All the best in '09

Happy happy new years to all!

Had a pretty interesting experience to end off '08 and I realized I'm really more of an easy-night-out-with-close-friends kinda girl lol. Looking at the pics of Bungalow where Huyen, Syd, and Jere spent their new years, I really wished they were either in L.A. with me or I had just taken it easy back home with them. That isn't to say I didn't have an extraordinary night...I now know where to go if I ever do want to party damn hard again. 

The two days leading up to NYE was pretty rough at the tables for me. After the fiasco where I got stacked my last hand, I didn't feel like playing the next day until I was starving at 2 a.m. the next night with absolutely no food options except the casino. I had just come back home from the mall after spending $60 for cab fare to and from the mall, and getting nothing except some Victoria's Secret stuff for friends (we don't have it in Canada), and having my nails done. I guess I should have planned to get to the mall earlier rather than two hours before they close, but walking up at 6pm only meant 6 hours of sleep from a traumatizing night lol. So getting back to the story, I decided wee in the morning that I would call for a casino ride there, since the taxi service the hotel arranges is very inefficient, rude, and a total ripoff. I ended up speaking to 5 different casino representatives as they transferred me to different operators and finally got hung up on twice after being put on hold. I now know the driver by name after getting a ride back from him every night, and yet they can't find the right person to transfer me to drive me two damn blocks. Argh. 

So of course being the stubborn person I am, I decided to walk there by myself. I have been rigorously warned about the precautions to take while traveling to and from the Commerce, but I was damn hungry >.<

However, as soon as I stepped out, I headed back in again after walking a few meters. It was damn scary! The fog made it impossible to see clearly a few steps in front of you, and having never walked there yet, I was uncertain of the exact path to take. Logic rang an alarm in my head, so after some more deliberation I decided to head back in. I was so frustrated! I contemplated what I should do for the rest of the night: force myself to sleep until breakfast? Give in and call a crappy cab after almost getting in a fight with the last drivers? As I was thinking, I wandered to the fitness centre. It was a 24 hour facility that required a cardkey to get in. I checked out the impressive machines and clean change rooms, and couldn't wait to eat something so I'd have the energy to actually make use of the place. As I tried to leave, I realized my key no longer worked to get out. WTF -.- Someone had to be messing with me today! I tried every exit, but was on complete lockdown from the rest of the hotel, except for one door that led to an exit at the very back of the building to a street I didn't recognize. Ironically as I went out through this mystery door, I was able to see the main street that both the Commerce and my hotel were on. What the heck, I decided to walk it out...

Let me tell you, I have made some stupid decisions by putting myself in unsafe situations when I was younger, but that's cause I was too stubborn to truly understand the risks. This walk could have rivaled any horror movie scene, as only two cars passed me during the entire journey. The scary part, however, was that there were nothing but trees most of the way to my left, nothing visible within a few meter radius due to the fog, and a huge industrial street on my right, with a major highway beside that. Even if I screamed if something happened to me, I doubt anyone could really hear due to the traffic of the freeway and low visibility of the area. Anywho so I was glad to have made it to the Commerce in one piece, and I was ready for my noodles! I went to the washroom to dry up from the misty light rain and got seated at a short-handed table. Let me tell you I was not playing good poker that night. My mind was in a thousand places and I definitely should not have sat down at a table of regulars who were obviously glad to have me there. After being involved in a few difficult situations that left me withdrawing from the cage, I was really glad to see Tri! A familiar face in a tough city is definitely priceless as I enthusiastically told him about my abominable day. He ended up sitting at my table and offered his timeless wisdom as he continued to laugh at me for given a hard time by the floor people and always ending up with the second best hand the whole night. It was definitely quite the damage control session. 

Afterwards he asked me to accompany him to the laundromat, so I agreed, hoping to get some more poker advice in return :) He gave me some really helpful metagame advice and I've been putting lots of thought into it ever since then. I haven't hopped on the tables since because I'm still partially recovering from a physically demanding night, but players better watch out when I do :)