There are 108 posts filed in Travel (this is page 6 of 11).
Europe?
Yes, please! Um, so it looks like I might be going to Europe next month. The details are all very fuzzy, but it looks like I’ll be visiting a mix of places–some “touristy” and some not so well-known. Looks like I might hit London, Paris, Rome, somewhere in Switzerland, maybe Prague.
Things are probably going to have to come together pretty quickly because I have to be back in the States by June. For now, I need to get a passport and find the best airfare possible. That is all.
Vegas: A couple days later
Ok, so I mostly covered the gambling part of my trip in my daily posts and I feel I should also cover the other things I did. First off, I stayed in a room on the 21st floor of the Bellagio. It was really nice, but the nicest part was the bathroom. Not only was their a shower stall, but there was also a big ol’ bathtub. I didn’t use the tub, but it was nice to know it was there. Everything was made of top-quality materials and there was an abundance of marble.
There was a wired internet connection for $11 a day per computer. My buddy and I both had our wireless laptops, so I brought along a wireless router. It worked really well and we only got charged for one computer (because the router looks like a computer to the internet connection and it masks all the computers that use it).
I ate at a few very nice restaurants. First was Sensi, an international restaurant with all kinds of different food. We had a raw seafood platter for an appetizer (I tried a raw clam) and I had grilled chicken for dinner. Of course, I also had a glass of white wine and it was super.
Next night, we ate at Olives. It was another restaurant with a lot of variety, but it hand a bias to Italian food. Again, I had a glass of white wine and some very tasty salmon for dinner.
After dinner at Olives, we went to a show at the Improv over at Harrah’s. It was pretty funny, but not the funniest thing I’ve ever seen. The emcee was actually funnier than the two headliners. It was a really good time and we all had a bunch of laughs… most of which were at material that I probably shouldn’t repeat here.
One morning, we went to the Buffet at Bellagio. It was incredible. So much food and so little time to eat it all. It took a few minutes just to walk around and look at everything, let alone eat it. I had french toast, sausage, eggs, a muffin and some fruit. I also played Keno for the first time, but none of us made any money (surprise!).
The last morning, we went to the Cafe at Bellagio and played some more Keno. I won five bucks and my buddy’s mom won 20 bucks. She was on fire all week and probably ended up leaving about $1000 up. In fact, my friend’s entire family cleaned up at Bellagio and I was the only one in our group to leave with a net loss.
…BUT, that net loss has been erased as I’ve made back all I lost and then some playing poker online. I was down $214,but between yesterday and today, I made about $230. So, the money I lost in Vegas will be in my bank account in 72 hours or less. I made that money in about 5 hours playing online. Outrageous.
That’s about it. I had an awesome time both gambling and hanging out with my friend’s family. They are really awesome people and I enjoyed getting to know them all better. I got to experience some things I’d never experienced before (like the meals at Sensi and Olives and the show at the Improv). And I stayed in one of the nicest hotels in the world. I learned how to play blackjack and played my first poker in a casino. Man, what a great experience. Hopefully that won’t be my last trip to Vegas.
Vegas: Day 4 report
Short but sweet: Lost $25 on a hand of blackjack. I figured I’d take a shot at breakin’ even on $25. Basically, if I could double-up three consecutive times without losing, I’d break even. I figured the odds weren’t good (assuming I have a 50% chance of winning a hand–a bit generous, but good enough for an estimate), so I would have about a 12% chance of winning three straight and breaking even. Unfortunately, I was dealt a 20 and the dealer was showing 3. Of course I stood and the stupid dealer shows an 8 and hits a 10 for 21. I’m anxious to find out what the odds of that garbage are.
Anyway, today I lost $25 and won $5 at Keno. That brings me to down $214 for the trip. Not bad since I had allowed $600 and had set aside $1000 to play with.
Overall, I had a great time. My friend that I roomed with had his family here as well. We went to a lot of very nice restaurants and an improv show last night. I mean, even without that stuff, I stayed at the freakin’ Bellagio for three nights. But eating at a few Bellagio restaurants, watching my friend’s uncle play over $100 a hand at blackjack and spending time with great people made for a really good trip.
Now I have to save up my energy to go to L.A. next Tuesday. I’m totally beat.
Vegas: Day 3 report
There’s bad and good to report from today. I’ll get right to it. I played two sessions of $2/$4 Limit Hold ‘Em at Aladdin. I lost 73 bucks in about 4 hours or -4.5 BB/hour. I just seemed to get crap cards and any time I got a good hand, someone drew out on me. Good example: I had AKs, raise before the flop and get 2 callers. Flop comes AKx, giving me top two pair. I bet and one player calls. Next card is a J. I bet, get raised, call. Next card is a blank. I check, he checks. He turns over JJ for a set of Jacks to beat my two pair. Normally, I wouldn’t mind “the best hand winning” if he’d ever shown it was the best hand. More importantly, I was better than 10-to-1 to win the hand after the flop. That was the worst one, but that stuff happened a few times and I got terrible cards (I literally won 5 pots in 4 hours. And I’m not talking big pots with showdown. I’m talking any pot at all.)
Now the good: I played another session of $2/$4 tonight and made $50 bucks in 2.25 hours or +5.55 BB/hour. It’s not a very long session, but I played very well and seemed to be making good decision. My table image was key as they saw me as very tight/very aggressive. Ironically, the hand I remember most was one where I folded. I had AA in early position and raised with 2 callers. The flop is 885. I bet, get raised, then re-raised and I fold. Obviously, I was beat, but I knew I had to be beat by some crappy cards. I was glad my ego didn’t take over and get me married to the hand. I laid it down and eventually saw both other players turn over an 8 (89 and 8J). I was 75% to win the hand before the flop.
So, I lost 73 this morning, won 50 tonight for a 23 dollar loss today. Overall, that puts me at 194 down, overall.
I doubt I’ll gamble any more tomorrow, but if I do, it’ll be something like throwing a 25 dollar chip on the BlackJack table and letting it ride till I either lose it or break even for my trip. That sounds like a fun way to end things.
Vegas: Day 2 report
Not too much to tell so far. I lost 28 bucks in a Hold ‘Em tournament and made 55 dollars at the 5-dollar blackjack tables.
The only notable hand in the tournament (again, the structure was almost silly) was when I was dealt KQ in the big blind. 3 or 4 callers and the flop came K45. I bet, three calls. Turn is a rag. I bet, get 2 calls. River is a rag. I bet, get one call. I lost to a set of fours. Now, why the lady never raised when she flopped a set and the turn and river didn’t fill any draws, I’ll never know. Anyway, that hand took most of my stack and I just kinda’ wasted away after that.
Played blackjack at Bellagio and lost 40 bucks in about 15 minutes. Basically, the dealer just kept busting everyone up. I had a blackjack… and it was a push. She got 20’s and 21’s like they were going out of style.
Played in the $1-$2 NL Hold ‘Em game at Aladdin. I thought games like that only existed in fairytales. Turns out they’re real as can be. Problem was that luck was frowning on me. I bought in for 60 bucks. About the second hand, I got TT, but the lady to my right raised it to $20 (yes, this is a $1-$2 blind game with a max buy-in of $100) and since I hadn’t seen her play yet, I figured I better fold. Couple hands later, I get 55 and she does the same thing. Again, I fold. A few hands later, I get KK UTG. I make my standard raise to $6. I get two or three callers. Flop comes ten-high rainbow. I bet $10, guy goes all-in (for about $35 more), everyone folds to me and I quickly call. Turn is an A, river is a blank. He turns over ATo for Aces-up to beat my KK. I’m down to 15 or 20 bucks.
I fold for a while till I get AJo. Lady to my right makes it $10 and I call. Flop is K-high, she puts me all-in, I fold. I buy another $40 in chips. Several hands later, I get AKo. I make my standard raise, get re-raised to about $20 and then there’s a caller. I move in and both call. Flop is 835 rainbow. The original re-raiser checks, the cold-caller moves in quickly and the other player folds. Turn is a K, river is a blank. Cold-caller turns over 33 for a set of threes to beat my Kings with an Ace kicker. $100 gone.
So, why was I saying this was such a great game? Because it was. I only wish I had about $1000 sitting around for me to play in that game. I think I could turn it into $2000 in about 6 hours, assuming luck didn’t continue to frown on me. Having a guy hit a 5-outter on me on the turn stinks. Having AK, getting called by a 33 that holds is frustrating, but at least I was the dog to begin with. Whether he should’ve been calling 10x the BB with 33 is another story altogether.
I guess I should mention that all of these people were very loose and sometimes aggressive. I rarely saw a premium hand shown down, even when there was a lot of action. Also, I think at least two of the people at the table were off-duty dealers for the casino. I’m not sure how that works.
So, the bright side to everything: These people were so easy to read it was scary. When 33 hit his set, and moved in, I was certain he had a set. Earlier in the evening, when a guy made the nut flush on the river, I knew it immediately. When the guy to my left had a big fat pair, I knew it before he even bet. I did get my money in as about an 80% favorite and if I’d won that hand, I would have doubled-up my buy-in. So, about 80% of the time I turn my $60 into $120 in about 15 minutes. From there, I’m pretty sure I would’ve just run over the table.
I’m actually considering trying again tomorrow, but I need to take time to cool off first and evaluate it. After all, I did lose $100 tonight, regardless of all that odds talk and gibberish.
Trip summary: Lost $58 yesterday, lost $113, down $171 overall.
Vegas: Day 1 report
As far as gambling goes, there isn’t too much to report. I played a $55 NL Hold ‘Em tournament at the Luxor and busted out 8th of 33. Here are the highlights:
All in all, I feel I played nearly perfectly. I was shocked how obvious some physical tells are when playing live. I’ve been playing online exclusively for several months, so I’ve had to learn more about the mathematics, betting pattern tells and other nuances. I was able to steal with absolutely nothing several times after the flop and that kept me in the game.
The tournament structure was a complete crapshoot. We started with 250 in chips, were allowed a 50-chip add-on immediately for 3 dollars (initial buy-in was 55), so we had 300 chips. Blinds started at 10/15 and moved up every 15 minutes (15/25, 25/50…). Also, we started with 11 people per table, so we didn’t even get around once before the first level of blinds was done.
Anyway, I lost, but I played well so I’m ok with it.
Then I played some 5-dollar blackjack. Ultimately, I broke even. I was up to about double my buy-in of 40 bucks, then dropped to 10 bucks, then doubled-up twice and left even. So I’m down 58 bucks for the day.
First day of filming
Well, it couldn’t have been better. We had some technical difficulties, which meant some extra standing around, but that turned into rehearsal time and I think it helped us a lot. I shot two scenes and I thought they went pretty well. Nothing spectacular, but the director, assistant director and producer all said I gave them exactly what they wanted, so I feel I really can’t do any better. I’ve already realized that I’ll never be completely satisfied with anything I do, so my goal should be something more objective like making sure the director is completely satisfied.
Anyway, both scenes went well and things were pretty easy overall. I didn’t take any pictures with my own camera, but the producer got some, so hopefully I can get some (digital) copies. I guess kind of a funny movie fact is that I had my script in my hands in both of the scenes today. The script called for a clipboard, but someone else had to use it for something, so the director just said, “Why don’t you just use that?” I imagine it’s not often that an actor is carrying around his script while shooting scenes. It was kind of comforting to have it near, but I realized how easy it would be to use it as a crutch.
Tomorrow, I’m shooting the first and last scenes of the short, so that should be interesting. I also might be shooting a quick outdoors scene and it sounds like we’re re-shooting one of the scenes from today because an actor flubbed his lines. I guess that’s just part of the process.
My first (friend) visitor
My buddy and old roommate is coming to Dallas for a few days for a job interview (which I was able to get him at my company). So, he’s coming in tomorrow and he’ll leave on Tuesday morning. My mom came to visit back in July, which was super, but not the same as having a friend visit. I’m looking forward to hanging out and having some company. Even for introverted people, being a hermit can be a real drag after a while.
This is not the first friend I’ve had come to town, but the first friend I’ve had stay at my place.
Then to Vegas
My buddy leaves on Tuesday morning and then I head to Vegas on Wednesday morning. I’ll be there till next Saturday. A buddy and I are staying at the Bellagio for free thanks to some hookups his dad is getting. I’m looking forward to playing some poker and blowing some money. I hear there is all kinds of stuff to do in Vegas and I have a feeling I’ll feel like I’m leaving when we were just getting started.
Then to L.A.
I haven’t been since early December, so it’s about time! I’m going for work, but I hope to meet up with the ol’ acting coach–I haven’t seen that joker since August or something. Maybe I’ll have a rough-cut of the short by then and we can discuss it and talk about what I have to do to improve to being a mediocre actor.
Ok, I’m beat. I’m going to read over tomorrow’s scenes real quick, then go to bed.
Not much happening
I need to start posting more. Anyway, I finally started working out again and, although I’m taking it pretty easy so far, I feel a lot better than I did most of the time I was traveling over Christmas.
I’ll probably be going to L.A. in a couple weeks for some more training for work. In the meantime, I’ll be sending out another round of mailers to agents here in Dallas. Apparently, I didn’t send them to the right group before. I guess this is good because I haven’t heard anything from anyone I sent to in the first round. That’s not entirely true… I got one mailer back because the place I sent it to doesn’t exist anymore.
Yeah, I’m still playing a lot of poker and it’s going really well. I’ve been upping the stakes for the Sit N Gos (SNGs) and playing some Multi-Table Tournaments (MTTs). The SNGs is where I’m makin’ all the cheddar, but I’m steadily improving in the MTTs. I would’ve made the money yesterday if I didn’t bust out to AT with AK (all-in before the flop). I might’ve made the money today if I hadn’t busted out to AT with JJ. Both of those were pretty late in the tournament (yesterday’s was 73/722 or 9 out of the money), so I pretty much had to go with those hands.
Anyway, as soon as I get one of those to hold up (it’s not like they’re big favorites or anything), I should start making the money in the MTTs. Eventually, I hope to win one of those things.
Other than that, I’ve just been watching movies and hangin’ out. I’m still co-writing a short film, but that’s slow goin’. I’m considering taking voice over lessons because I hear it can be pretty lucrative in Dallas. I guess that’s about it.
Back to DAL from ATL
Well, my Florida/Georgia tour has ended and I’m preparing to re-enter the real world tomorrow. I figure I should capture some of the highlights from ATL, so here goes.
I had a great time hanging with my pals and just layin’ around. Mostly, it was good to see many of my friends from UF and also to spend time with all my buddies that have moved to ATL. I went to the Peach Bowl and watched the Gators get waxed, but at least I had decent seats and went with several of my good friends. While the game wasn’t too exciting, it was fun to make fun of the drunk guy behind us and mock the lady he was with. Apparently, his special lady friend thinks it’s ‘bad coaching’ if Leak slides short of the first down marker because there are three defenders about to crush him. Yes, lady, a ‘good coaching’ decision would be for him to just continue running right for the defenders so that if he makes the first down, it’s his last play of the season.
After the Peach Bowl, I went to a friend’s New Year’s party and had a great time. There were plenty of funny people there and I had some good conversations. Also, it was great to drive people to the other side of Atlanta at 5 am by using terrible directions supplemented by the guy in the passenger’s seat saying to his buddy on the phone, “Well, we’re at this place that reminds me of Batman one.” and “This looks familiar. Let’s try this one.” about a random apartment complex in the middle of nowhere.
Back on the bike
So, the best part about being home is that I can finally get back to working out. I start a basketball league in a week and I haven’t touched a basketball in at least two months. I have a lot of work to do so I’m ready to run Point when the league starts.
Today at the gym, I was riding the bike and reading (as usual) when a guy sits next to me and, in a thick European accent, says, “Quite a reading selection there.” I looked down to realize that I’d brought a copy of Entertainment Weekly and also The Art of War. I guess those aren’t generally read simultaneously, but I like to go for variety in what I read.
I’m going to shoot around now.
Movin’ on Up
I’ve made my way to Jacksonville and I’ll be here for the next few days before heading to Atlanta. I did most of my Christmas shopping in Gainesville, so that’ll free me up to spend more time with family and friends here since I’m only here for a short time.
Before I forget, I should mention that I had Sushi for the first time the other night. Despite what it actually is, it wasn’t disgusting and I actually enjoyed it. Of course, my favorite was the fried stuff, but there were a bunch of other kinds that I enjoyed too. It wasn’t all that expensive either; I got out the door for eleven bucks or something.
Sushi then to Steak Now
I went to a Japanese Steakhouse tonight and it was a real hoot. Mostly, it was just a Japanese Steakhouse… but then our cook showed up and things got crazy. He was telling us how his wife gained 80 pounds when she got pregnant and then only dropped 20 after she had the baby. Then, some dude at our table points to his girlfriend and says, “She’s gained 20 pounds and we’re not even married.” I don’t know much about co-ed relationships, but that seemed like a low blow and I fully expected her to beat the mess out of him right there. But she held off till later when she laid into him for living at home with his rich parents while he did nothing with his life.
Anyway, our cook kept saying how he wanted a drink, but the management had installed cameras to watch the employees so they wouldn’t get into trouble. Apparently, this guy had gotten suspended for a couple weeks because he got drunk at work a while back. So, near the end of the meal, he starts watching the security screen intently. All of a sudden, he says, “I have 15 seconds!” and he grabs the live-at-home-with-rich-parents guy’s Jack ‘n Coke and chugs it. He explains that he’ll buy a new one, but he had to act while he had the window.
Then, we find out that the slacker guy went to high school with one of the people in my party. It also turns out that the lady to my left–not with my party or slacker guy’s party–also went to their high school and she knew slacker guy’s older sister. Then, an older guy with this lady turns out to be friends with slacker guy’s supervisor. All these people are separated by a max of two degrees. I didn’t bring it up, but I’m betting I know a guy who went to the same high school and probably knew slacker guy. What a small, silly world.
