The Price of an Education

I have been parking on the side streets at CSUN in the past two weeks. However, the options have been scarce, so I arrived early today in a effort to find a spot quickly. It didn't take long as several spots were open, so I actually made it to class early.

Yada yada yada...

Class ended and I walked back to my car and was greeted with a $50 parking ticket. I was confused, because it hadn't been (2) hours yet. However, I noticed the adjacent sign: "No Parking Thursday 10:00 - 1:00". Pretty standard, I'm an idiot.

Reunion

Last night was only my second UFC experience, but I am beginning to take quite a liking to it. Although it is a little on the barbaric side, it is certainly pure and unlike boxing isn't fixed. It will only be a matter of time before I am become a fanatic myself. Sigh... I guess it could be worse. Lol. Actually, last night was more like a walk down memory lane. I hadn't seem some faces since high school. I shared a few beers with Jeremy & Ian alongside with Russell, Matt, Ben and others until 11:00 at which point I went over to Amanda's. It was an early birthday celebration for Amanda most of which consisted of boozing and ridiculous drinking games. I also saw Lexi and Kelsey both of which I hadn't seen since high school. The only mishap was a brutal defeat against Tufeld in beer pong.

Even though it has only been a week, I am certain moving back to Los Angeles was the correct decision. I have great friends in which I met through poker (and in Kansas, obv), but it was never the same without a close nit group of non-poker friends. I have re-united with many of my closest friends from high school in the last several months and it's as if we haven't missed a step. Also, it's refreshing not having to talk about poker all day.

Since I have spent in excess of 10K on tuition and furnishing my apartment, I'm going to stick with the grind for a while. I have recently started coaching & staking an array of players on Full Tilt, so I have begun playing there some myself. I'm off to a decent start in 1/2 NL 6-max. Unfortunately, it doesn't qualify for a math credit. Math 131 will be on Mondays and Wednesdays 4:00 - 5:15. Sigh...

Quite the worker...

I've spent between 5-8 hours over the past couple days building furniture. As of this update, I have constructed (2) computer chairs, a bookshelf, desk, dresser and television stand. Although the items aren't elaborate and any capable person could manage constructing each of them, I still feel a sense of accomplishment, as I'm not one capable of efficiently going about this type of activity. Therefore, the process wasn't without struggle, as I made numerous mistakes along the way, but the projects were completed nonetheless. I hope never to have to do such petty work again, at least not in the near future.

L.A.

I am about finished shopping for the apartment, but I have yet to unpack. So far, the damage has amounted to nearly $10,000. A majority of the shipments will arrive in the next few days. The kegerator and wine cooler will arrive next week. I will post a list of all expenditures after the dust has settled.

Tahoe

I have a couple more days in Lake Tahoe until I must return to reality. In the meantime, I have spent a lot of time preparing for the upcoming few months. I have (4) new clients with another (2) on the way. It will be a busy, busy year; it will be anything but boring. It hasn't been a very glamorous 12-month stretch. In fact, it was miserable at the tables. However, I have been quite successful in backing other players and coaching. It turned out to be a pretty good year.

TheRailbirds.com

My brother and I are in the process of turning TheRailbirds.com into a complementary instructional poker site. The site will accommodate primarily to novice and recreational players. I will post further details at a later date, as I am in the process of hiring a web designer. It will be unlike any other instructional site, as it will offer an array of amenities including, but not limited to, instructional material, coaching/mentoring and freerolls.

Madden

I am officially a winner in Madden (XBOX) after a lengthy session into the early hours of the morning. I couldn't differentiate one button from another [on the controller], but I rode Jerry to victory. As Jerry was grinding away against Aussie J, I lost a $500 side bet against Katz and $730 in Chinese. Details of the side bet will not be disclosed, as it was a bonehead wager on my part. In regards to Chinese, I got beat for 73 points [at $10 per point] in a session of criss cross of around two dozen deals. Katz had at least a half dozen royalties, including (4) straight flushes. Uck! Meanwhile, the Philadelphia Eagles (Jerry) and the Tennessee Titans/Atlanta Falcons (Aussie J) fought it out on the gridiron in a 5-game grudge match. Although the Eagles were victorious in each game, it wasn't without a fight and a few surprises. Aussie J was the brute of several misfortunes. The fourth game was hilarious. Although it was only a 3-point lead, Aussie J was dominating the game in nearly every category. After a surprising punt (Aussie J is an advocate of using ALL 4 downs) late in the fourth quarter, the Eagles fumbled inside the fifteen yard line. The game was all about over until the ball slipped through the legs and dangling fingers of (3) Atlanta Falcons. Jerry faded disaster, but he still had 60 yards until he would be in field goal range. In a desperation attempt, Jerry went down field for a 50-yard prayer. The prayer was unanswered until a penalty flag was thrown for pass interference! Jerry scored on the following play. With a 4-point lead and less than two minutes remaining, Aussie J was 80 yards from victory. However, the sweat was short-lived after a 'Pick 6'. It wasn't pretty, nor was it without a little fortune, but I'll gladly accept $2,900 for six hours of heavy drinking and sweating.

W3

I have been on a bit of a rolling as of late, posting winning numbers in (3) consecutive sessions at 1/2 6-max. After a discussion w/ Jagtalon earlier in the week, I have been playing far and away more effectively.

With the most recent acquisition, the stable is now (12) strong. I have also received several requests for staking offers. It is certainly a risk, but I'm going to take a shot regardless. I am currently devising a screening process. Hopefully it will weed out those likely to take advantage. If not, I only have myself to blame.

Flipping

I arrived in Las Vegas yesterday in the early evening. It had bee already decided it would be a long night of drinking and partying. It had been long overdue for a haircut, so I went for a trim shortly after arriving in town. Aussie J had better things to do, so it was just Katz, Adam and I. We started at the Palms (Ghost & Playboy Club). It was pretty mellow and the crowd was a little on the older side. It didn't probably make a difference either way, but we at least wanted an opportunity to meet a few girls. We hopped a cab over to Venetian, but the club was closed and we were left with Tangerine (@ Treasure Island) as our last option for the night. It was jam packed. If such a situation arose in which an evacuation was necessary, it would have been a disaster. Maneuvering inside was nearly impossible especially with the dance floor between the bar and the entrance. The patio was manageable for moving around, but the air conditioning units were dripping water from one side of the patio to the other. We met a group of girls from Minnesota or maybe it was Arizona or Wisconsin. Whatever. Anyways, we had an opportunity, but we made a mistake at some point and yada, yada, yada... we were of to Sapphire. No matter the circumstances specific details from within will not be discussed, but altogether it was a entertaining and rather inexpensive evening. Adam and I made a bet in which prevented us from going into the VIP. If we were to do so, it would have been a $200 (it was later increased to $400) penalty in which we would have to pay the other. It was rather intelligent bet on our part, but I still lapsed at one point. Luckily, she was too drunk and I left after a few minutes, before specifics had been decided upon.

Most importantly on the evening, I extended a now length streak in losing flips. Katz, Adam and I flipped for such things as bar tabs, cab rides and cover charges. I managed to lose all but two of them. We probably made close to (10) altogether. I lost a four-way flip for Chilis this afternoon and I lost (5) successive flips for dinner a couple weeks ago. It could be argued I am nearing the capacity of maximizing my 'Due Factor'.