Roller Coaster

This past week has been a roller coaster of a ride with emotions riding high and trying to figure out what I will be doing next.

On Monday I went back to work and after three hours working on my computer trying to catch up from being off for four weeks on medical leave I had a meeting with my boss. This meeting did not go very well. She presented me with a 4 page Corrective Action on two of the applications I work on. Testing on one of the applications did not go well and the Asst. Medical Director of the ED was wanting me replaced on the application I helped put in 6 1/2 years ago. He stated I did not know the application. I think he just wanted a new face to push around. At that time I went home and the next day turned in my resignation. I was done and I will persue other avenues now. I have worked with this hospital for 23 years and this is how I leave. It is sad but life goes on. You have to remember that now days longevity means nothing to business. We now part on good terms after talking with my Director a little bit a couple of days later. We had time for the emotions to settle down and talk to each other.

My next order of business is to start the process of cashing out my retirement from my 403b and see if I can do something with that on my own. We will also pay off a few bills that will make it easier for us to live on one income until I see what I can do with myself. We will be alright and it will be a new chapter in our lives.

I would like to play a little bit more poker now to see if I can make it profitable. I have been doing alright in the higher stakes and will continue with my 9 player SnG's. I ventured out into a couple of tournaments yesterday to see how I would do and I need to stay where I am at and be satisfied that I can win some profit and move up in stakes. It is time to make it happen. I will need to back off in the live casino tournaments until I get a better bankroll. I do not want to deplete what I have and use this sparingly for the proper tournaments where I know I have a chance to place in the money.

We are still working on the house and I will post pictures as soon as we get closer to being done. We have been painting the rooms and now we are going to have the carpet and the flooring put in this next week. After that the finish work can begin as the vanity, and toilet will be put into the bathroom. Having Nick home to help has been great and this weekend Cindy will be able to help paint and possibly grout the bathroom tiles.

Today is a rainy day here and I am glad we are not in the area that has snow. I always say that our spring always starts on March 1. I am ready for spring and I am ready to start feeling better. I love the sunshine and how it makes me feel.

Having Fun.......

Last Day

Last night I played at Jokers Casino in the $30 tournament. Where did all the people come from? On Monday we had about 30 people show up and then last night we had 36 show up to play. It was nice to see the group grow from the last few months were we barely got two tables.

One of the things I hate to see is the celebration at the table when someone wins a hand. We had a young person at the table that played his pocket A's well and pulled in a nice pot. I will give him that much. What he did next was the problem. He must have clapped for about 15 to 20 seconds in your face type clap. Everyone just looked at him and just stared. No one said anything. You could tell people were not happy with this show of excitement. Hopefully someone will say something later to him on the side.

I went out in 21st last night. I was trying to hang in with nothing. I did win some pots that allowed me to get to the 300-600 level but when I got down to 4BB I knew it was find the best cards and go ahead and shove. I got A10 and went in. I was called by one person and he ended up getting an 8 on the flop to get a pair and take me out. At least he wasn't clapping.

My nose is finally rebelling with all the dust in the house from the remodel. They put the texture on the walls yesterday and I am really feeling it today. I thought I was coming down with a cold but now it has to be all the dust. Keeping the doors shut and windows open I hope will help. Nick will be here this next week and he will be able to help with the painting in the 3 rooms. It will be nice to have all of this completed. Carpet is next week and then the bathroom will be done as well. I don't want to see the cost of this project. I think it is more than what we expected.

Took Parents out to eat yesterday to Olive Garden. I really like that place and we had Salad and Soup with the breadsticks and sauce. What a meal. Parents went away full and that was my intent.

Hope to have a good weekend and then start work on Monday.

Hump Day

I have been looking at the Wildhorse schedule to see what poker events I can attend. This year the dates are 4-14 to 4-25. I try to play at least one tournament during this time. It looks like 4-22 there is a No-Limit tournament that I can try to get to. I also contacted NorthernQuest to see when they were having their tournaments and the next one will be 3-31 thru 4-3 and they are giving seats to to the WSOP events in Las Vegas in July this year.

I stopped by Islands Casino and spoke with them about their tournaments and basically they have their 6PM tournaments going but that is it. I was thinking about playing some more there but I am better off at Jokers Casino. I ended up going there during the day and had lunch and then played Blackjack. I haven't played that game for awhile. I don't like the casino advantage. When I finished playing I was equal as when I started. Not bad for spending time at that game. I also played the Ultimate Texas Hold'em table game. I ended up getting a profit on that game. Not bad. I really am not a table game player anymore since I like to play Poker more.

How are you doing with your Retirement account. We have a 403b account and the hospital has a very good program. They ask "where do you want to be when you retire". How about a million dollars? Well, I am no where near that and so I have to be aggressive and watch this account. I am presently moving funds into the Money Market account since I feel that the market is not through the downswing it is doing right now. I will still be diversified but not like I was. Got to watch the account and do what I can to get the most money I can for the end.

I played on FT tonight and came in 2nd in the 9 SnG game. That was good ROI. I also moved up in the levels. I liked the game better since it now gets me closer to how I normally play in the live game. Just a little bit different but the players play a little bit better and respect you more if you have a hand. Hopefully I can stay here and play to increase the bankroll. I haven't started the live games yet. We will see how that goes as well. I will probably use PS for that play to keep things separate.

Next week I start back to work. Anxious to get started again. I have two weeks before I go back to the doctor and then another surgery is around the corner for me. I am not looking forward to this but I understand it needs to be done.

The remodel project is getting closer to being done. Pictures will be coming as soon as I can see some improvement.

Tuesday

I am not good at making up titles for the blogs. As you can tell I make them very short and not to any point. I do the same thing with my emails. Why say everything in the subject line when you are going to write about it anyway. I usually will just put the date in the subject box and leave it as such.

Last night was the tournament at Jokers Casino. I don't know what happened. Maybe because I am still hurting from the procedure of last Friday or just not in the mood to sit and concentrate on Poker. I did start out trying to win pots when I didn't have the cards. I don't think I got any type of cards last night that you would consider premium. I did have pocket 4's at one time and did win the pot in a showdown. Nothing seemed to work. I was able to stay afloat last night and worked it down to the bubble of the final table. Talk about a struggle.

I am going to try and go to Island's Casino today and play in a tournament there. I haven't been to that one for awhile. It is a nice place to play and the space is bigger than Jokers Casino. Maybe change it up a bit and play with a different group of people.

I have also been toying with the idea of trying to do what Daniel Negreanu is doing and play a live game and try to grow a bankroll. I would start with $10 and play until I reached a certain amount and then that would allow me to go to the next level. If a pro can do it why can't an amateur. It would mean playing more live and not so many tournaments. I think it would be fun to try and I can update here as well where I am at in the process. My first level will be $0.01-$0.02 and will not move up in level until I get to $25.

My sister came over for a one day visit. I was thinking why do that? Drive over and then turn around and drive back the next day. Then it hit me that Cindy and I do the same thing but we do it all in one day. It was nice to have them here and to be able to visit our parents and our family.

The remodel is going well. The bathroom tileing is almost done and the bedrooms are close to getting ready for paint. Carpet is being looked at for the bedrooms as well. So much going on and I just try to stay out of the way.

Next week I go back to work.

Weekend After

On Saturday evening we sat down and watched some olympics. One of the things I enjoy watching during the winter olympics is the track skating. I enjoyed watching Ohno back in 2002 and that got me interested. The one race that was interesting to watch was the Koreans and they had the final all wrapped up in a pretty bow for gold, silver and bronze. That didn't work out very well. This is what happens when the 3rd place person wants to be in the 2nd position and he takes out himself and his teammate and they both don't get anything. Of course this allowed Ohno and Celski to come in silver and bronze. I will just about bet the coach had something to say to the person that caused that disaster. If I was in 2nd I would have said something to my teammate as well. I am happy that we got silver and bronze.

I had a tournament on PS starting at 1:35 on Sunday. This was the Jonathan Little tournament he was putting on for a group of us that answered the survey he put out. There were 33 individuals involved. My goal was to try and make it to the money and not be the first person out of the tournament. I did learn that in a higher stake game people tend to play a normal type of poker. Something I am used to in a live tournament so that was nice. I played well during the event and at one point had Jonathan on my left. That made me a little nervous and I tightened up just a little because I know that he can shove at any time. I was able to make it to the final table and was even leading the tournament for a while. Then within 3 hands I went from top to out of the tournament. I had KK and one of the callers ended up going all-in and we went to a showdown. He showed JJ and he got the J on the flop. That crippled me and within the next 2 hands I was out of the tournament. I ended up in 9th place and was 4 out of the money. It was fun and was a good learning experience.

Tonight I am going to go down to Jokers Casino and play in the Monday tournament. It has been a couple of weeks since I have played.

Our remodel project is underway for the second week. Hopefully the bathroom will be close to being finished and the bedrooms will be done real soon. Not much has to be completed to be ready for painting.

TGIF

Yesterday I wanted to eat fish so I went into town and ate at Ivar's. Now this place is one of my favorites to go to as a fast food type of place. I hadn't been there for a while so was excited to have the opportunity to eat there. I ordered a 4 piece and to my surprise when they came up they are now very thin pieces. Paying $10 for the plate was another surprise to me. Talk about getting nothing for my money. The taste was very fishing tasting. Yes, it was fish but the taste was that of being possibly old? I don't know, I was very disappointed with the food. I don't know where to get good fish and chips anymore.

Played on FT last night and came in 1st again. I am finally getting comfortable with playing the 9 player SnG's. I am reading a book by Scott Fischman and he talks about playing one game until you get good at it and before moving on to something else. I understand that and maybe by staying with this I am finally understanding how to play this game. Of course now that I have said that we will see if I can duplicate the win from last night. I was going to play at Jokers Casino last night but that didn't pan out as well. I will try to get a game in this next week. I like live play.

Our Remodel is going well. The bathroom is coming together and the bedrooms are almost done. Maybe tomorrow I can get some pictures put on the blog as well. Cindy went out today and picked out the carpet and the paint she wants to use on the walls. This next week should see a lot of improvement in the remodel project.

I had my medical procedure done this morning. Wow, that really hurts. Remind me not to have Kidney Stones again where they have to put a stent in and then have to go take it out. The nurse said she used Lidocaine but I couldn't tell. At least this chapter is about done and I can get back to work. During this Kidney Stone the Physician found another problem and now wants to address this in about three weeks. Another surgery and time off. So far this year has not been kind to me. At least I still have a job and good insurance. The Insulin Pump is working well for me. I am getting the hang of making the changes and using the bolus wizard.

Now we have the weekend to rest up before next week.

Rain, Rain go Away

One of my favorite shows to watch is the Deadliest Catch. I have watched all of the episodes and have gotten to like to watch these reality shows because of it. I think watching the lives of some of these individuals is interesting instead of watching fiction all the time. Ok, I am a reality show fanatic. Well, I found out yesterday that Phil Harris, the Captain, from the Cornelia Marie past away from a stroke. They were in the middle of the Opilio season up in Alaska. This will be a sad show this year with the loss of Phil. May you Rest in Peace. You will be missed.

Our Remodel project is moving right along. I was going to put some pictures up but was too late in getting new ones. The crew is here working and so I won't bother them. It is looking real nice and the bathroom should look good when done. The bedrooms are looking nice and will be better when we get the carpet put in. I may have to move in to one of the bedrooms myself. Maybe claim the new bathroom as well. Of course the next project will be the Master bedroom with its bathroom and will have to do the Family Room at the same time since they share a wall. Wow, that would be nice. At some point we need to turn our attention to the outside and get this house painted and get a new roof put on. We are only doing what we can pay for up front and not going into debt with this. It is taking awhile but we are not going into debt for this. We have a good contracter that works with us on our projects and he has a good crew.

Last night I played in a FT 9 player SnG. I am trying to get better at this level and not bounce around playing all the different SnG's. Last night I placed first. I am starting to understand what I need to do to get in the last three spots and get paid. Position is important especially in the early stages of the SnG. Patience is another one that you definately have to maintain. I get anxious to start playing but if I just wait and take the pots I can and let the rest go I seem to do alot better. If I wait till the blinds get to a point where it is imperative that I play then it is time to move. I also watch the percentage of hands played. Don't let that get too low. You also don't want this to get too high since loosing good hands make a difference as well. Stay within the range. Managing all of this does help to get into the final three spots. I am hoping to play in a Live game tonight at Jokers Casino. I like to play on Thursday night because they give T$5000 starting chips and I don't feel like I have to push and try to get lucking right off the bat.

I keep thinking about a hand I had in November in a Live Ring Game at the Wildhorse Casino. I had just been taken out of the Tournament and I wanted to play live. I took along my bankroll to see if I could get into a game. I put my name on the list for a 2-5 game and when it was called I bought $300 worth of chips and sat down at the table. To my right was a very aggressive player which was good for me. The hand in question happened fairly early in the game. I had a very good hand and was ahead at the time. I was going to win this hand and I knew it. I had extracted about as much as I could from the guy to my right. He all of a sudden went all-in. I had to really think about it since this guy had about $600 in front of him. He had friends around the table and I knew it was a bluff by what they were doing with the table. My gut told me it was a bluff. The way he bet the board told me it was a bluff. The way he had been playing told me it was a bluff. The only decision I had to make was to put the $300 into the middle and take his $300 and add to my stack. Then my mind took over and was I willing to risk my $300? In the end I folded. That fold still bothers me because I gave in and surrendered. If I would have lost the $300 I would not have been hurt but at that point I just could not pull the trigger. Could I do it today? I think I am more mentally prepared to go all-in with him now. I tend to read people better since then and I think my game has improved. Oh well, I think this will stick with me and the next time I play a live game I will be ready.

Tomorrow is the day for the next procedure in my medical saga. I am not looking forward to this procedure. Basically I just want this to be done so I can go back to work and get on with what I do. It has been nice for the time off to get my body ready to go again. Am I ready for that? We will soon find out.

Remodel

Today the remodel is starting on our house. The crew came in around noon and they are now working on the two bedrooms and the bathroom. They should be done in about a week. This will leave the Master Bedroom and the Master Bath and the Family Room to be completed before we try and get the Kitchen remodeled. Just to have the two bedrooms done will be nice. I will put pictures up as soon as I can when they get close to completion.

I was at the Doctors yesterday. He was very impressed with my diabetes control with the insulin pump and the work we have done with the education nurse. We will be making some tweeks on the insulin but we are very close. I am learning about the dual wave bolus and how it can best help me with the Blood Sugars. We went over the stay in the hospital with my Kidney Stones and the surgery I had. I have another procedure to go through this Friday. I am not looking forward to that. I was able to read the surgery report from the doctors laptop and like I said before the Dr. and I have some discussions to go through on Friday as well. We will see what he wants to do and what timeline we are looking at. In the meantime I need to get back to work and will be off for another week after this to recuperate from Friday's procedure.

I have been playing live on PS and today dropped some of my bankroll. I was not getting the cards and I was pushing when I shouldn't have. I then went over to FT and got myself into an SnG and got to third place when the remodel crew showed up so I started pushing all-in so I could get out of the game. I don't like sitting out and just blinding off. I was in second place at the start of that and probably could have made it to second but I know it is frustrating for the players when someone isn't playing. Third place is not bad and will get into another game later.

I am also contemplating getting involved again in the stock market. I enjoyed it when I worked with it the last time and if I have a chance to do it again I will have a better understanding of what I want to achieve.

Sounds like we are going to try shopping again and get the vanity that we looked at the other day. Time to pull things together and see the remodel finish.

What a Weekend

We went to Red Robin for Shala's Birthday lunch. Another fine restaurant. I love to eat the Guacomole Burger and the Onion Strings. Everyone had fun and the grandkids did well. Our oldest son and his wife had lost their drivers licenses the last week and had gone to the DMV to have them replaced. Now when you get the replacement you get a paper copy of the license. Our two oldest sons went into the bar to get a drink and Red Robin would not honor the paper copy of the drivers license. Instead of one of them having a drink they both walked out and did not drink during the event. My hat is off to them both. Both of them handled the situation very nicely and everyone still had fun.

After the meal we all split up and we headed over to:



Yes, we went back to Lowe's because Cindy wanted to make sure on pricing and to look at the vanity's one more time before making up our minds. Or I should say her mind. So far Home Depot is better in pricing. Sorry Jimmie Johnson (48) and now we spend with (20). I am a NASCAR fan. We do start the remodel tomorrow. Today we are going to be working on the rooms to get them prepared for the week.

Speaking of NASCAR I did watch the race last night. I think the new restricter plate rules and the spoiler will make for an interesting race next week. I am a Jeff Gordan fan (24) so will keep an eye on the year. I really would like to see Junior win and do well this year. Makes you wonder why his car does not perform like the other three. Same team but somehow things are different.

Today is Superbowl and really I don't have a favorite. I would like to see the Saints win today just for the sake of it. I am a Rams fan and have been since the 60's. I do like the Seahawks but my allegience goes to the Rams.

I did play some poker last night on FT. I was able to break even for the night. I was 1-3. That one win did make up for the 3 losses or should I say in the money and not in the money. Doesn't have to be a win to get to positive or break even. The first three games was hard. My QQ's lost to a set of 6's and then my two pair lost to Quad 3's. Wow, I was having a real hard time but I figured the cards would come back my way if I just stayed with it. I got real passive last night and laid down a number of hands that I would normally play. I was at the bubble and wanted to make sure I was going to get into the money. Once I made it I then opened up my game a little bit more. I do better if I have a bigger chip count and can start to bully the table. I didn't have that last night so I had to take my lumps and fight through and try to move up in my chip count.

I started watching the videos last night that I received from Jonathan Little. He is talking through players games and showing us what we should be doing and what the player is doing wrong. He likes to shove and that is one area I don't like to do unless I am sure of the winnning hand. I don't like to put myself at risk to get put out of any tournament.

Have fun watching the Super Bowl.

End of the Week

It was a good day playing on FT and PS. I won the 9 player SnG and added to the bankroll. I then went over and played live on PS and did well there as well. As long as I keep adding to the BR I am very happy. One of these days I will move up and play a different buy in.

I donated to the Haiti Fund today and was able to get the 8 videos from Jonathan Little. I enjoy listening and watching his videos on how to better yourself playing online. I learn by watching and this has really helped my game. I spent some time today going over the PPA and keeping up on the actions in our nations capital and trying to make this game better. I would hate to see something happen that would make us not be able to play poker online. When you don't have a casino close by it is hard to enjoy the game. Our Casino in town does not have the amount of tables and the buy ins available for all to play. Mostly what is available here is 2-10, 3-6 and then some Omaha. Will have to keep fingers crossed this will work out.

Went to dinner at Red Lobster last night. I really enjoy the food there. Had Salmon and Shrimp. It was nice to be able to sit and relax and have a nice dinner. We then went over to Lowes and Home Depot to look for Bathroom tile for the shower area. Actually the price was not bad at Home Depot at about .20 better than Lowes for the same tiles. The hardest part was trying to figure out how it was going to look and the size that was needed. Big ones, little ones, insets and different color insets. We finally decided on what was the best and we purchased the tiles. At least that was done. Now we get to look at vanities and toilets. We have a good idea of what we want and that will be the next purchases. The remodel starts next week.

Have a good weekend.

It has been a good day!!!

I can't believe the pain is still here and it is taking so long to get rid of it. I still have another week to go before I go through this process again. Lets just get this done. I don't like the fact of getting better just to go all the way back to hurting all over again.

Every third day I change the site on my insulin pump. I had to do that this morning. So far it is going very well. It is so nice not having to give myself shots during the day. Counting carbs is not bad and I am trying to put the carbs of the meals I eat in my iPhone. I can't find an app that would be good. Maybe I could find someone to help me build one. Maybe sell it for usage on the iPhone. Anyone out there want to help?

I responded to an ad in my email this morning on working from home. I don't have a lot of faith in them. Mostly it is people wanting you to buy a system and they are the ones getting rich. Or do they? Everyone after the same thing and I have to wonder if it could actually happen. It would be nice to work from home and I have always said I knew the computer would earn me money. Know I have to find the right way to do that.

I got an email last night that the father of our childhood friends passed away on the 30th. RIP Harry. When we were growing up he was a police officer and did his job well. Boy, are there stories from both of our families. We played alot with Duane, Linda and Donna. Our thoughts and prayers are with you during this time.

I am reading a new book called "Winning Poker for the Serious Player". I will have it finished tomorrow. It talks about most of the games that are available and how to play them. Everytime I read this type of book I am looking for that one bit of tidbit that will help me progress as a poker player. I find the game so interesting and fun to play. So many things to watch and learn while playing against the players at the table.

Today I played at FT and was 1-1. I came in first on my last game of the day. I would like to do that more often. I will keep working at it. I did go and play at Jokers tonight and I came in 3rd place and was in the money again. Second place was so close again. I got AA twice tonight and was able to win both hands. I played tonight waiting for position and betting the amounts that would help me win the hands when needed. I think the one thing I am getting used to is the amount to bet and not just going all in and putting myself at risk. Use what I think will win the hand and not be at risk. Position, Position and Position. Patience works well to along with Confidence.

I also put an item on Craigslist. Maybe earn some money and get rid of items I will not use anymore.

I did some walking today. Need to keep that up and get some fresh air. There are decisions to be made and I hope with a clear head the proper ones will be made. Well, until tomorrow have a good night.

Recuperating

Here I am trying to recuperate and make sure I can go back to work on February 22. I have one more procedure to go through, maybe, and then I can start up again. You spend so much time working and building your EIB ( Extended Illness Bank ) and times like this you would hope it is available to you for use. I have been given a 4 page application and it needs to be filled out by the physician so I can have the time off. My next procedure will be on February 12. I know this is going to hurt. Everything was so fast that I never got a chance to talk with the physician about what was going on and now I have to wait till next Friday.

Yesterday Cindy and I went out to lunch and on my way back I was able to stop at one of my best places to go. I stopped at Hastings to look at their magazines and books. I always look for the latest Poker Magazines and then go back and see what is available in the used books on Poker. I found 2 books, one on poker strategy and the other was a book on Chris Moneymaker. He was the WSOP 2003 Main Event winner and helped start this poker craze. I was able to read this completely in 12 hours and I must say it was a very interesting book. His life growing up and his thought process for winning the Main Event.

Last evening we went to the Mall and guess what? My other favorite store, Barnes and Noble, is there and I was able to pick up a magazine and another book on how to play online. I guess reading and watching the training videos can't hurt. Always trying to get better.

I had an appointment with the nurse yesterday as well at the Diabetes Learning Center. I am doing well on the pump. Hopefully in March we will be able to fine tune the pump a little bit more. I must say at least I feel better diabetes wise and my BG is not running all over the place. I watch my Carbs pretty close and try to give myself the proper insulin.

We are going to start a Remodel project again. This time we are going to work on two bedrooms and the 2nd bathroom.






Here are some pictures of the before. This all starts next week.

Monday Monday

Monday and it is time to get busy with the day.

I start out by working in the office here at home. Since I take care of my parents finances now I need to keep an eye on what is getting paid. Keep track of the checkbook and all of the paperwork. I could not believe that the City of Richland sent my parents to collections. We changed the address to ours when they moved to assisted living. And when the letter came it came to our address. Now, what fool would not even send a statement to us before making a fool mistake like that. Ok, enough said. Get with it people. This makes me want to get all pennies and go in to pay it with that. This will work out. Thank goodness my better half will be contacting them and discussing this matter.

For lunch today I went over to the McDonalds and tried out the new McDonald wrap. Wow, that was pretty good and because I am watching Carbs, because of Diabetes, it was only 26g. I was impressed with the taste. Hit the palate with the right amount of the flavors that you would expect. Can you tell I watch the Cooking Shows on HGTV?

I have been reading a site on passive income lately and trying to figure out what they do to earn an income. This person is very open about what he does and he made over $10,000 last month alone. That is pretty neat. Could I do that?

I spent some time with my folks today. Just sat and talked with them about whatever. Dad especially since Mom has Alzheimers and the conversation seems to go in circles. Dad is having trouble with his eyesight. I am sure glad we got him to stop driving.

I played 3 games today on FT in the 9 player SnG. I can see I need to go back to the drawing board and listen to Jonathan Little and Micon on playing the SnG's a little bit more. I do well and then I forget what I am supposed to do. I came in at 5th in 2 of them and 4th in the final one. I had opportunities in all of them but did not complete the deal. Seem to be at the bubble and can't burst it right now. Not discouraged just more driven to do well.

We watched the Worst Cook in America tonight and watched the final. I really wanted Jenny to win and Rachel took the $25,000 and the win for Chef Ann. Jenny made more complex food and really did well. Of course I was not the judge. I should be a judge. I like food and enjoy cooking.

Off we go to sleep land and will see you tomorrow. Be good.