Blog-A-Day Countdown to 2012: Lock Poker Experience, Florida, Game Over and CatCat flips the Bird.

I can either sit here and type out a short - to the point - blog post, and then scurry off to bed with the CatBeast.  Or I can run up to Exxon, load on up something caffeine-y, and settle in for the long haul.

   .....feel free to talk amongst yourselves....

22 minutes later.. I'm back from the corner store. 1 can of cat food (A peace offering for not choosing bed over blogging), 1 can Coca-Cola and one sugary-something-ruther and I'm all set.

Blog-A-Day Countdown to 2012: #11

Online Poker, Holiday-ing in Florida?, Game-Over and CatCat is Rude

Back to Online Poker.. Which is Ironic, Really.

I started playing on Lock Poker last night, thanks to a reader who set me up with an account.  Played four tournaments, and I kid you not.. cashed in all four.  First in two of them, second in another (Small tournaments though, the total was around $348) I really like the site.. and not just because I won. (I chalk it up to the player base either being REALLY soft, or me actually improving a bit during my time being forced to play live).  The interface has a lot of the cool little features I enjoyed on various sites before Black Friday.. easy minimizing for multi-tabling, snarky emote-smilies for talking shit, and a sleek black design. They have a ton of games going all the time.. and surprisingly, everyone seems to speak English. When you cash in a tournament, a little graphic with a trophy and fireworks pops up. I like fireworks when I win. I'm a girl. Don't judge me.

A silver trophy for 2nd place! Awwww.
My gold-trophy screen shots are on my laptop.
And it's all the way across the room.
So this will have to do. You get the point.

I want to test the cashing out process, and it's effectiveness, so I'm removing everything but the original $20 my friend set me up with. I'll let you know when I receive the check, and whether or not it bounces. They say it takes 4 to 6 weeks, AFTER verification of my identity. We'll see how it goes. I guess I'm a little untrusting with the whole online-poker debacle we all went through earlier this year.

With the remaining $20, I'm going to start a mini-project that I'll keep updated through my blog.  I'm going to try to grind it into $1000 without rebuying, in 90 days.  I would say 30 days, but I have a month long event coming up and I doubt I'll have a lot of time or energy to crack skulls at the .02cent/.05cent tables at the end of the day. I'm doing this for a couple of reasons... one, it'll hopefully help me work on battling my seriously short attention span, AND practice managing a bankroll.  I've never really worried about bankroll management before, despite having written about it for years in my columns and print media work. I haven't worried about it.. because it didn't really apply to me.  I'm not a professional player, I'm a recreational player. When I have recreational dollars, I spend them on poker. When I win, I spend it on stupid shit. Like shoes and lip gloss. How much I win only really affects the brand names of the shoes, and whether the lip gloss comes from Clinique or Walgreens. Femme-Bankroll Management at it's best.

When you google Shoes + Lip Gloss, this is what you get.
Pretty f'in hideous.
But for the girl who likes to multi-task, this could be a golden ticket!

I think I represent the norm in my bankroll tendencies, and the "norm" aren't overwhelmingly successful at poker.  Though I don't intend to make it a staple in my income, I would like to hone my skills and practice what I've been preaching all these years.  The benefits of being a writer.. I know the lingo, and the theory.. I've just never really put serious application into it as it applies to me.

So $20 into $1,000. That's the goal. I'm grind micro stakes and tiny SNGs until I can move into larger brackets.  Once I hit a grand, I'll cash it all out, give 10% to charity and spend the other $900 on...shoes and lip gloss. If I'm unsuccessful, I really haven't lost a dime.. the initial $20 was to lure me into the site, donated by a reader. Back in the day, I deposited MORE than my fair share into the big online sites.. and won my fair share as well. I don't want to get caught up putting money back into online gaming of any variety until it's legalized, or I'm confident the site I'm doing business with can actually afford to pay me.

In other news...

I've been doing a whole lot of nothing.  Sleeping, watching movies with Mom, and generally being a lazy girl. I'm not sure I'm brushed my hair in three days. Sort of in a routine of shower-brush my teeth-pull wet hair into pony tail and .. sleep more. Tomorrow I have to brave the throngs and get a few small gifts for people, so this will require me actually being awake during daylight hours.  And probably doing laundry. I suppose I shouldn't complain, I've enjoyed the hibernation while it lasted.

She's a "special" kid. Short-Bus special, sometimes, as exhibited in this photo.
She loves that shirt.

My sister is determined to lure me to Destin, Florida for the actual holiday. She's in the Air Force and stationed at Hurlburt, AFB.  Since my entire family consists of Mom, Bex and I.. we're considering making the trek down there the day after or so and staying two days. Not 100% sure on this one, yet.

Last May in Destin, with pink hair and an almost tan.

It was a really fun trip..except..

Scott, the world's oldest 7 year old, required round the clock babysitting.
You just can't take him anywhere.

This blog hasn't been exactly riveting.. or really even worthy of my drive for caffeinated goodness. I'll have something more tantalizing tomorrow.  Like the details of my seriously challenged love life, or an update on a previously written about accidental poker stalker.

A few side notes, pictures & tidbits.

Tony Big Charles, despite as reported in my last blog, did not in fact delete his blog and drop off the face of the earth.  He seems to be back to blogging as usual, and I'm back to reading.

This picture tugs at my inner 80's child.  The sculpture is carved out of Styrofoam, and to me.. is breath-taking.  It's called "Game Over". I'm such a geek. Mario and Peach were an integral part of my child-hood. I spent many a hour collecting starts and whomping 'shrooms on the head. This picture sort of sums all that, in depicting it's passing. I heart it. I would get it tattooed on me somewhere, but I don't think it would translate to flesh quite so tastefully. And well, when you have a 14 inch chicken tattooed on your arm, it's important to keep things classy.

Finally, because I get asked about him all the time, CatCat is doing well.  He's cold, and doesn't like winter much.  He's decided to spend it wrapped up in his Hello Kitty blanket (Never leaves home without it!). This morning, I saw the lump in the blanket, but called out to him none the less.  This is what I got.

Pretty sure this is the equivalent of him giving me the finger.

I expect he'll resurface sometime in March.  He doesn't really "do" winter. Off to bed for now. I'll be back around tomorrow, as promised! <3 As always, thanks for reading.