Gambling

I had a busy weekend jam packed full of events. It was a little too cramped for my taste, and I've spent some time processing it. I rode the motorcycle down to Louisville for a Celebration event honoring the weekend work I and thirty other women did with Woman Within. I rode with a group of women who were headed for New Albany, specifically Cesar's Casino. Somehow they got rooms comped for the night and we were going to take advantage. We avoided the interstate, and the ride down was goregeous once we got south of Franklin. We eventually hit 135 and snaked through Nashville twisting through forests and winding around cornfields. Lots of beans and corn this year. For some reason the bean fields smelled like onion. Maybe there were onions out there, too. I had to break off from the group when we hit 60 so I could get to my event on time. I threw on my helmet, kicked it into 6th and peeled off towards I-65 at 100 mph.

I was feeling shakey and rushed when I arrived. I had to change; the shirt I had packed for the event somehow got ruined while in my bag and that really pissed me off. I wanted to look cool, and instead I was wearing a slick pair of grey trousers with a light pinstripe with a brown on beige striped t-shirt. Ugh. But I did it, and it was fine. I managed to get centered and get into the moment.

After the cermony I invited a woman to hang out with me and the group of women I rode down with to Connections. At least that was the idea. I got back late; most of the ladies were ready for a nightcap and bed. Lesbians are in bed by 11pm. Sheesh. That's when the party is just kicking off. I had never been to a casino before, and I was determined to spend some dough. The lady I invited, I'll call her Virginia, was definitely down for some gambling. She's primarily a slots gal which is the way to go odds-wise as far as best return on "investment". I personally find the slots dismal. I like holding on to the myth that I am somehow in control in a game of chance so it's no wonder that craps appealed the most to me.

I didn't have a good time gambling for two major reasons. The cheapest tables had 15 dollar minimums, and I was the only one I knew playing them. I started the evening with blackjack. Boom boom boom boom. Ninety seconds later and sixty dollars down I decided to end that train wreck. That's when I wandered over to the craps table. I had no idea what I was doing and only picked it up by watching for about 20 minutes so I was missing a lot of information. I actually won some dough playing craps, but really it was just enough to cover the losses incurred at the end of a run, and eventually - inevitably - the house got my money. I was only able to slow my roll with the craps table (hah!) and I really enjoyed throwing the dice. All in all I lost $140, and I experienced gambling, an activity of which I've had my fill. I felt like I was throwing my money away surrounded by fish-eyed slot zombies. At least in a strip bar I get to see naked people.

The next day I split off from the group again this time to get back to town to do some work. I took the long way back until I hit Nashville. Again, totally beautiful ride. Just enough clouds in the sky to make it pretty. In Nashville there was some bad accident where someone took out a transformer and the entire town was dark. No gas. So I ended up turning around and headed to Columbus. I burned up I-65 until I hit my exit home.

I took this trip thinking I could get my work done on Sunday whenever I wanted as long as it went well. Well, this upgrade I had to do - that was tested in our lab - didn't go well. In fact it broke things in a very bizarre way. After 8 hours of troubleshooting to get a good idea of what had happened I rolled it back. Apparently, this was the wrong thing to do, and my decision to make the change six hours after I said I would was called into question. Erp. I feel a little miffed about the whole thing. Yes, I didn't do something when I said I was going to do it, but that would not have mitigated the impact. Monday was rough.

Tonight, I'm playing a hockey scrimmage breaking a drought of over a year. I'm psyched to get back on the ice in earnest. Hockey is one of the most exhilirating sports I've ever played, and I could use a little good competition vibe.