Going the Distance

Maybe I'm being too literal but having to sign in as "Old Blogger" with this new Beta stuff has put me on Ageist Tilt. Totally counter-acted the high I was sporting after a random girl called me "handsome" yesterday afternoon. And she wasn't even on crack. Near as I could tell.

Spent a nice quiet evening at home last night with my friends Poker, Boddington and Stella. Didn't cash in the two tourneys I played on FT (chased in one when I thought I had more outs than I did, pushed short in the other), but won back a little of it in a semi-blogger cash game. I'm starting to think I need to mix some more cash games into my (fictional) online poker experience. If last night was any indication, the little NL games at FT are ripe with passive players who can be slowly bled of chips. Even with The Hammer.

I'm one of the few at work today. You could fire a cannon round through the office and not nick anyone. I also don't have much to do. Cleaned out my Bloglines. Trolled for a Russian Mail Order Bride. Watched "Dick in a Box" 72 times. Read some more "Dick in My Back" hilarity.

I didn't take any vacation days for the holidays. That's mainly because I ran out of paid vacation around August, which is what happens when you spend the first three months of the year unable to get out of bed. Not to say I'm not maximizing my two three-day weekends. I stocked up at the BevMo yesterday and I clearly envision a Christmas Eve with me half in the bag trying to put together AJ's toys. What goes together better with beer than power tools? Operating heavy machinery is the only thing I can think of.

Then I think I'm going to start a Christmas morning tradition of Bloody Marys. Reminds me of a recent scene I saw in "The Wire" (Season II) where the stevedores are all at the bar in the ayem and a guy comes in with "breakfast," which turns out to be raw eggs cracked into their beers. Yummy.

Speaking of raw eggs, I curiously find myself wanting to go see "Rocky Balboa." Not because I think it's going to be any good, but very few moments in entertainment are as rewarding as Bill Conti's music kicking in at the crucial juncture. Seriously, I'm apeshit for that stuff. The "Rocky" soundtrack was one of the few LPs my parents owned when I was a kid and I played it endlessly, dancing and shadow-boxing around to the obvious "Gonna Fly Now," harmonizing with "Take It Back." But my favorite cut is "Going the Distance." The opening chimes that suggest the ringside bell. The quiet roiling early on, drama swirling below the action. The call and response horns building toward the cresendo where the frenzied strings take over. Aw jeez...here:



Was it good for you?

So yeah, even though I never saw Rocky V (my mind is pure, unlike Tommy Morrison's bloodstream), even though I've seen one "adult" movie in like 18 months, I'm gonna carve out some Rocky time. I'll probably have to go by myself, but I'll make that more interesting by wearing loose-fitting sweats and a dirty trenchcoat, which is coincidentally what I asked Santa for Christmas.