Pengwenn's Pirate Life

[pengwenn]

I thought my work couldn't get any worse.....well I was wrong.

8 month ago an underwriter left our department to work in another unit (I work in insurance). My underwriter was given the departed's old territory.

7 months 28 days ago that underwrter decided she didn't like it there and wanted to come back. She did but didn't get her territory back.

7 months ago my underwriter took a position in another department. No replacement has been hired. 2 people in my department and 1 person in another department are trying to handle his work and I'm left to remember where everything is and who's handling what.

1.5 month ago my manager announces that she doesn't want to be our boss anymore and will step down to fill my underwriter's vacant position.

3 weeks ago my manager/underwriter was suppose to take charge of the territory but told everyone helping out to continue what they're doing as she's got "manager" stuff she's still got to finish. Hasn't done a lick of work in her new position.

1 hour ago I just got word that my manager/underwriter quit. She got a job at a competitor so she won't be in any more.

Now I'm back to square one with no underwriter. . . but now I don't have a manager as well. And to top it off another assistant took a 2 hour and 45 minute lunch yesterday because all underwriters and above are at our off site conference so there's no one to catch her to get her in trouble.

All this emotional upheaval and stress has extinguished my creativity.

[TheMudge]

Poor Pengy…

[pengwenn]

I'm taking applications for back massagers and comfort huggers

[bfsooner]

I'm an expert comfort hugger.

[JillStar]

Good grief... have you tried taking a 3 hour lunch yourself... just to test it out?

[pengwenn]

Thanks for the hugs bf . . . they helped.

Jill - no I didn't try the 3 hour lunch but I did skip out of work an hour early yesterday. No one else in our department was here so there was no one to tell on me. (If I took a 3 hour lunch I'd get caught).

What did I do with my hour of freedom? I took my prescription for glasses into the shop where I'll have my next eye apointment. There's problems with my health coverage so I'll probably have to pay for them myself and hope to get reinbursed for part of it later. That's $500 with a discount. And they're bifocals

[bfsooner]

You need another hug. I've been down the crappy insurance road, and I wouldn't wish that on anyone.

[pengwenn]

I just realized that I have Mon and Tues off to go to Las Vegas next week. Yeah baby! Now could someone teach me how to play poker so I can earn a lot of money and not have to come back to work on Wednesday?

[charlesp]

I've got some books... couuld give you some basics

[bfsooner]

Just watch the Travel Channel for the World Poker show.

[charlesp]

well, the strategy for WPT on travel channel is much different than what you'd use for playing lower dollar poker on a vacation (that's no-limit, most likely you'll want to play some $1/$2 limit poker at least to get started).

[bfsooner]

How is that fun? Don't you want to lay it all on the line???

[charlesp]

Unless you've got at least 10 grand to lay on the line you'll have a hard time finding a no-limit game, and more likely you'll need a hundred grand for a real no-limit game. UNLESS you happen to hit during a big tournament week (say the World Series of Poker month) and then you can get some no-limit tournament action for as little as 1500 (though it's so big you're going to have an even tougher time making money at it, but if you have a good run you might make more $ vs amount of money you have risked) or as much as $10,000 buy-in. BUT the strategy for a tournament you put $10K into is also much different than it is for a "cash" game you put $10K into.

IF you've got a grand or two to gamble with you're going to want to play $10/$20 poker at most and even at that you're pushing your luck to start out at that level. If you're playing at that level you're playing with professional players who count on people like you showing up to gamble a few grand away and they'll gladly sit there and take your money.

With poker you're going to have one of two problems.

1)
If you're playing low level ($3/$6 (which relates to the betting amount limits per round but will have pots close to $100) or lower, $2/$4, maybe $1/$2) you're going to A: have to win more pots because the rake (the small amount of each pot that the casino takes) will be a higher percentage of those pots and B: deal with people who have more money and luck than brains and will chase down a 50-1 shot they'll get the one winning card on the final round and invariably somebody will get it enough times to make it hard to win. Also at lower levels of limit there are fewere "moves" you can make to steal pots.

2)
If you're playing higher limit ($10/20 and up) you're going to have fewer people "sucking out" miracle cards, BUT you'll be playing against some level of professional poker players (there will be at least one or two at the table) who know the odds and the tells and all the ways to take tourist money. You might get a good run of cards and win against them, but more likely they'll take your money over the course of an hour or two.

If you're a beginning poker player you'll do best to play at the $3/$6 tables (if you've got the money for it) and be very cautious and have a mental list of starting hands you're willing to actually play with (only 10-20 starting hands in Hold-em) which means you'll be doing a fair amount of sitting and watching the other people play (which may not be a bad thing if you're able to pick up their ticks and tells), and then make a move with "your hands" when you get them. The basic strategy when starting out should almost always be wait for a handful of premium hands, and then bet them very strong to maximize your return on them.

Guess who has read a bunch of poker books and played a smidge of it on-line (never the money or time to go to vegas and gamble anybody's college education money).

[pengwenn]

Okay....first step would be to start with some money right?

[charlesp]

Okay....first step would be to start with some money right?

That does make it more workable yes... how much is in petty cash?

[pengwenn]

Mine or yours?


I had planned on taking $100 (that's a lot of nickel slots don't you think? )

[charlesp]

Mine or yours?

I had ment the company one

[pengwenn]

I'm getting too old for Vegas. I can't keep up with the young'ens anymore. Apparently my nights for partying and reveling end at 11pm. Better start looking for grave plots and caskets. I've always wanted to be buried under a tree (as long as you don't have to chop up the roots to do it). And I think a nice Mahogony casket will do...or maybe silver...I've always been partail to silver.

[TheMudge]

I think you're looking at this from the wrong perspective: I may not be able to outlast the kiddies, but I can do more partying in less time than any of 'em.

It's all a matter of efficiency.

[pengwenn]

why didn't you tell me that before?

[xcheck24]

I think you're looking at this from the wrong perspective: I may not be able to outlast the kiddies, but I can do more partying in less time than any of 'em.

It's all a matter of efficiency.

cookie for mudge lol

[pengwenn]

I had an eye apointment today and my doctor casually mentioned that I have a cataract in the eye I had surgery on. He said it will need to be taken care of within the year but it might be sooner if I can't start seeing better with my new bifocal glasses. I think I should start thinking of what I want my tombstone to say.

[pengwenn]

Well, I pounded on the wall to get them to turn it down and guess what they did......they turned it UP. So I called the cops (which was an interesting experience in itself because apparently my mailing address is in one city but I technically live in another, go figure). Then I went to my parent's house for some peace and quiet. I got back to my place after 11pm and besides their very loud voices everything was okay.....until 12am. They turned their music on again and after a while someone in another apartment yelled out the window to turn it down. They did.....until 12:30am. So I called security. By 12:45 they turned it off (whether because security came or they turned it off before they could get there I don't know). By 1am they had it back on again but not as loud.

There are a couple of young guys that live there. They drive through the parking lot like it's a race track and double park for hours. I've had problems with them before and I think the office already gave them one warning that if things like this happen again they'd get a 10-day eviction notice. I think they figured out it was me last time which is why they turned their music up instead of down when I pounded on the wall.

So I'm working on about 4.5-5 hours sleep. I'm fine now but it's going to catch up with me later.

[pengwenn]

Not a good eye appointment on friday. The dr mentioned he wants to cut slits in my cornea (lasix type procedure) to relax the cornea and help the astigmatism. That's in addition to the cataract surgery he's already trying to fit in. He wants to do the cuts first because it will help with the healing after the cataract surgery. But then he looked in my other eye and said the keratoconus in that eyes has progressed more. He originally said it might be years before I have to do anything with my other eye but I'm getting the impression that it will happen sooner rather than later. It's a good thing audio books are something I can take advantage of if the need arises. Unfortunately they don't make audio books of every book written so if I ever needed volunteers.....

[pengwenn]

I had a really good um..."annual celebration of my first day in the world" day yesterday. Better than I think I would have had spending it all with my family (but don't tell them that).

I did have to go to work but I took a half day off as a compromise. I went shopping and bought a PSP and a couple of games. Went to Olive Garden for lunch and back to the apartment for a well deserving nap. After that I got on Xbox Live and played Star Wars Battlefront with 5 other guys for about 4 hours.

It's hard to be a "gamer girl" and play on-line. Some guys don't want to play with you or think you can't play becuase you're a girl. But these guys were great last night. We had a blast and the best part, for me, is that I think I've earned their respect. I think that's the best birthday present I could get this year. (Oh, I didn't want to say that word.)