I Cross Finish Lines

"I'm not the best.  I work hard.  I do not give up.  I keep going.  I cross start lines.  I cross finish lines..." -via Whitney Watson-

Good evening everyone.  Before I forget, if you want to keep up with my poker adventures, you can click this link here.  I actually need to start linking my poker blog back to this one...  :)  Anyway, I posted another poker entry there last night, and that blog has been well-received so far.  Like I was telling my friend Rob last night, having a "network" in place already (my friends' blogs on the right that are linked back to mine like I am to theirs, my Twitter followers, my friends that get here from Facebook) has helped my poker blog tremendously.  When I began writing this blog going on five years ago, it took some time to build up a following, and as always, I appreciate you taking the time to stop by and read about my life adventures.

That quote up there comes to you via my sister Whitney.  I'm using it here because it fits me PERFECTLY.  I actually removed the first line of the original quote because it said, "I'm not talented."  I feel that I possess a little talent...  :)  Anyway, Whit shared the meme on Facebook, and that meme pertains to running, which Miss Whitney has worked very hard at, and you can see how the words relate (crossing start and finish lines, etc...).  My edited version up there can almost be used as a personal motto for myself.  (NOTE:  Everytime I hear the word "motto" now, it still reminds me of my friend Drea, and when she delivered the line, "My motto is, my motto changes...").  :)  There's a blog post by that title back in these archives somewhere...  Anyway, a while back, I was very surprised when someone questioned my work ethic and my heart (among other things), because if you know me at all, I'm kind of a pretty hard-working, dedicated, diligent person...  Please weigh-in if you disagree.  :)  Anyway, when Whitney shared that meme, I was like, 'YES!," and I snagged it.  I do cross finish lines (and that other stuff)...  ;)

Since we're speaking of Whitney, let's talk for a moment about Whitney's mom and Tim Duncan...

Back in my younger days. when Brenda and myself were encouraging the Spurs to start winning championships (yes, we've been Spurs fans that long - I'm just realizing that for some people out there, the Spurs have been good during the course of their whole lives...).  Anyway, your friend 'Coach' received several Spurs jerseys (along with Red Sox and Steelers gear) over the course of many Christmases from Miss Brenda.  Thank you...  :)  You'd be shocked to learn that these jerseys are part of my poker wardrobe, and I specifically broke out the Silver and Black last week in honor of Tim Duncan's retirement.  I was actually cashing out my winnings at MGM a few nights back (like, LITERALLY at the counter, in a transaction) when a stranger comes up to me and brings up Duncan's retirement, in a very remorseful tone.  I was like, "well, Timmy has played for NINETEEN years..."  Am I really that old?  Anyway, I needed to give Timmy a shout out here.  It's been one hell of a ride during the 'Duncan Era.'  Five titles in six trips to the Finals over nineteen seasons.  Pretty special.  Thank you Timmy...

'Jaws.'  Okay, 'Jaws' and 'Jaws 2.'  Since returning to Las Vegas, and, more specifically, since I moved from my brother's house into my own place (and it's been almost a whole month now), I've stayed at home more than planned, sorting through and unpacking (and throwing away) my stuff that I've now dragged all over the country.  Well, the 'Jaws' movies have been shown on t.v. a lot (A LOT) this summer, and there have been so many times that they have been the best thing on t.v., so I've simply tuned-in while unpacking.  Rewind back to this past weekend, and the night that I played poker at MGM and Excalibur until the sun came up.  I was walking down the Strip in the early morning hours when I reached the Bellagio.  The Bellagio looks something like this...

So it's early in the morning, and the Strip is quiet, and I'm walking along, and I'm looking at all that water, when I CATCH MYSELF, as I realize that I've been scanning the top of the water, looking for damn fins...  :)  MAYBE I've seen the 'Jaws' movies once too often this summer...

Okay, I just wanted to touch base with you crazy kids, but if you click on that link above, I wrote a pretty detailed poker post last night if you haven't read it already.  Have a great week and I'll see you soon!