BACK FROM VEGAS, BACK TO REALITY! AND SNOW!

After a couple days back from Vegas I am fighting the post vacation blues. The trip was amazing, hilarious and eventful. No drama, just friends celebrating the new year and my birthday in "Adult Disneyland" as I call it. The clubs were epic, we hit club Pur on New Years Eve. It was a $150 cover but that included open bar. Unfortunately the open bar need not apply to me, but it did make my plain tonics and diet cokes free as well. We left the club at 3 a.m. and I went and bought into 1-2 no limit holdem. I went up 400 dollars after 2 hours and after 4 hours I was up nearly 600. I was tired and the sun was up, so I went and got breakfast with two guys I met from Manchester, England. They were good and drunk and we talked about football. (soccer). My favorite topic. I went to bed at 9 am slept until 12 noon, awoke and went to play in the tournament at Planet Hollywood casino. I lost at the final table and took 8th place. It was the first final table I've made inside the LV city limits. I didn't finish in the money but had a good time none the less. My sister came and met me for lunch at Traitor Vic's which I highly reccomend if you're going to be on the strip. I ended up playing blackjack and roulette for the next few hours and after making a decscent run at blackjack started increasing my bets like a mad man. $100 a hand! I've never played like that before. It was so much fun. After another night of clubs, primarily Studio 54, I met a beautiful lady who actually knew some friends of mine from back home. We went back to her hotel, Ballys and when I was leaving her room early that morning I stuck $50 dollars in a slot and payed out $410. I covered everyones food for the rest of the day in our party and gave everyone $50 to bet on college football. It was fun feeling like a high roller, which in fact I am not. I didn't go down to get rich though, I went for the fun. I had fun and my trip almost paid for itself. In all I spent about $1100 but out of the Casino's money and other players money I spent nearly $3500. I don't know wether to be stoked about that or sad. I do know I had the best New Years and birthday ever in sobriety. I had the time of my life. I never needed a drink or craved one. I called my sponsor 3 times while I was down there to check in. I am excited about the new year and all its potential. God knows it can't be worse than 2008.

Here's to you and your's!!!! Happy 2009.

Snow Daze

I'm on one today... you've been warned.

Now it just keeps snowing and all I want to do is snowboard. I watch Snowboard DVD's all night, obsess about it all day. I am so obsessive. I get addicted to everything and anything. Let's review hobbies and other things I have got super into in sobriety:

Tennis, Golf, Bowling, Fly Fishing, Backpacking, Rock Climbing, Camping, Kayaking, Snow Shoes, Four Wheelers, Poker, Roadtrips, National Parks, Hookah, Cigars, Baseball, Sober Softball, English Premier League, Activism, the Cilvil Rights movement (that one got bad. 6 books, and an entire VHS series from PBS like 18 hours of footage, I read all 6 books watched every VHS in 2 weeks, got little to no sleep, and this had nothing to do with any class I was taking, in fact all my grades suffered because I spent all my time doing that.) ugh. I could go on.

Anyway, my point is that it doesn't matter what it is, if I like something even a little bit, I go nuts with it. If _____ is fun once, it will be even better a 1000 times. Snowboarding comes up every year in the obsession category. Has since I was 9 or 10. That doesn't make it any easier. I am such a through and through alcoholic that I have to fight my instincts all day in order to not say, "fuck everyone and everything, I'm going boarding" Seriously, one of the voices in my head constantly tells me to say that to people. Is there any hope? Will my entire life be me fighting obsessions?

Maybe it isn't such a bad thing anyway. (justification, rationalization) I am actually pretty good at almost all the hobbies I listed. I know a shit ton about civil rights. I can have a great conversation with anyone who may be into anything. I've never met anyone I couldn't have a good conversation with. (honestly, I can't think of anyone.) My life isn't boring at all. (but if it ever shows signs of it I get suicidal.) I have a good time! when I see people I haven't talked to in a while and they ask what I've been up to it is because they really want to know. They want to know what crazy shit I've been doing lately. I like that about me! but for god's sake I have got to find a balance.

Atmosphere sums up exactly how I feel in this song. Video isn't bad either.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbEwHJX95QE


until next time