2011

Archive for the year 2011

Poker Benefit

Posted on November 11, 2011 by Ching under Poker.

I had the opportunity to play in a poker charity event for Saint Peter’s last weekend. It had been a while since Brian and I played poker so we were both rusty. Brian got knocked out right before the break, but I managed to make the final table. It took a lot of patience to get there, though. I had to fight the frustration. As rusty as I was, at least I still knew how to play poker and I knew how to deal cards.

One of the challenges I faced were that the people at my initial table didn’t know how to deal Texas hold ’em. There was a guy that could barely shuffle properly and the cards would always be so messy when he dealt. Another guy held the cards so high when he dealt that you could sometimes get a glimpse of the cards being dealt. Another guy needed to be reminded to burn a card before the flop, turn and river. We were playing so slow that we didn’t even get all the way around the table before the blinds went up. I usually prefer being able to play several hands before the blinds go. We barely got around the table in 15 minutes. People moved so slow, it was almost unbearable. I would try to make up for all the time we’d lost each time it was my turn to deal, but I was still at everyone else’s mercy as they thought about their hand and their next move.

There was this one instance where I was dealing and this one girl was all in. It was just her and me left in the hand so I went ahead and dealt the flop, turn and river really quickly. It was pretty much, “boom boom boom, thank you, goodbye” because my pocket eights held up. I just wanted to move on to the next hand. The clock was ticking after all. This one guy was picking on me, I suppose for being so callous. He was like, “This isn’t a band aid. It was her last hand. At least let her enjoy it.” I was really thinking, I’m here to play poker not to make you all feel better about playing poorly. I didn’t say anything, though. I just smiled and shrugged. The older gentleman next to me said, “I can’t even think that fast.” My initial thought was, thank you Captain Obvious, as this fact was painfully apparent the entire time that we’d been playing together. This was probably one of the most trying poker tournaments I’d ever played. Not because the players were really good, but exactly the opposite. Besides testing one’s patience (because it often felt like we were moving in slow motion), the players were so terrible that they were completely unpredictable, often calling with hands that they had no business playing, betting with bottom pair, betting with absolutely nothing when someone’s already all in, etc. I managed to hide my irritation and keep my inner Helmuth in check, though.

As tables got consolidated and fewer people remained, it got better. There were still people who tried my patience, though. Despite this, I didn’t let my frustration show. I focused on my game and felt that I played really well. I think I only made one mistake the entire tournament. It was very early in the game and I learned from it. I did get lucky a couple of times, but I was always ahead going in. One of my proudest moments was when I played Brian’s favorite hand, pocket deuces, like they were aces. I really didn’t want anyone to call. I just wanted to pick up the existing pot. However, as expected, someone called with ace rag. Go figure. Thankfully, my puny pocket pair held up. That worked out great actually, because it doubled me up.

I folded a lot of hands and carefully chose my spots. More often than not, if I was in the hand, I would win it. Since I played very few hands, I didn’t really have a big stack going into to the final table. This put me at a disadvantage. When there were only eight people remaining, I found myself holding pocket aces. The guy next to me quickly called. Everyone else folded. It was AA vs. AJ off. Of course, AJ guy made his straight on the river. LOL. I got a $50 check as my consolation prize, though. I basically just got my entry fee back.

I had fun overall, despite all the challenges. But I have fun anywhere I go. LOL. Brian and I agreed, however, that we will stick to Nilla’s for poker in the future. At least there they have knowledgeable dealers that keep the game moving at a reasonably fast pace, just the way I like it.

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Brew Ha-Ha at Flint Hills National

Posted on November 5, 2011 by Ching under Events, Food and Drink.

Brian was out of town so I invited Jan to go with me to the Brew Ha-Ha fundraising event to benefit Big Brothers Big Sisters at Flint Hills National Golf Club. We had a lot of fun! Well, I guess I can’t really speak for Jan but I had a great time!

There was a band playing at the clubhouse and the scenery is simply breathtaking.

The folks who live in that community are so fortunate that they have such beautiful surroundings. The landscape is gorgeous everywhere you look. It’s so beautiful, it makes me want to golf. It’s a shame I don’t know how.

The lodges can be rented out so it’s great for golf enthusiasts and non-golfers alike. If you don’t golf, you can still stay there and just enjoy the serene ambiance and nature in general. Perfect for an RNR-type getaway.

This is a picture of one of the rooms. There are several well-appointed rooms to choose from as each lodge can accommodate several guests. The first lodge we went to was the Dower Lodge. Chef Dan Gary of Flint Hills National prepared potato soup and chili for the guests. The beers available at Dower Lodge were Molson Canadian, Moosehead, Labatt Blue and Alexander Keith’s IPA.

Devlin Lodge was across the way. The cuisine there was by Chef Peter Moretti of the Wichita Marriott. We had some delicious crab salad on these shell dishes. I also had some roast pork and a delicious pastry dish. The beers offered there were by the local River City Brewing Company: River City Harvester Wheat Ale, Rock Island Red and Old Town Brown.

We had to hop on the party bus in order to get to the three lodges on the other side of the golf club. Rohde Lodge was our first stop on the other side. We feasted on Mexican cuisine by Chef Chuck Oullette. I just had chips and salsa and this delicious Mexican chicken pasta dish. I skipped the queso and the papas. It would have been so easy to pig out on everything, but I had to be somewhat selective. In keeping with the Mexican theme, the beers offered were bottles of Dos Equis Lager, Dos Equis Amber, Tecate and Pacifico.

We then walked next door to Wilcox Lodge where they had Asian cuisine by Chef Angela Mitchell of PF Chang’s China Bistro. They had chicken lettuce wraps and some spicy breaded shrimp. The beers offered at Wilcox Lodge were O’Fallon Hemp Hop, Green Flash West Coast IPA and Tiger.

Next was 4D Lodge adjacent to Wilcox. This was the best lodge yet because this is where the Kansas firefighters were selling and signing calendars. Ran into several people who I’d met at Holiday Galleria just a few weeks prior. The food at Wilcox Lodge was by Chef Joe Parten of Carrabba’s Italian Grill. This place had the most food and most variety offered, but all I had was the chocolate cake. It’s a shame that I was already full because I really wanted to eat everything they had to offer. I’m actually kind of proud of myself for having some semblance of self-control (or “will control” as Brian calls it because he likes to combine both will power and self-control – LOL). The beers offered at 4D Lodge were Tallgrass Velvet Rooster, Tallgrass Halcyon and Summit Extra Pale Ale.

Back at the clubhouse where they had cookies and coffee at the end of the evening, they also had Shocktop Wheat and Sam Adams Winter Lager. Brian is a huge Sam Adams fan so it was a real shame that he was out of town last night. He would have really enjoyed the evening. I didn’t drink any beer at all. I had a couple of sips of some kind of pinot noir and then drank water the rest of the evening. The only memory I have of the beer are the beer tasting mugs that I got to take home. I took mine home and grabbed an extra one for Brian. Jan and Jim both gave me theirs, and then Jim’s neighbors didn’t want theirs so I got those as well. Jan said I should have gone for eight. =P I have a full set of six, which one of the wonderful golf club employees helped me wrap in newspaper and put in a plastic sack, so I was happy. LOL. I’m way too easy to please.

Besides running into the firefighters, I also ran into Ann and Jeremy who I’d met at Stacy and Jeff’s sushi party earlier this year. I hadn’t seen them since (except on Facebook) so that was really nice. We didn’t get to visit though, because the event was so crowded. I didn’t get to go to the event last year (this is the 5th annual Brew Ha-Ha fundraiser for Big Brothers Big Sisters), but it seemed to be a great turnout. Even though I didn’t drink, I had a blast going from lodge to lodge and sampling all of the delicious dishes offered. I hope I get to go again next year!

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Adultcon, Anyone?

Posted on November 4, 2011 by Ching under Travel.

Brian sent me this picture yesterday. I guess there was an adult industry convention that was going on at the same hotel. Maybe I should have tagged along on his work trip. 😉 LOL.

Seriously thinking of taking Brian to Nashville for Christmas this year since he seemed very disappointed that he couldn’t go with me last month. Got $125 credit from Delta for the Atlanta fiasco. I know that won’t really go a long ways, but I wouldn’t want it to go to waste either. We were thinking of leaving right after Christmas and coming home in time for New Year’s Eve. What do you guys think? Should we go?

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Halloween 2011

Posted on November 1, 2011 by Ching under Life.

This is Jenni’s single-mom-putting-herself-through-law-school costume. Don’t ask. She is the one who called it that. =P

She definitely attracted a lot of attention that night. LOL.

Brian and I were lazy and dressed as “Zumba enthusiasts” for the evening. It was easy because we didn’t have to create or buy any costumes. We just grabbed stuff from our workout drawers. It was a total flop, though.

This one drunk girl was like, “You look so comfortable. I hate you!” I smiled and replied, “I am comfortable. Why aren’t you in costume?” She was like, “Why aren’t YOU?” I thought, “This IS my costume!” LOL. So that was lame. I vowed that Brian and I will come up with something creative next year.

Doug and me.

Brian’s arms are looking really good!

The Coles get so into Halloween. They had a graveyard in their front yard!

Andrea as Lila.

Fry and Lila and their baby owl.

Obligatory “Zumba girls” photo.

Gina Ann and Coley’s yard looks really creepy at night.

The costume we wore to the Cole’s party was recycled from 2008.

For work on Monday, I recycled a costume from 2003 and dressed as an Asian emo girl. It’s kind of hard when you have to come up with five different costumes.

Some of the costumes at work…

Darcy didn’t dress up at work, but she showed me a picture of her and Bobby as zombies at their party on Saturday night.

The final costume I had to wear this year was for Mitzi’s group power class. I was in 80’s attire because I was lazy and it’s easy to workout in. Mitzi was in jazzercise, complete with thong-back leotard and leg warmers!