Fly me to the moon...

My Monday off has been relatively uneventful. I dragged myself out of bed earlier than usual and did my 30 minute treadmill run to start the day off right. My knee is continuing to give me fits though. I bought a new pair of shoes yesterday hoping that the old ones were just at the end of their life, and were the source of my pain. It's too early to make the decision, but we shall see. It's usually the way it goes... I finally get off my backside and start trying to get in shape again and I'm met with an oddball injury to stall my plans and allow the motivation to wane. Not this time. So far I'm continuing to gut it out.

I caught up on some of my blog reading and of course as you can see writing a little of my own. I caught up on a bit of the status from the WSOP-Europe, where we find Daniel Negreanu on top of the heap after Day 1b. It appears that only a total of 362 players came to play this European version of the WSOP(E)'s Main Event. Check out Kid Poker's blog report of his experience thus far at http://www.fullcontactpoker.com/poker-journal.php?subaction=showfull&id=1222654251&archive=

Speaking of the WSOPE... I'm not opposed to another poker tournament, but I'm still not sold on the idea of calling anything a "World Series" of anything where it 'isn't' really. Major League Baseball's World Series is a great event to see every year, but it is NOT a world event. It's still a U.S. of A only event, no offense. And how about the Miss Universe Pageant... I haven't exactly seen any "off-worlders" showing up for that one. Those events aside though, I think the name becomes watered down a bit when you have a World Series of Poker and the turn around with another World Series of Poker Europe. Obviously neither is aptly named. I haven't exactly seen a shortage however of "foreigners" in either event though. : ) Perhaps years from now there will be a WSOP on every continent, each played down to their respective final tables to ultimately crown it's winner a.k.a "world champion." When finally the 7th and final series is over yielding us 7 world champions, we can rocket them all off to the moon for final table of truly galactic proportions! Wonder if I can use frequent flier miles to attend? Clearly my mind wanders with too much time on my hands.

Hope all of you are having a great day. I know I am. The time to pick up my son from school approaches so I bid you farewell.

Regards,

cheer_dad

Paul Newman

Hollywood is today a little dimmer at the passing of the great Paul Newman at the age of 83. His film career has been immense. He lit up the big screen with that sheepish smile and sparkling blue eyes for decades! There were memorable roles for generation after generation to appreciate and marvel throughout his career. Whether you remember him in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Cool Hand Luke, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Hustler, The Sting, The Color of Money, or even as recently as 2006 in Disney/Pixar's Cars. I could go on and on. Check out his extensive biography over at IMDB.com.

He is an actor and man that will be greatly missed. Paul Newman was one of the best. He personified cool. My condolences go out to his family and friends. His memory will live on... but he will be sorely missed.

Rest In Peace Paul...

Regards,

cheer_dad

F-I-V-E H-U-N-D-R-E-D-T-H P-O-S-T!!!

Well kids with this post, I hit a bit of a milestone here at the NDPT Blog. This is the 500th post that has been recorded here for posterity for all the world to read and hopefully at least once or twice actually enjoy. Way back at the end of March of 2006 I first launched this blog and managed to muster up about 83 posts that year. The following year however I really put a lot more effort into the thing and today I'm very nearly posting every day. During the WSOP and other times too, I post even more frequently than that. My subject matter hasn't always been poker-centric, I'm sure you've noticed but it's been more about my life in general; which just happens to include a lot of poker. = )

I've made a lot of friends, and probably a few enemies as a result of this blog (and my mouth in general) but all-in-all I TRULY enjoy writing this blog. I've long joked that it's my therapy, that it helps me in a way that has nothing to do with whether or not anyone is actually reading it. But my site stats do show that there are at least a few of you out there that have taken a liking to the place and you keep coming back. I certainly appreciate it! I hope that you've enjoyed reading about my antics and those of my fellow N Debtors. They are ALL a great bunch of people, who I welcome into my home quite often. And among them are some VERY TOUGH players. The skill level since 2004 when a few of us started getting together to play dealer's choice games for nickles and dimes, has improved by leaps and bounds. Our poker education has continued... and our friendships have grown. I read back through some of the posts out here from time to time and recall a lot of great events that I've spent together with all of you. I want to thank you all for sharing your time (and money) with me, but seriously I've forged many great/lifelong friendships as a result of the group that we play with.

In closing, I want to thank you all... friends, family that I play with, and even to those who have just wandered through and ended up at this particular point of the blogosphere. Whatever "event" has caused our paths to have crossed and am indeed thankful of it. It's been a great 500 blog posts... I hope you all come back and check out the next 500 and beyond, as well.

Regards,

cheer_dad

Welcome Robert F Griffin to MTR Gaming CEO Spot

MTR Gaming will have a new front man soon! According to this article: http://www.theintelligencer.net/page/content.detail/id/514613.html, Robert F. Griffin will be taking over the helm no later than January 2nd, 2009. He replaces Ted Arneault, the 13 year casino operations veteran who was instrumental in securing table gaming at MTR's "flagship" property Mountaineer Casino, Racetrack and Resort, in Chester, WV. Some of the details of his "signing" bonus are listed, heavy on the stock options side of things.

Recently MTR Gaming stocks have fallen in value, with many pointing a finger at Arneault, but frankly everyone and everything in the stock market is taking a beating right now. I'd be willing to wager Arneault's compensation package will likely be quite beefy as he makes his exit for all his efforts in marketing and government relations.

When I finally head north, to visit the Mountaineer Casino... maybe I'll stop in just to say whassup to Mr. Griffin. "Yo Bobby, it's me cheer_dad, howsabout some cocktails over here on table 1!" Yeah, I'm sure that'll be the absolute 'best' approach. Nonetheless Mr. Griffin, congratulations on the new position! You're not looking for an all-too-chatty blogger to help get the word out about Mountaineer Casino are you?!? = )

Regards,

cheer_dad

Money

Money
Originally uploaded by TW Collins

Just as I said the Mid Career Retirement Planning was today and offered MANY revelations about my finances and those of others. Honestly, I'm in pretty good shape. (Go figure) I guess diversifying in something other than online poker was a good move after all! Granted I'm taking the proverbial beating in the market right now, but then again who isn't except for those pussies sticking to the friggin' "G" Fund investment strategy. Take your Savings Account pittance and be happy with the mediocrity. I'm riding the market wave. Don't get scared and sell now that's definitely a formula for additional loss. There are a few changes I want to make, but nothing incredibly earth-shattering. I want to add an additional percent to the TSP by the end of the year, which will get me close to the IRS $15,500 cap. Then, watching that cap closely in the future I'll continue to push it up higher until I've maxxed it out again. I think I got a year behind on that effort at some point. The change to the bottom line is too much to pass up.

Anyway, I'm learning that some folks are doing very little in the way of saving and planning. Some had no earthly idea... Bad news for me is that I will have to ride out workin' for Uncle Sam until I hit 60 years old. Oddly, that doesn't sound so far away. I'm eligible to leave prior but to maximize my cashout options, I'm going to stay for the long haul.

Anyway all, it's late, I'm tired and class is in session again tomorrow. The picture brings to mind one last Pink Floyd lyric:

"Money, it's a hit...
Don't give me that do goodie good bullshit!!!"

Regards,

cheer_dad

I get by with a little help from my friends...

I get by with a little help from my friends...
Thanks to all of you who helped me correct my mistakes on the NDPT points standings. Frank was quick to point out my lost battle with Jack Daniels certainly played a role. To which I responded, " I have no recollection of that... you clearly have me confused with someone else." Why, the very idea of that devil's elixir even crossing these lips... honestly!

I leave for class in just a few moments, "Mid-Career Retirement Planning." I think I'm going to learn more about the "blood-bath" that I'm taking because of the C-Fund! Looks like I really need to improve my poker skills to really help out the bottom line. I'll check in later in the day, and I'll likely be lamenting my financial situation or whining about being sleepy.

Have a good day.

Regards,

cheer_dad

Blurry

Blurry Lights of Christmas
Originally uploaded by Fellowship of the Rich

Okay NDPT #14, no I haven't got the points updated yet. Sorry folks it was all a little blurry to me. Probably, the benadryl, Jack Daniels, and Killian's Irish Red wasn't the best of cocktail choices to make. Clearly, I was not among the money winners. And thanks to my mind altering experiment I didn't keep the best track of what was what. However, JR has filled in the gaps of my memory and I should probably update later tonight. For now though suffice it to say, that JR took down the top spot for the night, followed by Laura in 2nd, Teresa in 3rd, and Steve in 4th. Congratulations to all of you. I wish I had some recollection of it! : ) The next day was uneventful and found us sticking pretty close to the house most of the day. Sleeping, lounging, just wasting time. I'm getting too old for this shit... But seriously though, I hope everyone had a great time.

Tonight, Whitney has to cheer at a JV game at Erickson Field. I'll likely be there cheering on the cheerleaders. Errr wait...? I'll definitely have to set the DVR for tonight I may not make it home in time to see the Season Openers for Heroes and CSI: Miami. There are some other shows on this season that I'm looking forward to, that the DVR is going to have to be cleaned up to accommodate a lot of new stuff. Sorry Cole, the WWE is going to have to take a backseat!

To my knowledge the next poker to be played isn't until the Yanok's on October 3rd, but who knows with you bunch of damned degenerates! Whatever though, you know Big Red and I will be there as always.

Regards,

cheer_dad

Poker Face

Poker Face
Originally uploaded by snailbooty

It won't be long until game time so I thought I'd practice my poker face for tonight. Whadya think?!?

NDPT #14 starts tonight at 7:00pm. A little lighter turnout than usual, due to some conflicting plans, but no matter we'll play the game we all love to hate. I need to chalk one up in the "W" column people to get myself back in this race. So better beware!

The chips are sorted and bagged, and the beer's chillin' right now. Bring on the competition!

See y'all soon.

Regards,

cheer_dad

TGIF, and ready for the weekend

It's been a long slow day, but it is "finally" winding its way to a close. I came in late because Teresa wasn't feeling well and I had to take Cole to school. I actually enjoyed the extra catnap of sleep that the delay afforded me. : ) But the delay has made me stay here at work later than normal. A bunch of us are headed up to the Marietta Brewing Company after work to knock back a few cold ones with some appetizers. I know there's a beer sampler in the not so distant future for me.

We went out last night to the Eagles and actually some really cool news. Julie had her name drawn!!! She was the last name drawn and it wasn't a $1,000 draw but hey $500 is nothing to sneeze at either. And not 20 seconds after she ran up to lay claim to the prize, DJ called the tip number of the rip-offs and she won that $100 too!!! She's hot right now. Remember she just took down the top spot on Sunday's NDPT Tournament. Not to be left behind my wife, the other half of the Red Snappers was hitting payouts on the rip offs and cashing out on the slot machines too. You go have fun at the machines baby, I'll be content to sit here and have another beer at the bar! I'll never get in the way of one of her streaks.

I have to get up early in the morning for Whitney's Choir Fundraiser that starts at 9:00. I have to drive the girls around and let 'em do the door to door thing. Then, later that evening it's NDPT #14 night. Attendance will be light, but there will be a game. Never fear. I'll certainly be sure to stay out of the way of Julie and Teresa. That's mojo I don't want any part of!

And with that... my day here is done.

Regards,

cheer_dad

Life is Pain

The Meaning of Life
Originally uploaded by Breathtaking Photos

ever constricting life's biting embrace
seeming endless, yet narrow... abrupt
wounded crawl forth, the razor's edge
flesh pierced, blood streams, tears flow, silent screams
the error apparent, i care
still bent, but not bowing...

Regards,

cheer_dad

Back Hand Spring

Back Hand Spring
Originally uploaded by richardsonphotos

Okay, so this isn't Whitney, it's yet another image from the realm of flickr! BUT, my daughter was SO EXCITED last night after gymnastics practice, and asked "did you see me?" Uh... no I had just got there, so she dropped all her stuff and ran back in the gym and told me to watch. And she took off running and unspotted/unsupervised threw her running round off back hand spring! I'm telling you the kid was just BEAMING!!! I'm proud of her, not just for the feat itself but for the amount of work and effort that she's put into it. Good job baby girl!

I really need to start having a camera handy, don't I, so I can take my own meaningful pictures? I also need to think about upgrading from the point and shoot to an honest to goodness camera like a couple of the guys on my team tote around all the time. I did just get an email from Amazon.com advertising a 12 months same as cash on higher end digital cameras. Hmmm... maybe ask the wife. Okay, rob a bank for the money and then ask the wife. : )

I sent out a reminder email today about NDPT #14 at my house this Saturday at 7:00. Turnout for this poker turnout, may be lighter than usual, since it seems there's a lot going on, but no matter, we'll play anyway. Hope to see you then.

Eventually and I promise I will be heading down to Charleston to play at the newly opened Poker Room at the Tri-State Racetrack and Gaming Center. Can I get at least one good poker session?!?

Anyway, time to get back to business.

Regards,

cheer_dad

Red Snappers Are Back

Fashionable Red Snapper
Originally uploaded by JordanH

NDPT #13 was yesterday at the Eagles. We had a total of 26 people. Not our largest crowd but still nothing to scoff at. We drank lotsa beer, and ate some food too, not to mention the bucks that were thrown into the slot machines. Once again we probably tripled their business on a Sunday afternoon. They still seem pleased with the turnout. And I think so are we. I don't have the full stats for the day, since I lost interest when I was busted out. I did look up to see that the Red Snappers (Julie and Teresa) were in charge at the final table. In the end they locked it up, going heads up against each other, until finally Julie wrapped it up and took down the top spot. Congratulations ladies! I'm sure Frank would agree with my sentiment when I say, at least if we can't win our wives can! NDPT #14, don't forget will be held at my house this coming Saturday September 20th. The cards will be in the air at 7:00pm. Hope to see you all there.

I felt bad and still do about running Nikki all the way over to the Eagles, without realizing that JR was already leaving. Sorry I wasted your time and about the confusion. But on the bright side... I did get my hug. And I was able to confirm that you were still alive. Hang in there, you'll get through your schooling... and we're all pulling for you.

I may have also got JJ in some hot water with the Mrs. I guess maybe he and I did tarry on for quite a while after the card game and continue to drown our sorrows. I ended up driving us home in his van... And this morning we got a call saying that he wasn't feeling so good and that he couldn't take all the kids to school this morning. But Julie pitched in there and got the job done. Sorry John, but I'm sure it won't be the last time I get you in trouble. I mean, what're friends for anyway. Me, how did I feel? Well I was able to sleep off any ill effects that might have been lingering, as this was my AWS day.

My tournament life was ended yesterday early on, when I began to find myself on a short stack, and start to make some moves. A few of them were working, no one was willing to put so much in play, preflop with me. Until our tables big stack decided his hand was a monster. His A-8os vs my A-Jos, and he called the $170 preflop. The board spiked his 8 and I was left to wonder "why me..." But I'm glad to see some others get involved in this game, especially with "skill" like that! : )

That is information I can use. In addition to some questionable plays, I saw lots of obscure and weak telling betting patterns, that told you what people were holding as easy as if they were turning their cards face up. If you can make it through the treacherous waters of the dreaded river... there is money to be made in a crew like that. And the "Beer Delivery Guy" should always be in the cash game. Wow, that was a loose game.

Anyway that's all I've got for now, have a good day folks.

Regards,

cheer_dad

Winner winner chicken dinner...

Winner at the Delta County Fair, Colorado (LOC)
Originally uploaded by The Library of Congress

After a marathon length football game, in which the first quarter of play took a whopping 50 minutes to play, the South Patriots emerged victorious over Springarn with 48 - 28 showing on the scoreboard. GO SOUTH! It was a very long game, and the score doesn't make it look like the blowout that it was either, South had put in their 2nd string when they were up 48 - 0! Springarn made 28 unanswered points. I joked with John and Julie through most of the game, that it felt like we were there forever, because time did seem to stand still. Still another one in the W column is never a bad thing.

After that I dropped Whitney off at home and Teresa and I headed over to the Yanok's for poker game #2 of the night. Despite a rough start, which found me staring down at a total of like 70 chips I rebounded and managed to eek out a 3rd place finish, plus hording 3 All-In chips a.k.a victims! Teresa was unfortunately the bubble girl, but despite no cashout, she does get some points for the End of the Year Extravaganza.

I came home after that and drunkenly donked off a dollar whilst playing the Bodog el cheapo SNG's. I played five of them. The dollar lost was the entry fee/rake. I think I was falling asleep and even had a disconnect during the timeframe I was playing. Note to self, if you're going to do that stuff late, at least be capable of keeping your eyes open. Friggin' idiot.

Got up this morning and took Cole to bowling. He would do better if he'd just listen to Matt. But Cole is stubborn and flightly at times, but that too will pass given time. I'm heading off to the store now to do some of the grocery shopping, and Teresa is still off doing the whole tennis tourney thing.

Don't forget tomorrow at 2:00pm registration begins for NDPT #13 at the Eagles. 3:00pm the cards are in the air, with or without you. In other words be on time! I'm looking forward to it and hope to see you all or (y'all) there!

Regards,

cheer_dad

Sleepy

Sleepy koala
Originally uploaded by ati_gratisis

Today, this is me. A bit too much libation at the ole club last night. Drowning the sorrows as it were. Then returning home and stupidly firing up Bodog and 3 el cheapo SNG's. I cashed in all three of them. I now have the Bodog account up to over $180, but true to my promise, I'm still waiting until I hit $250 before bumping it up any higher. And if I drop to $200, I have to move right back down. How's that for a bankroll strategy. I know, it's laughable. But hey it keeps me playing the game that we all love to hate.

So, since I was up till the wee hours I'm sleepy. I'm working on the second pot of coffee of the day, and struggling. I have 2 hours and 15 minutes left before my day is done, so I'm doing whatever it takes to stay alert.

I'm afraid tonight's going to be a damp night for South Football. Whitney and the girls are going to be none too happy cheering in the rain. Oh and speaking of Whitney, she and I have absolutely SLAVED over her Geometry this week to get her ready for today's test, which he has last period. I'm really pulling for her on this one, she could use a morale booster in that class. Even if the numbers don't add up her way though, it's not for lack of trying. She put forth her absolute best effort this week for me and whatever the turnout I can honestly say she tried her best. Good luck little blond girl!

Cole is enjoying school this year. He has a teacher this year that Whitney had and they both absolutely love her! So far he hasn't been bogged down by homework and he's really taking a renewed interest in reading, judging from the number of library books that he's hauling home on a regular basis.

Tonight after the football game, Big Red and I are heading over to Yanok's for the second poker tourney of the night. Then, in the morning Cole has bowling at 10:00am.

We round out the weekend's activities on Sunday with NDPT #13 being held at the Eagles again. I'm really curious to see this game play out. I didn't get to go to the first one, but everyone I've talked to said that the whole thing was a big success, in large part because of all of JR's hard work.

Hope all is well with each of you, and have a nice weekend. I'll probably run in to a number of you anyway.

Regards,

cheer_dad

one step up and two steps back

http://www.lyricsdepot.com/bruce-springsteen/one-step-up.html

"Woke up this morning my house was cold
Checked out the furnace she wasn't burnin'
Went out and hoped in my old Ford
Hit the engine but she ain't turnin'
We've given each other some hard lessons lately
But we ain't learnin'
We're the same sad story that's a fact
One step up and two steps back
...
When I look at myself I don't see
The man I wanted to be
Somewhere along the line I slipped off track
I'm caught movin' one step up and two steps back"

I've had the above song stuck in my head today, in both its Springsteen and Chesney forms. A sad soulful wail... from either of them. Bleak and full of regret. Effort and futility.

"...one step up and two steps back..."

I let these things stress me and dampen my spirit as if any of this will really matter one hundred years from now. My presence and effort while here on this planet will have gone unnoticed, and it's all for naught. Even words written on this page will have faded. But all that is... is the here and now, and no matter the outcome the task must be done though it may lack, faded figure fade to black.

"...one step up and two steps back..."

Regards,

cheer_dad

Geometry

Geometry
Originally uploaded by Andre Lima

At some point in the future I suppose my daughter could grow to design or build for that matter some sort of geometric masterpiece. That possible eventuality will never be as a result of her current Parkersburg South Geometry teacher. The criteria to be a teacher is somewhat simple in my mind and takes two things. #1 like kids. #2 have the ability to teach. It's pretty straight forward, really. I can assure you within the coming days she and I will have words. I've done some homework of my own, and am finding an alarming number of kids are having enormous difficulties in her class. She doesn't want to be bothered with questions, and fails to do little more than read the book to the class. Seldom does the chalk touch the board. Sorry lady (i'm being nice) math doesn't work that way. You'll be hearing from me, and several of my enlisted fellow complainants. It may all fall on deaf ears, but you will endure it nonetheless.

So, rant aside, I spent a few hours this evening relearning among other things geometric, the Pythagorean theorum, and then teaching it ALL to my daughter. I do my 40+ hours a week, and don't really have the time to do the job of a math teacher as well. Okay, rant not quite over, I guess...

Invitation email for NDPT Poker Tournament #14 has been emailed out folks, begin your RSVP-ing!

Uncle Jun(ior) I just wanted to say that I still hate you. You headed off for Cross Lanes (Tri-State Racetrack and Casino) poker room again, this evening and have texted me a few times to rub it in further. Despite my jealousy, I hope Lady Luck's on your side tonight.

In closing... remember "pie r round, cake r square."

Regards,

cheer_dad

Over A Cup Of Coffee

Over A Cup Of Coffee
Originally uploaded by ♥babybee

Strong and black... for a Monday morning. I hate Mondays and you all know it by now. This happens to be the "on" week, that requires my presence here at "the debt." The weekend was long but certainly a lot of fun. Plenty of good fun with good friends. We even managed to wedge in some poker too! It was a nice change of pace to play a cash game as opposed to our standard tournament fare. Of particular fun and profit is adding Omaha and Pineapple to the mix. Win or lose I hope everyone enjoyed themselves on Saturday evening.

The next game up is at the Yanok's on Friday, I believe; although that's going to present a problem to Big Red and I. South football is Friday night and Whitney (the little blond girl) has to do a little rah-rah-rahing! Maybe they'll start late and make game 2 the qualifier. : ) No, they don't need to change plans to accommodate us! ALSO, don't forget that Sunday September 14, the NDPT will make its return to the Eagles at 3:00pm. And JR says it's 3:00pm friggin' sharp! Registration will begin at 2:00pm. If you want a seat, you better be there on time. By the way, the new "Eagles" chips should be there too! Hope to see you there. Beyond that, Big Red and I take up the hosting gig for the month on September 20th. Yes, I'll be sending out the standard email invitation very shortly.

Somewhere in this week I'll have to make time for 2 football games (a.k.a cheering gigs), tumbling (also for Whit), and she starts Candy Stripers on Tuesday too! Of course there's school and homework for bother kids to contend with. The adults have work, and we get to relearn all the school subjects as well, while assisting with the homework. And on Saturday Cole will return for his second session of League Bowling at 10:00am. By-the-way he's really excited to get his very own ball!

Time to slog my way through this Monday. Let's work together, and just maybe we'll make it out of this thing unscathed!

Regards,

cheer_dad

Surprise!

Surprise!
Originally uploaded by Ryan Brenizer

Who-da-thought-it? Big Red and I decided yesterday afternoon to throw together a card game (cash this time.) So we called all of the usual suspects and had people there by 7:30 on Saturday. Surprisingly, we ended up with 2-tables. More surprisingly was the fact that we both cashed "big" for the evening, each cashing out for about $115 from an initial buyin of $20. Not bad huh, baby!!! Anyway, we played on until around 3:00am, and i think everyone had a great time... I know I did. Thanks to all of you who made it out!

Today The Wolfes, Brothers, and us went to the Eagles Annual picnic for a few dhinks, and some rousing games of Corn Hole. Julie and Brady were crowned the Cornhole Champions of the Free World, although Whit and I did give 'em a run for their money!

After hanging out with friends and family at the picnic, we then also decided to head to Buffalo Wild Wings, and have dinner together.

Now sitting at home, writing this up... I'm sleepy and the weekend has surely taken its toll. And with that I'm going to call it an evening and a post.

Have a good night.

Regards,

cheer_dad

Realization

Hallway of Doorways "Door"
Originally uploaded by mrhollygolightly

What lies beyond? One door leads to the next... and to the next. Sometimes the rooms and corridors which fall between there lie hidden pitfalls and threats. More often than not the spaces between hold nothing, but the void, where we're left alone with only our thoughts and fears. Left to my own devices I can conjure up many a horrific thing. Seldom are my fears realized.

I don't know what all of that is about... I liked the picture, that's the direction my thoughts went. I have observed that things are seldom as bad as they appear. I've accepted that everywhere in my life and it affords me a degree of freedom. My confidence however fails me when it comes to matters of (now brace yourself) my poker play.

I'm given to over-analysis and self doubt and I become my own worst opponent, as opposed to the guy (or girl) at the other end of the table. I've slowly been realizing this, or better yet admitting it. I need to foster this development to advance my game. But at the same time I want to keep the game in perspective. It's a game... it's not livelihood.

See what a lack of sleep does to your humble servant, I get all introspective and such.

Regards,

cheer_dad

Ponderables

Thinking at Hell's gate
Originally uploaded by innoxiuss

Last night was busy, for no good reason. I finished work and made it home at 4:00pm, and immediately began to put together a weight bench that my mother-in-law had bought for my son and I. I don't know why she did it, unless my son made the request, or maybe she just thinks I'm getting a little too flabby around the edges. Either way, I'm not complaining, I'd been wanting to get one, and so it was a nice surprise. Now, I'll just have to discipline myself to do it. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Anyway, I opt to put the bench together in the garage, since I wasn't exactly sure where Big Red was going to want it placed in the house. So, I got a workout of a different sort, sweating my ass off in the sauna that was my garage. It was like rendering a pig! Is it healthy to lose that much water weigth?!?

So, along with some help from my son, I get the twisted mass of metal together, just in time for Big Red to get home and tell me, that it needs to go to the basement, and ask why I'm all sweaty!?! So I get that done, and get things setup to my satisfaction. (Pant pant...) Is it a bad sign when you're winded from setting up the exercise equipment? : )

Meanwhile, Teresa and Cole take off from the house just as Whitney is getting home from cheer leading practice. I tell her that since I'm already sweating to death, I'm going to go ahead and run on the treadmill for 30 minutes. I do that, while she grabs a bite to eat, and gets started on her homework. I do my run, get the runner's high, shower and head down to grab a bite to eat myself. By the time I finish, Teresa calls. She's getting her nails done and asks me to go pick up Cole from the church, where he went with his cousins, for a special program. I head there, and pick him up, and realize it's already 8:30.

When we get home, I herd him toward the shower, while I check back on Whitney's homework progress. Her laptop is irritating me, slightly. I'm not really all that fond of Windows Vista. It's a resource hog! And she never bothered to tell me that she didn't have MS Word on it, since all she ever used it for before was IM'ing and MySpace nitwittery. But nonetheless she's using WordPad, which will suffice. Then, she finishes up and brings me the laptop to proofread the paper. It looks good, although WordPad doesn't have a frakkin' spell checker. At this point she tells me that she's having difficulty connecting to the internet, tonight. Then she wants to know if she can print to my printer, which I'm stunned that she's never done that before today. Grrrr... So, I begin to set it up, which isn't going so well at all. I'm getting lots of OS flack, about connection errors and "insufficient memory to add printer." Yes, there were some dicey WTF moments in there folks.

Somewhere between Suddenlink dropping my connectivity and an issue with her system not connecting to the Workgroup, let's just say that dear ole cheer_dad snatches up the laptop and heads downstairs and retypes the paper in a few minutes on his computer and prints the thing out. Then I keep the laptop for the remainder of the late evening to work out some of the bugs.

I cycle the cable modem, and my wireless router, and the main computer, and Whit's laptop and voila get internet and workgroup connectivity. Try to add the printer and get the same "memory" errors, so I research quickly and find a workaround to the problem. Yes, it's a known issue with Vista. Go figure. Then, I download OpenOffice and install it on her system, so she'll have wordprocessing, spreadsheet, and presentation capabilities. That finishes up just before 11:00pm.

I go to do one last thing, before calling it a night, and find that something has gone wacky again with the wireless connectivity, again. This time it's not Suddenlink and every other computer in the house seems fine. I'm raising serious eyebrows now at Vista. Me and that OS are going to have words. If it troubles me again tomorrow or over the weekend, little blond girl this sucker's got a fresh XP installation in its future. But I finally call it a night.

Around 11:45 my head hits the pillow. Somehow, I get to stay in the bed last night. Either my snoring wasn't too offensive to my wife or she took pity and suffered through it.

Still, my night was plagued by some weird dreams. The weirdest of which I recall as I woke up to it at 5:00am, prior to the alarm going off. As I headed for the shower, I mentioned that I'd been dreaming and recapped the plot briefly to Teresa, so I'd be able to remember it myself.

In my dream, she and I had just got in the car to go to the Eagles. We were at home, but home wasn't home, it was mom and dad's old house at Mineral Wells?! I remember it because of the driveway, which overlooks the fields from atop the hill. As I'm backing out of the drive on a chilly winter evening, my headlights shine across something that makes me stop. There shown in my glaring high beams, is a baby crawling up through the yard, in a red set of footy pajamas, trimmed in blue. I guy pick the kid up, a boy by the way... and bring him back to the car where Teresa and I start discussing what to do with him and figure out where he came from. In the midst of our discussion an announcement comes across the radio that there's been a car wreck, involving a couple from "Pennsylvania" and that they were both either killed or seriously injured (I'm fuzzy on that part) but that an infant had been ejected from the car, but was now nowhere to be found. The police gave out a number to call, which we made note of and headed back to the house. All I could think of was how cold the baby was, although he seemed pretty happy at the moment. But I was worried that we didn't have any diapers, baby clothes or any bottles in the house to take care of him. Then, I woke up...

Now, here at work... I'm exhausted from thinking about it all. What's it all mean? I dunno, and I'm not sure I really want to know.

Tonight's going to be busy again, as Whitney has to cheer tonight for the JV game at Erickson Field. Somewhere in there dinner will be eaten, homework will be done. I don't know if all that will preclude a visit to the Eagles for drawing night or not. All I can say is, if I do get to head up there this evening, there better not be a baby crawling through my yard. There are books written about mental illness like this, aren't there... Thank goodness it'll be Friday tomorrow.

Anyway, hope you're having a less confusing day than I am.

Regards,

cheer_dad

Battlestar Politica

I was catching up on the blogosphere today and came across this picture, stolen from AlCantHang, who stole it from Jordan. From there, the trail grows cold... But honestly, I think McCain should incorporate this into his campaign. He could change his theme song to the Battlestar Galactica theme. No one can hear you scream in the void of space or that of an election year. I for one will be glad when this election is over. The only bright spot I see in the election at all, is that Hilary is no longer in it! : ) But that's as far as I'll go on the political front. I'll just leave it at Battlestar Politica.

I return to work after a four-day weekend. I really do love my AWS day schedule in that respect. I did actually get back on the treadmill today, after taking a breather since Friday. My legs needed a break, although not that long of one. I did get some exercise in the volleyball game, and let me tell you I'm feeling the ill-effects of that today. The run was a bit ragged, but I'm counting the miles, thank you very much.

In other news ESPN will begin tonight to air this year's World Series of Poker Main Event tonight. Don't forget to tune in!

I'm going to go finish up dinner and clean up, and see which kid needs help with their homework and such. Hope all is well in your respective necks of the woods.

Regards,

cheer_dad

It's a sad, sad day indeed

The forces of evil did conspire against us during our annual Labor Day Extravaganza, and allow the motley crew pictured to the left to bring the reign of the South Side to an end in the Volley Ball Championship of the World! For once the North Side emerged victorious. The 2nd game was a real nail biter and they poured on the heat in a late rally to win by two points 23-21. Despite my sour grapes I know everyone had a great time playing yesterday, and I'm sure a number of us have a few extra bruises and aches and pains to show for it. Congratulations to the North on the win (despite the fact that they did have to call in for family reinforcements this year from Bridgeport!)

The festivities began yesterday at 2:00pm with the cookout, all the while a number of pick up games of cornhole were played. The volleyball tournament got underway around 4:00pm. After the the North's victory the court was handed over to the younger crew, who frankly put us ALL to shame. They're all a bit more limber than we are. The volleyball playing didn't come to an end until the sun completely disappeared and the candles just weren't enough to see by anymore. People began then to say their goodbyes and headed back home. But a few of us die hards, undeterred continued on. The beer began to flow a bit more heavily at that point... and of course the cards and chips made their appearance. Somewhere just before 4:00am the ragtag group that remained playing poker finally called it a night. Big Red had to carry me and my small loss, and still she came out with a respectable profit of $50. I believe JJ was the big winner on the night, with a $80-ish profit, I think! Congrats!

In all throughout the day, we had 68 people at the house. I thank you all for making it a great day, and plan on it again next year. In the off-season I think I'll be working on a few more stretches. : )

Have a great Labor Day!

Regards,

cheer_dad