I Take a Week Off and See What Happens

I’m going to actually write about poker today. It has been a while so stick with me as I bring back a long forgotten aspect of my writing to the top of the page.

I arrived home last night around 10 minutes to 6:00 and chatted with the family as I always do. My oldest had a sore back, the middle child was as usual and my son had soccer practice at 6:00 so Mrs. PE was leaving with him. They had already eaten supper so I threw in a frozen pizza and turned on the Cubs game for an evening of baseball. At around quarter after 6:00 I opened the laptop to see if anyone was playing and made the decision to jump into the PLO tourney that had just started. I figured I would kill some time in between pitches and see if the lemurs could out catch me yet again.

The craziness of this tourney is such that two players at my table had 14K within the first 30 minutes of the tourney. I have one of them tagged as an idiot and I am more than willing to play some connecting hands against him because he doesn’t know how to fold.

Seat 4: numainville (14,472)
Seat 6: pokerenthusiast (1,635)
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to pokerenthusiast [Ks 8c Kc 9h]
numainville calls 60
pokerenthusiast calls 60
*** FLOP *** [Kh 3d 7s]
pokerenthusiast bets 360
numainville calls 360

I figure he is drawing to a straight or maybe flopped two pair.

*** TURN *** [Kh 3d 7s] [6c]
numainville checks
pokerenthusiast bets 1,080
numainville raises to 2,160
pokerenthusiast calls 135, and is all in
numainville shows [4s 6d Ad 3h]
pokerenthusiast shows [Ks 8c Kc 9h]
Uncalled bet of 945 returned to numainville

Now I understand he has a big stack but only has two pair and is drawing dead.

*** RIVER *** [Kh 3d 7s 6c] [Qs]
numainville shows two pair, Sixes and Threes
pokerenthusiast shows three of a kind, Kings
pokerenthusiast wins the pot (3,510) with three of a kind, Kings
*** SUMMARY ***

This was a nice way to get started. And on the very next hand I find something else I wanted to play.

Seat 2: FLOP_IT ONCE (13,498)
Seat 4: numainville (12,837)
Seat 5: Vedda76 (1,068)
Seat 6: pokerenthusiast (3,510)
Seat 8: XBooZeRX (9,323)
Seat 9: usmctop (4,277)
XBooZeRX posts the small blind of 30
usmctop posts the big blind of 60
The button is in seat #7
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to pokerenthusiast [Jd Ts Jc 9s]
FLOP_IT ONCE calls 60
numainville calls 60
Vedda76 calls 60
pokerenthusiast calls 60
XBooZeRX calls 30
usmctop checks

I love this type of hand in PLO. It gives you a lot of options but you can also get away from it.

*** FLOP *** [6c Ad Jh]
XBooZeRX checks
usmctop checks
FLOP_IT ONCE checks
numainville checks
egasVedda76 bets 360
pokerenthusiast calls 360
XBooZeRX calls 360
usmctop folds
FLOP_IT ONCE folds
numainville folds

I have middle set but figure I’m ahead of these guys. I’m not ready to commit all of my chips yet because I don’t have the nut and there is a scary draw.

*** TURN *** [6c Ad Jh] [Ks]
XBooZeRX checks
Vedda76 bets 648, and is all in
pokerenthusiast has 15 seconds left to act
pokerenthusiast calls 648
XBooZeRX calls 648

I’m getting 3-1 on a short stack and 4-1 if the last players calls. I have 4 clean outs to the straight may have boat outs. Not sure if this was the right call here.

*** RIVER *** [6c Ad Jh Ks] [Qh]
XBooZeRX checks
Gopin2nd has returned
pokerenthusiast bets 2,442, and is all in
XBooZeRX has 15 seconds left to act
XBooZeRX calls 2,442

I hit the nut and get called.

*** SHOW DOWN ***
pokerenthusiast shows [Jd Ts Jc 9s] a straight, Ace high
XBooZeRX mucks
pokerenthusiast wins the side pot (4,884) with a straight, Ace high
Vedda76 mucks
pokerenthusiast wins the main pot (3,384) with a straight, Ace high
Vedda76 stands up
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 8,268 Main pot 3,384. Side pot 4,884. | Rake 0
Board: [6c Ad Jh Ks Qh]
Seat 5: Vedda76 mucked [6d 6s 3c 5s] -
Seat 6: pokerenthusiast showed [Jd Ts Jc 9s] and won (8,268) with a straight, Ace high
Seat Seat 8: XBooZeRX (small blind) mucked [7h Ac 3s Qc] - two pair, Aces and Queens

As it turned out I was sitting with gold.

I stayed out of harms way for a while until I found AAxx and called from position. This was another hand with a big stack guy who like to push chips around.

Seat 2: FLOP_IT ONCE (16,031)
Seat 4: brc77 (16,110)
Seat 6: pokerenthusiast (7,258)
pokerenthusiast posts the small blind of 50
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to pokerenthusiast [As Ac Ts 7h]
FLOP_IT ONCE raises to 350
brc77 calls 350
pokerenthusiast calls 300

I really just want to see a flop. If it hits me well I stay.

*** FLOP *** [Ah 9h Qd]
pokerenthusiast checks
FLOP_IT ONCE bets 575
brc77 calls 575
pokerenthusiast calls 575

I have the best hand but many cards that will kill me hand. I call in hopes that the board pairs.

*** TURN *** [Ah 9h Qd] [Kc]
pokerenthusiast checks
FLOP_IT ONCE bets 2,875
brc77 folds
pokerenthusiast has 15 seconds left to act
pokerenthusiast calls 2,875

I’m thinking he has a possible straight but maybe betting a draw.

*** RIVER *** [Ah 9h Qd Kc] [9d]
pokerenthusiast checks
FLOP_IT ONCE bets 8,625
pokerenthusiast calls 3,458, and is all in
Uncalled bet of 5,167 returned to FLOP_IT ONCE
*** SHOW DOWN ***
FLOP_IT ONCE shows [3h Kh Ks 3c] a full house, Kings full of Nines
pokerenthusiast shows [As Ac Ts 7h] a full house, Aces full of Nines
pokerenthusiast wins the pot (15,541) with a full house, Aces full of Nines

*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 15,541 | Rake 0
Board: [Ah 9h Qd Kc 9d]
Seat 2: FLOP_IT ONCE showed [3h Kh Ks 3c] and lost with a full house, Kings full of Nines
Seat 6: pokerenthusiast (small blind) showed [As Ac Ts 7h] and won (15,541) with a full house, Aces full of Nines

His set of kings was unlucky and he did have the heart redraw. I’ll take the chips.

As the rest of the second hour went by, I bled some chips and started the 3rd hour with just under 12K

Time started to slip away. I was looking for some hands to play that would help me chip up but they avoided me. I slowly drifted down into the 8K zone before seeing a free flop from the BB.

Seat 3: TwoPairTim (8,736)
Seat 4: sdrapak (24,230)
Seat 6: CommanderDan (4,791)
Seat 7: pokerenthusiast (7,971)
CommanderDan posts the small blind of 500
pokerenthusiast posts the big blind of 1,000
The button is in seat #5
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to pokerenthusiast [Kh Qs 4d Jd]
TwoPairTim calls 1,000
sdrapak calls 1,000
WideOn has 15 seconds left to act
CommanderDan calls 500
pokerenthusiast checks

I can work with hand I’m hoping to hit good.

*** FLOP *** [Tc Qd 5s]
CommanderDan checks
pokerenthusiast checks
TwoPairTim checks
sdrapak bets 1,000
CommanderDan folds
pokerenthusiast calls 1,000
TwoPairTim calls 1,000

I’m not running from this hand
*** TURN *** [Tc Qd 5s] [Kc]
pokerenthusiast checks
TwoPairTim checks
sdrapak checks

Free cards are good.

*** RIVER *** [Tc Qd 5s Kc] [Kd]
pokerenthusiast bets 4,000
TwoPairTim raises to 6,736, and is all in
sdrapak has 15 seconds left to act
sdrapak folds
pokerenthusiast calls 1,971, and is all in
Uncalled bet of 765 returned to TwoPairTim

I hit the nut and get paid.

*** SHOW DOWN ***
TwoPairTim shows [2c Ad Js Jh] a straight, Ace high
pokerenthusiast shows [Kh Qs 4d Jd] a full house, Kings full of Queens
pokerenthusiast wins the pot (18,942) with a full house, Kings full of Queens

He waited to get his money in behind. I’m not sure I fold if he bests the turn.

So now I have chips again and we approach the final table. I have good reads on the players at my table as well as a couple from the other table so I just want to be in a position get deeper…and I’m there. As we get to the final table bubble, I bust the 10th place guy and have 35K as the final begins.

Early on I limp in with a nice connecting hand.

Seat 3: pokerenthusiast (35,858)
Seat 6: oraslerapas (84,334)
Seat 7: ilvolpe (12,004)
Seat 8: WideOn (42,104)
ilvolpe posts the small blind of 800
WideOn posts the big blind of 1,600
The button is in seat #6
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to pokerenthusiast [Jh 9c Tc Jd]
unit15 has 15 seconds left to act
unit15 folds
EVIL YODA folds
CR_ROC folds
pokerenthusiast calls 1,600
tylaur folds
oraslerapas calls 1,600
ilvolpe calls 800
WideOn checks
*** FLOP *** [Ac Qs Kc]
ilvolpe checks
WideOn bets 1,600
pokerenthusiast calls 1,600
oraslerapas calls 1,600
ilvolpe calls 1,600

I flop the nut. Now my hand is vulnerable to combinations of two pair but I want to build up the pot a little so I only call. I probably should have raised.

*** TURN *** [Ac Qs Kc] [3d]
ilvolpe checks
WideOn bets 1,600
pokerenthusiast calls 1,600
oraslerapas calls 1,600
ilvolpe calls 1,600

I still have the best of it and wait for a little more money to get into the pot…should have raised it here.

*** RIVER *** [Ac Qs Kc 3d] [9s]
ilvolpe checks
WideOn bets 4,800
pokerenthusiast has 15 seconds left to act
pokerenthusiast raises to 31,058, and is all in
oraslerapas folds
ilvolpe folds
WideOn folds
Uncalled bet of 26,258 returned to pokerenthusiast
pokerenthusiast mucks
pokerenthusiast wins the pot (28,800)

Now that I have the nut I re-pop it. It might have been better to call and see if someone else puts money in.

The big stack has been on a mission to bust everyone and has accumulated over half the chips in play. I have not backed off and have chipped up into a nice 2nd place spot but with 100K less chips than him.

Seat 2: CR_ROC (26,728)
Seat 3: pokerenthusiast (73,358)
Seat 5: tylaur (41,859)
Seat 6: oraslerapas (170,055)
oraslerapas posts the small blind of 1,500
CR_ROC posts the big blind of 3,000
The button is in seat #5
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to pokerenthusiast [Ah Ad 7s 9s]
pokerenthusiast raises to 10,500
tylaur folds
oraslerapas folds
CR_ROC raises to 26,728, and is all in
pokerenthusiast calls 16,228
CR_ROC shows [7c Js Jd 5h]
pokerenthusiast shows [Ah Ad 7s 9s]
*** FLOP *** [9c 7d 2h]
*** TURN *** [9c 7d 2h] [6s]
*** RIVER *** [9c 7d 2h 6s] [Qd]
CR_ROC shows a pair of Jacks
pokerenthusiast shows two pair, Nines and Sevens
pokerenthusiast wins the pot (54,956) with two pair, Nines and Sevens
CR_ROC is sitting out
CR_ROC stands up

Now I have the ability to put a hurt on the chip leader. The 3rd place guy has been looking for positions to get involved but only with strong hands…he has been very predictable. The chip leader has splashed around a bit and likes to put pressure on you. My plan was to attack the small stack as much as possible but I received a gift from the big stack and took over the chip lead. From there I turned up the aggression a bit and chipped up to about 140K when this hand came up.

Seat 3: pokerenthusiast (139,586)
Seat 5: tylaur (66,859)
Seat 6: oraslerapas (105,555)
oraslerapas posts the small blind of 2,500
pokerenthusiast posts the big blind of 5,000
The button is in seat #5
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to pokerenthusiast [2d 3s Th Ah]
tylaur folds
oraslerapas raises to 10,000
pokerenthusiast calls 5,000

This hand is as good as any to call a min-raise.

*** FLOP *** [2s 3c 8d]
oraslerapas bets 10,000
pokerenthusiast calls 10,000

Flopping 2 pair is nice. I feel good about my hand but I’m not ready to commit a ton of chips yet. He keeps the aggression going.

*** TURN *** [2s 3c 8d] [4s]
oraslerapas bets 10,000
pokerenthusiast calls 10,000

I now have a straight draw to go with my two pair. I’m probably ahead but I’m not sure…not willing to commit my stack yet/

*** RIVER *** [2s 3c 8d 4s] [2h]
oraslerapas bets 60,000
pokerenthusiast raises to 109,586, and is all in
oraslerapas has 15 seconds left to act
oraslerapas folds
Uncalled bet of 49,586 returned to pokerenthusiast
InstantTragedy (Observer): Booooooooooooooooooooommm
pokerenthusiast shows [2d 3s Th Ah] a full house, Twos full of Threes
pokerenthusiast wins the pot (180,000)

I hit the boat and he pushes into me. I think he needs 88 or 44 to be in the lead because I just can’t put him on the last two 3s. Funny thing is…he folded my re-push to leave him with 15K.

This is about the time I melted down a bit. I doubled each player and eventually the chip stacks were 70K each for the other two players. But then we got to heads up.

Seat 3: pokerenthusiast (168,562)
Seat 5: tylaur (143,438)

Within 4 hands we had all are chips in the middle.

Seat 3: pokerenthusiast (155,562)
Seat 5: tylaur (156,438)
tylaur posts the small blind of 3,000
pokerenthusiast posts the big blind of 6,000
The button is in seat #5
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to pokerenthusiast [Kd 8h Ks 2h]
tylaur calls 3,000
pokerenthusiast checks

Check with my kings. Hoping to go after a bigger pot.

*** FLOP *** [Kc Jh 6c]
pokerenthusiast checks
tylaur bets 12,000
pokerenthusiast raises to 36,000
tylaur raises to 120,000
pokerenthusiast raises to 149,562, and is all in
tylaur calls 29,562
pokerenthusiast shows [Kd 8h Ks 2h]
tylaur shows [Ah As 5d Th]

I hit the set and he surprises me by betting. When we get it all in I was very happy to see my lead and even more happy that it held up. A few hands later it was over.

*** TURN *** [Kc Jh 6c] [Tc]
*** RIVER *** [Kc Jh 6c Tc] [Js]
pokerenthusiast shows a full house, Kings full of Jacks
tylaur shows two pair, Aces and Jacks
pokerenthusiast wins the pot (311,124) with a full house, Kings full of Jacks

So there you have it…A brag post about a low buy-in game.

A Wasted Year

The new job was good. I went directly into the small batch department where I filled small batches of paint. But with it being a department of 3 people, I learned to do many of the other jobs and started to learn how to shade paint in short order. Within 6 months I Moved into Quality control to work on random batch sizes ranging from 100 galloons to 6,000. My pay went from $6.44 an hour to 13 in that same amount of time and was ready to move out.

Life was good on many fronts. I was living at my dad’s place, I was making a decent living and I had no real bills to speak of. I started putting $100 a week into savings and easily got by with the money I had left over to spend. I mad made a plan in my mind to work at the new job for no more than 5 years and to continue to put money away for the future. I spent a lot of time that year with my friends from the neighborhood and had some god time along the way. We continued to have are random gatherings and started bowling a lot.

One of the guys worked at a bowling alley. So on weekends we would head out there around 10:00 and loiter around waiting for him to finish up. The alley would close but we would stick around bowling for free until anywhere between 2 and 3am. Most nights we would bring in a case or two of beer and just have fun screwing around. It wasn’t much of a life but we were a pretty close group of friends and didn’t get into much trouble.

One of the things my dad always said to me was ”I don’t care what you do…just don’t get a ride home from a cop.” I broke that rule that same spring…well even worse. It started a couple of years before when I got a speeding ticket. I had no money so I didn’t pay the fine. Eventually they suspended my license. I knew the situation but continued to drive like so many other people out there until I messed up. After I started working I went to the county clerk’s office and paid the fine and figured it was over.

Anyway, I was driving to work one morning and apparently didn’t come to a complete stop at a stop sign. Officer friendly pulls me over and says he’ll just give me a warning but has to run my license first…to make sure I’m not a hardened criminal. My license come back suspended and I am arrested for the infraction. The officer handcuffs me and we talk quietly as we wait for the paddy wagon. I show him my receipt for the ticket but it doesn’t matter. You can straighten it out in court.

Calling dad was the hardest thing I ever did. My stepmom picks up the phone and I tell her the story…she hands the phone to my dad and I repeat the circumstances of my arrest and the phone goes click. She bailed me out 20 minutes later and gave me a ride to work. I found out later that you have to ask for reinstatement and pay a fee to get your driving privileges back so I send a check and whatever form I had to fill out to the state and a week later I can drive again. I went to court and pleaded not guilty and ended up talking to the district attorney about the situation. The charges were dropped and life returned to normal. Stepmom was wonderful through this whole ordeal. She drove me back and forth to work for a couple of weeks and realized that people make mistakes. Dad never talked about it with me.

There wasn’t much direction in my life. Sure I made some money, saved some money and had some friends to hang out with but It was sort of like having a non-existence in a some ways. No real goals, I wasn’t playing ball anymore, I hung around a group of people that for the most part kept this cycle of inconsequential living in perpetual motion. I think the most productive thing I did all year was buy my dad tickets for the Bulls games. There wasn’t much more to be said for that year of my life.

How much more is there...

Back to the Grind of School

I really needed a job and my mom came through. I got a full time job working at a paint factory filling drums full of paint. It took absolutely no skill to do the job based on the fact that two of the fillers couldn’t even spell there name. I would spend hours standing by empty drums, waiting for them to be full. The place smelled like crap but it was a nice income for a summer job. The best part was cashing my check on Fridays. We would head to the liquor and grab a bottle of mad dog or some other crap and guzzle it down before we got to work. The nice buzz would make the rest of the day go by quickly.

That was a weird summer overall. I was living with my dad but I didn’t hang out with any of my old friends. I started hanging out with some people from his neighborhood and it turned into a real routine. Get home, eat supper, hang out for a while, play cards, drink, play stupid drinking games. This cycle repeated endlessly until something cool happened. Jenny came along.

She is the stepsister of my friend Chris and was smoking hot. She was gonna be a senior so was a couple of years younger but who cares. She was smoking hot. She started to hang out with us and next thing you know we were flirting and such. I wasn’t really sure if anything would happen other then some heavy petting because I knew she was going back to Nebraska or what every state it was that she lived. Anyway, the fact she was leaving didn’t deter her but may have given her motivation. We promised to keep in touch but I didn’t keep my end of the bargain.

In August, school started and I went in with an open mind. I had a smaller schedule and figured that soccer would help keep me focused and I think it did for the most part. And to go along with it, the soccer team was much better. The coach did a little recruiting and gave us the ability to compete that season. He also set up a couple of road trips which helped us bond together as a team.

Our first trip was to the Milwaukee area. I have no idea who we played but we spent the night in Kenosha right across the highway from “The Brat Stop”. Now the drinking laws in Wisconsin allowed anyone who was 19 before the end of September of that year to drink so many of the players on the team were of age. So our first act of team work was to walk over to The Brat Stop and check it out. They carded everyone so we ended up buying a few cases of beer and headed back to the hotel to get loaded up. SO imaging this picture…16 guys walking along the highway carrying 4 or 5 cases of beer…now imagine it if you are a cop.

He turned on his cherries and pulled up along side of us with a screech. We were a little freaked but we kept calm as he questioned us along the highway. He asked us all for our IDs and then checked to see who was carrying the beer. Lucky for us that everyone with a case was also of age. He eventually asked us where we were staying so we told him the hotel and our room numbers. He promised to check up on us later. I’m sure he wasn’t surprised when he knocked on the door of “our room” to find someone other than us staying there.

The next day we played another random team and finished our left over beers during the ride back to campus.

Our other trip took us to downtown Milwaukee. We played a local college team and went to a team supper right in the middle of town. After dinner coach says it’s ok if we hang out for a while but to get back early because we have a game at 10:00. 8 or 10 of us head down the street and wave to coach as we go. We found Major Goolsby's and started the evening by drinking fast and hard. At some point we realize we need to start heading back but get sidetracked at some dive. By the time we leave it is 3:30 and we have to walk 30 blocks back to the hotel. We stumble down the street and find a parking lot that offers a distraction along the way. One of the guys pulls on a door handle…it opens…there is a set of keys in the ignition. We all pile in and drive back to near the hotel. As we rumble to our rooms we see a line of sailors outside a door. Now we know sailors get lonely and are more than willing to pay for a little action so it wasn’t a surprise ay all. The Gilbert starts calling them fags and queers because they have to pay for it. A security guard comes around the corner and our coach opens up the door and tells us to get to our rooms. Gilbert continued his assault by yelling out the window but eventually drifts off to sleep.

Morning came and the hangover was heavy. We headed to the game and coach got even. None of the drinkers got a break and he made me play center forward. We lost 7-0 and slept most of the way home.

My focus was gone after the season. I quit doing to classes in November and took a job at the paint factory in January. I had no direction other than working and partying.

Where does it go from here?...

College...Year One

I had to get a job. I had a part time job at the J&L gas station as the edge of town but making $3.35 an hour was going to get me very far. My lucky day arrived when mom said she had a position for me with a lawnmower distribution center that was a client of hers. It would be on an as needed basis but at least 3 days a week…and it paid $6 an hour so I was happy to take on the extra work.

My mom was a manager at a temporary agency and always had menial jobs ready for me to make some money. I never viewed her position as much of a job but now that I’m older, I think it was a good service that she provided. It certainly helped me make a little money at random times when I needed it.

Anyway, my job was working in a warehouse picking parts for lawnmower repair shops in the Midwest. Being the hard worker I was back in the day, I would get a stack of pick slips and bust them out as fast as I could get them done…that is until the warehouse manager bitched at me for working to fast. Warehouse manger is really an overstatement of his title. He was the only permanent employee that worked back there and I was the only one working for him. He spent most of the day listening to music and packing boxes for UPS. He would disappear at random times and smell like dope when he returned. He taught me how to drag out the job so I could be called back the next day. He was a complete waste as an air breather.

This job plus the gas station gig gave me an income to have some fun with for the summer. I have no idea how many concerts I went to, mainly because I was to drunk to remember them all. Anyway, I put away a little money for the coming college life and drifted through one of my last summers of freedom.

When I started school at Waubonsee Community College, I had all intentions of working hard and getting my life started on the right track. I had a full load of classes and tried out for the baseball team that was good for a small community college. During fall practices for the team the baseball coach had a meeting with all the players and asked one big question. “Has anyone here played soccer?”

I wasn’t sure if I wanted to answer that question. I knew there was a soccer team but I really didn’t think I wanted to play. “PE…you went to H-BR…they have a great soccer program…did you play?” My moment of truth had arrived and I stepped up and said ”I played a little” “Great…You’re on the team” he said and my college soccer career began.
The team sucked thus the need for additional players and in all three of us baseball players were volunteered for positions of ineptitude as we had now started being two sport athletes.

I didn’t want to play goalie but the regular goal keeper had broken his are in a drinking accident. With a starting position in the bag I played every game like I have always played everything…to win. This was a hard thing for me with a team as bad as we had. Playing hard was easy but losing like we at first just wasn’t going to work. I pushed my game to levels I didn’t know I had and ended up being the team MVP and getting all-regional honors to go with it. I also made the baseball team…I wonder if there was a connection.

School was also going well with all A’s and B’s except for a C in Spanish. I really hated my Spanish class because I couldn’t roll my R’s like everyone else. I also didn’t like going to class everyday so I did what I had to do to pass...I copied from my neighbor.

As the first semester came to a close I realized one thing…I wasn’t going to be able to play baseball. Playing baseball in college required a time commitment that I couldn’t keep. I needed to have a job for money but there was no way I could work and play so I worked. I still feel like I played ball in college because I did play a bunch of fall ball games and made the team but in reality I never played a meaningful minute of ball.

Not playing ball hurt. The focus I had the first semester disappeared so I went back to what I knew well…drinking. It culminated during spring break when I went on a road trip with a friend that saw me drinking in Fayette, Iowa at Upper Iowa University and ended with a party where we emptied my friend’s dad’s keg. All I really remember from most of this is trying to hook up with the girl I turned into a lesbian and getting shot down after we were bare ass in my buddies bed. She wasn’t out of the closet yet and apparently still had thoughts of being straight. The killer was I didn’t have a jimmy protector and she wasn’t finishing the night without me having one. I just got up, got my pants back on and went back down stairs to grab a beer.

It really sucks when you get shot down and then can’t have a beer. The keg was dry and it was still early. No way was that going to stop me so I took a collection and headed to find a buyer. Some girl, I don’t remember her name, came along for the ride and we found the random drunk who hooked us up with a few cases to get us by for a while. As we headed back to the party, I found out the reason Kim ( I just remembered her name) came along. She was looking to find out what I had to offer and started to go down on me as I was driving. Now most of you men probably know, alcohol, blowjobs and driving don’t really go together…but you also know that there is know way your gonna turn down a hummer. Needless to say, I took the back roads back to the party.

By the time my freshman year of college was over, I had failed 2 classes and needed to go to summer school if I wanted to play soccer my sophomore year.

And it Goes On

It started well. I moved from goalie to midfield because there was a younger kid who was a solid goalie and I was also solid in the field. We ended up getting knocked out of the state tourney in the final 16 if I remember right so that was a let down. Individually, I was 2nd on the team in goals scored in my first season every playing something other than in the goal.

Drinking was just something corn fed kids did back in the day. There was a party almost every Friday and Saturday until basketball started. But being that I had relationship, I kept it in check for the most part. Eventually the miles between us encroached on our personal time with friends and we broke out relationship off.

It didn’t take me long to find someone new. Alcohol seems to have that affect on teenagers and I jumped at the chance to go out with a random girl whenever an opportunity came along. There really wasn’t anyone serious which left me to do basically anything I wanted to do.

Basketball started right after soccer ended and being a senior I figured it would be my year. We had gone down state the year before and we had a shooting guard that we knew could get us a long way. They season was progressing well when I guess I made a mistake. One of the players on the team had a small party at his house on a Friday and when I arrived at Saturday morning practice my coach called me in and asked me if I had gone to the game. I told him I was there for a little while and then he asked me if I had anything to drink while I was there. Now I could have lied and gotten away free as a bird but I told him that I had a couple of beers and went home early. He went nuts and almost kicked me off the team. The hypocrisy of it all is that he walked in on the whole team the year before when we were down state. He kicked out the non-players and told us to keep it down. We had cans of beer all over the room and one of the guys was getting a blowjob in the bathroom. In the end I was suspended for a game but lost about half of my playing time. I took it like a man as while parent questioned why I wasn’t playing as much anymore. Of coarse the season went to pot around this time. Our good guard(29 ppg) blew out his knee and we headed into the post season with no direction. It culminated with a resounding defeat to a team that had never beaten us before…ever…even going back to 5th grade. The best part of the season for me can be stated in one simple way…I got my only chance to dunk a ball in a game and banged it off the front of the rim…in that final game. Still…this white boy could jump.

Most of the rest of my senior year was waiting for the next party. I was tired of going to school and basically quit doing school work. I already had enough credits to graduate and my only ambition after high school was going to the local community college. I arrive at school just in time and skipped 7th period the rest of the year. I think my high school educational experience can be summed up with two words…fucking boring.

I think the biggest problem I had with high school was the lack of challenge a small town school presented me. I could have easily been in the top 5-10 percent in my class but being educated there just didn’t flip my switch. I guess when you take some form test and they say you are suited to be a park ranger and that being a park ranger is the last thing you really want to do…well, you get my drift. But there were a couple of highlights.

Now one of the things many high school students in the U.S. look forward is prom. It wasn’t really that big a deal to me but I knew it would be a great party so I was up for it. I wrote a little something about it so I’ll post it again.

I had made up my mind weeks before that I would ask Kathy. Everyone liked her and even though she wasn’t the hottest thing around, she had a nice body and could hold a conversation. Eventually, after days of procrastination, I summoned the courage and finally asked her. But not without a battle in my mind.

Just walk up and ask her you idiot…You’ve been friends for four years…she doesn’t have a date and either do you…Quit being a pussy and ask her…Christ dude…what are you nervous about…you’ve played soccer in front of thousands of people and you get freaked out about one question…She’s looking at you…walk up to her…one step in front of the other moron…
“Hey Kathy…you have a minute.”

I wanted to go to prom but my chicken-ass self could hardly muster up the courage to ask anyone. Breaking up with Pam was still having an affect on me and my ability to act like a normal teenager. My friends kept giving me shit as they prepared to waste a ton of money on a ritual that creates hope in young men. The hope that they will get laid…or at least a blow job.

Fuck yah, she said yes…I’m not sure if she puts out but I hope I have a shot…Dude…she isn’t an easy mark…put your pecker away and be a good guy…How the hell can I afford this…Maybe mom will throw me a little cash to help out…I’m gonna pull a good one off tonight...Cool, lunch time

Trying to get everything arranged in about two weeks was difficult but it worked out. I went and ordered the tux and Kathy told me what flowers to get. I knew things were coming into place when I got to use my mom’s new Cutlass instead of my 69 Nova that was having issues. We teamed up with our friends Dale and Wendy and made the rounds to get our pictures taken.

This is so fucking lame…I want to start drinking…When is this picture taking shit gonna end…man, Wendy is hot…how does she not fall over when she walks…She is gonna have back problems…wow…Kathy looks hot…I hope I get laid…her dad looks scary…her sister is hot…fuck I’m ready to get laid…finally…lets drink

Back in the day we would drink and drive. It was just what we did back in the mid 80’s and as long as we didn’t get to crazy, nobody seemed to mind. When we arrived at the destination, we finished off the bottles of bubbly and I had a good buzz.

I hope this buzz lasts a while…HAHAHA, he’s way stoned…I wish I had a joint…Night Ranger is so fucking good…My buzz is gone…I’m hungry and we still have another hour at least…he’s getting laid tonight…I hope I do but it isn’t looking…wait…what’s going on…

It was a normal dance except we had to dress up. Everyone still acted stupid for the most part but we still had to pick the King and Queen of the prom.

I know I have no shot…just tell us the winner already…YOU HAVE TO BE KIDDING ME…That fucker is king…I didn’t know kings could be lame ass cock suckers…So stupid…wish I wasn’t on the prom court…I voted for Kathy but she probably wont win…OMG…OMG…I’M AT PROM WITH THE PROM QUEEN…I’M GETTING LAID I KNOW I AM…man I’m hungry…

Going to prom with the prom queen was cool. I always bring it up when I get with old friends because it is kind of like having a status for doing nothing at all. I don’t really care about status but it is fun to mess with my friends. Anyway, we went to dinner after prom and headed home because we had a big day planned for the day after.

Man am I still hungry…that had to be the smallest piece of steak I’ve ever eaten…Should I hold her hand on the way back…maybe I’ll get a kiss…I’m gonna get so drunk tomorrow…I hope I don’t fall of a cliff…she’s cool to talk to but I don’t think she’s gonna put out…At least I got a kiss…Fuck…I know my mom is going to want to talk about this shit when I get home…

The next day we went to Starved Rock near Ottawa. Dale drove his Trans Am and we had plenty of beer and food. The whole senior class sitting out along the river getting drunk and having fun was classic. We almost got arrested when a park ranger caught us swimming in the water back in the canyons but we looked like good kids so he let us go.

Man, mom would kill me if I got in trouble for something stupid like that…You know they would have found the beer…Paul’s knee is fucked up after that fall…He’s done…man I’m drunk…Jesus Dale….open up the stupid windows and turn up the music…Sammy Hagar rocks…I’m gonna put my hand on her leg…She doesn’t mean no…Fuck…What the fuck am I doing…At least I stopped…that could have been really fucked up…man I’m drunk and stupid…Can I ever talk to her again

Nothing ever happened except for me looking like a drunk idiot. After she said no the second time I backed off and regretted being a moron. Nothing ever came of my idiocy and Kathy and I still talked in the hall way and at WCC where we both went to college. I hadn’t seen her for four years. That is until we met at our five year reunion.

It will be cool to see Bill again…Wow, Scott lost all his hair already…Wait, he wasn’t in our class…Oh shit…

“Kathy, I’m very sorry for how I acted the day after prom.”

“That’s OK…If you did it today I would probably say yes”

You have to be kidding me…All this fucking time I feel like shit and she says that…Maybe she’ll put out tonight…Fuck…I don’t think my girl friend would like that…

“That’s funny”

I love that story. I think it reflect how I thought back then. Anyway, the other highlight was going on our senior trip.

As we prepared for the trip, we made the decision to stay alcohol free while down in Orlando. The year before a bunch of the seniors got in trouble and there was talk of canceling our trip because of their mistakes. We didn’t want to ruin it for the classes that followed us. So anyway, I hooked up a quarter bag with a friend of mine and we were ready for the trip.

When we got down to Orlando we picked up some rolling papers and proceeded to make root beer barrels instead of joints. In the end a bubble pipe wrapped with tin foil became our pipe and we had a couple of us had a way of entertaining our selves. Then someone stumbled upon a bottle of rum…if breaking into a motor home and taking the bottle of booze they found as stumbling upon. This got us thinking and we convinced a couple of guys to jog into town and see if they could get some more. Town was 5 miles away but they didn’t disappoint and we spent the next few days hiding it from the chaperons as we got a good buzz going for a few nights. That is until one of the girls did a face plant and busted up her face. We slowed down after that but still had one more big fling in the magic kingdom.

A couple of us used our passes to head to river country and spent the day getting hammered. One guy had never drank before and ended up puking all over the place when we got back to where we were staying…The good times of youth.

In the end a couple of people still got in trouble for stealing shit and couldn’t walk for graduation. I made it through high school and had to get ready for college.

There will be more…

A Little More of My Life

Like I said, nothing more really happened during my Junior year…Then summer time came and a lot in my life changed.

Now that I reflect on the past a bit, I have a little more to add about my Junior year. My dad got re-married on New Years Eve. I don’t really know the significance of the day but I was a real issue for me. But being the good son I ignored the tell-tail signs of self denial and continued to plod through the year.

A couple of funny things happened with my new step family. Is it against the rules to fool around with a step-sister? I’m not really sure but once my dad and step-mom got hitched, my new step-sister quite messing around with me. I remember the first time something happened…we were heading back from one of my basketball games and she put her hand on my leg. I was like an oak tree within seconds and was looking forward to having my cherry taken from me. In the end we never got to far and like I said…once we were technically related, all things stopped. Now she is fat and left her kids to hook up with her dealer. Sometimes things happen for a reason.

So summer comes and I am still trying to get my cherry broken. Getting some stinky finger and some heavy breathing really doesn’t do it but low and behold things change. My other step-sister hooks me up with a sure thing, mainly because I ask her to find me a sure thing. It was a warm summer night and I head to a friend’s birthday party to drink beer and to get laid by a sure thing. At some point in the evening we head off in my dad’s Ford pick-up to Jeter Road and get the action going. In the end I’m sure it was the 23.5 seconds of her life and we went back to the party to drink some more. A little while later we heard sirens and found out one of my friends had rolled his car into a tree so we headed back to my dad’s and continued the night of my first real sexual experience while the rest of the house slept. She was a sure thing and never got tired.

It was around this time that I tried smoking pot for the first time. I knew my step-sisters smoked it and I found there stash one day while everyone else was out of the house. I smoked two bowls and got totally stoned. I was a little freaked when the phone rang because I knew the person on the phone had to be a cop. Anyway, it became a new influence in my life that shaped much of the next couple of years in my life.

I found that summer that I didn’t care about some things as much as I use to care. I still played sports but they were a little less important to me at the time. I never did spend a lot of my time getting high but I continued to party a lot and only worried about the important things…me.

One thing I always tried to do was mind my mother. She was lenient on me in that I could stay out late if I wanted but would always make sure I was home when I said I would be home. If I told her I would be home at 1am then I made sure I was home by 1am. I think she let me get away with this because she didn’t want to lose me and felt by giving me space I wouldn’t push her away. I think she did a pretty good job with me and gave me enough leash to feel free but not enough to hang my self with.

One other thing that happened that summer was meeting up with Pam again. I told this story but I will re-post it because I can.

#9 and #10 In high school I went out with this one girl. We got along great and we were about as serious as juniors in high school can be. Then one day she breaks it off and never gave me any indication of why we could date no longer. Later that year she moved to another town about 15 miles away and I figured that was the end. During the summer that followed she came back in town on many occasions and her and one of my classmates, we’ll call her TC, would stop by and say hi. After a while she started to stop by on her own and we started seeing each other again in some sense. Then she dropped a bomb. The reason she had broken up is because TC had tried to commit suicide because she liked me but I was going out with someone else. This floored me and we talked about how we could continue to see each other if it was going to cause potential harm to one of our friends. This is when I did the most logical thing and asked the school councilor how we should proceed. The councilor knew the situation and said that it was important not to hide it and let her know how we felt about each other. Obvious good advise and we did just that. TC was glad that we told her and everything ended up just fine. I still can’t believe I talked to a school councilor about a problem. The second part of this story only has one thing. TC is now a lesbian and thus I have turned a woman away from men.

Then Senior year started.

Continued again.

It Was My Life

I wasn’t sure what to do. My life had just been turned up-side-down by the words that came out of my mothers mouth. We sat in the car outside the old brick police station as we waited for me dad to come back outside so we could go home.

I remember the day that started this off. My dad and I were heading to my grandparents house on a Sunday morning and the police flagged us down. It seem that he was speeding and he received his first every speeding ticket at the age of 43. I don’t think my dad was speeding because we had just been passed by a truck that had slammed on its breaks and pulled into a driveway. It didn’t matter as he handed the ticket to my father.

Apparently my dad didn’t pay for the ticket. He was being charged with driving on a suspended license after being pulled over by a cop who had run the plates on the car and saw there was a warrant out for his arrest. Small town cops with nothing better to do than check license plates.

Mom wasn’t very happy about all of this as you can guess. Anyway, as we waited she told e she had asked my dad for a divorce. She looked at me with her care worn eyes, searching for my feelings. How was I suppose to react? That’s great mom…I was looking forward to living in a broken home. But as I sat there trying to take in the words she had said, I knew it was the right thing to do.

Mom and dad had been fighting for a while. Most of the fights had to do with his drinking and his lack of ambition after the recession of the early 80s destroyed his company. Sure, he worked everyday but having your hard work fall to pieces will demoralize almost everyone.

The fighting was hard on me. My sister was married and so was no longer home. There were so many times I had to step in to get the fighting stopped…you can’t imagine. Then one day, there was a knock on the door. My father was served the divorce papers and asked to leave the house. I suppose it could have been a restraining order but I didn’t really know for sure.

Within six months we moved to Hinckley into a two bedroom duplex right next to the train tracks. My sister lived in town also which I think was a big part of why we moved there. I didn’t really have many friends there but I had my skate board and got to know people I already knew a little better. This was all during the summer before my Junior year.

Soccer started in August and it was good to be busy again. 2-a-day practices during the pre-season workouts got me in shape as I busted my ass for the ex-drill instructor who was our coach. It was during this time that I became close with a few of my teammates and we were soon heading out on Friday nights trying to catch a good buzz. It was easy to get beer in town as the 20 something losers would always get us a case if we bought them a 6-pack. Losers are easy to find in a small town.

The soccer season was a waste for the most part. Most of the team was more interested in getting drunk and it showed as failed to advance past the regional championship game. We lost to a team we had beaten twice already that year and to make matters worse, they ended up making it all the way to state. But…we still drank.

I had a few girl friends during the year and one in particular that stood out the most. Her name was Pam and we really got along great. But one day it was over as she dropped me like a bad habit. The pain was short lived because there was always a party to go to and she eventually moved a couple of months later. Maybe that was why she broke it off.

One of the best part of the year was going down state in basketball. We had a superstar player surrounded by some solid teammates as we won 18 games in a row at one point during the season. I didn’t play a lot but it doesn’t matter when you are a team player. During Regional and Sectional play we had some close games that really put us to the test. We moved through the Super-Sectional with ease as the star scored 55, actually scoring the same amount as our opponent. It all came to an end in the state quarter finals as our point guard got caught taking speed during the season and thus had no energy anymore after being forced to play clean. And our 2nd leading scorer (22 points per game) felt is was smart to get stoned just before the game and miss every shot he took from that point forward. Not a great end to the season. If people only knew some of the stuff that went on with that team.

The rest of my Junior year was spent drinking and walking through life without direction. But I had a lot of fun.

To be continued…

Random...Just Random

What a crazy week. It started on Thursday last week when I had to make a trip to Toledo and got home Sometime Friday night. On Saturday morning at 5:45, after playing poker until 3am, I had to be at the starting line of the 5K run the baseball/softball organization I’m involved with was holding. When that was over I headed up to Wisconsin for a weekend at the lake. On Monday, I left the lake and headed to the airport to catch a flight to Boston. I eventually arrived home from Boston at about 11:30 Tuesday night. I’ve spent the last two days trying to get caught up so I can be ready for a visit from a customer tomorrow. Life is running fast right now.

I do have to say that the Boston trip went well. It was my first time to the fine city and I had the privilege of meeting a break even poker player. That’s right…I got to meet waffles. He reminds me of someone who would compare me to JJ. I only had an hour so we walked 47 miles to a food court and had some Chinese food and chatted each other up. Good times and I’m glad I finally got to meet the guy who sends me IM’s all day long.

I watched the Republican Convention last night and think that Sarah Palin gave a great speech. I’m not sure if that qualifies her to be a V.P. but she was more charismatic in the first five minutes then I’ve seen McCain during his whole campaign. I could go on about all the political stuff but I have to study everything some more before I make up my mind. At least she is something to look for the next couple of months.

And yes…I can still write about poker. I final tables the $5 Razz on Monday night. Nothing spectacular as I went from 4th to 14th near the bubble when my made 7 got ran down. I fought hard and lasted long enough for 5th but couldn’t get that one hand to get me into real contention. I also went deep in a PLO o8 tourney, missing the final table by a couple of spots. So overall I think I’m getting my focus back through playing less and working harder. Maybe I just got lucky.

Fishing

Can you put a price on the time you spend with you family and friends?

I woke around 8:00 on Sunday morning. The insects had long stopped their noises and I slowly woke in the cool morning temperatures. I threw on the same old shirt from the day before because we were camping. It doesn’t bother me that others might have smelled a little something special coming from me because that’s what happens when you camp. Anyway, I slipped on my shoes and walked across the dew covered grass and enjoyed the view of the mirror cover water some 20 yards from where I was walking. It was a great day for anything.

When I got to the cabin I noticed that everyone was up and having breakfast. My father-law was already taking a post breakfast nap and I had a quick bite to eat before heading to the boat. My son came along for the ride as I knew he would and we headed out for a morning of fishing.

One of the best things about fishing with your son or any other child is that it doesn’t really matter if you catch anything. Sure, our first obligation is to catch fish but we always throw them back in anyway. As we motored our way across the glistening water, we chatted about anything that came to his mind. Being that he is 6-years-old, the subjects were random and questioning. They covered things like the fish he caught the day before to giving me a demonstration on how he made his catch during the football game the week before. These times are special and should be cherished for what they are...some of the best times of your life.

As we found a spot that has honored us with our prey in the past we talked about the east wind that was blowing and how you had to work harder to catch fish when the wind was blowing from that direction. Now most 6-year-olds fish with worms…but not my son. He had a tube jig with an 1/8 once weight on it and worked it about as well as a child of his age can. Hw started out working it with some speed but soon realized that he had to use a slower approach to catch his quarry. He quickly mimicked my approach and caught his first fish of the day…A 13 inch crappie that would have a nice start to a meal.

We spent the next 2 hours drifting along not really caring if we caught anything. Being with dad on the lake was enough for him…at least in my eyes. We repeated this a few times over the weekend and each of them seemed to be the same…dad and son hanging out together. We ran into a school of perch just before dark and continued to bring them in one after another until I just became plain tired of pulling them off the hook.

I can’t think of a better way to spend a Labor Day weekend with my son.