to some jazz would give me a little more to work with when I’m trying to write.

Reading, but nothing exciting

I’ve been reading through some poker books lately, but that’s about all. I need to get ahold of some good fiction, but I just haven’t gotten around to it. I started reading One Hundred Years of Solitude on my way to Europe, but I just couldn’t get into it. That’s probably because I’m very shallow and not very cultured.

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Where have I been?

Right here, of course. And I’ve been here doing absolutely nothing exciting. I’ve been playing a lot of basketball, reading a lot and being a slacker. July 4th weekend was a long one for me–we got a four-day weekend–but I was pretty bored before it was all over.

Basketball has been ok, but we’ve been getting worked. We’re now 0-3, but I guess we’re showing improvement. I don’t really wanna’ talk about why we stink, but we do. Now that we’ve got guys showing up, I hope we start to learn how to play together (I don’t know some of the guys on our team).

I’ve mostly been reading poker books. It’s not the most entertaining reading, but I’ve been improving my game, so it’s worth it. I would like to read some good fiction, but that’ll have to wait.

I’d like to go to Florida soon, but I’m afraid it won’t work out until September when I hope to get back to Gainesville for the Tennessee game. I will definitely be getting back for that one, but I’d like to get back at least once before then. I’m just kind of playing it by ear (read: waiting for really cheap plane tickets to fall into my lap). I’ve really been craving Newberry Backyard BBQ.

I really wish I had something else to say…anything…but I don’t. I really need to jump back into acting.

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Sorta’ bored

Since I got back from Europe, I’ve felt a little down. Nothing serious, but I just haven’t felt spectacular. I can think of a lot of reasons for this, but I think a big one is I’m just kinda’ bored. I feel like life is good in Dallas: I have a good job, a good paycheck, some good friends, and I’m comfortable. But all that’s the same every day and I think it’s wearing on me.

For one, I feel like it’s time to continue pursuing acting. I haven’t done much since the short film in February (which I should be getting a copy of soon) and I’ve been putting it off for some reason. I think, mostly, I’ve been waiting on a few other things to settle out before I move forward. I’m good at multi-tasking, but I’ve always preferred to take things one at a time if I can get away with it. I think the next thing I need to tackle is this acting thing.

I don’t generally experience a lot of emotion, but I’ve been experiencing a bit lately. Nothing serious, but I definitely feel a bit of a quickening and I’m paying close attention to it. I’m not sure what’s up. Maybe it’s nothing.

Another basketball whoopin’

We got worked last night. Our first problem was that only 3 of our teammates (of showed up before game time. We were able to recruit a random guy to play with us, so we didn’t have to forfeit, but that was little help. Our fifth guy showed up a few minutes into the game, but we’d already spotted the other team 7 or 8 points and it was downhill from there. I can’t remember the final score… probably because I don’t want to remember it.

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Getting ready for a big tournament

In an hour, I’ll be playing in the highest buy-in tournament I’ve played yet. It’s $200+15 and there are thousands of dollars at stake. I’ve seen first place in this tournament pay as much as $150,000. Of course, I’ll need all my skill and a lot of luck to make the money, but I’m going to give it my best shot.

The best part is I’m basically free-rolling in this tournament. I won my seat for $9 earlier this week. So, if I make the money, I’ll get a minimum of $215, with an investment of $9. That’s a pretty decent ROI.

I feel pretty prepared as I’ve been playing lower-stakes tournaments this week and I’ve done pretty well in them. Of four tournaments, I made the money twice, bubbled once (finished 115 when 99 paid) and busted the first hand with KK vs. 32. In all four cases, I busted with the best hand. My last tournament, I busted with AQ vs. AT when AT flopped a straight. Anyway, I’ve been playing well and I think I can make the money today. But, even if I don’t, at least I had a shot at a ton of money for a $9 investment.

What else?

If it seems like I haven’t been doing much lately, that’s because I haven’t been doing much lately. I’ve done some reading, written some things on the guitar, written some things on paper and played a lot of basketball. We lost by 17 on Wednesday to a good team that has played together for a while. This Wednesday, I think we’ll do better, but I guess there’s no guarantee.

Work has been going well as I’ve had a lot more responsibility and I think I’ve handled it very well. Things are going very smoothly even though I’ve recently taken on the responsibility that was previously covered by two people.

That is all.

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Getting back into the swing of things

This week has been better than last. Last week, I basically just wanted to be back in Europe… or at least not sitting at my desk or running around to get mundane things done. This week, I think I began to accept that this is what I get paid for right now, so I should just get to it.

This weekend, my new (old) roommate arrived and he’s begun moving in. We were roommates back at Florida, so I don’t have those “new roommate” fears. Also, some friends of mine from Jacksonville are in town, so the new roommate and the friends from Jacksonville and I all went out to dinner tonight. We went to a Brazilian Steakhouse called Fogo de Chao. In a word, it was awesome. The basic idea is you pay a flat fee for all you can eat meat. That sounds ok… it might even kind of sound disgusting if the meat weren’t some of the best I’d ever had. Filet-this-and-that, pork loin, leg of lamb, on and on and on. They just keep bringing it to you, cutting off the piece you want and sliding it on your plate. It’s a little pricey, but well worth it.

After dinner, the new roommate and I went to a place called Kathlene’s Art Cafe, which is one of my favorite places to eat around Plano. Good food, good atmosphere, good employees. Unfortunately, I ate a little too much of some good cake and I’m feeling pretty disgusting. I was careful not to eat too much at the Fogo de Chao, but dessert was just a little much. Tasty, but too much.

Anyway, that’s what I’ve been up to.

And some basketball

We’ve practiced the past two weekends and so far I’m pretty pleased with our team… or at least the part of it I’ve played with. Personally, I’ve been playing well in spurts. It seems like I have a really long warm-up period, then I just start playing really well. I can’t decide if I’m streaky, or if I just need a long time to get warmed up, or if I’m only seeming to play better because everyone else is so tired and they’re playing weak defense. Anyway, I’ve been working on specific aspects of my game and my work is paying off. I think I’m ready to run point this season.

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My first ‘celebrity sighting’

Really, it wasn’t a celebrity sighting at all, but it makes me feel special to say it that way. I went to Starbucks to read some of a new book I bought (more on that below) and the guy behind the counter says, “This may seem a little strange to ask, but are you into acting at all? Have you done any work in student projects?” I told him I had and he said he recognized me from a short student film he saw this weekend. I said, “Oh, well cool. I hope you liked it.” He said he did like it, he thought it was funny and that he was there to support his cousin, who directed one of the other shorts. Anyway, it was strange to be recognized as an actor. Strange, but nice. Hopefully, I’ll get to experience more of that in the future. I don’t feel I have a big need for validation… but it’s still nice sometimes.

Good run at poker

I’ve been playing well and/or getting lucky for a couple weeks now. My bankroll was hurtin’ for a while there, but then I went back to my bread n’ butter: Sit N’ Gos. I’ve more than tripled my bankroll in the past couple weeks and I’ve used some of the cash to help finance my trip to Europe (I transferred some money to a co-worker’s account in exchange for a ride to and from the airport). I also bought another poker book today. I’d already read most of it in Barnes & Noble, but I wanted to buy it so I can re-read it when I’m done. This was the first book that I bought directly with money from my poker account and it felt good. I’m sure it’ll pay for itself quickly.

Only 7 hours at work tomorrow and I’m out for two weeks!

I don’t feel I need to elaborate on that too much, so I won’t.

Kendra will win The Apprentice

Same story here.

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Spanglish

What a super movie. I really enjoyed it and my appreciation for Adam Sandler grew quite a bit as the movie went on. I already liked his work, but I think this may be his best all-around performance yet. Though this isn’t exactly the kind of thing I’d like to write, it’s pretty close. I mean, I wouldn’t be at all disappointed if I was capable of writing this screenplay. Unfortunately, I’m not even really capable of writing about writing this screenplay, so I’ll stop now.

Mignon

So, a friend and I went to a fancy restaurant tonight and it was good eatin’. A little on the pricey side, but nothing outrageous. The steak was so good, I was savoring every bite. It was really nice to get out and enjoy myself for a change since I usually spend Friday night on the couch, watching TV and playing poker. If I’m feeling really frisky, I’ll sometimes go to Starbucks and read.

Basketball on the rebound (yes, I’m very clever)

Today, I ran full-court (well, short-court and four-on-four) for the first time in several months. Overall, I played pretty well, but the competition wasn’t all that great. It’s not that I was super good, just that most of the guys I ran with didn’t really know how to play too well. Simple concepts like switching on a screen and boxing out weren’t being used at all. I made some good shots, passed the ball well, got up and down the floor better than I thought I would and got away with only a few minor injuries (a sore elbow and a sprained wrist). By the time the league starts up in June, I’ll be ready to go.

I’m looking forward to the weekend.

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Same ol’, Same ol’

Not much going on. I’ll give a quick summary:

First, I finally bought a new car. I had been driving a 98 Pontiac Grand Am for almost 5 years. It had 115,000 miles on it and I hated it with a furious passion. It was formerly a Mary Kay car. I bought a new (2005) Infiniti G35 and I couldn’t be happier with it. I described the difference to a friend as follows: “It’s not even like I upgraded. It’s like I moved to a different planet!”

Second, I’ve been playing a lot of poker lately. Essentially, I’ve been breaking even for a couple weeks. Before that, I had a pretty nasty losing streak at $2/$4 Hold ‘Em, so I backed off for a while. That streak came after a big fat winning streak at the same stakes. I’ve been playing tons of smaller stakes tournaments lately (max $10 buy-in) and doing ok. I’ve moneyed a couple times and played some good poker. The highlight was the other night when I played a $3 + re-buys satellite to a WSOP qualifier. The prize was a $650 seat and the top 4 got paid. I finished 6th… but only because my internet connection went out for 20 minutes. I’m convinced I would’ve made the money about 90% of the time… I lost about half my stack while disconnected (blinds were pretty high) and I was dealt KK once while gone.

I’ve also been reading Harington on Hold ‘em, by Dan Harrington and Bill Robertie. It’s definitely the best book on NL Hold ‘Em that I’ve read and it could be tied for best tournament poker book I’ve read. I’m trying to let the info sink in because…

I am playing in a $45 buy-in tournament with 37 other players next weekend. First place pays over $700 and the top 5 places get paid. Last time I played with this group, it was an 17-person $50 buy-in tournament and I finished second and made about $200 bucks. I hadn’t played at all in six months before that tournament and I’m much better now. I just hope luck is on my side. If it is, I’m confident I can win it.

Time for sleep!

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