Foxwoods trip report 11/28-9

Last night after dinner I headed out to Foxwoods.  I ended up leaving about 8 hours later after one heck of a roller coaster up $15.  That however, is a win.  I won't share a bunch of bad beat stories, but...other people were getting lucky.  I did run into this guy I know from my Summer at the 'gata: Jared.  He somehow managed to cash out almost $3k at our table.  So...it did end up a good table.  I was sad to have just made $15.

Some changes:

1) Increased comps!  Two different floor people told me comps had been raised to $1.50/hr.  Considering it used to be a piddling $.50/hr back in the day, this is a good sign.  I think they are starting to feel some competition from Mohegan Sun's new room.

2) No more time at 1/2NL.  They were raking max 4 plus 1 for the jackpot instead of taking $5 time.  They still take time at the higher NL games.  I know this is something that is a direct result of Mohegan Sun.

3) Table swipe in for comps are up and running (just like at MGM in Vegas).  This means I had to go get a new Dream card (instead of Wampum Rewards) for the table.  However, Now I am much more likely to not forget to clock out like I used to ALWAYS do.

4) I don't know if I just got unlucky or what, but the action at my table was the tightest I have ever seen at a Foxwoods 1/2 table for the first hour or two.  It played a lot more like the Borgata, so still not bad, but not like the woods at all.  A player who I have played with before who was at my table and a dealer said the action has been dampered by the economy.  However, two hours later, the action picked up to the same old fishiness.  There were certainly fewer people at the casino on a holiday weekend, but it wasn't empty either.  They had the remains of a tournament going upstairs because all their downstairs tables were occupied.  And by full I'd just like to point out that they are a 100+ table room.

Tonight: I might check out Mohegan Sun's new room, though I heard from many people up here whose opinion I trust that it's nothing special.  I might go there in the early evening and then head over to the place that makes me smile. 

Happy Thanksgiving

We had a free-range turkey that my parents' brined this year, and it was probably the best turkey I have ever had.  Really moist, and the texture was really meaty, almost like a pork chop or something.

Why free-range?  My dad drives by a turkey farm on his way to work every day.  He said it's really something because there are thousands of turkeys just chillin day after day...Until one day when there were absolutely no turkeys!  After hearing this story we were making all kinds of inappropriate jokes about mass turkey-apocalypse.  There were jokes about turkey desaparecidos, turkey rapture, turkey genocide.  Yeah, these are all hilarious things to joke about, but if you know my family, you know we have a weird sense of humor.

My dad also made some vanilla ice cream to go with the pies for dessert and it was seriously the best ice cream I have ever had...perfect!

Thinking about going downstairs for a little snack of turkey sandwich in a sec...

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Everything is relative

Tomorrow is my 30th birthday.  Over the course of the past few months I have ranged the complete gamut from indifference to frustration over this, which is kind of surprising, really.  Age usually does not bother me.  To quote Billy: "age is just a number, boo."

It is a fact of human nature that people fall into a nostalgia trap when thinking about the past.  I was getting all set to write about how happy and carefree I was at 25 when I sat back and thought about it again.  The issues I had then were different than the issues I have now, but I still had issues.  In terms of a positive/negative life balance, honestly things were probably about the same.

Divorce is hard (obv).  You get used to having someone else around 24/7, even if you're not having a lot of meaningful interaction.  After 8 years of living with someone, it's a lot harder than I thought it would be to live alone.  I used to love my alone time.  This is probably the hardest part, and it blind-sided me.

On top of that, you start to examine all of your own faults that led to this situation and start viewing yourself as a flawed person.  And then you alternately worry that there is no one out there for you, and even if there is and you do find that person, that somehow you will fuck it up (again) which will make you feel like a double failure.  And I know I caused a lot of hurt, and I'm afraid to put myself or another person through that again.

Add to this the fact that I'm struggling with "Wow, I'm really 30? I was supposed to have 2 kids by now." and "Wow, I'm really 30? Why am I worried about paying my bills and being able to afford to put a roof over my head?  That is bohemian when you are 22.  At 30 it's like, go get a real job." and also "Wow, I'm really 30? I'm actually going to have to come to grips with the fact that half of my life could be over." combined with the "Wow I'm really 30?  What the heck did I do with the last 30 years of my life?"

I think this philosophy class I've had to take this semester is making me unnecessarily philosophical.  At any rate, I guess I'm going to be a real adult in a few short hours.  LOL

Smile rehashed

I've been very delinquent in posting recently.  Believe it or not there are just some things that even I do not feel like sharing.  ;)  I've also been busy with school until recently...I have a few ideas for posts, so stay tuned.

In the meantime, please pardon the repost (though how many of you were reading this back in 2005 anyways?).  I put in Brian Wilson's Smile album this morning on my way to school and realized (again) how much I like a few songs on that album).  Please refer to my review from 2005 (have I really been blogging that long?!?)  Also, must give a shout out to John...there's some killer cello on "good vibrations" that made me think - "hey I wonder if John has listened to this album?"  Have you???

Brian Wilson's "Smile"

We used to fly out to my grandparents' house in Washington and then use their minivan to take THE GREAT AMERICAN VACATION a la National Lampoon.  Found memories of that time include attempting to drive the minivan through the Chandelier Tree (we barely squeaked through, but don't ask my dad about what happened in the gift shop), driving from northern Washington to Southern California in 2 days, and eating at what must have been every Denny's on the west coast.

I first heard the Beach Boys in my grandparents' minivan on one of these summer vacations when I was about 13.  My grandparents' had a Beach Boys "Greatest Hits" cd and it was (to my 13 year old ears) the best thing to listen to when compared to the other cd's in their car (I definitely remember some Glenn Miller, Boxcar Willie and a compilation of classic country called "Wagon Wheels").  We used to listen (and sing along) to the Beach Boys cd on repeat until my parents had enough and insisted on something else. Listening to those songs still reminds me of those roadtrips.

I am not a Beach Boys FAN, though I like their music well enough.  I'm a Beatles person.  I liked the Beach Boys harmonies and arrangements, but the lyrics lost me.  I picked up "Pet Sounds" in college and thought it was ok, but not one of the best albums of all time.  For some reason "Pet Sounds" didn't speak to me like many Beatles albums did. I bought "Smile" after it caught my eye when I was Christmas shopping.  The fact that I waited to listen to it until recently belies my lack of Beach Boys enthusiasm and also that I was really a little afraid after hearing some more recent Brian Wilson efforts.  Ouch.  I didn't even know about "Smile"'s dark history until reading the liner notes.

At any rate, from this perspective, I think "Smile" is an eminently listenable album.  And it is an ALBUM, better when listening to it all at once.  In addition to awesome harmonies and arrangements, it has the same kind of Americana feel that early Beach Boys songs have, just more mature.  With lyrics like: "Ribbon of concrete, just see what you've done/Done to the church of the American Indian" these lyrics are certainly deeper than "Well I saved my pennies and I saved my dimes/For I knew there would be a time/When I would buy a brand new 409". "Smile" has it's fair share of low points ("Vega-tables" comes to mind, along with a re-do of "Good Vibrations" that doesn't match the excitement of the original version, and the instrumental "Mrs. O'Leary's Cow" which hurts my ears), it's still good music.  "Wonderful", "Our Prayer", "Heroes and Villians", and "Roll Plymouth Rock" are some of my favorites.  It's pretty obvious that the backing vocals are not the original Beach Boys, and that Brian Wilson has lost some of his voice (hey the dude is in his 60's and sang the songs in the original key which is pretty amazing in and of itself), but it's still good music. And in case you are afraid, it is WAY better than any of Wilson's other solo stuff.

Last 5 songs played on my iPod:
Good Vibrations - The Beach Boys
Because - The Beatles
La Vie En Rose - Edith Piaf
Wonderful - Brian Wilson
Surfing on a Rocket - Air

Best schedule ever next semester

I just found out yesterday that I got my first choice pick for TA assignments next semester.  I'm going to be TAing an undergrad class on quantitative methods with a new hire we made this year.  I can hardly wait!

Also, looks like I will only have classes Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, so I'll have Mondays and Fridays off.  :D  Next semester is probably my last semester of classes...now to come up with a dissertation topic.

Better late than never (election predictions)

Electoral College: Obama 311, McCain 227

Popular vote: Obama 54%, McCain 46% (I don't think any of the 3rd party candidates are gonna make it to 1%)

NBC/MSNBC first network to call at 12:01am, 11/5

Senate: Dems 56 (excluding Independents)
No predictions on the House, haven't been following any of those races...

Maryland Question 2 (slots): Pass
California Prop 8 (gay marriage ban): Fail
(These are both so close, my predictions here are probably more wishful thinking than anything else)

A lot of people I know have Obama doing better in the EC than me.  It's quite possible he could win Florida.  He also has a (lesser) chance in North Carolina.  I would be surprised if he won Missouri, Arizona, Indiana, Georgia, Montana, or North Dakota, though I know these states are supposedly in play. 

I am in class til 9:30 tonight, but you can bet after that, I'll have my butt firmly planted in front of a tv somewhere.