The Upside Of Winning

Well, there's actually many upsides to winning. I have experienced a few variations of the upside over the last couple of days. It's actually 0200 on Wednesday morning and I got back from Justin's about 45 minutes ago. We had a fun night (more on that later) and I have a little bit to do before I go to sleep - so I'm thinking about staying up all night and being productive. I won't make it, but at least stuff will get done. Like posting here, for example. Well, I'm gonna bullet this out real quick and then get to my English hw. . . Ah, the glamorous life of a college student. . .

- So, I went to Justin's tonight. Manny, Justin, and I played one game ($5 buy-in) before Cy got there to join us. I won that first game. I was short stacked the entire first half of that game, but I doubled up (thanks to an 8 on the river!) and never looked back from that. Once Cy got there, we played two more games ($10 buy-in) and guess what? I won both of these. The highlight of the night was a hand between me and Cy. I had Pocket 3's and the Flop came down 3-7-3. I flopped QUADS! I checked (slow-played to perfection) and he bet. I raised a little. He re-raised. I re-raised him right back (mind you, we combined for about half the chips in play - Manny was already out and Justin was down to about 3 big blinds) and was re-raised again by that guy. I knew I had it, but I just didn't want to lose him by going All-In too soon. Well I put him all-in with a final large re-raise and he called, claiming I was full of it. I flipped my cards while saying "You lose". It was over. I won the hand, and I took that game about five minutes later. I dominated the last game from the get-go and held on in the end to take Manny out. I got a lot of good cards (almost every time I had a pocket pair, I got my set on the flop) but I felt like I played them really well too. I walked outta there with $50 more than what I came in with and Cy owes me $20. Very nice night for me, wouldn't you say?

- I went bowling last night (Monday) with Chelsea, Kimmy (our friend from JC) and her friend Travis. If you've read here before, you know that I really like to bowl. It's probably third on my list of competitive games to play (behind basketball and poker, of course). Well the first game was awful. I bowled a marginal 103 and Chels exploded for a 172, her highest score ever. Claiming I now had a goal to defeat, I set out to take down that score. The next game I was awesome. I'm serious. I only had two open frames (I don't force the pins down - I finesse them! I'm a "spinner", if you will) and was at 162 going into the final frame. I needed a mark to beat her. My first ball was good, but left one pin standing - the middle pin. Now, if the pin in the left-hand corner (the back one) is left standing, I will get a spare everytime. I can always hit that pin with my spin. The middle pin, well, not so much. I was worried that I was gonna fall one pin short. So I took my time and went up and rolled a perfect ball, knocking that lone pin down. I got an 8 on my last ball and ended up with a 180, my highest game ever! I was beyond stoked! I followed it up with a 161 and a 130 (Chels beat me in that last game with a 132, so we split the four games - she's great competition) so I was proud of my efforts. Very proud, indeed.

- I went to CIRCUIT CITY today to pick up a few knick knacks. Three CD's came out today that I wanted: JOHN MAYER - Continuum, SUGARCULT - Lights Out, and JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE - FutureSex/LoveSounds. I got them all (all of them were under $10). I also wanted to buy the 2nd season of THE OFFICE, one of my favorite comedies on tv right now. It was supposed to be $30. That's what the ad said. I picked it up and when the guy rang it in, it appeared as $17.99, an obviously wrong price. Did I say anything? Hell No!!! I saved $12 bucks because of a computer error. Thank you Circuit City. Thanks much. O, and all of the CD's are top notch. The John Mayer CD just might be his best, and the Sugarcult one was exactly as I'd hoped. JT's sophomore solo effort is catchy, cool, and ultimately, trendy. I'm glad I'm trendy too. His music is too much fun to listen to!

- On a sour note, I don't think I did very well on that Biology test (I would be happy with a C; let's just leave it at that) and I was quite unprepared for my History test today (although I'm pretty sure I pulled off a B). O well - I bowled a 180, won lots of money in poker, and got a rebate on a great DVD. I think I won in the long run :D

- I miss Heather and I can't wait for Friday! We're gonna go clothes-shopping for our big date night on October 6th. . . I haven't told you yet, have I?!?! Next post - I promise.

- Finally, I'll leave you with the most exciting news I've gotten in a long time. George texted me tonight telling me he's on the waiting list for Laker tickets for opening night (it's against the SUNS of course!). He says that it will only cost us $220 for what he referred to as "front row seats". I have my fingers, toes, and anything else crossable on my body crossed that we can get near the court for that game on Halloween night. If we do, I might just bust loose or lose a screw, or something like that. Nothing will keep me from that game!

Well, it's running into 0230 now and English is calling. Wish me luck for Wednesday. It'll be a long day with little sleep to support me - o well. Thanks college/life/fun/money/poker/friends.

It was all worth it.

- - - "I'm bringing sexy back. . ."
- - - Justin Timberlake on his new single, coincidentally titled "SexyBack".

Goodnight,

A Winner