A Hell of a Day! Hell I say!

So, today is one of the craziest days I've encountered in quite some time.

Pokerwise, I took third at the finals for our local poker league winning $25. I was so close to taking it all down however, a couple unlucky flops when I was well ahead took me out. I went all in preflop short stacked against the chip leader with AJs vs. 35s and he hit the straight on the river. That said, it was the positive highlight of the day.

On the negative side, first, I had trouble getting my car started in the morning because the fuel gauge got stuck and I didnt realize I was out of gas. Then, on the way home from my daily happenings related to non-poker work, my engine blew up on I70 making the loudest noise, I've ever heard from a car, along with leaving a huge black cloud of smoke that completely masked the highway behind my car. Good news is that I've got a backup vehicle to use until I can save enough money to buy a new ride.

On top of that, I've been pretty much broke for the month, as I haven't worked and my seasonal employment doesn't start for several more days. I jumped on my Mountain Bike in the freezing cold weather and headed to taco bell to charge a few tacos on my credit card. Unfortunately, it was declinded. I then proceeded to spend my last $1.90 to my name on a cup of coffee and a peanut butter snickers before heading out to the final table of the tournament. I was starving and needed some energy to ensure I could play well. My final stop was the post office to see if a check that I've been waiting for to come in for weeks has arrived and thank goodness, it had. The last time I recall being this broke was after finishing my term in the Army and heading off to college in California. I was living on .99 cent jumbo jacks and working in a locksmith booth in Los Angeles.

Although my vehicle blew up, I had no cash to my name, I really didn't sweat it! The check showed up in the mail, I pedelled my bike down to the bar, I managed to pursuade my ex to buy me dinner, I performed decently in the tournament and won some cash, and ended the night celebrating with Nick, the winner with a couple of free shots of Petrone.

I'm really impressed how I kept my composure, battled through the adversity of the day while managing to get a free meal, free booze, and some cash!

I'm really not sure how, but hopefully, in some strange way, this experience will help me become a better poker player and person in general. I'd say, things are pretty much as bad as they can get, minus contracting a deadly or life threatening illness or disease, and yet, I'm pretty damn happy. I'm proud of that!

Things can only go up from here and I'm prepared to work as hard as I can to turn things around.

Peace.