I've just been informed it's Friday (imagine that). I'm almost looking forward to a regular schedule so I know what damn day it is.

And if it's Friday, then it's time for the Friday Night Bloggerment, on Full Tilt at 9 (details on the right sidebar). However, Hunny Bunny is taking me on a date to see Second City tonight, another installment in making the most of our last remaining days to goof off before school and work hits us both.

I'm not going to unregister though - enjoy fighting over the two bucks *grin.

Hope you all have a great long weekend!

Where the fuck is my mind?

When you see it, can you send it home? I kinda need it.

****

I had signed up for the Mookie, but then unregistered for a number of reasons. At the eleventh hour I signed back up, looking for some distraction. I think I played well for about twelve and a half minutes. Tops. Maybe.

My head is not in it, my heart is not in it. I let myself get pushed around, and didn't even make the slightest effort to count outs or odds. I actually wish I wasn't playing with bloggers - my play was so bad, it's embarrassing.

I can't wait for the club to open again...I need to play live.

****

Speaking of live poker, VEGAS IS BOOKED!

Thanks to some very visible unpaid work at the school over the last few weeks, there was NO problem to get time off in December, even though it is report card time.

Hunny Bunny booked us yesterday, leaving Buffalo on Thursday, staying at the IP, then coming home on Monday. If all goes according to plan, we'll be seeing you bitches at the Geisha bar on Thursday night around 11:30 pm. Hunny Bunny is under this deluded idea that we'll be checking in and heading right to room to stay and sleep (it'll be late you know).

He's so funny.

****

A VERY Happy Anniversary to Mr. and Mrs. GCox, two of the most amazing people I've met. These two fit together like biscuits and gravy, beer and karaoke.

Can't wait to see you both again in December!

Hell defined

Do you define Hell as being in an all-day meeting, confined in a small room that has no A/C in August as you provide the Luddites with computer training so they can do their jobs better/easier, only to have them resist you in some pretty unique passive/aggressive ways?

I do. Because I've been there.

And I'm doing it all over again tomorrow.

Yay.


****


Sometimes when I'm really bored (or procrastinating) I like to sift through my blog stats. Statcounter.com really gives you a tonne of info for free, and it amuses me to see the keywords some people use only to end up on my site:
  • kat bitch goddess
  • catwoman porn
  • thumbwar rules
  • poker stopped being fun
OK, this last one is kinda sad really, mostly because it's true. There is just too much stuff going on right now; I can't seem to immerse myself in my favourite obsession.

I lie - Last nights poker was fun - played the Monkey tourney on Stars, formerly known as the WWdN. There were chats, there was some fun trash talking with Astin and Brain. And somehow I find I am knitting a poker voodoo doll as a bounty to send to Brain.

And I didn't even have a martini.

****

Never met a meme I didn't like

My school year officially starts tomorrow with a full day of meetings.

Yippee.

So kids, it's procrastination time again! Without further ado I bring you my version of the iPod lyric meme:


  1. Look. Look, John, look. See Spot run. Run, Spot, run. Run, run, run.
  2. Roll out the fat red carpet, so I can walk. Hook up those microphones, so I can talk.
  3. I can already hear your tune, calling me across the room. When the world and his wife are on my back again, not enough pleasure, too much pain.
  4. I got a gal who lives on the wrong side of town, I know what I like and man you know I sure know how.
  5. Sounds like a signal from you. Bring me to meet your sound, and I will bring you to my heart.
  6. The Bishop in the sky wants to tweak your thigh. Spirit made flesh in black silken mesh. The monster wants her, his lust has new designs, teething, seething, his greed is undefined.
  7. Colour me your colour, baby. Colour me your car. Colour me your colour, darling. I know who you are.
  8. She makes me wanna die. Follow where Mary goes. Cherish the things she knows. Says if I change my stride, then I'll fly.
  9. Well I'm just outta school, like I'm real real cool. Gotta dance like a fool, got the message that I gotta be a wild one. Ooh yeah I'm a wild one.
  10. I liked it, I liked it a lot. Step there, sooner than not. Right there, there on the ground. Did I say I liked it? Yes you did.
  11. You had the best, but you gave her up, 'coz dependency might interrupt.
  12. I was born of misintention and my future isn't fate. I was born to struggle in vain.
  13. She came from Planet Claire, I knew she came from there. She drove a Plymouth Satellite faster than the speed of light.
  14. The beauty of her, under electric light. (x2) tears my heart out everytime.
  15. If you see me walking down the street, and I start to cry each time we meet, walk on by, walk on by.
  16. I'll pray, and pray, that your country undergoes recovery.
  17. Welcome to your life. There's no turning back. Even while we sleep, we will find you acting on your best behaviour. Everyone wants to rule the world.
  18. No freaking idea what the lyrics are - knowing the Cocteau Twins, I doubt there are any.
  19. Take me down, six underground, the ground beneath your feet.
  20. A little less conversation, a little more action please. All this aggravation ain't satisfactionin' me.


****

And the culprits are:

  1. Baby Judy by Hawaiian Pups.
  2. Good Girl Down, Morcheeba
  3. Swamp Thing, Chameleons
  4. cemetery, headstones
  5. Spiritual High, Chrissie Hynde/Vangelis
  6. Swing Shift, Nash the Slash
  7. Call Me, Blondie
  8. She Makes Me Wanna Die, Tricky
  9. Real Wild child, Iggy Pop
  10. I Like It, Moby
  11. Happy Now, No doubt
  12. Haven't Gone Away, Econoline Crush
  13. Planet Claire, B-52's
  14. Electric Light, PJ Harvey
  15. Walk on By, covered by The Stranglers
  16. Godlike, KMFDM
  17. Everybody Wants to Rule the World, covered by Patti Smith
  18. How to Bring a Blush to the Snow, Cocteau Twins
  19. 6 Underground, Sneaker Pimps
  20. A Little Less Conversation, Elvis Presley

Boobie post


Many thanks to everyone for the thoughts and well wishes. It truly means the world.

****

To paraphrase Douglas Adams, it's no coincidence that in no known language does the phrase "As comforting as a hospital" appear.

Other than the fact that my left boob is sore as hell, I have no results from yesterday's squishing and mashing to report. Technicians can't say a damn thing about the images they see. I did sneak a peek at the ultrasound screen and when I asked the tech what the black spots were that she was measuring, all she could say was "Irregularities". So I have to wait until my mid-September appointment with my doctor to get the results of the squish-and-mash as well as the bloodwork.

And while I am not an especially patient person, I'm also not willing to count the days or to play the what-if game and scare myself. There's nothing I can do right now, so I think I'll do nothing. School starts in thirteen days (eeeeeek!) and since I have not touched a course of study or lesson plan all summer, I have more than enough to keep me occupied.

****

My older brother sent me this; it made me smile.

Perfect boobies:
(o)(o)

Fake silicone boobies:
( + )( + )

Perky boobies:
(*)(*)

Big nipple boobies:
(@)(@)

A cups:
o o

D cups:
{ O }{ O }

Wonder bra boobies:
(oYo)

Cold boobies:
( ^ )( ^ )

Lopsided boobies:
(o)(O)

Pierced nipple boobies:
(Q)(O)

Hanging tassels boobies:
(p)(p)

Grandma's boobies:
\ o /\ o /

Against The Shower Door boobies:
( )( )

Android boobies:
| o | | o |

Mammogramed boobies:
___ ___



Ladies, feel your boobies. Better yet, get someone else to do it...it's way more fun!

This is why one should not play poker when one is not in the fucking mood. First fucking hand:

Full Tilt Poker Game #3315053276: Mondays at the Hoy (23773887), Table 1 - 15/30 - No Limit Hold'em - 22:01:00 ET - 2007/08/20
RecessRampage posts the small blind of 15
HughDuffy posts the big blind of 30
The button is in seat #9
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to katitude [Js Jc]
Julius_Goat folds
surflexus folds
RecessRampage: gl as long as it's not against me
columbo has 15 seconds left to act
columbo calls 30
wwonka69 folds
katitude raises to 90
emptyman has 15 seconds left to act
emptyman is sitting out
emptyman has timed out
emptyman folds
RecessRampage calls 75
HughDuffy folds
columbo folds
*** FLOP *** [6s 8c Tc]
RecessRampage checks
katitude bets 240
emptyman has returned
RecessRampage raises to 750
katitude calls 510
*** TURN *** [6s 8c Tc] [9d]
RecessRampage bets 2,160, and is all in
katitude calls 2,160, and is all in
RecessRampage shows [9h Th]
katitude shows [Js Jc]
*** RIVER *** [6s 8c Tc 9d] [9c]
RecessRampage shows a full house, Nines full of Tens
katitude shows two pair, Jacks and Nines
RecessRampage wins the pot (6,060) with a full house, Nines full of Tens
katitude stands up
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 6,060 | Rake 0
Board: [6s 8c Tc 9d 9c]
Seat 1: RecessRampage (small blind) showed [9h Th] and won (6,060) with a full house, Nines full of Tens
Seat 2: HughDuffy (big blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 3: Julius_Goat didn't bet (folded)
Seat 4: surflexus didn't bet (folded)
Seat 5: columbo folded before the Flop
Seat 6: wwonka69 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 7: katitude showed [Js Jc] and lost with two pair, Jacks and Nines
Seat 8: emptyman didn't bet (folded)

I'd like to say it was a misclick, but it wasn't.

I just didn't really care.

****

One of the joys of coming home from vacation is the lovely pile of mail that awaits. Bill, bill, impersonal letter from my local MPP, bill, IKEA catalogue, pizza flyers, coupon, bill, oh wait what's this? A letter from the hospital where I had my mammogram last month.

Oh.
Dear Ms. Katitude

On review of your recent mammogram, the radiologist has requested that you return for additional imaging.

The following date and time has been booked for you:
tuesday August 21, 2:30 and 3:00 pm

Please call to confirm acceptance.

Ok, that's not so bad.

So I call to confirm, no biggie, another mammogram (fucking yay), until I ask the receptionist, so why the two appointment times? Typo?

Her tone changes to something I still can't put my finger on. "The second time is for an ultrasound of your left breast."

Oh.

Left side. Where I still have chest pains that aren't cardio-related.

The intellectual side is saying relax, it's likely nothing, they did say that since they had no baseline for you on file that they might have to run another. However, the emotional side remembers Mum, who by the time she was the age I am now had a double mastectomy and a few rounds of chemo under her belt.

I've managed to avoid thinking about it, but the appointments are tomorrow. I doubt I can sleep, and yes, I don't mind telling you that I am a tad freaked out.

I'm repeating this like a mantra: I'm sure it'll be fine. It's nothing.

I'll look back on this post and laugh.

Friday's poker aka yes, virginia, this is a poker blog

It's about 5 pm last Friday, and except for a brief run to Tim's and Starbucks, I'm in the same position I was four and a half hours earlier: Table 3 ($1/$2 NLHE) in the Fallsview poker room, seat 4, with $200 in front of me.

At one point I was down to just over $40, mostly due to an endearing older gentleman in seat 7 who had a run so unbelievable that within under two hours of sitting down he had over $1,000. But please don't think he was a good player. His strategy was basically any hand with a J or better was a push...problem was the lucky beggar kept hitting, usually on the river. If he wasn't such a nice guy who was making every effort to give some of it back, it'd be nauseating and annoying as hell.

But after an internal talking-to (play to WIN dammit, don't play to minimize losses!) and thanks to a flopped straight and a rivered flush, I was back to where I started at when the three open seats (5, 6 and 10) were taken by young guys who obviously knew each other. After watching them for an hour, I asked the guy next to me "So, what site do you guys play online poker at?".

"Oh, Full Tilt Poker. Do you know it?"

"Umm, I've played there a few times", I replied.

A few more hands were played when it suddenly occurred to him and his friends to ask me how I knew they were online players. Since I'd just won a nice pot in a three-way all in (my AA vs JJ and JQ s00ted where AA actually held up) that two of them were involved in, I was feeling charitable.

"Oh a bunch of things.

One - you don't pay attention to the play, and need to be reminded when it's your turn to act, just like people who multitable and wait for the computer to buzz and tell you to click a button.

Two - you're playing text book poker. Your plays are kinda predictable based on your position, how many bets in front of you, and the amount of your bet.

Three - As in point one, you're not paying attention to the table. If you were, then you'd know that a post-flop bet of of 25x BB regardless of what's in the pot is not that unusual for seat 7. You might also know that it means that while he didn't hit the flop with his ATC, he likely still has a decent overcard or maybe a draw of some sort. You're missing an important variable in live poker by only playing the cards, not the people.

Four - Tip the dealer! You don't have to online, and it's not required in live play by any means, but I've watched you three, and in the 8 hands you've won between you, not one of you have slipped the dealer anything. You're obviously not new to poker as it's all you've talked about since you sat down, so not acknowledging the dealer is just another sign that you play mostly online.

Five - You're all doing chip tricks with your left hands, but judging by how you stack your chips and look at your cards, you're all right handed. That says to me that you fiddle with chips with your left hand while your right hand clicks away at the mouse. Ergo, online.

Now look at your cards, it's your turn to act again."

I left shortly after that in a damn good mood:
  • I'd turned around my loss and left the table with $100 more in my pocket than when I'd came with.
  • I had losses, but none were based on stupidity on my part.
  • I'm getting much better at player observation.
  • My Starbucks caramel macchiato and accompanying ginger cookie were utterly perfect. (Hey, it's not all about money and poker!)

Food porn for Jules and Astin:

Evergreen.ca is a local initiative that is working to green Toronto, and is based at the Brickworks, a park that I like to go and hang out at. They're running a farmers market there during the summer, and I finally got my shit together and made it down there.

I spent a good hour or so wandering around in sensory bliss; the smell of herbs and ripe tomatoes, the taste of an artisan olive bread, the sound of kids laughter. I didn't know where to to look first - I ended up just sitting under a tree and people watching after grabbing a sandwich and coffee.

I also bought all this stuff:


- 2 pints of cherry tomatoes and basil for a roasted tomato pasta sauce (it was so good! Alas, I took no further food porn shots)
- some heritage tomatoes, double smoked bacon and multigrain for bacon and tomato sandwiches
- a chunk of honey-garlic smoked lake trout
- a salad with lemon-date dressing from the couple that sells home grown organic greens and sprouts
- two sweet potato and pecan tarts for dessert

And now I've made myself hungry again...time for a sandwich!

For AlCantHang, Daddy, and the Bacon Project:

Back from la Belle Province

We were standing on the path that wound along the oceanside, on our way to the lighthouse in Forillon National Park. Around us was a meadow of tall purple flowers that swayed and rustled in the breeze coming in off the ocean.


There was a small cove visible where we had paused, and we could hear a soft sussuration of waves on the pebbled shore.


I had just put the camera away when two kayakers came into view, about 50 meters off the shore. They sat easily on the slight chop, and their paddles moved with an easy grace. While we couldn't hear their words we could hear their voices carried on the wind as they conversed and paddled a few meters apart. One of them looked up and noticed us, and raised a paddle in a salute. As I raised my arm to wave back I noticed a ripple in the water 10-15 meters behind them and said "Keith, look!". As we watched, a minke whale surfaced for a brief moment before diving under the waves, utterly silent, and seen by only Keith and I.

****

The trip was amazing, and full of right-place-right-time moments like that one. The Gaspe Peninsula and the North Shore are spectacular and breathtaking.


I keep trying to describe it, but I either end up sounding like a twee travel brochure ("unspoiled", "charming", quaint") or am totally bereft of words other than "wow".

I'd have to say my favourite part was the the North Shore. From the time we got off the ferry in Forestville, the route was one great road filled with long curves and vistas so distracting I ran off the road. Two wheels meeting gravel at 100-ish km/h equals instant clench time, btw. Oh and remember my Motorcycle Rule #13 which states that unless you have a full fairing / huge windscreen on your motorcycle, it is advisable to make sure the cuffs of your jacket are cinched closed. This is what flew up my sleeve one afternoon when I forgot said rule:


A 4" bloody dragonfly!!!!! Scared the bejeesus out of me! Didn't do much for him either, poor creature.

We had our perfect day when we camped in Havre St Pierre, and took a boat trip to the Mingan Archipelago National Park. Being the only English speakers on the boat, we were exempt from traipsing after the park guides like sheep to listen to the french-only "interpretive activity" so we simply wandered around, took pseudo arty pictures and skipped stones. Once the boat docked back at the harbour, we went to a small restaurant called Chez Julie - man the place was jumping! We went with the owner's suggestion of the small seafood platter for two as we weren't that hungry. THIS is their definition of a small platter:


Crab, shrimp, cod, halibut steak, scallops, an amazing fish chowder, rice, and seven sad little baby carrots if we really insisted on a vegetable. Unbelievably good (not the carrots though- didn't bother with them).

And how could I talk about Quebec and food and not mention poutine, tarte du sucre (sugar pie, basically a big butter tart), and the fevres au lard (baked beans) they serve with just about every meal. And let's not forget the small packages of Cheez-Whiz and caramel spread that they give you along with the jams and peanut butter for your toast. Don't ask me how it's possible, but I came home weighing exactly the same as when I left.

You can see some of the pictures I took here. More's the pity you can't see the ones I didn't (or couldn't) take. Those were the ones that were vraiment fantastique, but they don't translate well to the small square of a camera viewfinder.

****

I'm having a hard time getting into the swing of poker at the moment. It's funny - two years ago I was running hand histories in my head while riding and reading a poker book when we stopped for the night. During last year's trip I listened to Phil Gordon's audio version of his Little Green Book, and ignored Keith's bad jokes about me pulling into Citgo gas stations because I thought they were SitnGo's.

This year I hardly thought about poker at all during the two weeks out. However I did think about my IFF's, and how lucky I am to have found this community of degenerates. Next trip is Vegas in December, bay-bee!


    Katitude



    My Photo    A Kat,
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