Maturity, maybe?

I decided to quit poker.  I know, I've declared this before, long, long ago, but this time it's FOR REAL, and it has nothing to do with it being forced upon me against my will.  I actually placed the responsibility of enforcement on Chandra.  I asked her, "The next time I say I wanna go to LC or GC, tell me we have other plans."  She asked me, "Are you sure, because I will, and I'll make sure you don't go."  I said, "Yeah."  (Isn't she great?)

Here are the reasons:

1. Poker may be fun, but there are only a gadzillion other things that I could be doing that would be more productive, like playing basketball, researching grad schools, experimental cooking, etc.

2. If I win, I will be inclined to play longer to win more and eventually end up losing $$.

3. If I lose, I will be inclined to play longer to win my losses back.

4. Sitting at the table for hours on end makes my ass numb.

5. Unless I make it to a big time tournament with a fat jackpot, it's not worth it. Winning at a casino is only a few hundred bucks at a time, and gambling is up and down, mostly down.

6. If it's for $$, there are more productive ways of earning it, such as building a residual stream of income from an online business.

7. If it's for recreation, sports are much more rewarding, even if it's just conditioning. I've been gaining ## and becoming a tub lately.

8. I've always associated gambling with social losers. It brings with it an inherent exhibition of lack of self control, lack of sound judgement, compromise of personal values, and wasting of valuable time. These as well as negative emotional responses to unfavorable outcomes are revealed in even the most mild-mannered of us all.

9. To be great at gambling is not really a feat I would consider enviable, other than the extra $$ part of it. But "easy come, easy go" is the governing rule, and there are many more reasons why in the long run, people usually lose more than they win. Even so called celebrities of poker are pseudo in my book. Do they really have talent? Do they inspire others for greatness? Does gambling really generate anything of aestheticism or altruism?

I'm not saying anyone needs to agree with me that gambling results in nothing positive. I've been mired in it for a long enough time. So much so that I had been denying the fact that I'd been mentally trapped in it. Ever since they day I decided to quit (5/18/05, to be exact), I've felt like I've been freed of some psychological stronghold. Honestly, not that I used to play as much as some of my friends, but I would feel like I needed to go back to win back my losses or to win more if I had won the last time. The trade off is just not worth it to me anymore.

On a more psychological note, the reimbursement check I got from the at-fault-driver's insurance company paid off my lifetime poker losses in full, and then some.  Since that check was worth more than the market value for my car anyway, needless to say, I didn't fix the damage with it, and chalked it up to a sign that I should quit gambling.  Even Vegas, baby.

To all my adoring fans, my apologies for neglecting Xanga for a couple of months.  Even though I know the 3 of you who read this only do so because of two simultaneous reasons: 1) You are bored and slacking off at work, 2) You are doing your altruistic deed for the day by making me feel like I have a readership going on.

Anyway, I decided to come out of hiding (temporarily) and put up a random post.  What's happened in the last couple of months:

1. I moved out of Foster City and into Mountain View.  I have 3 craigslist roomies, one of whom just decided to move out at the end of Feb.  I must've made an impact already!  They are all cool, though we don't hang out often due to differing schedules.  The house is huge, nice, and clean.  Once Fabri moves out I will assume his room and "move on up" the Glen Alpine food chain.  I'll still have to share a bathroom with whoever moves in though.  Btw, anyone know of anyone looking to move to Mt View by March 1?

2. My nephew's surgery was a success and so was his recovery.  Now he's back to a normal infant's carefree, happy life.  Yay!

3. I refi'd my car so I'm not paying $735/mo but instead $235/mo.  Maybe I can get into a house now.  OK, more realistically, a townhouse.

4. I'm seeing someone but not without issues.  No details to be divulged just yet...

5. Took an out of town friend to Hog's Island on the Embarcadero for fresh oysters.  Monday and Thursday evening happy hours: $1 Sweetwater oysters!  Thanks for the tip, Schmingle!

6. Sold my AMD stock at 22 the day before it tanked to 15.  Too bad LOOK is still in the shitter.

7. My IVL team (vball) won our division.  At one point we were tied for last place.  LAST PLACE!  But! --> We went on a run, made playoffs and played our best 2 matches of the season on championship night.  No trophy, just a hokie looking sweatshirt.  It's all about the pride, baby!

8. One of my clients gave me a Tungsten T5!  Latest and greatest of the non-Treo pda's.  I'm so excited!!  Just cuz I was too cheap to go buy one on my own.  Now I can start organizing my life.

Three Weeks of Freedom!!

I know this sounds really mean of me, but I'm SOOO glad my roommates are gone!  They moved out this weekend, and I have the place all to myself for 3 weeks before I move out too.  Although they still have a ton of junk here, I won't find two carcasses laying on the couch every night I come home.  Nor will there be rotting food and piles of dirty dishes, pots and pans lying everywhere throughout the house.  Nor will I have to walk through strewn stank ass socks and shoes in the living room.  Nor will the ironing board and iron be smack in the middle of the hallway, waiting for the magic housekeeping fairy to appear and put them away.  Nor will I have to sit through TeleMundo during dinner, or hear "Get me a beer." accompanied by "Would you like a frosted mug or the bottle, honey?"  <hack! hack!>  Get me a puke bag.  Nor do I have to watch as the "little lady" files the couch potato's fingernails while watching baseball day in, day out.

And you wonder why I roid rage.

The girl

Before hittin' the LC tonight, I was up in the city chillin' with a good friend of mine whose fiance' is away at school, out of state.  We have a nice healthy dinner at Hooters on the Embarcadero (Hoot! Hoot!).  On the way up to the city, I called volleyball girl and made plans with her to meet up.  She's gotta pick up her girlfriends and then we were supposed to have drinks somewhere.  She calls during dinner, and says she and her friends are figuring out where to go.  So I told her we were gonna be at Blend in North Beach after dinner.  My buddy and I bar hop a bit, and end up shootin' pool and drinkin' with this cutie we met at Tivoli's.  I left vball girl two messages throughout the course of the evening, but she and her friends never show up.  My buddy gets tired, so the drinkfest ends at around 12:30am.  I drop off my friend and head to the LC, thinking vball girl no likey Mikey.

Insert ICGP entry below here...

I drive out of LC, pumped cuz I walked away up (my biggest win yet), and I check my voicemail.  Vball girl called at 1:17am, just as I got to LC.  I must not've felt the vibration amidst all the chip raking.  Anyway, she left me a message saying she's trying to find me and to call her back.  It's 4 in the morning.  I didn't call her back.

What's with the "where are you, call me back" two hours later?  Does she not want to hang out?  What is the deal with women?