Reading/Listening, Novakovich, Bouncer, Poker

Reading: Napalm & Silly Putty by George Carlin. I'm not very far in, but I can somewhat tell that if you have seen or heard most of Carlin's live stand-up, the book is just a written record of those jokes. It lacks something without his voice and delivery.

Listening: I'm finding it harder to obsess over songs with a regular workout routine because I skip through so many in the half hour that I spend on the exercise bike that I hate to search all the way back to find a song. However, I did listen to I'll Be There For You/You're All I Need To Get By by Method Man and Mary J. Blige several times one day (first link for lyrics, second is Amazon for additional info). I really like the song because it is all around solid. It blends Method Man's neat voice and great lyrics with Mary J. Blige's beautiful voice. Stir that in with a beat that is simple but will be stuck in your head for a day or two and you have a great song. And it's an actual love song with only minimal hip-hop stereotypes of love. Check it out on iTunes even if you don't really like rap because you just might like it.


I finished the Novakovich book after another short bout with Sudoku. I think I cheated on all but one "tough" puzzle, but I blew through the first two "diabolical" puzzles in ten minutes without cheating. Go figure. I'm somewhat torn on the Novakovich book because I was fortunate enough to get to meet and spend some time with him in Lincoln and he is an awesome guy. That aside, I can only really give the book one thumb up. I absolutely loved some stories like 59th Parallel, Spleen, Ribs, and Night Guests. I found the bulk of the stories confusing at points, which turned me off to them. I think I really could've gotten into The Bridge Under the Danube, but I lost the story after the first section break. It goes back to tell some history, but then it seemingly brings the reader back to the present. Then, there's a section break that brings us back to the present, so I didn't know where to file the previous information that I thought was in the present. Also, I think there were a lot of things that I simply can't culturally understand because I don't have the experience background. I'll use The Bridge as an example again. The Zivkovic's walk back into their prayer circle caked with dust and blood, probably with a dazed expression on their faces, and nobody lifts a finger to help them. It seems like the people don't even notice them. Maybe this type of sight was so common during the war that the lack of reaction is true, but I just can't imagine it. My brain thinks that even in wartime, if you see somebody staggering toward you with blood caked on them, you react by helping them or running away or screaming or something. I just don't think people could go about their business as normal. That particular story had a fantastic ending, as all of the stories had moments of brilliance, but they just didn't feel finished to me. Maybe I'll reread it in a couple of years and view it differently, but I don't see it right now. I still encourage the read, as I will be picking up April Fool's Day and reading it soon. If you agree with me on the review, at least you will have a new understanding of what it was like in the former Yugoslavia after it broke apart, which is something that we should all know a bit about so we can avoid something like it in the future. Are you listening politicians? Politicians should read my blog. Write your senator.

I started working today at Westside High School as a Hall Supervisor. Read hall monitor. Read bouncer. That's what all of the students call me. "Are you the new bouncer?" It's amazing how much high schools are like prisons. Small changes are instantly noticed and word spreads fast. My job as bouncer consists of the following: walking around getting delinquents for administrators and then going to the main thoroughfare of the school every forty minutes and yelling at students to stop loitering and get to their class. If there are no delinquents to be retrieved and it isn't a passing period I walk around and try to figure out which teachers are single. Sometimes I go bug my sister who is a counselor at the school, whose job consists of not being in her office despite having only two "classes" to oversee each day (a homeroom and a group guidance class, which still seems oxymoronic to me). It's not awful, and it pays fairly well, but it reinforces my desperation to find an actual career-type job. I already have funny stories, but I know that I will have plenty and this blog is dragging on so I'll save them for now. I did find $10 on the floor today though. Pay raise on my first day! Yes, you bet your sweet ass I kept it.

I didn't play any poker today, but I played 2 HU matches on Monday as well as some $.25/$.50 NLHE ring. I played a $50 and a $30 HU match and won both of them fairly easily. In the $50 I had to be patient because I was playing a guy that was easily trappable. In the $30 it was the opposite because the guy was weak-tight. I trapped the guy in the $50 with a cooler; QJ vs my 22 on a QJ2 flop. All in on the flop and he bricked out. In the $30 I led top and bottom pair and the guy finally took a stand with middle pair. He bricked, I won. In the ring game I played alpha male power poker and just bet and raised everything after probably an hour of super tight play. I basically got sick of waiting for hands, knew that I had locked up a $30 profit and was willing to piss off my $50 buy-in. I went from $35 to $75, dwindled down to $60, got back to $70 and then most of the money left so I did too. I raised every unopened pot from middle and late positions and cranked out pot bets on the flop as well and just kept taking them down. One player at the table was fairly good, but I had his number. We got wrapped in a pot when I was around $40 where I raised preflop with a 97dd and he called out of position. The flop brought AQ8, which was actually good for me. Since I had been so active, I was likely being called with a weak suited ace or some connectors. I bet pot on the flop and he called. Here's what that told me: he didn't buy that I had an ace, but he didn't either. He was calling to take the pot away from me if I checked the turn. There's a slim chance that he has 88, but I think he would've led hoping I had an A and would raise (he is a pretty decent player). I disappointed him with a big ol' pot bet on the turn and he reluctantly folded something likely along the lines of QJ or QT suited. Go me. I was really seeing situations like this and wanted to keep playing, but there was just no significant stack at the table. I have grown to hate the minimum buy-in asshole because they are taking over and they are impossible to "play" against. What I mean is that if they raise a pot, they are pretty much playing all-in or fold on the flop. And their standards loosen up. AK is an all-in hand regardless of the flop. If the flop comes unders, they're betting/calling all-in. If they hit, they're betting/calling all-in. It doesn't allow me to take down small pots and trap them for big ones. Also, it really complicates multi-hand pots because they're like a fucking land mine waiting to blow your foot off when you try to push another stack off of their hand. Then, you have to call the all-in for the additional $1 over your bet and have to show off your bluff. It's just not worth it. Bankroll at $961.97.

I'm considering spinning the poker blog off on its own because I'm playing enough right now that I have considerable material. I'm hesitant because I'm not working full-time, and I imagine that I will scale my poker time back when such a thing happens. Thoughts?