Ramblings

There are 171 posts filed in Ramblings (this is page 7 of 18).

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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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A root canal? Are you freakin’ kidding me?

I guess that says it all, but here’s how it all went down:

I showed up to my dentist appointment about 20 minutes late today, so we were short on time. “We’re running a little late, so we’ll have to see what we can get done before we close”, says the assistant lady. This is the semi-annual appointment where they do x-rays and a cleaning, so there was much to be done.

First, we do the x-rays. That’s the part where I stand with my face in the weird robotic contraption that swings around my head, buzzing and beeping itself to a better understanding of whether my teeth are rotting out of my head. Next, we start the cleaning. The assistant lady grabs the dental tools and starts scraping away. A few minutes later, she says, “Your oral hygiene is very good. There’s really not anything for me to clean in here. We shouldn’t have any trouble finishing before we close.” Well, that’s good news! The teeth are in great shape and we’ll finish everything up this visit. Score!

So, we finish up the cleaning and then I just have to wait for the dentist to come in and tell me that everything’s great and he’s so proud of me for taking such great care of my teeth. Piece of cake, right? Of course not. “How are you doing?” “Pretty good.” “Well, that’s good, but we have a bit of a problem.” I figured he was just kidding. He wasn’t. “Your gonna’ need a root canal.” “Seriously?” “Yeah, the third one from the back on the top over here is pretty bad. There’s a cave in there.” He shows me the x-ray and he’s right, of course. There is a cave in there. He’s already got people on the phone, booking spelunking expeditions and some camping trips to the cave.

So, I’m going back Thursday morning, taking time off work and spending almost $900 bucks (yes, I have insurance and, yes, that’s just my out of pocket) for a freakin’ root canal and crown. I say, “Is there anything I could’ve done to prevent this?” “No, sometimes these things just creep up on you.” So what you’re saying is it doesn’t matter, all this flossing and regular brushing? Super.

That was my day. How was yours?

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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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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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Counting down to Europe

It still hasn’t really sunk in that I’m about to go backpacking around Europe for two weeks. I’m all packed up (except my toiletry bag, of course) and ready to go. I have to confess that I cheated quite a bit: I used Rick Steves’ books and website to know what to pack and what to expect. I also bought some gear from him and I’m glad I did. His stuff is perfect for what we’re doing.

I head out for the airport in about eight hours. My flight gets into Newark around 3:00 pm EDT, I have about 90 minutes of layover, then I’m onto an 8 hour flight to Rome. Then, the fun begins!

I need to get some sleep. Hopefully, that won’t be a problem tonight.

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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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Busy, busy, busy

I’ve been so busy lately, my head is spinning. I’ve recently been given much more responsibility at work, so my days seem shorter and I’m keeping busy. Last weekend, I moved into my new apartment. I didn’t move far, but I had more stuff than I thought, so it was a pretty intense weekend. I started moving on Friday evening around 7 and finished cleaning out my old place on Sunday night around 9. I’m still preparing for next week’s trip to Europe, but I haven’t started packing yet. I’ve decided I’d like to try to get the new apartment organized before I start trying to pack for Europe.

So, that’s about it. I’ve been working hard at work, moving into a new place and preparing for a trip to Europe. I know this is a lame post (aren’t they all?), but I’m just too tired to elaborate on this stuff. Maybe some other time.

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Not much happenin’

I haven’t written much lately because I haven’t had much to write about. The trip to Europe is still on and it’ll be from May 15 through May 30. I’ve already got my plane ticket and my rail ticket has been purchased. I’m letting the experienced members of our group pick hotels, hostels and such, so I don’t know much about where we’re staying. I went to get my passport on Monday and I should have it by next Friday. I bought a book about Europe and I’ve been reading up on the places we’ll go so I’m prepared… or at least as prepared as I can be.

Roommate possibility

A good friend and former roommate of mine has been offered a job at Raytheon here in Dallas, so there’s a good chance we’ll be roomies again. I’m looking forward to it. Of course, that’ll mean I have to move and I’m not looking forward to that. But it looks like the new place would be on the first floor and just across the way from my current place, so that’s not too bad. I generally like new stuff, so maybe I’ll be able to convince myself that I’m just “moving somewhere new” and I’ll forget about what a hassle moving is.

Poker and takin’ it easy

I’ve been playing very little poker lately because I realized that I wasn’t focusing very well when I was playing. I think I was playing too many tournaments and it was watering down my ability to concentrate and my boredom level was drastically increasing. I’ve been trying to play less so I focus more and the results so far have been pretty good. Unfortunately, my bankroll took a bit of a hit before I had this revelation, so I’m slowly building it back up. I’m still up overall, just not as much as I was a couple months ago.

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More on Europe

There will be five of us going and we’re leaving May 15 and returning May 30. I can’t remember all of the itinerary, but we’re flying into Rome and flying out of London. I think we’re going from Rome to Florence, then we’ll travel through the South of France via rental car, then over to Switzerland, then up to Paris and finally to London. It seems like there’s another place or two, but that’s the general idea.

I’m really excited to be experiencing something so new. I’ve never been north of West Virginia and the Atlantic and Pacific oceans have been the East-West boundaries for me so far. Suddenly, I need a passport and I have to make sure I can get two weeks off of work in May.

I still have a lot to learn since I haven’t a clue about backpacking and what that entails. I know I’ll be taking a camera and I only hope I’m motivated to use it. I’m typically lazy about taking pictures and rarely get any good shots when I travel. Maybe my friends will take the camera and get some good stuff.

Anyway, this bland post is just to say I’m definitely going to Europe and I’m really excited about it. I’ll most more details as they become available.