Sunday, February 25, 2007

Interview Imminent

Interview is in two days. I've got a 3 hour drive to get there! I was expecting to be interviewed just down the road, so that was a bit of a shock.

Of Bad Beats and Hammers

I don't like to rant about people's donkey play, but when a guy calls my all in raise on the turn with ace high and a flush draw, and hits his flush on the river, I'm seriously pissed off. Fortunately I had him covered, and limped through another circuit before I was dealt the hammer. With only two big blinds left, I had to go all in. I got three callers, flopped a 7 and won with a pair. Back in the game again, I finished up 6th, with the guy who had won all my chips earlier going out before me.

Saturday, February 03, 2007

What a Beautiful Day

I woke up this morning with the sun streaming through the curtains. This was a Good Thing, because I had a list of jobs to do in the garden.

The pampas grass at the bottom of our garden has started to be plucked by the birds, a sign that some of them are thinking about nesting. We used to have a huge beech hedge alongside our garden, but the neighbours ripped it out. The sparrows and tits used to nest in there, so we've put up some nesting boxes - two designed for tits, one for blackbirds.

As I ventured out into the garden there was a faint fog drifting across. Through the fog, the sun was a white disc, that you could mistake for the moon, giving the day a slightly eerie feel. On the lawn lay straw and grass in strange patterns, the remains of the kids doing an Art Attack style giant picture. Any sign of what it had been destroyed by our rabbit, who had been playing in it since it was finished.

Nesting boxes securely fastened to the shed, I moved onto the bird table. Might as well make use of the fence the neighbours have partially erected to replace the hedge. I placed a scattering of dried mealworms on it, in an effort to attract robins, blackbirds and other worm eaters to the garden. We have huge quantities of sparrows all year round, plus starlings and an occasional wren, with blue and great tits in the summer, but we're trying to increase the variety.

The fog thickened, mixing with the smoke from a fire further down the street. I hung woven nestboxes in the hedge at the end of the garden, maybe the wrens will like them. The rabbit followed me around like a dog, under my feet, wanting to be involved in whatever I was doing.

Next job was to clean out the rabbits hut, litter trays to wash, food box to refill from the big sack. This was not an easy task, as the rabbit attempted to jump into the bag of pellets as I scooped them out. Old hay, straw, sawdust and droppings go into the compost bin.

From the house comes the sound of my daughter practising the cornet - three weeks and she has passed the standard of the girl next door, who has been playing for a year. The music teacher has revised her estimate of when she will be ready to join the band, from a year down to three months! She soaks up music in the same way she soaks up facts she reads in books.

To the sound of "Twinkle Twinkle" I sweep the patio - more straw for the compost bin. Then the drain to unblock. Every time we put the washing machine on the patio floods. An easier job than I thought it would be - scoop out some mud and grit and problem solved.

So, after that, nothing to do but sit and watch the view; and watch all the birds ignore my new bird table!

Friday, February 02, 2007

The Job

My application has gone off, and I've had a an email acknowledgment, saying I will be contacted within 5 days. Closing date isn't for another two weeks though, so I assume no interview until late February.

Life with Tony G

I'm playing all my poker on TonyG at the moment (mainly because they gave a fabulous first deposit bonus). The traffic is fairly low, certainly at European playing times, so you tend to see the same people at the table. Generally its fairly friendly, though of course you get the odd idiot.

The main downside of the low traffic is the difficulty in getting a full table at the SNGs; however, today I managed to get into a $2 SNG. I know, I know, last of the big spenders, but, it was the only game in town. Actually I really enjoyed it, and I won, which always helps. When it came to the final two, I had 2500, my opponent had 11000. He tried to use his big stack to push me around, but I made the goods cards pay, and he made some loose calls. After about 20 hands the situation was completely reversed, and it was all over in my favour, and I'm $8 richer!

I spend most of my time in the micro limit cash games, where my fortunes vary, but unfortunately the trend is slowly downwards, though I am on a (at the moment) short term up-turn. Hopefully the traffic will increase, and I can play a few more SNGs.

Thursday, February 01, 2007

Bible Quiz

I've just taken a quiz about the bible. Amazingly I scored 85%!

You know the Bible 85%!

Wow! You are awesome! You are a true Biblical scholar, not just a hearer but a personal reader! The books, the characters, the events, the verses - you know it all! You are fantastic!

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