Quite the motley crew, at least on the outside. But on the inside, not a dud in the bunch. You've all read my posts about my moments of self doubt; there are many times where I just don't feel like a very good human. But I looked at this picture and I realized that if people as funny, witty, sweet, warm, kind, intelligent, fun-loving, cheerful, and generally fabulous as these call me pal, then I must not be nearly as bad a human as I think.

My god, that was fun. I have to say, I enjoyed it more than the Vegas gatherings. Not that those aren't fun as hell, but the energy is frenetic and there is just so much to do and so many people to try and chat with. You can't leave Vegas without thinking that you missed something really good. Not so with Okie Vegas; there was more than enough time to chill and talk with people. Gary and his wife Carrie have to be the best hosts ever, and made sure everyone had fun, food and beer whenever they needed it.

There are parts that I don't think I could describe, even if I wanted to; there are some experiences that I greedily want to hold close and not share. Experiences like bloggers taking over a table at the Riverwind, my delight at the Crow's Nest bar, hanging out in the porch at Gary's lake place, eating barbecue, the karaoke.

Oh man, the karaoke....Gary's wife, Carrie, rocks the house! And while I was pretty sure that I could never get drunk enough to sing in front of people again, I jumped in on Skidoo's rendition of Blister in the Sun by the Violent Femmes and had a blast! And yes it was recorded. Ask Gracie nicely and she might show it to you.

I was going through my 100+ photos of the weekend and Hunny Bunny asked me what were my favourites. I'd have to say these two:



Just two of the many shots taken when Maudie, Gracie and I went to the lake armed with cameras. The cicadas were loud as hell, but were often drowned out by the laughter. (In an unrelated sidenote, if you ever need some cheesecake / glamour / boobie photos taken, call Gracie...the girl's got mad skillz at making one comfortable in front of a camera.)

I made sure I had a notebook with me, as it's been proven that my memory is unreliable, even more so after a few Keystone Lights. Some of the best quotes of the weekend

• "I guess I'm priced in." This goober at the Riverwind kept saying this as he called yet again. It became the joke of the weekend.
• Gary to TripJax: "I think that cigar's way too big for your pretty little head"
  
• Maudie to the table during the SnG at her house: " Everyone is so quiet - do we need to get a computer and get the chat going?"
• Gary to Maudie as she rivers a Q to beat SkiDoo's 77: "Your random number generator appears to be fixed!"
• Gary to the table at the Okie tourney: "George's new Indian name is Limps-With-Kings."
• Gracie after looking at the Koozie collection: "Oklahoma's new license plate slogan is Oklahoma: the Koozie State!"
• Yestbay after I get a hammer boat during Chinese Poker: "That's a Home Depot hand - it's the house of hammers."

Man, that was one freakingly funny weekend.

But since this is mostly a poker blog, I better talk about the poker at some point. So here we go.

Short version:
I won. The earth has tilted on its axis and the apocalypse is imminent.



It's a blur. But one thing I do know is that it's four days later and I still feel horrible about crippling Gracie when her slow-played flopped straight was beaten by my full house and for taking Maudie out with a four-flush. Four flushes are so, so dirty.

My one and only regret for the weekend is that I still haven't gotten my picture taken with Lucky Kitty

Edit: Kudos to Instant Tragedy - not only did he drive in the dark of night to get to the lake, he also brought a tonne of swag, including the new Okie-Vegas trophy which currently resides next to my computer.

****

So. When is the next one? *grin

Edit: talked to Hunny Bunny last night about this, and pending any gigs for him, he's IN. It goes without saying that I'll be there.

****

Post-Okie Epiphany:

I am not now nor have I ever been one of those women who gets her self-esteem from her outside. No matter how lumpy it may be, my exterior is not what I'm about. (It's all about the bitchy interior, right Sean? *grin)

That being said however, I am a tad distressed by the extent of the pear-shape that I'm seeing in the Okie pictures. Plus my doctor is getting on my case a bit and rightfully so - why should she bother to try and fix what ails me if I won't meet her in the middle?

So I'm joining Gracie in her challenge - 30 lbs by the WPBT Winter Classic. Because apparently looking better, feeling healthy or fitting into my skinny clothes again isn't enough incentive; it's all about the $.