With a full week of BASH updates to write, there was no room to discuss any poker played through that same timeframe. I did play a little here and there, so I thought I'd put it down here to recap.
Monday as always, were the two TuckFard games. In the TuckFard Open NLHE, we had a pretty solid turnout and a few good laughs as always. Kat stopped by for the fun and as always, the honourary Tucks, muhctim and cem were there as well. Seriously giving the title of honourary Tuck a run, MemphisMojo made it out for what has to have been his fourth week in a row. Not too shabby sir!
It ended up coming down to myself, muhc and Memphis for the final three, and I had a pretty commanding chip lead. As I believe it is right to do, I kept the pressure on and forced them into decisions whenever possible. Memphis finally made one with nothing more than Ace high. It turned out to be a pretty good decision for him, as the river Ace gave him a pretty significant double-up. About 1/2 an hour later, I forced Memphis into making the same decision. This time, it was bad timing on my part. He was ahead! But in all things fair and equal.... (tee-hee) my rivered suckout took the pot down and justice had been served! (or something like that!)
When it came down to just muhc and I heads up, I was suffering from connection issues that were just brutal. I was also getting ever so slightly 'on-tilt' from some plays in the TuckFard HORSE game as well. The combination of the two, was more than enough to take me off my game. I ended up second and all in all, felt like I'd been showing my new and improved game of Hold'Em once again. I'll keep plugging away at it and see where this new style of decision making in the game takes me. So far since I decided on what changes to make, I have two wins and three seconds. I used to be having a lot of difficulty just making it to break before I changed things up!
In the TuckFard HORSE game, (with 18 runners!) I was just incredibly frustrated. It was one of those nights where either a certain player didn't believe me when I had killer door cards showing and was leading out the betting or, I had good solid hands killed by river and 7th. st cards, over and over again. Just not my HORSiE kind of night! I was out fairly early on. Ces't la vie!
Fairly excited about my newfound success in NLHE and with my connection issues seemingly behind me, I joined in a 90 player SnG for $3.30. I thought I'd see what I could do with the 'new' game in a bigger event. Second hand of the game, I was dealt pocket Aces. As is usually the case in these things I find, there was an EP raise, MP re-raise and a call by the button. I'm in SB and I make it a little more than pot to go. It is folded around to the button and his move was to shove all of his chips in. I don't know about you, but I'm not going anywhere here! I call and we flip up my Aces and his J-K off! Believe it or not, I held on for the win! Despite an exciting and heart palpitating flop of 10-K-Q. The turn was a blank and the river brought him a pair to his Jack. My straight took down his two-pair.
I 'cruised and bruised' for about the next hour, letting weaker holdings go easily and hammering my strongest of hands. Halfway through the second hour, I had 30% of the chips in play. Can you say sahweeeet? Everyone say's you need to get lucky in these bigger events and on one hand, I certainly did! While holding Q-Q and action was coming around to me, the player to my right made another pot sized raise. By another I mean, his fifth or sixth in seven hands. He'd shown A-? a couple of times in there and I figured him for something along those lines again. I re-popped it to pot and he was the only taker. Now I feel strongly about my read! A flop of crap comes out and he put out another patented pot sized bet. I figure him for the steal and put the rest of his chips in the pot. He types in something along the lines of, "I dont believe you." and makes the call. His A-K is up against my Hiltons. He turns a K and I just can't believe it! I get extremely lucky to River my third Queen for the set, and then sit back and watch as buddy, (NOT Dank!) types in the world of hurt he'll be inflicting on me, the next time we play. Yeah, I get it! I'm a Donkey because of a suck, re-suck, when I got my chips in good!
Well, will wonders never cease? I won a 90 player SnG! Weeeeeeeee!
Thursday it was off to Riverchasers. There was a small crowd, but it was a good one! I played my game and hung around mid-pack for the first 1/2 hour or so. Then I read HOY for a move at the wrong time, and got very lucky to hit an Ace on the flop, against his K-K. He got his money in good, but this time when I really was being a Donkey with just A-Q, there was only a suck.... no re-suck.
Hands came and went over the next 1/2 hour or so, and I'd managed to stay up in chips around about second or third place. Then I really started to open it up a bit. Constantly applying descision making pressure to the raisers. It seemed to be working too! I never really got any action, but was taking the blinds and initial raises, at a regular pace. It once again came down to just three of us, with IAMSKIIDOO, MadBrooklyn and myself being the combatants. Between SKI and myself, MadBrooklyn never really had a chance. We had the majority of the chips and kept applying pressure from both sides. When Mad had a hand worth fighting with, one of us seemed to always have one just a little bit better. And SKI and I did a pretty good job of avoiding each other at the same time. It was time for heads up!
SKI rolled over me! (should that be slid?) No other way to put it. I was getting nothing special in the way of heads up hands and anything i did play, whiffed the board completely! Well done SKI! Well deserved win Sir!
Not too shabby results for the week in NLHE I say, and I'm really looking forward to developing this 'new' style just a little bit further. I think if I can just tweak it a bit to fill a couple of known gaps, I just might be able to play with you big boy's and girls, a little bit better. That's something I truly look forward to! Finally seeing a little bit of success with this NLHE, is giving me some hope that I just may be starting to catch on to something I've worked pretty hard at. The glass MAY just be a little more than 1/2 full right now.
OH and..... I also scored my single biggest profit from sitting down at on-line STUD on Wednesday night! WoooOOOOooooT me! I came off that table up about 11 buy-ins, even after losing a really tough hand to boat over boat, at the very end. It was a tough 3 1/2 hour session that really had my attention. For the first time that I can remember, there was chat at the table too! Five of us came to an agreement on another game. We'll all be sitting down once again in the coming weeks. I can't tell you how much I look forward to that! It was actually pretty good poker and the play seemed fairly predictable to me. I find that I tend to shine when everything is played by-the-book. Given the chance and a few cards here and there, I may just try and see if I can score myself a slightly larger cash, when we meet again!
My sincerest thanks for dropping by....
10/04/2008
10/02/2008
The BASH - "THE BASH"....
To say that Alcohol may have been a factor for us all on Saturday afternoon at the Pub'lympics, would be like saying BadBlood looks like he's in half decent shape. Or perhaps, saying that Otis can knock out a good read once in a while. You might as well have said that G-Rob has OK hair. No, it's just not good enough to put it that way at all. This group of degenerate BASH'ers, was Alcohaulin' Ass!
There was a time lapse between The Pub'lympics, and the actual BASH itself. Groups formed up and coordinated plans. Friends ran in packs, like jackal's searching for the next weak animal they would come across. There was time available and time at a blogger get-together, is a very precious commodity. It was time, to take advantage of time!
BadBlood was heading my way and had the look of a man on a mission. The look also told me, I may just be on the same mission. Next it was Drizz. Drizz had a look, well...... does anyone out there that knows Drizz, understand it when I say happy go lucky determination? I can't think of any other way to describe it. Weird? Suddenly, The Doc, The Wife and CK were also at my side. All gigglin' and grinnin' from ear to ear. They looked like a group of kids that had just got caught in a heavy petting session down in the basement by the parents. Something was up, that was for certain! When Otis cruised into the mix, Peb's leaned over to my ear and said, "oh boy! This could might be gettin' good!" I tried to listen for any hints of what was up, but no real words were spoken. It was just a general feeling of understanding, that we were all doing something together and now!
BadBlood leans into the center of the group and with that very wry smile he seemed to have all weekend long says.... "anyone go for a skillet?"
"Skillets! I'm in!" came from Drizz. "Me too!" said CK, Pebbles and The Wife, in almost perfect unison! "Count us in!" said The Doc, as he nodded his head my way with a tilt that obviously meant, I was a given. "Let's go." was the only thing I heard Otis say, as he herded us out towards the front door. This group of "starving" bloggers, were going to have a Skillet. With a short drive and a little bit of patience, we arrived at the Diner and loaded up on Skillets. It was a great time amongst friends and I have to say, I'm not exactly sure how long we were sitting there in that Diner. But I do remember that a funny thing happened as we were all doing our best to get that last bit of our skillet down, everyones phones went off at the same time. It was a text from Al. Just two simple words....... "Mandatory recall!" That was it. We were being summoned back by the man. It's probably a really good thing too! Drizz seemed to be enjoying his Skillet so much, I thought he just might have ate the whole thing and moved on to another!
As we arrived back at The Pub for the actual BASH itself, you could sense the difference in general atmoshpere immediately. It went from a casual get together of a group of friends from all walks of life and all parts of North America, to a party Al was holding. A party for just him....... and ooooh 599 of his closest friends! I was asked to put the BASH into one thought that would best describe it to someone that was not there at the time, and I think I found a way to do that.
The BASH IS EXACTLY what advertisers are trying to portray in those great Beer commercials. Only it's really happening and you're there for every bit of it! Yeah..... that oughta' cover it!
Crystal Roxx is the perfect name for the band that played Saturday night. They had an extremely tight sound and were just rockin' the place. They played a wide variety of music and played it all, very well. Hell! After they had a shot with Al and I between songs and I had a chance to get in a few warm up dances with Peb's. (and anyone else that I could grab) they played a song just for yours truly. Something that went with my attire for the evening! ;) I AM NOT a country boy at musical heart! But getting the chance to belt out a tune at the BASH, was something I just wasn't going to miss out on. So there I was, standing in front of Crystal Roxx, belting out Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy! What the hell was I thinking? Thanks to the guy's in the band for rockin' it up just a bit for me. Made it feel a whole lot less like I was singing Country! Also, thank 'him/her/it' I knew all the words! Peb's loves the song, when I'm appropriately attired of course! ;)
At one point in the evening, I screamed at the top of my lung's from the center of the dance floor. "Blogger chicks! Let's dance!" And so we did! To any song, by any band, from any era. I tell you, you could've poured me out of The Pub by the end of the night. Ask anyone who went for a hug late in the evening. Something about heavy Denim shirts and bright lights with no moving air in the room.
I don't really care what it looks like when I do it, but I luv's me some dancin' with all the hot chicks! At one point, I was lucky enough to have seven of you up at the same time. Now THAT was HOT ! My Peb's kinda sauntered into the middle of us and said, "I want you right now." BOOOOOOOM!!!!!!!
We quickly made our way around the room to say our goodbye's. We caught everyone we could. A few we missed, because they had already left. A few we missed, 'cause they were either engaged in, or seriously focused on, some incredibly HOT GoG action at the moment. Oh and thanks for that! It just made us want to get back to the room, that much more!
To our blogger host, Sir AlCantHang..... I say Sir, You are Da' Man!
To our building hosts, Mike, Ashley and Terri.... I say, You made this one of the most memorable times of all of our travels!
To the bloggers that made the trip I say, it was great to see you. Can't wait to do it again. Wherever that may occur!
To the unfortunate ones that didn't make it this time I say, plan for it next year!
Al's party and the Tyler James Pub.... are a no brainer do-not-miss!
Of course as at any blogger degenerate type get-together, there were prop bets. In my case, one in particular that I was very proud of. As promised, the bet itself will not be put on these pages. (I am a kid of my word) BUT ! To my worthy adversary, I will say thanks! Here's a little something special, just for you!
My sincerest thanks for dropping by....
There was a time lapse between The Pub'lympics, and the actual BASH itself. Groups formed up and coordinated plans. Friends ran in packs, like jackal's searching for the next weak animal they would come across. There was time available and time at a blogger get-together, is a very precious commodity. It was time, to take advantage of time!
BadBlood was heading my way and had the look of a man on a mission. The look also told me, I may just be on the same mission. Next it was Drizz. Drizz had a look, well...... does anyone out there that knows Drizz, understand it when I say happy go lucky determination? I can't think of any other way to describe it. Weird? Suddenly, The Doc, The Wife and CK were also at my side. All gigglin' and grinnin' from ear to ear. They looked like a group of kids that had just got caught in a heavy petting session down in the basement by the parents. Something was up, that was for certain! When Otis cruised into the mix, Peb's leaned over to my ear and said, "oh boy! This could might be gettin' good!" I tried to listen for any hints of what was up, but no real words were spoken. It was just a general feeling of understanding, that we were all doing something together and now!
BadBlood leans into the center of the group and with that very wry smile he seemed to have all weekend long says.... "anyone go for a skillet?"
"Skillets! I'm in!" came from Drizz. "Me too!" said CK, Pebbles and The Wife, in almost perfect unison! "Count us in!" said The Doc, as he nodded his head my way with a tilt that obviously meant, I was a given. "Let's go." was the only thing I heard Otis say, as he herded us out towards the front door. This group of "starving" bloggers, were going to have a Skillet. With a short drive and a little bit of patience, we arrived at the Diner and loaded up on Skillets. It was a great time amongst friends and I have to say, I'm not exactly sure how long we were sitting there in that Diner. But I do remember that a funny thing happened as we were all doing our best to get that last bit of our skillet down, everyones phones went off at the same time. It was a text from Al. Just two simple words....... "Mandatory recall!" That was it. We were being summoned back by the man. It's probably a really good thing too! Drizz seemed to be enjoying his Skillet so much, I thought he just might have ate the whole thing and moved on to another!
As we arrived back at The Pub for the actual BASH itself, you could sense the difference in general atmoshpere immediately. It went from a casual get together of a group of friends from all walks of life and all parts of North America, to a party Al was holding. A party for just him....... and ooooh 599 of his closest friends! I was asked to put the BASH into one thought that would best describe it to someone that was not there at the time, and I think I found a way to do that.
The BASH IS EXACTLY what advertisers are trying to portray in those great Beer commercials. Only it's really happening and you're there for every bit of it! Yeah..... that oughta' cover it!
Crystal Roxx is the perfect name for the band that played Saturday night. They had an extremely tight sound and were just rockin' the place. They played a wide variety of music and played it all, very well. Hell! After they had a shot with Al and I between songs and I had a chance to get in a few warm up dances with Peb's. (and anyone else that I could grab) they played a song just for yours truly. Something that went with my attire for the evening! ;) I AM NOT a country boy at musical heart! But getting the chance to belt out a tune at the BASH, was something I just wasn't going to miss out on. So there I was, standing in front of Crystal Roxx, belting out Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy! What the hell was I thinking? Thanks to the guy's in the band for rockin' it up just a bit for me. Made it feel a whole lot less like I was singing Country! Also, thank 'him/her/it' I knew all the words! Peb's loves the song, when I'm appropriately attired of course! ;)
At one point in the evening, I screamed at the top of my lung's from the center of the dance floor. "Blogger chicks! Let's dance!" And so we did! To any song, by any band, from any era. I tell you, you could've poured me out of The Pub by the end of the night. Ask anyone who went for a hug late in the evening. Something about heavy Denim shirts and bright lights with no moving air in the room.
I don't really care what it looks like when I do it, but I luv's me some dancin' with all the hot chicks! At one point, I was lucky enough to have seven of you up at the same time. Now THAT was HOT ! My Peb's kinda sauntered into the middle of us and said, "I want you right now." BOOOOOOOM!!!!!!!
We quickly made our way around the room to say our goodbye's. We caught everyone we could. A few we missed, because they had already left. A few we missed, 'cause they were either engaged in, or seriously focused on, some incredibly HOT GoG action at the moment. Oh and thanks for that! It just made us want to get back to the room, that much more!
To our blogger host, Sir AlCantHang..... I say Sir, You are Da' Man!
To our building hosts, Mike, Ashley and Terri.... I say, You made this one of the most memorable times of all of our travels!
To the bloggers that made the trip I say, it was great to see you. Can't wait to do it again. Wherever that may occur!
To the unfortunate ones that didn't make it this time I say, plan for it next year!
Al's party and the Tyler James Pub.... are a no brainer do-not-miss!
Of course as at any blogger degenerate type get-together, there were prop bets. In my case, one in particular that I was very proud of. As promised, the bet itself will not be put on these pages. (I am a kid of my word) BUT ! To my worthy adversary, I will say thanks! Here's a little something special, just for you!
My sincerest thanks for dropping by....
The BASH - Pub Olympics....
When I first arrived back at The Pub on Saturday morning, not surprisingly Al had set up shop already and begun to work on his Pub Olympic team roster. Now that I was there with him, “The Enemy” was in da’ house. We had a lot of laughs discussing everyone’s strengths and which event each specific blogger should be competing in. Now I knew there was no way brudder Carson and DonKaaa were not playing Darts! Al had watched them desimate me 3 games in a row earlier on. Not 3 straight games either! They played 3 games……. And let me keep my score continous from the first, right through to the third ! Carson is one of the best Dart players in Ontario. DonKaaa has been playing a lot more lately and is pretty much a natural at anything he picks up. Team Otis would need to bring their “A” game for certain. DonKaaa was also a Galaga junkie back in the day, and after watching him destroy the machine on Friday afternoon, I knew Al would be putting him into that spot as well.
With the whooooosh of a drive by, EVY ran through the bar area and said something that sounded like hi guys. Straight to the change room she did go. Only minutes later, she emerged ready for battle, with her Top Pair protected and in uniform.
Once Captain Otis arrived, it was time to fill out our roster. “What are you good at Bam?” he asked. “Uh….. I’m a drinker.” I said in my best Captain Obvious voice. “Right! Irish Car Bomb it is then.” He said with a smile. “Oh and since you’re Canadians, you and Peb’s both play the Air Hockey.” That seemed pretty natural to me. So we were all set for our events. Then Otis walked by and added Pinball to both of our events as well. I looked over at the machines and noticed that the Pinball event would be played on the Sopranos machine. NICE !!! Peb’s asked me if I wanted to play a warm up game and I told her, “Honey, it’s like ridin’ a bike. If I can’t just jump on that thing and break 13,000,000 for old times sake, I’ll stop drinking the rest of the weekend!”
It was at that time, that Recess and Riggs were gathering up something and heading past us to go outside. I asked them what they were up to, and Recess turned around and replied, “Fuel proofing the games, just in case!” I had no idea what that meant, so I tagged along. Ah…. A picture is worth a 1000 words indeed!
So with our events set, there was some time for a little mingling with some friends. There was a Bracelet sighting and short discussion, which was very enjoyable. The largest crowd all of the early afternoon, could be found around the Shuffleboard table. Peb’s and I hung out there for the most part. The crowd changed in eclectic ways, as two would leave and two more would take their place. At times it was like an entire shift change at the blogger factory, as 10 of us would wander off, only to be replaced by 10 or 12 more. Everyone floating from one piece of apparatus to another, all in anticipation of the events to come. Some were taking this Pub Olympics thing very seriously, others, not so much! But everyone was having fun, there was no doubt about that. The laughter and cries of “SHIP IT BITCH!” or “NOOOOOOO” would hit deep into your chest, not unlike the deepest bass at an Arena performance by Metallica. Yes at times, it was THAT loud in there. But at one point it became very evident, the Pub Olympics were about to get underway. A hush fell upon the crowd, as Captain Otis and Captain Al, were clearly gathering up their first competitors. It was on!
I drew Landow as my competition in the Air Hockey. It went back and forth, one goal after another. We smashed and swung and saved and shot that little green puck like two men on a mission. Our mission was clear and there were two primary objectives! First and foremost, win one for the team. But almost as importantly, try and hit Buddy Dank Radio with the puck! This would prove difficult but NOT impossible for me, as Buddy was directly behind me. After Landow drove one off the side of the table and skipped it off of Buddy’s shoulder, I was now in “The Dank” position in hits. I gathered myself up and started to work out my plan. It would take everything to go just right, if I was to tie this game up. I took a deep breath, (I’d seen some Olympians do that before, figured it’d help) and focused on my target. There it was, my one solid opportunity was right there in front of me. The time was now and SMASH ! went the puck of the backboard at Landow’s left wrist. It cam flying back towards me with what looked like perfect trajectory at first, but it was flipping ever so slightly. I let it go, this was my only chance. I twisted at the torso and my eyes caught Buddy just in time, to see the puck hit him in the chest. Score one for the good guys ! ;) Oh in the actual Air Hockey game itself, I scored 7 and Landow scored 2. But the score was 5-4 for Landow. Yes! He made 2 great direct shots for goals, and I put 3 in my own net. I run goot!
Next up for me was Pinball against a formidable opponent in VinNay. VinNay was one that I had seen at The Sopranos machine before. I also heard him ask someone earlier, “The Sopranos machine? Nice!” I figured I’d better get my game face on. So I went to the bar to find it. I had not even made it to within ten feet of the bar and there was the lovely Ashley. Just standing there with a Scotch and a pint of Yuengling waiting for me. Have I told you how great she is? Well it doesn’t matter, I’m telling you again. The girl has talent, looks and I loved spending time with her on both sides of the bar! Anywho… back to Pinball. My strategy on The Sopranos machine has always been the same. There’s some big points up top, so keep the ball up there AND, get the second ball in play. That’s what I did. I had a decent game considering it’s been some… well… we’ll leave it at 'some' years, since I played. I scored 14,850,590. I felt like I put up a score to beat. Then VinNay stepped up to the machine. I can’t watch at first, as I was dragged away for a shot and some pictures. Then Peb’s is up against Evy in the Air Hockey. So much going on! I hear a groan over at The Sopranos! “That’s got to be good,” I actually said out loud. Peb’s was getting creamed! “GOOOO Peb’s” I screamed and that seemed to get others yelling it as well. To no avail, EVY was just too good! A deserved win that Pebbles would like to congratulate her on again.
Back at the machine, VinNay was still standing BUT! I saw the classic slam of the flipper buttons that just tells everyone around, that ball was just lost. He stepped back and turned to face me. He did not look exceptionally happy. I had hope maybe? 15,250,400 ! “I just beat you.” He said. “Lucky too! I lost my first two balls early.” All I could say was “WOW! That must’ve been one helluva third ball!” I put up a score and told my opponent to try and beat it and on this day, VinNay was king of The Sopranos. Well done Sir, very Well done!
By this time, the crowd was starting to gather in anticipation of the one event that had been talked about the most earlier on. There was trash talk, oh yes! There was a lot of trash talk indeed. It was time for Buck Hunter! The non-stop barrage of “COW!” or “Lemur!” as the combatants waged their private war on Water Buffalo, Lions, Cheetahs and other various wild game, did not seem to distract but empowered the Hunters along the way. The ROAR at the sight of a shot Cow would alternate between the two teams crowded around the machine. The hugs and high fives, the fist pumps and fist bumps, all of it a non-stop episode of bonding at it’s best. Shots went down the throat almost as fast as shots were being fired at the screen. It was an insane 20 minutes! Except for the Hunters and their respective Captains, I don’t think anyone around there cared who actually won. You felt like a winner yourself, just for being able to take part in it.
Team AlCantHang won the overall Pub Olympics and it was a deserved win. We’ll get’em next year and yadda-yadda-yadda, blah-blah-blah. I felt bad for Otis for not getting at least one win out of the two events I competed in, but I did give it my all. When I asked Otis about the Irish Car Bomb relay, he just looked up and said, “you don’t have to.” As I understand it, we were too far behind to catch up anyhow. What a shame, wasting my natural God given talent like that.
My overall impression of the inaugural Pub Olympics? I’d like to be stuck in them over and over again, like Bill Murray in Groundhog Day.
This is going far too long already and I’ve left so much out! I guess we’ll have to cover The “BASH” part of The BASH tomorrow.
My sincerest thanks for dropping by….
With the whooooosh of a drive by, EVY ran through the bar area and said something that sounded like hi guys. Straight to the change room she did go. Only minutes later, she emerged ready for battle, with her Top Pair protected and in uniform.
Once Captain Otis arrived, it was time to fill out our roster. “What are you good at Bam?” he asked. “Uh….. I’m a drinker.” I said in my best Captain Obvious voice. “Right! Irish Car Bomb it is then.” He said with a smile. “Oh and since you’re Canadians, you and Peb’s both play the Air Hockey.” That seemed pretty natural to me. So we were all set for our events. Then Otis walked by and added Pinball to both of our events as well. I looked over at the machines and noticed that the Pinball event would be played on the Sopranos machine. NICE !!! Peb’s asked me if I wanted to play a warm up game and I told her, “Honey, it’s like ridin’ a bike. If I can’t just jump on that thing and break 13,000,000 for old times sake, I’ll stop drinking the rest of the weekend!”
It was at that time, that Recess and Riggs were gathering up something and heading past us to go outside. I asked them what they were up to, and Recess turned around and replied, “Fuel proofing the games, just in case!” I had no idea what that meant, so I tagged along. Ah…. A picture is worth a 1000 words indeed!
So with our events set, there was some time for a little mingling with some friends. There was a Bracelet sighting and short discussion, which was very enjoyable. The largest crowd all of the early afternoon, could be found around the Shuffleboard table. Peb’s and I hung out there for the most part. The crowd changed in eclectic ways, as two would leave and two more would take their place. At times it was like an entire shift change at the blogger factory, as 10 of us would wander off, only to be replaced by 10 or 12 more. Everyone floating from one piece of apparatus to another, all in anticipation of the events to come. Some were taking this Pub Olympics thing very seriously, others, not so much! But everyone was having fun, there was no doubt about that. The laughter and cries of “SHIP IT BITCH!” or “NOOOOOOO” would hit deep into your chest, not unlike the deepest bass at an Arena performance by Metallica. Yes at times, it was THAT loud in there. But at one point it became very evident, the Pub Olympics were about to get underway. A hush fell upon the crowd, as Captain Otis and Captain Al, were clearly gathering up their first competitors. It was on!
I drew Landow as my competition in the Air Hockey. It went back and forth, one goal after another. We smashed and swung and saved and shot that little green puck like two men on a mission. Our mission was clear and there were two primary objectives! First and foremost, win one for the team. But almost as importantly, try and hit Buddy Dank Radio with the puck! This would prove difficult but NOT impossible for me, as Buddy was directly behind me. After Landow drove one off the side of the table and skipped it off of Buddy’s shoulder, I was now in “The Dank” position in hits. I gathered myself up and started to work out my plan. It would take everything to go just right, if I was to tie this game up. I took a deep breath, (I’d seen some Olympians do that before, figured it’d help) and focused on my target. There it was, my one solid opportunity was right there in front of me. The time was now and SMASH ! went the puck of the backboard at Landow’s left wrist. It cam flying back towards me with what looked like perfect trajectory at first, but it was flipping ever so slightly. I let it go, this was my only chance. I twisted at the torso and my eyes caught Buddy just in time, to see the puck hit him in the chest. Score one for the good guys ! ;) Oh in the actual Air Hockey game itself, I scored 7 and Landow scored 2. But the score was 5-4 for Landow. Yes! He made 2 great direct shots for goals, and I put 3 in my own net. I run goot!
Next up for me was Pinball against a formidable opponent in VinNay. VinNay was one that I had seen at The Sopranos machine before. I also heard him ask someone earlier, “The Sopranos machine? Nice!” I figured I’d better get my game face on. So I went to the bar to find it. I had not even made it to within ten feet of the bar and there was the lovely Ashley. Just standing there with a Scotch and a pint of Yuengling waiting for me. Have I told you how great she is? Well it doesn’t matter, I’m telling you again. The girl has talent, looks and I loved spending time with her on both sides of the bar! Anywho… back to Pinball. My strategy on The Sopranos machine has always been the same. There’s some big points up top, so keep the ball up there AND, get the second ball in play. That’s what I did. I had a decent game considering it’s been some… well… we’ll leave it at 'some' years, since I played. I scored 14,850,590. I felt like I put up a score to beat. Then VinNay stepped up to the machine. I can’t watch at first, as I was dragged away for a shot and some pictures. Then Peb’s is up against Evy in the Air Hockey. So much going on! I hear a groan over at The Sopranos! “That’s got to be good,” I actually said out loud. Peb’s was getting creamed! “GOOOO Peb’s” I screamed and that seemed to get others yelling it as well. To no avail, EVY was just too good! A deserved win that Pebbles would like to congratulate her on again.
Back at the machine, VinNay was still standing BUT! I saw the classic slam of the flipper buttons that just tells everyone around, that ball was just lost. He stepped back and turned to face me. He did not look exceptionally happy. I had hope maybe? 15,250,400 ! “I just beat you.” He said. “Lucky too! I lost my first two balls early.” All I could say was “WOW! That must’ve been one helluva third ball!” I put up a score and told my opponent to try and beat it and on this day, VinNay was king of The Sopranos. Well done Sir, very Well done!
By this time, the crowd was starting to gather in anticipation of the one event that had been talked about the most earlier on. There was trash talk, oh yes! There was a lot of trash talk indeed. It was time for Buck Hunter! The non-stop barrage of “COW!” or “Lemur!” as the combatants waged their private war on Water Buffalo, Lions, Cheetahs and other various wild game, did not seem to distract but empowered the Hunters along the way. The ROAR at the sight of a shot Cow would alternate between the two teams crowded around the machine. The hugs and high fives, the fist pumps and fist bumps, all of it a non-stop episode of bonding at it’s best. Shots went down the throat almost as fast as shots were being fired at the screen. It was an insane 20 minutes! Except for the Hunters and their respective Captains, I don’t think anyone around there cared who actually won. You felt like a winner yourself, just for being able to take part in it.
Team AlCantHang won the overall Pub Olympics and it was a deserved win. We’ll get’em next year and yadda-yadda-yadda, blah-blah-blah. I felt bad for Otis for not getting at least one win out of the two events I competed in, but I did give it my all. When I asked Otis about the Irish Car Bomb relay, he just looked up and said, “you don’t have to.” As I understand it, we were too far behind to catch up anyhow. What a shame, wasting my natural God given talent like that.
My overall impression of the inaugural Pub Olympics? I’d like to be stuck in them over and over again, like Bill Murray in Groundhog Day.
This is going far too long already and I’ve left so much out! I guess we’ll have to cover The “BASH” part of The BASH tomorrow.
My sincerest thanks for dropping by….
10/01/2008
The BASH - I poker....
When last you read, I was headed off to play in the poker game.
As we left The Pub, it suddenly dawned on me that I had not made any plans to actually get my drunken ass to the game. This might be a problem I thought. No worries! I was surrounded by a crew that knew where they were going, and Riggstad had the “Man Truck™” I was gold! Six of us piled into that thing and off we went.
Once at the top secret location, I started looking for my baby. I ran into a few friends just outside the front door as I was trying to work my way into the club. As if right on cue, Peb’s was just starting to head down the steps towards me. WHAT A HUG ! Anywho… Peb’s took me inside to see the set-up, get a drink and meet Big Dave, who was the fine gentleman that delivered her safely back into my arms. (Sir, I thank you once again from the bottom of my heart!) The set-up was pretty straight forward, with the tables set up in typical fashion and a control center for the buy-in and T/D area. There was a little time left before the game would start, so we had an impromptu cocktail hour. Everyone mingled around and new faces started to appear. This was the moment that I got to have another of my highlights of the weekend, my Kat hug! ;)
A little later on I see a head poking out around a small crowd of Bloggers, and it’s looking my way. As is always the case, it was great to see Astin once again. Knowing that VinNay made the trek down with Kat and Astin, it was time to seek him out. We found each other near the back tables and said our hello’s. But we also had a small bit of business to take care of. Two shots of Rum were raised and consumed, in the names of lost childhood friends. I haven’t come to terms as of yet with the loss of my friend, but that moment helped get the process started. If you have not read VinNay’s story about his loss, I highly recommend you do so HERE. It’s so beautifully written, about something that is terribly painful to express. My many thanks Vin, for helping me get on my way to dealing with my own loss.
The tables were drawn and I went to sit down. At first, I’d drawn Dawn Summers to my immediate left. Perticelli to hers, (?), Spaceman, (?), (?), The Rooster and then DonKaaa on my immediate right. With the players I knew at the table, I just knew I’d at least be having some fun. At the last moment, T/D Dave made an announcement that all the #10 players would be heading out to a different table. Our table lost DonKaaa and we were down to 9, with The Rooster now on my right.
The format for this game was outstanding! How good you ask? Suffice it to say that I actually played 4 hands total and still managed to make it to the 2 hr. and 20 minutes mark! That’s getting value for your buy-in and then some. Now mind you, it wasn’t actual poker value for me personally, but still there’s value in time at the table with good friends and new friends just the same. Making the game even better for me despite the deck giving me frostbite at the touch of the cards, was the table just behind my seated position. It was packed with all-star Donkament power and considering the re-buy format, you can maybe imagine the fun that was had there. You can read about their actual exploits along the way, over at their little corners of the interwebbie. Let me just say once again however, this was also one of those times where writing it just won’t translate the fun and emotion of actually living it. What a hoot!
So in the game, there were certain signs that it just might be a long night for me. Not long as in go deep, just loooooong! Of course I start by drawing the BB. Meh! Then I am dealt the 4-8 off for the first 5 hands. Consecutively! Sixth and seventh hands? “The Bammer” natch. In fact, I held the 9-3 off a near record 9 times in the first hour alone. That first hour made me honestly want to revert back to the old euchre day’s. No Ace, no face and no trump just kept running through my head. After casually folding through at least 3 orbits, I picked up a hand in my BB. There were two players interested and one was The Rooster. He’d played 85% of the hands so far and had accumulated a few chips along the way. With the raise and his call now in the pot, I figured this was as good a time as any to get some chips out there for myself. I made a pot sized raise. The initial raiser mucked instantly and the action was back on Rooster. After a short thought process and some chip shuffling, Rooster mucked his cards and said, “Your Aces are good Bam.” So I tabled the girly Hammer, 2-7 of Diamonds. I believe Rooster called it the Canadian Hammer at that time. Still just the same, I was trying to let the table know that I was ready to play.
The problem with that message is simple, if you don’t get anything to trap them with they’ll run all over you until you do. And that was where I was at, a brutally cold deck and some aggressive players in a re-buy. Not the best of situations. The only other hand I think I won, was played almost exactly like the Hammer hand against Rooster. The only difference was, this time it was one better than “The Bammer,” as a bet with a 9-4 off took the pot and pushed it my way. I won one other hand while holding my first pocket pair, (6-6) and hitting a set on the flop. A check-call on the flop and a check-raise on the turn, and my opponent lost interest in the hand. I decided to flash my set to the players at the table and tossed them face up at the muck. I think maybe only pert actually saw the hand, as the pot was pushed my way over the mucked cards. The cards were scooped and thrown face down into the pile. An opportunity wasted there for sure!
So it all comes down to one hand. I look down and see the same junk I’ve been getting and it’s folded around to me. I throw out my first actual lead off raise in two hours and it folds around to Spaceman in the BB. He makes a pretty quick call and we see a flop of J-J-x. After his check, I figured him for A-K, A-Q or a move based on the plays I’d made so far. My initial reaction was to check back and watch for danger on the turn. My gut said, push and take the pot. (stooopid gut!) I glanced at the board one more time before looking up and announcing all-in. Spaceman once again insta-called and I figured he had at least an over pair and I was screwed. Nope! J-9 off for the set, and I’m toast. So there you have it in a nutshell! My game was no cards, make two plays and win, catch finally and no one notices and make a play and lose. Weeeeeeeeee!
My Peb’s final tabled and finished in 7th. or 8th. I believe. At least there’s one NLHE player in the family! But you guy’s already knew that right? ;) She was the last TuckFard standing, (shouldn't that be sitting?) and I couldn't be more proud of her. She had Presto let her down while in push or fold mode.
I’ve got about ½ of the Pub Olympics and BASH information down on paper as of now, if I can get it all organized and making any sense at all, we’ll take a look at those events tomorrow.
Here's a couple more Pics to tide you over 'till then. When Falstaff and I say cheers, we mean it!
Here's a pre-dance shot of two white guy's about to tear up the floor.
My sincerest thanks for dropping by….
As we left The Pub, it suddenly dawned on me that I had not made any plans to actually get my drunken ass to the game. This might be a problem I thought. No worries! I was surrounded by a crew that knew where they were going, and Riggstad had the “Man Truck™” I was gold! Six of us piled into that thing and off we went.
Once at the top secret location, I started looking for my baby. I ran into a few friends just outside the front door as I was trying to work my way into the club. As if right on cue, Peb’s was just starting to head down the steps towards me. WHAT A HUG ! Anywho… Peb’s took me inside to see the set-up, get a drink and meet Big Dave, who was the fine gentleman that delivered her safely back into my arms. (Sir, I thank you once again from the bottom of my heart!) The set-up was pretty straight forward, with the tables set up in typical fashion and a control center for the buy-in and T/D area. There was a little time left before the game would start, so we had an impromptu cocktail hour. Everyone mingled around and new faces started to appear. This was the moment that I got to have another of my highlights of the weekend, my Kat hug! ;)
A little later on I see a head poking out around a small crowd of Bloggers, and it’s looking my way. As is always the case, it was great to see Astin once again. Knowing that VinNay made the trek down with Kat and Astin, it was time to seek him out. We found each other near the back tables and said our hello’s. But we also had a small bit of business to take care of. Two shots of Rum were raised and consumed, in the names of lost childhood friends. I haven’t come to terms as of yet with the loss of my friend, but that moment helped get the process started. If you have not read VinNay’s story about his loss, I highly recommend you do so HERE. It’s so beautifully written, about something that is terribly painful to express. My many thanks Vin, for helping me get on my way to dealing with my own loss.
The tables were drawn and I went to sit down. At first, I’d drawn Dawn Summers to my immediate left. Perticelli to hers, (?), Spaceman, (?), (?), The Rooster and then DonKaaa on my immediate right. With the players I knew at the table, I just knew I’d at least be having some fun. At the last moment, T/D Dave made an announcement that all the #10 players would be heading out to a different table. Our table lost DonKaaa and we were down to 9, with The Rooster now on my right.
The format for this game was outstanding! How good you ask? Suffice it to say that I actually played 4 hands total and still managed to make it to the 2 hr. and 20 minutes mark! That’s getting value for your buy-in and then some. Now mind you, it wasn’t actual poker value for me personally, but still there’s value in time at the table with good friends and new friends just the same. Making the game even better for me despite the deck giving me frostbite at the touch of the cards, was the table just behind my seated position. It was packed with all-star Donkament power and considering the re-buy format, you can maybe imagine the fun that was had there. You can read about their actual exploits along the way, over at their little corners of the interwebbie. Let me just say once again however, this was also one of those times where writing it just won’t translate the fun and emotion of actually living it. What a hoot!
So in the game, there were certain signs that it just might be a long night for me. Not long as in go deep, just loooooong! Of course I start by drawing the BB. Meh! Then I am dealt the 4-8 off for the first 5 hands. Consecutively! Sixth and seventh hands? “The Bammer” natch. In fact, I held the 9-3 off a near record 9 times in the first hour alone. That first hour made me honestly want to revert back to the old euchre day’s. No Ace, no face and no trump just kept running through my head. After casually folding through at least 3 orbits, I picked up a hand in my BB. There were two players interested and one was The Rooster. He’d played 85% of the hands so far and had accumulated a few chips along the way. With the raise and his call now in the pot, I figured this was as good a time as any to get some chips out there for myself. I made a pot sized raise. The initial raiser mucked instantly and the action was back on Rooster. After a short thought process and some chip shuffling, Rooster mucked his cards and said, “Your Aces are good Bam.” So I tabled the girly Hammer, 2-7 of Diamonds. I believe Rooster called it the Canadian Hammer at that time. Still just the same, I was trying to let the table know that I was ready to play.
The problem with that message is simple, if you don’t get anything to trap them with they’ll run all over you until you do. And that was where I was at, a brutally cold deck and some aggressive players in a re-buy. Not the best of situations. The only other hand I think I won, was played almost exactly like the Hammer hand against Rooster. The only difference was, this time it was one better than “The Bammer,” as a bet with a 9-4 off took the pot and pushed it my way. I won one other hand while holding my first pocket pair, (6-6) and hitting a set on the flop. A check-call on the flop and a check-raise on the turn, and my opponent lost interest in the hand. I decided to flash my set to the players at the table and tossed them face up at the muck. I think maybe only pert actually saw the hand, as the pot was pushed my way over the mucked cards. The cards were scooped and thrown face down into the pile. An opportunity wasted there for sure!
So it all comes down to one hand. I look down and see the same junk I’ve been getting and it’s folded around to me. I throw out my first actual lead off raise in two hours and it folds around to Spaceman in the BB. He makes a pretty quick call and we see a flop of J-J-x. After his check, I figured him for A-K, A-Q or a move based on the plays I’d made so far. My initial reaction was to check back and watch for danger on the turn. My gut said, push and take the pot. (stooopid gut!) I glanced at the board one more time before looking up and announcing all-in. Spaceman once again insta-called and I figured he had at least an over pair and I was screwed. Nope! J-9 off for the set, and I’m toast. So there you have it in a nutshell! My game was no cards, make two plays and win, catch finally and no one notices and make a play and lose. Weeeeeeeeee!
My Peb’s final tabled and finished in 7th. or 8th. I believe. At least there’s one NLHE player in the family! But you guy’s already knew that right? ;) She was the last TuckFard standing, (shouldn't that be sitting?) and I couldn't be more proud of her. She had Presto let her down while in push or fold mode.
I’ve got about ½ of the Pub Olympics and BASH information down on paper as of now, if I can get it all organized and making any sense at all, we’ll take a look at those events tomorrow.
Here's a couple more Pics to tide you over 'till then. When Falstaff and I say cheers, we mean it!
Here's a pre-dance shot of two white guy's about to tear up the floor.
My sincerest thanks for dropping by….
9/30/2008
The BASH.... looking back again....
A couple of things I did forget to mention about Thursday night. One was the prank that was pulled on me as I arrived at The Pub. Al of course, was in his usual spot and as we walked into The Pub, I saw his arms go up in the air and then heard the warm and welcoming, "Bam-Bam!" As has been the case in every instance I have found the man down in his little corner of heaven, there was a little hottie sitting right next to him. Now I'd learned in the past that this might be a staff member from The Pub, or an attempt at mutual satisfaction of the carnal variety. Since things appeared to, "quiet up" as we drew closer, I was cheering for Al and hoping for the latter! (It's just how I roll) So with brief hello's and how's it goin's out of the way, I shifted away from his, "action" and made room for him to do his thing. They both turn to face me and Al asks, "don't you know who this is?" My mindset was still locked on the "action for Al" campaign and I only casually glanced at the young lady. "It's EVY you Donkey!" said Al. Well, I think the look on my face must have indicated how surprised I was by the way we were introduced. I think once the twenty minutes or so of laughter and hugs finally subsided, I got to explain the situation as I saw it. Much more laughter ensued! Welcome to The BASH Bam-Bam!
There were also two others that made it for a short stint at The Pub on Thursday night; Riggs brought CK in for a drink, (or a dozen!) after picking her up from the airport. There's something pretty special about our boy Riggstad! We're just not sure if it's "short-bus" special, or special of another variety! I kid ! Riggs is not only a good read as a blogger but, I'm very happy and proud to call him my friend. CK and I have gotten together on several occasions and we've had an awful lot of fun. (Hmmmmm.... that has potential to become a blogger rumour! Ah well, at least I would get the best of it! ;) ) Seeing CK and getting "our hug" and my very favorite REMON! is always one of my highlights of any event. Getting to see her pound back 5, (or so ;) ) shots in about 25 minutes was hirarious! Not quite as hirarious as watching her get poured into Riggs Mantruck at the end of the night though. I hear there might have been a "fall down" involved somewhere along the way. But that is all just rumour without the prerequisite pics of course. Although there are some jumbled and miss-matched tales of some type of CK Lapdance™ being performed on the way to drop CK off, the only real proof of anything at all was the very content look Al had on his face, when he walked into The Pub in the morning. He just kept saying the same thing, over and over again. “Bendy! So bendy!” ;)
There’s also the story of “The Cigarette!” I personally choose to leave it at me saving a fine young man’s life and lungs. I’m just glad there was a side benefit for those of you that were there. Oh how I do like making you laugh. But for the record, should you perhaps be a young punk roaming the streets looking for a free cigarette…. I may just not be the guy to ask! There! Done and Done !
So let’s see, where did we leave off yesterday? ….. AH yes! Golf was done.
After Golf we all headed back to The Pub. That was the first time this trip that I had the pleasure of running into my friend and fellow BB, BadBlood. Back in December, we had a grand total of about 1 minute to get our introductions and any discussions out of the way. You see, we met during the minute before the Poker Tourney started. I told myself that that just wouldn’t be happening this time. And I can’t tell you how happy I am that I did. Over the course of the weekend we managed to sit down and shoot the shit several different times and I always came out the better for it. Specially since Blood, Al and I had a moment to ourselves to discuss a little music and some new groups I need to get to know.
Otis and The Rooster were in the house and just before I could make my way over to say a quick hey to them, I noticed that the “Minnesota Mountain” was headed my way. Drizz was also someone I wanted to make sure I got a little time with. As with BadBlood, our time together in Vegas was limited to a quick introduction up in the Sports Book at the I.P. I was very happy to spend a little quality time with him at the Bash. Even though his choice in NFL teams leaves a little to be desired. ;) I’m telling you Drizz! The compliments you were getting on how great you look in that Green and Gold alone, should be enough to sway you over to the dark side my friend! If that’s just not good enough for you, always remember that HOT CHICKS love the Packers too!
I was grabbing a drink when I noticed that some of the boy’s were playing a game of shuffleboard together. Remembering how much I wanted to meet everyone in Vegas but didn’t know who was who, I took brudder Carson and DonKaaa over for some introductions. This is the second bit of advice I would give anyone going to a blogger gathering. It’s important to make some time to talk to those you really, really want to of course, but try and consider those that are going through the process for the first time as well. Taking a moment to make an introduction or two, takes nothing but a random act of kindness. You may just be making the entire trip for someone out there.
The afternoon before Poker was spent catching up with everyone and having a really good time. I made a point of seeking out everyone I could. If they had someone with them that I didn’t recognize, I didn’t wait for an introduction. I knew that this was the time to get to know everyone I could, before the Pub Olympics took over the day on Saturday. I did manage to catch everyone in the room and I’m really glad I did. The familiar faces were great to see again, and the added bonus of meeting several new Bloggers, (to me) along the way, was just great. But now……. It was time to head off to the Poker. Even more importantly than that however, was that I was only minutes away from seeing my darling Peb’s.
For those that didn’t know, Pebbles was down in Atlantic City for the week. She was going to meet up with me at the game and I just couldn’t wait to get there! Thanks to the over whelming generousity of a great friend, Peb’s was picked up at Bally’s and delivered to the game on Friday night. I’ll never be able to properly thank you for that Riggs! You are the best!
Here's a couple of random shots taken throughout the weekend. The first, is me and "The Boy's." Any discussion with The Doc, BadBlood and Otis is well worth your time! If you get the chance, make the effort!
And of course for me, no event would ever be complete without my girls! The Wife & Kat are two of the best huggers I know! And of course my Peb's just rocked my world by joining in on the fun that is, The BASH!
Absoloutely no one believed me, when I asked about all the girls doing random "boob checks" on each other. I actually took a lot of flack about it at first. But now that I have the proof, I expect the next round to be on you guys. Here's Kat and Peb's making sure that everything is "OK" down there for CK. ;)
Here's brudder Carson and DonKaaa setting up shop in Al's office. Laugh all you will, but until you've experienced sitting in that corner and seeing how well it's set up for him to do "business" there, there's just no explaining the "AlCantHang" office experience.
I've got a great idea! Tomorrow, let’s poker!
My sincerest thanks for dropping by….
There were also two others that made it for a short stint at The Pub on Thursday night; Riggs brought CK in for a drink, (or a dozen!) after picking her up from the airport. There's something pretty special about our boy Riggstad! We're just not sure if it's "short-bus" special, or special of another variety! I kid ! Riggs is not only a good read as a blogger but, I'm very happy and proud to call him my friend. CK and I have gotten together on several occasions and we've had an awful lot of fun. (Hmmmmm.... that has potential to become a blogger rumour! Ah well, at least I would get the best of it! ;) ) Seeing CK and getting "our hug" and my very favorite REMON! is always one of my highlights of any event. Getting to see her pound back 5, (or so ;) ) shots in about 25 minutes was hirarious! Not quite as hirarious as watching her get poured into Riggs Mantruck at the end of the night though. I hear there might have been a "fall down" involved somewhere along the way. But that is all just rumour without the prerequisite pics of course. Although there are some jumbled and miss-matched tales of some type of CK Lapdance™ being performed on the way to drop CK off, the only real proof of anything at all was the very content look Al had on his face, when he walked into The Pub in the morning. He just kept saying the same thing, over and over again. “Bendy! So bendy!” ;)
There’s also the story of “The Cigarette!” I personally choose to leave it at me saving a fine young man’s life and lungs. I’m just glad there was a side benefit for those of you that were there. Oh how I do like making you laugh. But for the record, should you perhaps be a young punk roaming the streets looking for a free cigarette…. I may just not be the guy to ask! There! Done and Done !
So let’s see, where did we leave off yesterday? ….. AH yes! Golf was done.
After Golf we all headed back to The Pub. That was the first time this trip that I had the pleasure of running into my friend and fellow BB, BadBlood. Back in December, we had a grand total of about 1 minute to get our introductions and any discussions out of the way. You see, we met during the minute before the Poker Tourney started. I told myself that that just wouldn’t be happening this time. And I can’t tell you how happy I am that I did. Over the course of the weekend we managed to sit down and shoot the shit several different times and I always came out the better for it. Specially since Blood, Al and I had a moment to ourselves to discuss a little music and some new groups I need to get to know.
Otis and The Rooster were in the house and just before I could make my way over to say a quick hey to them, I noticed that the “Minnesota Mountain” was headed my way. Drizz was also someone I wanted to make sure I got a little time with. As with BadBlood, our time together in Vegas was limited to a quick introduction up in the Sports Book at the I.P. I was very happy to spend a little quality time with him at the Bash. Even though his choice in NFL teams leaves a little to be desired. ;) I’m telling you Drizz! The compliments you were getting on how great you look in that Green and Gold alone, should be enough to sway you over to the dark side my friend! If that’s just not good enough for you, always remember that HOT CHICKS love the Packers too!
I was grabbing a drink when I noticed that some of the boy’s were playing a game of shuffleboard together. Remembering how much I wanted to meet everyone in Vegas but didn’t know who was who, I took brudder Carson and DonKaaa over for some introductions. This is the second bit of advice I would give anyone going to a blogger gathering. It’s important to make some time to talk to those you really, really want to of course, but try and consider those that are going through the process for the first time as well. Taking a moment to make an introduction or two, takes nothing but a random act of kindness. You may just be making the entire trip for someone out there.
The afternoon before Poker was spent catching up with everyone and having a really good time. I made a point of seeking out everyone I could. If they had someone with them that I didn’t recognize, I didn’t wait for an introduction. I knew that this was the time to get to know everyone I could, before the Pub Olympics took over the day on Saturday. I did manage to catch everyone in the room and I’m really glad I did. The familiar faces were great to see again, and the added bonus of meeting several new Bloggers, (to me) along the way, was just great. But now……. It was time to head off to the Poker. Even more importantly than that however, was that I was only minutes away from seeing my darling Peb’s.
For those that didn’t know, Pebbles was down in Atlantic City for the week. She was going to meet up with me at the game and I just couldn’t wait to get there! Thanks to the over whelming generousity of a great friend, Peb’s was picked up at Bally’s and delivered to the game on Friday night. I’ll never be able to properly thank you for that Riggs! You are the best!
Here's a couple of random shots taken throughout the weekend. The first, is me and "The Boy's." Any discussion with The Doc, BadBlood and Otis is well worth your time! If you get the chance, make the effort!
And of course for me, no event would ever be complete without my girls! The Wife & Kat are two of the best huggers I know! And of course my Peb's just rocked my world by joining in on the fun that is, The BASH!
Absoloutely no one believed me, when I asked about all the girls doing random "boob checks" on each other. I actually took a lot of flack about it at first. But now that I have the proof, I expect the next round to be on you guys. Here's Kat and Peb's making sure that everything is "OK" down there for CK. ;)
Here's brudder Carson and DonKaaa setting up shop in Al's office. Laugh all you will, but until you've experienced sitting in that corner and seeing how well it's set up for him to do "business" there, there's just no explaining the "AlCantHang" office experience.
I've got a great idea! Tomorrow, let’s poker!
My sincerest thanks for dropping by….
9/29/2008
The Bash, a first look back....
One of the things I'm going to assume we'll all be reading a fair bit of over the next few day's, is "There's so much to tell, I just don't know where to begin!"
I know in my case, I could write my experiences at the Bash for two weeks straight. I mean, I really had a blast at the Bash. I knew going into this thing that it was going to be quite a bit different from our Vegas gatherings. The intimate location, the smaller group and the organization done so as to bring us all together a lot more often, all would make for a lot more opportunities to get in trouble have fun. And that’s what happened. A LOT!
The drive down Thursday with my boy’s DonKaaa and Brudder Carson was un-eventful and quick. It was just the three of us doing what we do best, laughing at ourselves and laughing at each other. As ALWAYS whenever the three of us get together, it’s gonna’ be good times. I’ll say it here again boy’s, thanks for making the trip with me. Would’ve been nowhere near the same experience, with out you both.
So this Bam walks into a Pub with two Tuckfards ! That’s how everything got started and it went a little crazy, from that point on. I said to the boy’s, “we’ll have a little warm-up and get some quiet time with Al, before the Bash really hits high gear!” Well, after 7/8 of the MaCallans bottle I’d asked Al to see if he could bring in for The Doc and ½ the keg of Yuengling’s on tap were gone, I was getting pretty close to warmed up. Al of course was in his usual form, and we were setting a pretty steady, safe and comfortable pace. (for the two of us I mean of course)
Doc had brutal travel issues and didn’t manage to get to The Tyler James Pub, before we shut the place down for the night. There was a Spaceman sighting however and let me tell you, that was a great thing! He and the lovely Rachel were not only a very pleasant surprise, but an absoloute delight to get to know a little. There were also three very special participants there on Thursday night, whom I’ve come to have a great deal of respect, admiration and fondness for over my last two trips to the Pub. There’s not a chance in hell they’ll ever read the drivel I put up here in my little piece of the Interweb, but if you’re down in Phoenixville and you don’t stop by The Pub to get to know Teri, Ashley and Mike, you’re missing something pretty damn spectacular! Three of the best there are out there PERIOD! Not only at what they do down at The Pub while on the clock, but great to be around in the social environment as well. All three in one way or another, made this an even more special event for me. If you run across any one of them in your travels, take the time and make the effort to get to know a little about them. Just promise me you’ll tell them that Bam say’s hello.
And so all in all, the “little warm-up,” was a great way to start the Bash!
Friday was one incredible event after another. A non-stop barrage of laughs, drinks and good times. Naturally since I’d closed the Pub the night before, it only made sense to open it up the next day. By Friday morning Ashley had mastered “the look.” The look that said, “yup! He needs a Scotch and a Beer.” Then she took it to the next level! “How many more bottles of MaCallans should we bring in for you and your friend?” I don’t know about you folks, but we definitely don’t see a lot of that kind of service and concern around these parts. I was very pleasantly surprised. We made arrangements to bring in a couple more bottles and since I was apparently on a roll and Dr. Chako would be making it over to The Pub in the very near future, I decided to have a little fun. When shots are ordered at The Pub, they are rather generous compared to the few spots I frequent around here. I’m not sure if it’s the, “you’re with Al” factor or not but I’d like to think it’s a, “you’re OK” thing or, “yeah, you get it!” type of thing as well. But suffice it to say as I looked around the bar as several drinks were being passed around to “Basher’s” and not “Basher’s” alike, we were definitely being taken very good care of. So I took one look at that MaCallans bottle and sized up the remains. There was definitely one of “my” sized drinks, plus about enough for a regular 1 ounce shot left. PERFECT ! I ordered a Scotch and sat back for the fun. (with the help of Al and Ashley!) Al announced, “I told Chako the Canadians were still going golfing, he say’s wait for him!”
As Dr. Chako made his approach from about 50 feet away, I got that feeling that you get when you are meeting someone face-to-face for the very first time, and you just KNOW it’s gonna’ be pretty special. And it was! Manly man-hugs ensued and smiles were aplenty. But that just wasn’t good enough! I needed to get him set up. This man needs a shot of that MaCallans we had brought in, specifically just for him! “Ashley!” I boomed across the bar floor. “Get my friend here a shot of that Macallans please hun.” Well! The look on his face as that bottle ran empty less than halfway up the glass full of ice…… well…. priceless just doesn’t do it any justice. I roared…… Al roared….. and eventually, Dr. Chako roared as well. Moments really have to be lived to truly understand what they mean at the time. I know three of us that wish you could have been there for that one.
There was some time for a little chat and some time for in The Doc’s case, a “little” drink. Then, despite the weak-ass excuse for rain outdoors, The Doc., DonKaaa, Brudder Carson and I went out for Golf game. I have to admit, that this was the first time at The Bash where I got a little greedy. Two per cart could only mean one thing, Chako’s ridin’ with me and we’re partners! The Boy’s and I Golf together all the time and The Doc. will get spread out pretty thin, as The Bash wears on. This was my chance to spend a little quality time with the man, one on one. And honestly Sir….. The pleasure was truly all mine!
We started out so well too, as The Doc. dropped a pretty clutch putt on the very first hole to give us the 1-up lead. I was stoked! I really only had two problems. Firstly, I was honestly more interested in our conversations than anything that was going on in the Golf game. Secondly, the ground was saturated with rainwater. Like spongy saturated! I’m a down-striker in golf, meaning I hit pretty hard down on the ball and take pretty solid divots. If I tried that on Friday, I probably would have broken my wrist with the 40” divots I’d be trying to take. Friday was a “pickers” day. I needed to change up my game. I never really hit any spectacular shots and actually had a little bit of a hard time getting anything going. I was pretty solid off the tee, as there was less of an impact from the ground conditions. But my approach shots were just awful! DonKaaa and Carson crept their way back into a tie. It all came down to the last hole, as we were now all square. The pressure was really on! Tee-shots away…….. slight advantage team DonKaaa/Carson. Approach shots away….. dead even! Last chip to the green…… Team DonKaaa/Carson stuff it in tight and it’s a gimme. I go first and leave it a little too short. Dr. Chako takes dead aim and releases his chip towards the cup…… and it run’s to about 5 feet. We have a tough slider to the left and neither of us can manage to make the shot. We have been defeated. Never had so much fun losing in my life! Thank guy’s! Oh and one other thing to take away from this game! If Dr. Chako happens to be in your foursome anytime soon, you might want to make sure that YOU drive the cart! .. ;)
We’ll finish off Friday tomorrow. There’ just so damn much to write about!
My sincerest thanks for dropping by….
I know in my case, I could write my experiences at the Bash for two weeks straight. I mean, I really had a blast at the Bash. I knew going into this thing that it was going to be quite a bit different from our Vegas gatherings. The intimate location, the smaller group and the organization done so as to bring us all together a lot more often, all would make for a lot more opportunities to get in trouble have fun. And that’s what happened. A LOT!
The drive down Thursday with my boy’s DonKaaa and Brudder Carson was un-eventful and quick. It was just the three of us doing what we do best, laughing at ourselves and laughing at each other. As ALWAYS whenever the three of us get together, it’s gonna’ be good times. I’ll say it here again boy’s, thanks for making the trip with me. Would’ve been nowhere near the same experience, with out you both.
So this Bam walks into a Pub with two Tuckfards ! That’s how everything got started and it went a little crazy, from that point on. I said to the boy’s, “we’ll have a little warm-up and get some quiet time with Al, before the Bash really hits high gear!” Well, after 7/8 of the MaCallans bottle I’d asked Al to see if he could bring in for The Doc and ½ the keg of Yuengling’s on tap were gone, I was getting pretty close to warmed up. Al of course was in his usual form, and we were setting a pretty steady, safe and comfortable pace. (for the two of us I mean of course)
Doc had brutal travel issues and didn’t manage to get to The Tyler James Pub, before we shut the place down for the night. There was a Spaceman sighting however and let me tell you, that was a great thing! He and the lovely Rachel were not only a very pleasant surprise, but an absoloute delight to get to know a little. There were also three very special participants there on Thursday night, whom I’ve come to have a great deal of respect, admiration and fondness for over my last two trips to the Pub. There’s not a chance in hell they’ll ever read the drivel I put up here in my little piece of the Interweb, but if you’re down in Phoenixville and you don’t stop by The Pub to get to know Teri, Ashley and Mike, you’re missing something pretty damn spectacular! Three of the best there are out there PERIOD! Not only at what they do down at The Pub while on the clock, but great to be around in the social environment as well. All three in one way or another, made this an even more special event for me. If you run across any one of them in your travels, take the time and make the effort to get to know a little about them. Just promise me you’ll tell them that Bam say’s hello.
And so all in all, the “little warm-up,” was a great way to start the Bash!
Friday was one incredible event after another. A non-stop barrage of laughs, drinks and good times. Naturally since I’d closed the Pub the night before, it only made sense to open it up the next day. By Friday morning Ashley had mastered “the look.” The look that said, “yup! He needs a Scotch and a Beer.” Then she took it to the next level! “How many more bottles of MaCallans should we bring in for you and your friend?” I don’t know about you folks, but we definitely don’t see a lot of that kind of service and concern around these parts. I was very pleasantly surprised. We made arrangements to bring in a couple more bottles and since I was apparently on a roll and Dr. Chako would be making it over to The Pub in the very near future, I decided to have a little fun. When shots are ordered at The Pub, they are rather generous compared to the few spots I frequent around here. I’m not sure if it’s the, “you’re with Al” factor or not but I’d like to think it’s a, “you’re OK” thing or, “yeah, you get it!” type of thing as well. But suffice it to say as I looked around the bar as several drinks were being passed around to “Basher’s” and not “Basher’s” alike, we were definitely being taken very good care of. So I took one look at that MaCallans bottle and sized up the remains. There was definitely one of “my” sized drinks, plus about enough for a regular 1 ounce shot left. PERFECT ! I ordered a Scotch and sat back for the fun. (with the help of Al and Ashley!) Al announced, “I told Chako the Canadians were still going golfing, he say’s wait for him!”
As Dr. Chako made his approach from about 50 feet away, I got that feeling that you get when you are meeting someone face-to-face for the very first time, and you just KNOW it’s gonna’ be pretty special. And it was! Manly man-hugs ensued and smiles were aplenty. But that just wasn’t good enough! I needed to get him set up. This man needs a shot of that MaCallans we had brought in, specifically just for him! “Ashley!” I boomed across the bar floor. “Get my friend here a shot of that Macallans please hun.” Well! The look on his face as that bottle ran empty less than halfway up the glass full of ice…… well…. priceless just doesn’t do it any justice. I roared…… Al roared….. and eventually, Dr. Chako roared as well. Moments really have to be lived to truly understand what they mean at the time. I know three of us that wish you could have been there for that one.
There was some time for a little chat and some time for in The Doc’s case, a “little” drink. Then, despite the weak-ass excuse for rain outdoors, The Doc., DonKaaa, Brudder Carson and I went out for Golf game. I have to admit, that this was the first time at The Bash where I got a little greedy. Two per cart could only mean one thing, Chako’s ridin’ with me and we’re partners! The Boy’s and I Golf together all the time and The Doc. will get spread out pretty thin, as The Bash wears on. This was my chance to spend a little quality time with the man, one on one. And honestly Sir….. The pleasure was truly all mine!
We started out so well too, as The Doc. dropped a pretty clutch putt on the very first hole to give us the 1-up lead. I was stoked! I really only had two problems. Firstly, I was honestly more interested in our conversations than anything that was going on in the Golf game. Secondly, the ground was saturated with rainwater. Like spongy saturated! I’m a down-striker in golf, meaning I hit pretty hard down on the ball and take pretty solid divots. If I tried that on Friday, I probably would have broken my wrist with the 40” divots I’d be trying to take. Friday was a “pickers” day. I needed to change up my game. I never really hit any spectacular shots and actually had a little bit of a hard time getting anything going. I was pretty solid off the tee, as there was less of an impact from the ground conditions. But my approach shots were just awful! DonKaaa and Carson crept their way back into a tie. It all came down to the last hole, as we were now all square. The pressure was really on! Tee-shots away…….. slight advantage team DonKaaa/Carson. Approach shots away….. dead even! Last chip to the green…… Team DonKaaa/Carson stuff it in tight and it’s a gimme. I go first and leave it a little too short. Dr. Chako takes dead aim and releases his chip towards the cup…… and it run’s to about 5 feet. We have a tough slider to the left and neither of us can manage to make the shot. We have been defeated. Never had so much fun losing in my life! Thank guy’s! Oh and one other thing to take away from this game! If Dr. Chako happens to be in your foursome anytime soon, you might want to make sure that YOU drive the cart! .. ;)
We’ll finish off Friday tomorrow. There’ just so damn much to write about!
My sincerest thanks for dropping by….
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