An Arizona Cheesehead's Thoughts

The boys avoided a major pouting session tonight. I think everything is back to normal in our poker world which is good for them because I'm a much better winner than I am a loser. I came in third and in the money. Tommy and I are bestest friends again, too, because he gave me all of his chips. Or, at least what was left.

When I was in Utah, I made an embarrassing faux pax - I was surprised that there were cows in Park City. Rhett has not let me forget it, either! He takes every opportunity to mention it in both personal and group emails. I framed one of my cow pictures and sent it to him. My return address was smeared and he's been trying to get my address for a while. Apparently he got it because, when I opened my mail tonight, this picture was waiting for me. There will be retaliation, you can bet on it! BTW, I really like the tongue in the picture.

I think I've figured out why so many of my favorite shows end up getting axed. I am completely out of step with the majority of TV viewers. I happened upon the top 20 rated shows from last week. Want to guess how many I watched? Zero. Here's the list so you can see how "normal" you are: 1 America's Got Talent 2 60 Minutes 3 The Singing Bee 4 Hell's Kitchen 5 So You Think You Can Dance (Thurs.) 6 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation 7 Two and a Half Men 8 Without a Trace 9 So You Think You Can Dance (Wed.) 10 NCIS 11 Criminal Minds 12 Cold Case 13 CSI: Miami 14 CSI: NY 15 So You Think You Can Dance (Mon.) 16 Power of 10 17 Big Brother 8 (Tues.) 18 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition 19 Big Brother 8 (Thurs.) 20 Big Brother 8 (Sun.) What, no poker shows? What is wrong with American TV viewers!?!?

They had some door prizes at the tech lunch I went to last week - several iPod shuffles. Imagine my delight at winning one! Seems even total strangers want to give me presents. I wasn't sure if I was going to keep it, though. I really like having all of my music available at a moment's notice which is why I love my iPod . The fact that there's no display and you're at the mercy of the playlist (you can skip a song once it starts, though) on the shuffle was something that I thought might bug me. Cute! It's so dang cute, though, that I decided to keep it. The only thing that I would change on the cuteness factor is I would prefer it in pink instead of silver. Not a surprise , I know. I created a shuffle playlist on my iTunes and loaded it up Tuesday night. The list is has no discernible theme except that they are my absolute favorite tunes. I have all sorts of artists on there: Jimmy Buffett (of course, but not as much as you'd think), Brad Paisley, Ken...

For such an innocent looking instrument, the vibraslap is evil in so many ways. It doesn't look that dangerous... First of all, it's completely addictive. I warned Lisa of The Tropiholics that once she got her hands on one, she wouldn't be able to stop. It turned out to be prophetic. Whether it was the instrument itself or the shots of tequila that Pirate Rick was pouring into her, she couldn't put it down. She even ordered one once she got back to Atlanta. Secondly, it's painful. Hit the ball wrong or repeatedly in the same place on your body and you will get bruised. On Sunday morning, I had two bruises on my left hand. One was on the palm and the other covered the bottom part of my pinkie. The latter clearly came from a mis-hit. Finally, if you find it at all annoying, you will soon find it very annoying. Just ask Jim Asbell. He was clearly not a fan. In fact, he looked pained every time he heard it. Too bad for him that Lisa will probably be getting hers soon. I...

I don't think I've golfed with Goat at Parrot Grande since the first year. I'm thinking that was deliberate on my part but that I had forgotten why. I have no one to blame for the pairings since I set them this year, though. Here's how it works when you're with Goat. The Goat demands complete silence and attention while he's hitting. While anyone else is hitting, he's talking, poking them or hitting his Mulligan right behind them. Shhhh ! You will play Goat's ball at all times if it's anywhere near someone else's . Even if it's not really closer, he will determine that the angle is better or even that he is actually nearer to the pin despite appearances. Despite those quirks, he's worth having because he can frakking drive the ball. He hit some great shots on our 9 hole round. Pabla had some good ones, too. Eric and I were just happy to know that our shots got played once during the day. Last year, we lost to a team that carded a 26 ...

It was raining Saturday morning when I woke up at 6 AM. You really don't want to hear a steady rain outside your window when you know you have to golf in an hour. At least, I don't. I got up and ready in case they were going to let us tee off on time. I ran into Moose while getting my clubs and he said the Doppler showed the storm was going to move off in 30 minutes so we were going out. I got mocked for my apparently unattractive Corona rain poncho that Gary and Lewie got me in Key West but at least I didn't get soaked. There was some dawdling but we all headed out close to on time. The carts were soaked, there were puddles all over and I almost biffed it getting into my cart because the floor was incredibly slippery. That's the setup for the story. We were the second to last cart to head out. Eric was driving (because the Princess doesn't) and the last cart was parked perpendicular to us on his side, waiting to follow us out. One of the golf pros was standing betw...

Sandi and Doug were nice enough to brink Mark Mulligan's boys, Marcos and Luis, to Parrot Grande on Saturday and the boys stayed over with Mark until Sunday. I was amazed at the change in them since I last saw them. Marcos is a chatterbox and totally a gringo now. He 'won' a motorized car in our raffle and also got a set of kids golf clubs which he was out hitting with on the lawn. His English is close to perfect and he had no hesitation with chatting with anyone. Mark left me in charge of the boys while he was checking out of his room and Marcos and I got into a whole, quite involved, discussion on how we were going to build a boat. A bunch of us then moved to the bar and took the boys with us (we are Parrot Heads so that shouldn't be too surprising). Marcos then got his first cocktail - a Roy Rogers with several cherries. Make that lots of cherries. We ended up cleaning out the bar of cherries. He shared some of his drink, and a few cherries with his little brother, ...

I don't know what it is with Parrot Grande and the weather. Last year it was the hurricane , this year it was the monsoon. Our plan was to have the Friday night jam session out by the pool. We figured it would be pretty cool to float around and listen to some great music. All afternoon, we kept an eye on some dark skies and debated. Beware the cloud... "I think it's going away from us." "We're going to get hit, we should move inside." "Looks like it's going to miss us." We decided to go for it and set up for the Jam outside. We had great entertainers on tap: Mark Mulligan , Bob Karwin , Ray Cody and imported from Atlanta, GA, Jim Asbell and the Tropiholics . Mark, Todd, Jim, Ray and Lisa. The gang got started and we were having some fun. Then, the wind really got started and it wasn't so much fun. After it looked like the lights were going to blow away and the performers were turning away from the wind to sing, we knew it was time to ...

I started watching two new shows. Greek is a contemporary college show that's got lots of drinking, fornicating and an incredible level of sweetness thanks to the main character, Rusty Cartwright, an erstwhile Freshman. I have no idea if the sorority/fraternity stuff is accurate but I'm quite enjoying it. I'm especially enjoying the character, Cappie, who's hot, hot, hot and very cool. Mad Men is interesting as a period piece. It's convinced me that it was good to be a White male in the 60s and not so good to be a female of any sort, especially a working one. There's also a lot of drinking and fornicating and even more smoking and sexual harassment in this show. I'm several episodes in and, while I find it interesting, I'm not sure I'm hooked.

I went to a lunch presentation today that was put on by some of our Techie vendors ( CDW , Cisco , EMC and RSA ). The subject was security and, while I knew I was probably going to be the least technical person there, the thought of a free lunch at Morton's (fancy steakhouse) lured me in. There were about 40 people there (and, now that I think about it, only two were women) and I sat down at one of the back tables and started chatting with folks. One of the guys at my table said he was surprised he didn't see anyone he knew there because he usually sees other people in the field at these events. I did a quick glance around and didn't see anyone I knew, either. When they started the presentation, I turned around to the front of the room and found myself staring at the back of a guy's head at the table in front of me. A familiar looking head, actually. I got a bit of a profile and saw a small hoop earring and a goatee and the image matched to a name in the mental da...

Even though I know (but have been trying to forget) who won the World Series Of Poker Main Event, I am so tickled that they started broadcasting it tonight. Norman Chad plays up being the nerdy loser but I kinda dig him. And, I love watching all of the poker! I hope some of the cute boys make it far in the tournament for an added bonus to all of the action.

So, I finished my post about going to Utah then turned on High Stakes Poker. Imagine my surprise when one of the commercials offered me a free Holy Bible...from www.mormons.org , no less! I don't care who you are, that's just funny. Or, incredibly scary...

I've got lots of folks apparently living vicariously through my travels this year. They can't wait to hear where I've been, what I did while I was there and where I'm going next. They can see the allure of a Mexican cruise, long weekends in Rocky Point or San Carlos, Vegas, Key West...even my trip to Iowa/Wisconsin made sense since it's the homeland. The one destination that just stumps them, though, is Utah. When I first went up this year, there were lots of questions as to why I was going. When I announced I was going back, there was real consternation. It just didn't compute in any way, shape or form. Our VP of Sales tried to explain it. "You're not a Mormon, you're not into hiking, I don't think you're a camper..." I get it. Why would a lazy, drunken heathen fly to Salt Lake City once, let alone twice in one year? And, be excited about it? The only answer that makes sense to the group (and lots of people have come to the s...

Where to start at how miserable poker was last night? Let's see, should I begin with the garbage cards that I got all night? I got one pocket pair the whole night, any time I got an Ace it was paired with garbage and none of my suited connectors matched the flop. It seemed like our end of the table had no luck in cards. Jeff was to my right and he and I folded pretty much the same hand every time. I had 8-7 unsuited, he had 8-7 unsuited. It was like that the whole night. John was on my left and he didn't fare much better. We all started to play the garabage but it only worked out for John. Or, should I start with how every time I was in the big or small blind and desperately wanting to see a cheap flop Tommy would put in a big raise? Tommy's an Irishman from New York - what's not to adore (well, the fact that he's a Yankees fan is a big negative)? And, I used to adore him. Used to. He ticked me off so much last night that I told him we were done. Our pok...

MonkeyBoy turned me on to this life expectancy calculator. It said my "real" age is 30.3. I can live with that.

For some reason, people like to give me trinkets. Out of the blue, someone will hand me something and say, "I got this for you." I don't ask for any of it but I'm oh, so happy to get it. It could be because I'm into so many different things that it's easy to see an item while out and about that reminds them of me. NASCAR, Princess, Parrot Head, Football, Baseball, Lacrosse, books, Harry Potter, poker, Miller Lite...there's just so much that I like. It might be because I am so sincerely delighted (I really am) and greet every gift with childlike joy (I really do) that it just makes the giver happy in return. Maybe it's that people are just trying to stay on my good side. No matter the reason, I loves me the presents! Pirate Rick and Julie gave me 4 Jimmie Johnson pens on Saturday at our Board meeting. These are no simple pens, mind you. You click on a button and a yellow 48 is projected out of the end. It shows up great on a black wall in a dimly ...

Go here for an addictive game. Got this from Mike Finnegan whom I hope isn't driving and playing at the same time.

You Are a Fun Flirt You just can't help yourself... you flirt with everyone you know. Guys, girls, crushes, and friends. They're all victims to your charm. You're into silly innuendos, sexy jokes, and playful touches. You are a huge flirt, yet you never make anyone (too) uncomfortable! What Kind of Flirt Are You?

You Are 53% Bitchy Generally, you're an average woman, with average moods. But sometimes... well, watch out! Sometimes, you let your mean side get the better of you. And you enjoy every minute of it. How Bitchy Are You?

Your Brain is 87% Female, 13% Male You have the brain of a girly girl Which isn't a bad thing at all You're emphatetic, caring, and in tune with emotions. You're a good friend and give great advice. What Gender Is Your Brain?

You Don't Need a Man ... or Want One! Generally, you're very happy being a single woman. And anyone who has a problem with that... well, that's their problem. Not that you wouldn't share your life with the almost perfect guy. You simply won't settle though. Your life is too good to share with some substandard man! Do You Need a Man?

You Have a Choleric Temperament You are a person of great enthusiasm - easily excited by many things. Unsatisfied by the ordinary, you are reaching for an epic, extraordinary life. You want the best. The best life. The best love. The best reputation. You posses a sharp and keen intellect. Your mind is your primary weapon. Strong willed, nothing can keep you down. Your energy can break down any wall. You're an instantly passionate person - and this passion gives you an intoxicating power over others. At your worst, you are a narcissist. Full of yourself and even proud of your faults. Stubborn and opinionated, you know what you think is right. End of discussion. A bit of a misanthrope, you often see others as weak, ignorant, and inferior. What Temperment Are You?

So, I was asking one of my friends about one of his friends who happens to be a single, available guy. They guy in question seems to be decent, smart and has a sense of humor and is easy on the eye. Nice package there. My friend tells me, "He's too nice for you." Now, I could have taken offense at that but I think see where's he's coming from. I am sometimes bossy, pushy and demanding (yes, only sometimes, okay, often) and I tend to be attracted to people who push back at me instead of bending to my will. I like someone who can dish it out as much as I can and sometimes the debating can be really fun. A pushover would bore me to tears in a short period of time. However, I've been giving it some thought and, while a pushover isn't what I'm looking for, I think I need to go more of the 'nice guy' route rather than the 'control freak' route. I love to argue about stuff (a lot) but constant power struggles and passive aggressive beha...

It was frakking hot out yesterday! I waited for Sugar Daddy outside the ballpark for about 15 minutes, in complete shade, and I was totally melted. The pool of sweat (that made my bangs look horrible, of course) that covered me didn't dry up until nearly the end of the game. My long jaunt through parking garages didn't help keep me cool, either. When I got home, I went through 2 bottles of water in about five minutes and I still felt dehydrated and worn out. Today, I saw in the paper that we set a record high of 114 yesterday. No wonder I got beat up so much from the heat.

I drove to the ballpark today and figured out a good route to the Jefferson parking garage. I was pretty proud of that, too, since downtown Phoenix is currently a huge mess of construction. I parked and got out of the car while carefully marking in my mind that I was on 3 East. I've lost my car so many times and I'm really trying to be careful about it. After the game, Sugar Daddy and I headed to the garage together. He went up the first set of elevators and I headed to the ones on the other end of the structure because, in theory, they were closer to my car. I say, in theory, because when I got up to 3, my car was nowhere to be found. I walked the entire floor, three times. I called Sugar Daddy to see if he was still in the building so he could drive me around but he had left. While we chatted, I walked all of the fourth and second floors, too, even though I knew I was on 3. The whole time, I'm thinking who would steal a Hyundai? Finally, I gave up and approached a securi...

You Are Chardonnay Fresh, spirited, and classic - you have many facets to your personality. You can be sweet and light. Or deep and complex. You have a little bit of something to offer everyone... no wonder you're so popular. Approachable and never smug, you are easy to get to know (and love!). Deep down you are: Dependable and modest Your partying style: Understated and polite Your company is enjoyed best with: Cold or wild meat What Kind of Wine Are You? Got this (well, the unaltered version anyway) from El Capitan .

Sugar Daddy and I went to the Diamondbacks' game this afternoon. Was I surprised when club members, Don and Kay, strolled in and sat in front of us? Nope. I'm used to this sort of thing happening. About halfway into the game, I saw our Controller heading up to get some brews. He was one section over from us. Again, not surprised. I can't go anywhere... BTW, turns out that SD and I are bad luck. He was all excited when the DBacks got up 5-0 against The Nationals and was rooting for 5 more so we could leave. We follow the 10 run lead rule where I agree to leave early if one team is up by 10 or more. However, they managed to lose the game in the 9th after some bad pitching let The Nationals get back into the game.

In my previous life, I was in Accounting. Really glamorous, especially because I was just into Fixed Assets Accounting. If you know what that actually means, I'm sorry for you but you can appreciate how boring it is. There are two of us in the IT department that have Accounting in our backgrounds and we get sucked into all of the debit and credit issues. On Monday, we started researching a $10K difference between our retail inventory reported value on hand and the general ledger. That kept us there until 8 that night. Yesterday, I found out there was a $200K discrepancy in another inventory account. I let my compadre deal with the original problem and dove into the bigger issue. She ended up having to get our big boss involved and they've resolved some of the $10K. I spent the day telling people to leave me alone because I needed to find $200,000. For the most part, that excuse worked, too. I'm going to have to remember that one. I was pretty much on my own with th...

I've got one of those points programs with my Visa. I've never cashed in but I've been trying to redeem my $500 airfare reward for the past year. Unfortunately, they never seem to have an eligible flight for where I'm going. A free Key West trip would be awesome! I got a letter today telling me what I could get right now. There's a TaylorMade Fairway Woods with Graphite Shaft. Since I golf maybe three times a year, that's an easy pass. There's a 3/day 2/night trip to New Orleans. Tempting but who would I go with? Finally, there's a Singer 65 Stitch Function Sewing Machine. Just try to picture me working a sewing machine.... Can't do it? Neither can I!

I got the oil changed in my car. I should be good for another 10,000 miles or so...right?

...I got smacked in the face with an 11 hour day yesterday. Hopefully, it was an isolated incident and not a forewarning of the return of 60-70 hour weeks.

I played poker with the girls last night and got the best hand I'm ever going to get in my life. Too bad it was limit poker. I was big blind and had several callers. I looked down to see pocket Aces. I checked my option to raise to keep them in. We play limit bets: .50 pre -flop, .50 flop, $1 turn, $1 river. The flop came - Ace, six and some other meaningless card. I bet .50 and Stacey called. The turn came with another six. I bet $1 and she called. The river was the final Ace. I had quad Aces! I bet $1 and she called again. Poor Stacey, she had a six so she ended up with a Full House, sixes over Aces. She was stunned It was so sweet! Especially, since I got that hand against the girl who doesn't know what she has but just keeps betting...

For the first time with playing with the boys, I didn't finish in the money. I came in fourth last night but we were only paying out the top three. Dang it! I got absolutely no sympathy...big surprise. I played two hands poorly to start out so I had to dig my way back out of a hole. When we got to the final table of 9, I was 7th in chip count. The blinds and antes were getting big and I made two consecutive all-ins with pocket kings and pocket deuces to gain some much needed chips. The big stacks were driving me crazy because the other short stacks would go all in and the big guys were doubling them up instead of taking them out. I know it's somewhat about luck at that point but I knew I needed help to get into the money. The hand of the night was when one of the short stacks went all in, Wayne called, I went all in, Karl called and Wayne recalled. I only had king high so I figured I was out. Karl flopped a straight but Wayne rivered a flush. Karl and Wayne were still t...

I just noticed that my last post was the 1,000 th on my blog. That seems like a lot of BS to have written and read. Thanks to everyone who comments or even just lurks on the blog. I still enjoy writing it even though I'm not as inspired or prolific as I used to be. That's probably more of an issue about a lack of time than anything else.

We're having an Aloha Day at work. Not sure why except it's kinda fun. Everyone was supposed to dress up in something tropical. It was interesting to me that, while I was wondering which tropical shirt to wear, so many other people were saying they didn't have any. They clearly need to liven up their wardrobes. They also relaxed the dress code so we could all wear shorts. I thought that was neat because it will save me from changing before I go out tonight. Turns out, I should have brought jeans because the office is frakking freezing when you're in shorts. Besides serving us tropical sorbets (coconut, mango or pineapple) in cute coconut shells (products of South Africa?!?), the H/R department gave the managers colored leis to hand out to the employees. I walked around yesterday and let people choose which color they wanted. Someone asked me what color I was going to take and I told them I would just take what was left. They thought that, since I was the manag...