Welcome, 2017!

Like many people, I couldn't wait for the end of 2016.  I won't harp on the many celebrity deaths or the election season that put a pall over the entire year, the latter of which will be discussed ad nauseam for months and years to come; but I will say the death of local celebrity, Prince, was when I really started to feel there was something "not right" about 2016.  Everything after that proved it.

On a more personal note, the last three months of the year were especially exhausting, so much so I was starting to develop feelings of anxiety.  During the early part of my current role, I felt I wasn't quite the right person for the job, and even told my boss as much during a moment of exasperation.  Now, I feel perfectly capable of doing my job, but there are so many things that need doing and not nearly enough time to do them.  

Much of my time is spent being reactive and putting out fires (fortunately, I work in air conditioning, so this hasn't been a literal problem), but my primary responsibility is to be PROACTIVE in driving sales in aftermarket parts.  This requires me to be on site at distributor locations in the southern and western parts of the country to conduct business reviews.  This is especially important now as the summer (peak cooling season) was not as lucrative for my regions as it was last year, and down considerably against other regions. Our General Manager insisted I visit the underperformers to develop countermeasures to get them to plan, or at least flat from last year.  So, I had multiple business trips in the lead-up to the holiday season.  I have learned that business travel is a young man's game and I'm no longer a young man.

I had a few more vacations days I hadn't used, only recently earning an extra week from passing a milestone anniversary, and was looking forward to taking the last week of December "off from work." I knew I wasn't going to be fully away from the office, as I would have my cell phone (mobile office) with me.  My First Mate and I made one more trip to Wisconsin to finish out the year.  Her grandparents moved into a condo in Racine to be closer to family who could care for them.  They stopped just a street short from actually moving in with them.  We were going to be reinforcements to spell MFM's aunt and uncle from the constant care they had been providing the last few months.  We would only be there a couple nights, but the break was welcomed.

As one can imagine, this wasn't a relaxing trip.  What should have been a five-hour car ride was extended by over an hour as I envisioned Racine much further south of Milwaukee than it actually is.  Two clues we made a wrong turn were 1.) highway signs we were approaching Rockford, IL; and 2.) sporadic time checks of Google maps on a cell phone said we were 45 minutes away at one point, then 90 minutes away some time later. We brought our dogs, Jack and Jill, with us and Jill, as usual, spent most of the trip on my lap as I drove.

Our accommodations at the condo were fine, although we were relegated to the chilly, somewhat furnished basement.  Turns out, this is where My First Mate's aunt and uncle would stay so as to be responsive immediately to Grandpa's needs.  They had a great system set-up, too.  Grandpa had a call button that would activate an alarm in the basement.  The tone of the alarm was the Star Spangled Banner.

We went to bed just short of midnight after some dinner, TV watching and getting Grandpa settled for the night.  Our heads barely hit the pillow when the first alarm sounded.

Whose broad stripes and bright stars, thro' the perilous fight,

O'er the ramparts we watch'd, were so gallantly streaming?

My First Mate is a nurse and she immediately sprang out of bed to see what was the matter.  The issue was a small one and she returned a few minutes later.  Over the next hour, we heard the alarm sound three more times; one of which I went upstairs as well to help re-position Grandpa in the bed.  There were no more alarms after one in the morning.

Now, Jill has us trained to let her outside to go to the bathroom every two to three hours during the night.  Jack can probably wait until morning, but he takes advantage of the opportunity.  I'm the lighter sleeper, so I'm usually the first to her Jill softly growl to be taken outside.  I've tried to put her off in the past, but she will continue to growl with increasing intensity until they become little yips.  About three in the morning, Jill decided she needed to go.  I stood outside in the cold for a few minutes as the dogs did their business.  Once done, I took them downstairs, crawled back into bed and closed my eyes.

Whose broad stripes and bright stars, . . .

F*CK!!  

"Hey, Honey?  Grandpa needs you."

Those were long couple of days and by Friday we were ready to head home.  The next day, we were going to Treasure Island with our established ringers in of the New Year (a tradition almost 12 years in the making), then eating and drinking at our house.  We paced and behaved ourselves at the casino, and I was able to break even at the blackjack table.  I could have left $100 up, but I couldn't recognize the heater I was on was cooling. We finished the night playing the card game El Presidente to about three in the morning - a time I'm used to being awake thanks to Jill.

Here's hoping for a wonderful 2017 filled with great times, good humor, and pictures capturing every day!

Image 001:  01.01.2017

The Aftermath.  Maybe not too impressive, but the
bin was empty and My First Mate & I are over 40.

Image 002:  01.02.2017

Minnehaha Falls.  These falls are amazing as they
freeze in a different way each year & people risk life
and limb to climb around them.

Image 003:  01.03.2017

I have a stand-up desk at work now.  The only
benefit I see is I can legitimately say,
"I've been on my feet all day!"

Image 004:  01.04.2017

A couple church steeples near Loring Park in Mpls.

Image 005:  01.05.2017

Age old question:  which came first?
The answer may surprise you.

Image 006:  01.06.2017

One of my favorite places in Lowertown in St. Paul

Image 007:  01.07.2017

Had to blow the dust off these mats.
New Year, new effort to go to yoga.

Image 008:  01.08.2017

This will be one of the last times I
will be seeing this dryer.  After a year
going to the laundromat, we
finally bought a new dryer.

365 in 365: Images 098 to 104

This batch of pictures is from the second week of April, when I took a business trip to Louisiana and then had the flu when I returned.  I was able to sack up and get to another G-Bug volleyball tournament as well.  Busy week!

No. 098:  04-08-13

Bourbon Street in New Orleans.  There was a Jazz Festival this week; but
really.  Isn't there something going on on Bourbon St. EVERY week?

No. 099:  04-09-13 (placeholder)

I was in New Orleans two nights, but only hit Bourbon Street
on my first night.  Here's another picture though.

No. 100:  04-10-13

Glad to have a chance to take a special picture for my 100th.  This is one of
the famous houses in Shreveport, LA

No. 101:  04-11-13

Can't seem to avoid the crappy weather, no matter where I go.  Huge
thunderstorm rolled in my one night in Shreveport.  Didn't stop me from
going to the Horseshoe Casino where I took this pic from the garage.

No. 102:  04-12-13

The weekend after I returned from my trip, I was laid up by the flu.

No. 103:  04-13-13 (placeholder)

G-Bug serving during her volleyball tournament.  She has really improved
this area of her game.  Unfortunately, her height will keep her by the net
so she might not get to serve much.

No. 104:  04-14-13

The actual volleyball play date date

Liquor in the front, Poker in the rear

In the beginning of ‘Eight Mile,’ Eminem is seen vomiting in the bathroom from nervousness in anticipation of his rap battle.  I, on the other hand, had the hard boiled eggs with breakfast repeat on me before my impending participation in a Texas Hold’Em poker tournament at the St. Croix Casino.  At least I didn’t leave any evidence on my clothes.  I didn’t want to show any weakness.

This was the sixth time I have participated in a poker tournament; the others being at a bar (where I won $50), at the Tropicana in Las Vegas (where I won $400 in one of the two tournaments I bought into), a WSOP satellite event at Treasure Island in MN (almost placed in the top 50 percentile), and another circuit event at the Horseshoe Casino in Council Bluffs, IA (where I was 5 seats away from being “in the money”).

I think my touchy stomach is a mix of the anticipation of possibly winning and the uncertain level of disappointment on losing, but mostly involves the anxiety of looking like an asshole.  In previous tournaments I have bet out of turn, folded rather than checked with the big blind, and got confused when changing a large chip for the blind and ante.  So, I’ve looked like a donkey before, but survived it, and I think that knowledge keeps me wanting to play.

This tournament was a $65 buy-in with a $10 fee with the option to re-buy should a player bust before the first break.  Every player received 10K in chips to start and had a chance to add-on another 5K in chips for $20 cash.  There were about 65 different players, but several re-buys drove the prize pool.  First place could have won about $1,500.

Blackjack, Stock Market, now Poker?! I may have a problem.



My recent post about investments made me think of another one of my forays into gambling – gambling.  Specifically, Texas Hold’em poker.  I tried (pushed) my luck in a local satellite tournament for the World Series of Poker (WSOP) back in April of this year.

I had the narrative already written in my head as I traveled south toward Treasure Island Resort & Casino in the ironically named Welch, MN.  The Cinderella story, coming out of nowhere, suffering through the effects of the flu and denied the chance to practice when the DOJ shut down the US operations of PokerStars.com and FullTiltPoker.com to win a spot at the Main Event in Las Vegas. 

A couple years ago, I had attended an annual sales meeting and the award dinner entertainment was a motivational speaker named Dan Thurmon.  Through the course of my professional career, I have attended several business meetings and have endured the bromides of just as many hired speakers, but I really enjoyed Dan Thurmon’s presentation.  One of his calls to action was to write down a list of everything you want to do in your life, no matter how seemingly impossible they are to achieve.  His point is, once you create your list, you will then start to develop ways to accomplish those goals. 

I imagine my boss thought I established goals like “grow sales by 20 percent” or “close a million dollar deal” or “win 'Distribution Manager of the Year' award," but I wrote down “bowl over 200 in a game” and “get under 100 in a round of golf” and “do stand-up comedy during open mike night.”  One other goal I had was to participate in a WSOP tournament in Vegas.  When I saw Treasure Island had a satellite tournament, I thought it would be my opportunity.

Las Vegas Day Three: May 27, 2011

We were right back at it the next morning, in spite of a pretty grueling previous day.  My feet were killing me, as I had blisters on my souls and between my toes from walking in flip-flops all day.  Everything we did was fun, but we had packed a lot into a short time.  We were awake pretty early in the morning, but didn’t have quite the same bounce in our steps.  After an expensive Day 2, we became a little more cost conscious and grabbed breakfast at the McDonald’s in the Monte Carlo food court.  Rob and I wanted to place a couple bets, so we went to the Sports Book, while Mike searched for a cheap table.  After our fruitless search on Wednesday night, we learned the best time to play low stakes blackjack was in the mornings, after the hardcore drinkers and gamblers had zombie-shuffled to their rooms.

I was only interested in placing a bet on the European soccer championship between Barcelona and Manchester United on Saturday.  I put $50 on Man U (as in “Man, U made a lousy bet!”) with the potential to win $80.  Rob did the same and put another $50 on the Bruins winning Game 7 against the Lightning that evening.  Once we had our tickets, we went to find Mike.

He was playing at a table essentially by himself.  The min bet was $5, so I cashed in $50.  Rob had placed two $50 bets, so he didn’t feel like risking any more money.  Like the previous night, the action started well.  The dealer was a bit of a cold fish, but Rob started goofing with Mike and getting her involved and she started to warm up.  Mike was on the start of a good heater, but he would never bet higher than the minimum.  Even the dealer suggested he should press his bet, but he refused, politely.  A couple other players joined the table and all of us were winning more than losing.  

The trend didn’t last long and I could see my stack of chips diminishing.  We had played for about a half hour and we still wanted to sit by the pool before the day got away from us.  We cashed out and from my original $50 stake, I came away with $50.50.  That would be my best session of blackjack on the trip.  I suppose I should be grateful that I came out “ahead,” but I could have sat at an unattended table and not played for thirty minutes and had the same result.  There is no satisfaction in a “push.”  Mike did much better and commented, “There’s nothing like winning big to put a spring in your step.”  He then turned to me, patted me on the back, and said, “Something I hope you get to experience some time!”  Thanks, dick.

Countdown to Las Vegas



A message to my fellow party-goers:

We have less than a month before our trip to Las Vegas and I wanted to prepare you for what to expect when you get there.  These are my observations based on my experiences, so if there are any high rollers out there who want to put in their two cents, please feel free.

The first thing you need to expect about Las Vegas is it will take your money like a bitter ex-wife.  Think of your wallet as a giant bag of sand.  As soon as you set foot off the plane, imagine punching a hole in the bottom of the bag with a screwdriver.  You can cover the hole with your hand, but the grains will still slip through your fingers.

There will be banks of slot machines at the airport gates.  DO NOT stop to play these machines.  These are last ditch efforts to burn through your remaining cash at the end of your trip.  Rob, you and I will be the ones with time to kill at the airport to use these machines.  Like a soldier who keeps an extra round in the clip to avoid capture, keep a ten dollar bill or two in your sock to spend while we are waiting for our flights.

The main terminal is accessed from the gates by a monorail.  Once there, you will be met with rows of baggage carousels and the dazzle of ads for Vegas shows.  Pause briefly to take it all in and then proceed to your carousel or to a spot by the doors leading to ground transportation.  The documentation from the travel agent stated we should exit from Door No. 10 for our shuttle.  I plan to have a couple pairs of shorts, tees, a pair of jeans, swim trunks, and maybe something “nice” to wear in the evening.  I hope to have just a carry-on and maybe a second bag I can load up with knick-knacks.  We should make sure we all have each other’s cell phone numbers to stay in contact.

Any cash you bring should be used strictly for gambling and maybe for the initial tip to the driver who takes us from the airport to our hotel.  Meals, shows, gifts, and what-have-you should be put on a debit or credit card.  If this sounds like a risky proposition, it is, so don’t be a hero.  Make sure you really want to spend the money.  We may be splitting $5 foot-longs at Subway by Saturday.  Drinks by the pool, and accompanying tips, can be charged to the room.  Tips for drinks we order at the gaming tables can be paid with the chips from our winnings, or leavings, depending on our luck.