It is 1:00am. I went to bed an hour ago, but tossed and turned enough that I finally convinced myself I may as well get up for a little while. I can't seem to shut my mind down tonight, even though I have to leave for the airport in less than 4 hours.
I really feel like a kid on Christmas Eve listening for Santa Claus. Honestly, I can't remember the last time I was this excited about something. It's not just that I get to see some of my old friends again, it isn't just because I get to meet some of the newer ones live and in person. It isn't just because I love Las Vegas and really, that alone is enough to keep me awake at night. It is all these things, and so much more, combined.
I will see you all tomorrow night - hope everyone has a safe trip in!
Oh and by the way, congrats to 23skidoo for placing 6th in the 25k at FT tonight! Glad I was awake to see your finish!
"So are you all ready for your trip?" - my Mom, this morning
"Mom, I have 48 hours until I board my plane. Of course I am NOT ready." - me
Alright, so I am a wee bit of a procrastinator. And by a wee bit, I mean I am the queen of all things that can be put off until later. I don't do it on purpose, really, it is just the way my mind works. Maybe I am missing a chip or something, but I know no other way. I start something, then realize there are 500 other things that need doing, and by the time I get back to my original project, three moon phases have passed and I am left wondering how I never finished it in the first place. Confused? Welcome to my world.
The one good thing about being a professional procrastinator is that you never actually worry about getting everything done. You know you will, in your own time. It is just everyone else that begins to panic on your behalf - all those people who pre-plan their life and complete tasks in an orderly fashion don't understand how you can leave everything to the last minute and still get it all done.
MY panic starts when I actually have everything completed and find myself with nothing to do. Think I am joking? I'm not. Honestly, that thought fills me with terror. It's like in Vegas this weekend, Kat and I are sharing a room. If her and I are both getting ready to go out, there is no possible way that I could finish up before her and sit calmly and wait. I would begin to obsess. Checking my hair every few minutes. Pacing the room. Walking out to the balcony and back inside, over and over. Chain smoke. (Ok, to be fair, I will be chain-smoking anyways in the land-of-ashtrays-everywhere) but you get my point.
If I were packed and ready to go right now, that suitcase would get unpacked and repacked 17 times between now and then. I would begin to worry that I forgot something. I would start adding unnecessary items to the bag. Basically, I would be going nuts. So why do it?
That said, it is not my intention to laze about all day and slack off all night and hope that everything magically finds its way into my suitcase sometime late tomorrow evening. Actually, I have been progressing quite nicely with my list of things to do before leaving town. Almost too nicely, in fact, which is why I thought I better slow things down a little and write a post here, lest I somehow complete too many things early.
So, I bet you are wondering how I am going to turn this into a poker post. Actually, everything I just wrote IS the reason why I love poker. I see the game a lot different than most people I have talked to, or rather, my mind just works in a different way. I'm not saying that is for better or worse, it just is what it is.
I don't get a rush from playing cards. I don't really experience that high that others describe from winning or losing. It doesn't get my adreneline pumping. I long ago stopped getting excited about good hands or disappointed by bad beats.
Actually, poker has the exact opposite effect on me. I can still still for hours, patiently waiting for a good hand. I don't get stressed. I don't get impatient. Being short-stacked doesn't bother me, etc. The fact is, I am still doing something that is unfinished, and I could wait for the right play for days if I had to. I suppose it is because I feel busy, so my inner A.D.D. actually gets to take some time off and lounge by the pool. Playing poker is one of the few times in my life when I actually feel that sense of calm.
Anyways, I will see you all on teh girly chat tonight as I count down the last few hours before take-off, and I may even play a little bit of poker - ya never know.
Just please don't ask me if I am all packed and ready to go.
Anyone I have talked to over the last little while knows how (absolutely, unbelievably) excited I am about the Vegas trip later this week. I leave for the airport in 75 short hours and I just can't wait. (Yes, I am counting it down - I told you I was excited.)
However, tonight I got to celebrate just a little early with the arrival of my fellow Canuck and WWdN regular Astin (plus three of his Toronto friends) who took a little time out of their Western Canadian ski trip to join me at one of my local casinos for a bit of degeneracy.
This was definitely a first for me, meeting a blogger in my own hometown, and they certainly didn't disappoint - all of them were fantastic. As any of you who have met bloggers before know, there is that quick moment where you try to associate the face with the online personality, but once you are past that it seems like you have known each other for a long time.
We settled in for a pre-game beer in the (very tiny) lounge, then hit up the poker room which was suprisingly pretty crowded, especially for that late on a Sunday night. The only game they were spreading at the time was $1/$2 NL, and there was a guy at our table who had racked up over $1200. Needless to say he was playing pretty much every hand (and invariably hitting most of them, too) so I was hoping he would stick around long enough to pay me and my uber selective-aggressive self off. No such luck though, he took his chips and ran before I could claim any of them for myself. I did manage to double up at one point, bringing my $200 buy-in over $400, but at the end of the night I walked out of the casino up just $100. Not bad though, considering that I paid for a few drinks and played some blackjack too.
Astin had a rougher time at the poker table - he was completely cold decked on a very loose table, but he did manage to make up for his losses there by winning a very nice jackpot on a min. buy in at the slots. (I'll let him tell you the details if he so chooses, but I do find it funny that he hit this just moments after telling me that the slots at my casino suck lol...)
Anyways I definitely had a great time, and am now looking even more forward to Vegas (if that is possible) for more of the same later this week. (Thanks again guys for inviting me to join up with you!)
So, speaking of the trip. I'm arriving into Vegas on Thursday at 2 or 3pm, but am not making any plans to meet up with anyone right away as I have some things I have to take care of. Sound mysterious? Sorry to disappoint, it's not, really. I am doing most of my Christmas shopping while there and if I don't do it first, I won't do it at all. That and I am tentatively planning to take a nap if I can. Yes I know napping in Vegas is a sucky plan, especially before actually doing anything there, but you need to understand - my flight leaves that morning at 8am, which means that I have to be at the airport for international check-in by 5:30am, which means my alarm clock will have gone off at 4:00am, and you all know that I don't go to sleep usually until about 3am. Ugh. Am I allowed my nap now? Thank you.
The first (and last) scheduled thing I am doing is picking up Kat, Gary, and Maudie at the airport that night and (finally!) having a live-and-in-person shot with them before we even hit the luggage carousel. Kat, Gary, and I have been counting this one down for the last few weeks, warming up with a flurry of dial-a-shots and IM-a-shots, so it will be very awesome to finally talk face-to-face with the two of them for the first time. I've met Maudie before (she was actually the very first blogger I ever met) so it will be absolutely wonderful seeing her at the airport, too. I heart Maudie. But then again, who doesn't?
Anyway it is 3:30am and the lettering on my monitor is starting to blur, so I am going to head off to dreamland for a few hours of zzz's. If I don't get another chance to post before the trip, I hope the next few days fly by fast, and that everyone has a safe trip in.
