Well I haven’t posted anything in a while, so I reckon I’ll give a little update. I’ve been on a few trips lately; Flew up to Portland for a frisbee tournament last weekend (which was sweet, though we got pretty owned), and I’m back home in Florida now for a week or so. It is unreasonably hot and humid here now. I suppose I’ve gone soft, since I used to do silly things like run at cross country practice every day in August and September without really being so concerned about those things. I’ll be attending the Jaguars preseason game on Saturday, which should be great. Preseason games always lack a little of the intensity of regular season ones, with both the players and the fans, but they’re still a good time. One of the best things to do in Jacksonville, really. After that is probably golf and the beach, and after that, well… At least I’ve still got good friends in town who I haven’t seen in a while.
Another thing about Jacksonville that is strange to me now is the presence (nay, abundance!) of teenagers. I so rarely see them now, since San Francisco is a city populated in majority by young post-college adults. Teenagers are pretty much just like little awkward adults, though to be fair I generally find myself to be pretty awkward around them too, especially if they are in a large group. And I’m certainly not suggesting that I was a smooth operator myself back in the day (except when it came to math competitions!). Actually, the last team we played on Sunday in Portland was a high-school all-star team from Eugene. They crushed us, primarily because, being teenagers, they lacked the hangovers customary to our Sunday squad. They were also very good at ultimate though, and had an enthusiastic coach who was really teaching them actively as the game went along. I wish I had started playing ultimate when I was young, although it wasn’t a competitive sport among Florida kids when I was growing up (and doesn’t seem to be one yet, unless the high schools started forming teams and competing when I wasn’t looking).
Another discovery of the tournament was that Citrus Cooler Gatorade still exists! Yahtzee! Back in the day (before the advent of ‘Frost’ and ‘Rain’ and ‘A.M.’ and ‘Extremo’ and other such crazy flavors) it was my favorite. I don’t know why it ever fell out of favor, really (though the same can not be said for Tropical Punch. Good riddance!) I just wish it was stocked in more places. Perhaps I’ll order a few cases on the internets, if thats possible. Side note: it actually is labeled as ‘Extremo’ now. Really? Its one of the most mild flavors available. Stupid marketing department.
My flight home from San Francisco was unfortunately eventful, as it was scheduled to route through Houston when there was a tropical storm sitting on top of the city. My first flight was scheduled to leave at 6 AM from SF. Now, knowing me, that was not an early morning flight, but a late night one. I went ahead and stayed up a few extra hours and left for the airport at 5 or so. We actually loaded the plane on time, and I went to sleep in my exit row seat. (Unfortunately it was in the front of the two exit rows, so while my legroom was slightly extended my seatback wouldn’t recline. So it goes.) The captain informed us of possible delays, but I wasn’t paying too much attention because I was sleepy. About 45 minutes later, he unloaded us off of the plane because the expected delay had reached something along the lines of 5-7 hours. Sigh. I sleepily trudged to the customer service desk to try and get moved to a different route or something, but after waiting in line for slightly too long I learned that there wasn’t anything they could do, and the other airlines who might have options weren’t picking up their phones. So I snagged a bagel and some juice, ate it, then went to pass out on the floor in a corner until the situation improved. Surprisingly, it only took another hour or so before we were shuffled back onto the plane and sent to Houston. We arrived just in time for me to miss my connection flight, so I went to figure out what my options were. Fortunately, a service person came up to us in line for the desk and handed out our passes, which had been pre-printed for us (imagine that!). Unfortunately, my new flight was set for 7:30PM, which was about a 5 hour layover. Too long for me. I headed to a completely different terminal, where the 4:30 flight was leaving from, in an attempt to bump myself to the earlier flight, which wouldn’t actually be all that bad. The representative informed me that I could take a seat on that flight, but that it was a smaller plane and thus more likely to be delayed or cancelled due to the weather (which didn’t actually seem that bad from inside the airport). If I took that option, she said, my other ticket would be forfeited, and that plane would probably fill up by that point. I found this rule to be ridiculous, but saw no point in arguing with her, since the ability to use reason and logic did not seem to be in her skill-set. I opted to take an earlier seat (fortune favors the bold!) and it successfully departed on time, delivering me home slightly before the sun set. I had just enough time to grab some food at Chilis (though they were out of broccoli cheese soup, grrrrr). I guess that story is pretty boring, but if theres any lesson to take from it, its don’t fly any airline except Virgin America or Southwest (I’ve heard good things about jetblue too, but haven’t availed them of their services yet).
Things on the poker front are rather uneventful, I guess. I haven’t played a ton of hands lately, and most of what I have played has been somewhat breakeven. I’m totally due for a big upswing soon, but until I start putting in lots of hands I don’t know if it can really be all that big. I think I’ll endeavor to really grind it out in September, and the days I can between now and then, too. Let us gogogo!
Sometimes there's a man... and I'm talking about the Dude, here. Sometimes there's a man who, well, he's the man for his time and place.