Almost half a century... I'll be starting my 50th year on the planet as I turn 49 years-old on Friday the 13th. When I was younger (in my teens, etc...), I could never envision even living into my thirties. It's funny how your perspective changes over time. When you're a teenager, a 50 year-old is OLD... Now that I'm almost 50, it really doesn't seem that old. Okay, well it kinda does... :) Regarding writing more blog entries, I could probably become a hermit and still have enough material to write for at least the next ten years. I've had a pretty full life to this point. :) Surely in an effort to honor me, my alma mater has a nationally televised football game on the eve of my birthday Thursday night. Unfortunately, Texas State won't be playing the game in San Marcos, which is the one thing that would make it better. Well, and winning of course. I believe that we're currently about a two-touchdown underdog to Lafayette. In the midst of my not writing anything here since late August, I neglected the 6th birthday of this blog, as the first entry posted here came on September 28th, 2011. I remember that day well, as I had kicked around the idea of starting a blog for a little while, and then I just happened to dive into Google's 'Blogger' for a couple of hours, investigating and choosing my layout, design, settings, etc..., and then I suddenly had a blog. With this post or the next, this little blog will have been seen over 120,000 times, and that number will skyrocket if I dedicate myself to writing again.
Football and playing poker are the types of things that cause me to write less, so life isn't exactly horrible for me when I'm not writing, but I'd still like to post more. In the past, I've played in several freeroll tournaments at the Flamingo (you play 12 hours of poker in a week, which gives you a free entry into that week's tournament). However, I recently realized that working until 11:00 on Thursday night, and then having to wake up at 8:00 a.m. to be on the Strip until after midnight (morning poker tournament, followed by work) is probably not a very bright idea. Anyway, not having to chase those twelve qualifying hours every week, and just playing when I choose to, that should probably enable me to write a little more.
Another thing that I should be doing more is exploring this great city. It's been almost a year and a half since I've returned to Las Vegas, and I STILL haven't made a trip downtown to Fremont Street. You have no doubt seen the news recently and heard about the senseless shootings that took place here just over a week ago. That tragic night actually opened my eyes to how great a place this city can be. As the news coverage began hitting the airwaves, reporters had to convey the message from police that people should avoid going to the Strip, because concerned citizens were arriving to offer help in any way that they could. Blood banks had lines of people waiting to donate the next day before the doors were even open. People used pickup trucks and SUV's to rush wounded and injured concert-goers to hospitals because the local EMS units were so overwhelmed. Over ten million dollars had been raised in seemingly the snap of a finger to help victims of this tragedy, and there's no telling how high that number is now. The site of the memorial to the shooting victims has literally blossomed with flowers, cards, and other expressions of love. As numb as I felt in the aftermath of last Sunday night, the response of the people of this city has just been phenominal. All I'm saying is that I need to pull myself away from the television and poker tables more and just get out and enjoy this city.
I'm going to stop here for now, but I want to say thank you again for following this blog, and I'll try to do better in the future... Until next time, have a great week!
