Fishing For Clouds

Good morning everyone.  Well it's been a little while since I've posted, and I just have excuses for you, and not good reasons, so let's get started...  :)  Although it's August in Las Vegas, the temperatures are finally starting to cool a little.  Okay, let me take back the word "cool."  We still have triple digits here, but earlier in the summer, the highs were around 115, and we don't have 110 degrees in the ten-day forecast...  :)  Today's forecast high is 96 degrees, and 106 is the highest expected temperature over the next ten days.  Tonight's low is supposed to dip down to 80, which is also the expected low ten days from now.  I think that you get my drift by now - it was warmer in the desert earlier this summer.  Thanks to Facebook, I recently realized that I've had the same mindset at this time of year for at least the better part of a decade.  I've lived in hot climates, and I've been counting down the minutes until the start of football season and the accompanying cooler weather.  Yesterday when I was "supposed" to be writing this blog entry, I was ordering some football jerseys from various online retailers because I'm allowed to wear them at work during football season.  My one-year anniversary at work is three weeks from tomorrow, which falls on the date of the Mayweather/McGregor fight, and the first four college football games of the year.  Seems fitting...

My poker didn't go as well as I would have liked this summer, but when things weren't going well, I showed discipline by reducing my number of sessions and saving my bankroll for the impending football season.  As far as gambling is concerned, I wager far more on sports during football season than I do the rest of the year combined, EASILY...  I haven't played much poker since the World Series ended, and have instead focused my time on studying for the upcoming football season.  If you've heard the rumor that I was released an hour early from work one day last week, and proceeded to head to a sportsbook and make my first bets of the football season (in addition to putting more money into my online betting account), there's only about 100% truth to that story...

My brother and I had a pleasant surprise last week as a family member visited us here in the desert without any advanced warning.  Our stepmom Brenda came to Las Vegas with her friends and surprised me at work, and I was able to keep the secret that she was in town until she saw my brother at work a few days later.  Talking with Brenda, I found out who one of my mystery blog readers is, as my blog stats tell me that I get several visitors from Facebook, but the amount of 'likes' that I get on my Facebook blog "ads" never seem to match the traffic that I receive from the social media site.  We all had a good visit, as Brenda treated Pete's family and myself to Johnny Rockets, which is a place that I had never dined at before.  How many times in the history of history has someone gone wrong with a cheeseburger and french fries?  :)

Although the calendar says that we're only halfway through with summer, the start of the NFL preseason, coupled with the lower temperatures here in the Valley, have me reminiscing back to my youth, when I spent the waning summer days dreaming about the future, and "fishing for clouds," if you will.  My friend Vicki has a great photographic eye, and her daughter is already living a life that most people can only dream about (that's a whole other blog entry in itself), so I thought that I'd leave you with a little photo of a young girl fishing for clouds...

Have a great weekend, and I'll see you soon...

Poker Season

Good morning everyone.  I had lofty ambitions regarding writing yesterday (making an entry in all four of my blogs), but I did finish my chores and catch up on some sleep, and since I'm still up when I shouldn't be, I thought I'd give you a post here.  I should be sleeping because the 2017 World Series of Poker begins in the morning (for me anyway).  Following an early buffet breakfast at the Rio with my friends Joey and Brian, I'll be watching this year's first bracelet event, the Casino Employee's Event.  I played this event back in 2006, only to watch my pocket aces get cracked by queens when a sinister lady arrived on the river.  Later this morning, I'll be watching Brian and hundreds of other players chase a coveted bracelet while I get my first look at this year's WSOP setup.  As I've said before, I can enjoy watching the action and learning as much as playing myself, and I'm sure that there will be a few (hundred) cash game tables available should I get the itch.  The best part of this time period that the WSOP is running (now through mid-July) is that there will be more games (cash and tournaments) all over town.  I like to refer to this time of the year in Las Vegas as 'Poker Season.'  #pokerseason  Here's a recent photo from the Flamingo, as the poker players started returning to the desert over Memorial Day Weekend...

Even if I don't play a single hand at the Rio this summer, I'll be playing poker after my most of my shifts at work, and I'll have a multitude of games to choose from.  My current plan is to watch and play as much poker as possible in the next 1 1/2 months, and then to use the following month and a half to get ready for betting the upcoming football season.  If you're ever looking for me this summer, I'll be the one wearing the Texas State gear.  Wearing my Bobcat gear at the poker tables over the last few months has already initiated several conversations.

Football...  I contacted Joey and my brother Pete today, and they confirmed that they'll be joining me once again in making weekly football predictions this fall at my 'Coach's Parlay Card' blog.  My smart-ass brother asked me if I needed his Week 1 picks soon...  :)  Pete predicted the exact score of the Super Bowl correctly, so I guess I'll let it slide...  Anyway, in case you're not already aware, I enjoy predicting the outcomes of football games and wagering a little money on them, so I'm looking forward to the games kicking off late this summer.

I'm going to stop for now since I'll be waking up in just over four hours, but I'll have plenty of words for you throughout the summer.  Thanks again to all of you who are regular visitors here.  This blog just surpassed 115,000 total pageviews (quite a trick when you almost never write)...  ;)  Have a great week and I'll see you soon!



  

The Memorial Day Weekend Flood Of 2015

"The trick is to not let people know how weird you really are until it's too late for them to back out..." -via Bianca Edwards-

"Why can't taco rhyme with Waco?" -HalleyAnna Finlay-



Good afternoon everyone.  I know, two posts in a month - somebody stop me...  ;)  The big news in this area today is the flooding that's taking place due to the recent rain that we've had.  Thanks to my friends, I have several photos to share with you today. We'll start down south, with my sister Whitney...

This comes to you from Schertz, which is just north of San Antonio.  Next we arrive in San Marcos, where all sorts of havoc has taken place.  We'll begin with the photos in and around Sewell Park, which is the home of 'Bikini Hill.'

My friend Courtney shared this one, and yes, that is a regulation basketball hoop...

My friend Katie shared this photo earlier in the morning...

This a different vantage point of the park from my friend Alma.  As we move around San Marcos, you'll see that there is no shortage of photos, and these are just a fraction of what I've seen on facebook today...

This shot comes to you from my friend Keith...

And this picture was taken by my friend Valerie in front of a strip mall that's just east of IH-35...

This photo from my friend Scott was one of the first that I saw this morning, and comes from a local apartment complex...

Cyndi's photo also shows another apartment complex in San Marcos...

J.J.'s picture shows us an access road submerged alongside the aforementioned IH-35...

Monica's shot comes to us from near Highway 80...

This picture was taken to the west of Austin and was shared last night by my friend Hunter.  The Austin-area had several tornado watches and warnings last night, and this restaurant obviously experienced some of the strong winds...

And this morning at my own apartment complex, I saw where the storms were successful in snapping off a big part of this tree last night (the tree on the right, behind the blue dumpster)...


So yeah, the flooding is a pretty big story down here in south Texas.  Before all of this happened last night and into this morning, the local graduations were the big story. My friend Lauren shared a pre-flood photo from Texas State (same Sewell Park) earlier in the week...

Several graduates celebrate by jumping into the river after the ceremony.  You'll notice that you don't see any of the steps in the background in the previous photos, as they're all underwater right now...  And this gem comes to you from Lubbock, where one of my former softball players received a bit of recognition from Texas Tech...

I may have gone to medical school if I would have known that I get could my name put up on the big screen after I finished.  Well..., probably not...  ;)  Congratulations Amanda!  I'll even spare y'all the story where I was pitching batting practice and as a freshman, Amanda NAILED MY THIGH with a line drive, giving me a bruise that I sported for well over a month.  I'm SURE that the guilt from that experience encouraged Amanda to complete medical school...  :D

To go along with that throwback story, I have a throwback photo of myself that I put on facebook earlier in the week...

This was taken just before the finish line at the site of my first marathon in San Antonio.  I was a pound or two lighter back then...  AND I've got a photo for you from Las Vegas...

A sneak preview from the upcoming World Series of Poker, as my brother is attending his new employee orientation today...  I know that I haven't posted much lately, but when I do post, I make them count...  ;)

I hope that all of you have a tremendous Memorial Day Weekend, and I'll see you soon (maybe)...

Segue Anyone?

"Everyone is on a timeout!  Shhh...don't talk to me!....that's all....carry on..." -Alma Medrano-

"13 days til graduation, 32 days til X Games, 48 days til Caribbean Cruise, 58 days til Vegas...  Summer hurry up!!!!" -Brittany Flores-

"Two years ago today my wife uttered the phrase, "Hurry up, my ring is waiting for me," because I wasn't walking fast enough to get to the jewelry store.  Less than 30 minutes later she was wearing the perfect ring and I was destined to never have money again..." -Grrouchie-

"She was unstoppable, not because she did not have failures or doubts, but because she continued on despite them..." -via Lorraine Lamb-

"I laugh..., I love..., I hope..., I try..., I hurt..., I need..., I fear..., I cry..., and I know you do the same things too, so we're really not that different, me and you..." -Collin Raye- (Not That Different)

"Am I that strong..., to carry on?..., I might change your life, I might save my world, could you save me?..., and all of your weight, all you dream, falls on me, it falls on me..." -Fuel- (Falls On Me)

"You've already won me over, in spite of me, and don't be alarmed if I fall, head over feet, don't be surprised if I love you, for all that you are, I couldn't help it, it's all your fault..." -Alanis Morrissette- (Head Over Feet)




Good evening everyone.  In the first of what will be several segues today, I'll take you back in time to when my friend Heather's first ever words to me were, "You better stop watching me..."  Yeah, that story is somewhere in the blog archives, as this photo was in Heather's recent archives...

"That one time I graduated college a year ago..."  Not a bad tag Heather...  :)  So yes, it's that time of year again, when the spring semester is about to end, and Bobcats and Longhorns will be receiving their diplomas in San Marcos and Austin (and Corpus too Brittany)...  ;)  Surprisingly, Heather wasn't my first friend to post a 'Flashback Friday' graduation photo from last year in San Marcos, as Maureen beat her to the punch...

Maureen's picture immediately caught my eye because she's soaked, which I thought was appropriate for a former lifeguard, and someone who I watched (helped? - okay, more watched) save a youngster's life in the very same San Marcos River that several Bobcats jump into after graduating.  That story is also in a previous blog post here.  I'm evidently very big on recurring roles in the blog, and water...

Tina was in the blog not too long ago, and was kind enough to break out a surfboard recently for her cover photo and remind me that I don't live near the water.  Tina can be a pain like that...  :)  I love the water, but have never lived near it (not counting the aforementioned river that runs by 'Bikini Hill,' but A LOT of water).

My friend Pete was more than willing to jump on board with the water theme, sharing this recent vacation snapshot.  Let me interject here that Austin has had more than its share of rain recently (and has a bunch more in the ten-day forecast), and that a substantial amount of it leaked into my apartment recently during a big storm.  You'd probably know more about these types of things if I'd ever blog...  :)  Back to the water though, it wouldn't be complete without...

SHARKS!  I rarely post photos with my friends' children in here, but I had already decided to be officially jealous of my friends and all of their water photos when I saw this gem yesterday. Leanne's poor little guy seems to be having an awful time in the jumpy house, doesn't he?  :) Speaking of friends, and their children's photos, and not writing much recently...

This is a great Easter shot of my friend Megan's boy that stood out in my mind because I saw it not long after seeing another photo where a friend's child looked ABSOLUTELY TERRIFIED of posing with an overgrown bunny.  :)  So I missed Easter...  Oh, I also missed the Blue Bell ice cream recall.  My friend Jamie reminded me of this recently when she shared a status along with her sentiment, "Took 'em long enough.  I need some homemade vanilla like yesterday!!!"  I saw a great meme back at the time of the recall, but now I don't remember which of my friends posted it. Basically, the gist of it was that the rest of the country didn't understand:  Texans weren't more limited in their choice of ice cream without Blue Bell, but Texans were OUT OF ICE CREAM!  :)  I also missed sharing the news of Apple rolling out their new watches.  My friend Jason received one as a birthday present recently...

:)  We also missed the Mayweather/Pacquiao "fight."  I didn't see the "action," but I followed along on Twitter, and my friend Valerie shared this shortly after the "fight of the century..."

And I'll be honest with you, this is ALL that I read on Twitter about the "fight..."  We also missed the closing of the Riviera this week, so I'll give you this showgirl in its honor...

My friend Jessica is becoming more and more famous by the minute...  :)  Speaking of things that are Las Vegas related, I've also neglected to tell you that my brother Pete landed a job working at the World Series of Poker this summer ("Yay" as Josie would say)...  Maybe someday I'll write a little bit about poker again.  There are some great blog links over to the right, most of which are poker related, if you're interested in reading some good stories on the subject.  It's funny, I went from writing one blog to writing four, and then I pretty much stopped writing completely.  And that really doesn't bother me...  :)

Alright, I guess it's about time to publish this, but I did see a few more things on facebook this week that didn't fit nicely and neatly into my segue barrage, but I thought that they were worth sharing anyway...

My friend Carren shared this, and there is probably nothing that frustrates me as much as bad driving.  I mean, oblivious people can actually KILL YOU...  And my friend Sophie shared this...,

Have a great Mother's Day Weekend, and I'll see you soon (maybe)...