I am having a great fucking time. I wish my family enjoyed hiking more. We only did about 2.5 hours before everyone was whining for dinner. I was having a fucking blast. I saw deer tracks and a hole something burrowed into and I dug some clay from a riverbed and saved it in a kleenex baggie and I got a cool ass rock that looks like a guitar pick, and I am having a kick ass time. I feel like I'm 10, I want to run around and poke everything. Being out in nature made me realise how much I miss it and how badly I used to want to be a hermit in the mountains as a kid. I don't want to go back home. My dad promised we could do more hiking tomorrow. I want to leave Keri and Xixe at a pub and just go with dad and jake. They're the outdoorsy ones.

Oh and I saw another needle disposal in the bathroom at the visitor centre.

------------------------ Bird (Graci) -tinyurl.com/ytchdw "It's easy to regret your awkward conversations but hard to regret the ones you didn't have."

Had a swiss and mushroom burger with sweet potato fries and a Black Woods Ale. ------------------------ Bird (Graci) -tinyurl.com/ytchdw "It's easy to regret your awkward conversations but hard to regret the ones you didn't have."

So I'm cat sitting Ferris (the panda cat) while b1rd is up north visiting her dad. (And meeting s4xton for the meetmap) hope you guys have fun up there!

So on the way into the city traffic was crazy especially around ohare. I heard there were 5-6 hr delays due to wind so I decided to stop and sit and play some poker instead of sitting in traffic while the construction and cars cleared.

I got on the $1-2 no limit list and a new table just opened. Which is good because no one has built up a large stack as the max buyin is $150 or $200. I bought $150. Passed one orbit not doing much. Finally got Q9o on the big blind. Flop came Q810 rainbow. I bet out $12 into a $10 pot. In late position a guy goes all in for $47.

The only thing I can put him on is a flopped straight. There's no flush draw and I think in late position he would have raised preflop with a hand that had a queen (AQ, KQ). So unless I'm just unlucky and the guy flopped 2 pair or a straight. This guy bought in for $50 twice, and he's going all in whenever it's checked to him or he hits top pair.

I figure, for $35 more, I'm getting 2-1 on my money and I have 4 jacks to match his straight and 2 queens to bust his two pair. I call. He turns over 10 8 offsuit. Turn is a Q and river is a 2. I take down the $100ish pot. Not my best play but I was willing to gamble here to build a chipstack since it's the only way to get over $150 in chips and be able to push the table around.

The next few orbits I sat tight, played agressive in position, folded most everything else. Lost about $20-30.

I finally got AhAd in mid position. There was about $10 in calls, so I wanted to come big to only get 1 caller or none. I made it $15 to go. Only the 2 blinds call. Flop comes 882 with 2 clubs.

The dealer points to me as if it's my action. (I'm sitting in the 1 seat, and it's hard to see both players cause the dealer is between them and me. I bet out $28 into the $50 pot. Then the small blind says "I didn't check, I was just moving chips around". He then bets $30. I pull back my $28 and act annoyed, like the dealer totally screwed me over. Although in this situation it probably helped. I act pissed and just call. We're heads up and the turn is the Ace of spades. The guy has about $80 I figure if he bets he has KK or QQ, AK at the worst. Definately a pocket pair to call $13 preflop from the blinds and bet out on the flop. There's no way he has an 8 unless it's A8 and I have him beat anyways. He bets $50. I take time again and flat call. Figuring on the river ill give him a chance to bluff off the rest of his chips. The turn was a K of clubs. He thinks for a while then counts his chips several times before pushing them all in. I insta-call and flip the aces. (I regret this as I should have waited to see his cards first but I was ready to leave anyways).

I take down a monster. Played another 15-20 mins and after rake and tips I cash out $318.

Making it a +$168, for the 60 minute session.

They have really cool chicago poker chips at these charity games so I took some pics.

Here are my chips after that hand and right before I left. And 1 after I left the cage.

Reds are $5, the whites are $1 and the green are $25 and I had a single $100 chip. --------

Also ferris is an awesome cat so here are some pics of him too!


--Chris Falco

Not really my weekend to cook, actually it is the weekend of a team I left, the Firemasters. Thanks to "B" and Robert for the hella help. Cooked a chit load of steaks tonight without beating the holy living hell out of them. I guess that's the difference between a good steak, and an abused over cooked steak.

It's Friday Nation, make it a good one. -Matt

Driving up the coast along a very scenic road. Attacked a large ceramic rooster and stuck my feet in Lake Superior. Large wave came up and got my bum wet. Stayed wet for about 3 hours. I'm having a great time. ------------------------ Bird (Graci) -tinyurl.com/ytchdw "It's easy to regret your awkward conversations but hard to regret the ones you didn't have."

Hello from boston! Yes, this is my friday night, and yes I'm still at work.... I rule!!!!! -JE®®Y (Jeremiah)

I'd like to point out that at my last job, I never would have had a spreadsheet named "Obsolete Panties" on my desktop. We're hiring a coder, and while that person's job will not involve keeping tabs on panties, it'll still a lot of fun if you're a geek.

Neither of these things has anything to do with my balcony watering system. I just wanted to show off my pretty little plants that I can't forget to water.

Doin' lots of book things....year books, that is! But jeez, only 4 days of school after today! Ye-ow!

Oh ya, looks like I'm engaged! I wonder if the ring is real...?

-- Teehee

Ed loves the mohawk. =) such a cutie I need to fix it up a lil tho

Woke up, packed and headed to Denny's. I felt we needed to eat somewhere like this to balance out last night's meal. It's like a yin/yang sorta thing.

Coffee after dinner last night: a silver cream pot, and a silver sugar holder with cubes of raw and white sugar.

Coffee with breakfast: waitress drops a massive handful of Land O Lakes creamer onto the table and some land on my menu.

:)

Veggie omelet and hashbrowns.

Now we head up north to some destination my father has planned, and do some naturey stuff.

------------------------ Bird (Graci) -tinyurl.com/ytchdw "It's easy to regret your awkward conversations but hard to regret the ones you didn't have."