Archive for "Flickr"
Bad Karma
Posted on February 6, 2007 by Ching under Flickr, Life, School.
Good people experience bad karma, too — especially when they make bad choices. Yes, friends. I got busted.
For a couple of semesters now I’ve been parking illegally on campus. At first I’d only do it only once in a while. Most of the time on game nights. With the advent of Wichita State men’s basketball’s recent winning streak the popularity of basketball has increased. More people attend the basketball games than ever before. Usually game nights are plagued with chaos and anarchy in the parking lot so parking illegally is often excusable. Well, it’s the least of the campus police’s worries. Besides, usually there’s no where else to park. Actually, during the last home game even the faculty lot that I got accustomed to parking in was full so I had to scavenge for a different parking spot.
Anyway, getting away with it only encouraged the bad behavior. It came to a point when I would park in my favorite lot even on regular nights just because it was so covenient. A utilitarian at heart, I rationalized the behavior by telling myself that the ends justified the means. Okay, so maybe in this situation I may have let the hedonist side of me win but hey, we can’t all be good one hundred per cent of the time. To me a shorter trek to class was worth the risk of getting busted (particularly with the temperatures as cold as they have been). Or so it seemed, when I was getting away with it.
I am not really an unethical person. On the contrary, I’m probably one of the most straight-laced people you will ever meet. I have a great respect for rules — except of course when they cause me to walk through a frozen tundra for ten minutes at ten o’clock in the evening.
Kidding aside, one of the guys in Accounting class actually made a really astute observation a couple of weeks ago. He said that unethical behavior has more to do with opportunity rather than one’s character. He said, given a situation in which it is relatively easy (or convenient, in my case) to behave unethically and there is a slim likelihood of getting caught, ethical and unethical individuals have about the same predisposition to behaving unethically. He further stated that research has shown that in these situations, ethical people are just as likely as the unethical people to commit an unethical act. So you see, even good people fall prey to compromising situations.
As for me, I’ve learned my lesson. No more parking in faculty lots no matter how cold it is. The ends may justify the means but, at $60 a pop, this poor girl doesn’t have the means to continue to pay for any more parking fines.
No Comments
WOW, This Game is Addictive
Posted on January 29, 2007 by Ching under Flickr, Games, Poker.
Pun intended. He he.
I have been playing a lot of WOW
I’m still digging poker but I haven’t been doing as well. Although, not always placing as high doesn’t mean that your game is sliding. To be honest, I think I’m playing way better than I have ever played in the past. I’m learning to read my opponents better… Before I used to just play according to the cards I’m holding. Now I find myself taking advantage of my position, the situation, my opponents weak plays etc.
Playing really good poker isn’t always enough, though. Sometimes it takes luck. Case in point, my final hand at APL last friday. I called the blind with pocket 8s in the dealer position. One of the blinds (I can’t remember if he was small or big) raised. It wasn’t a big raise. It was a medium-sized raise. Calling the raise with only pocket 8s may have been somewhat of a loose call, but I figured I had position. So I thought that if I missed, I could bail. The raise wasn’t that big so—no harm, no foul. But if I hit, cha-ching! Right?
Anyway, the flop came 2, 4, 10 rainbow. My oponent raised to $1500 but I could tell from his mannerism that he was simply trying to buy the pot. I put him on two high cards, maybe ace-king, ace-queen, or ace-jack even. I could tell he missed but he was putting me to the test. So even though the plan was to bail if I missed, I felt that my 8s were good in this situation. I only had $2400 left so I re-raised him by going all-in.
He thought about it for a long time until he decided to call. Even though I had him, I think calling was the right decision because it was only $900 more to him. He had the opportunity to knock out a player and he had two overs—he was holding ace-jack.
Naturally, I turn an ace which resulted in my demise. So much for my impeccable read. The problem with this hand is that I didn’t have enough chips to push him out. I think if I had enough chips to threaten his tournament life then I think it might have made for a tougher decision to call. Then again, with such loose players at APL who’s to say he would not have called regardless.
At any rate, it helps to get lucky sometimes. No worries, though. I know that my game is improving. I’ll get him next time.
2 Comments
Bebot in the Snow
Posted on January 17, 2007 by Ching under Flickr.
This is Bebot’s first winter so I figured that I would take a picture to commemorate it. This photo was actually taken on Sunday. I had to come in to work because we were gearing up for the storm. We thought we would need additional help so we planned ahead. I took the 8 am to 12 pm shift because the rest of my weekend had already been booked. It was nice that Brian offered to drive me. It was one less thing for me to worry about—specially since I’m not particularly fond of driving. I like this weather even less. And I downright hate driving in it.
Brian and I stopped at Krispy Kreme to get two dozen donuts. It was the least I could do for the overtime volunteers. I arrived at work by seven thirty. It was actually pretty slow. I wasn’t surprised because I had read the emails from the previous day. It was slow then, too. I really wasn’t looking forward to a repeat of the 2005 ice storm so it was such a relief that we didn’t experience massive outages. We actually had fewer outages than a typical weekend I think.
Brian came back to pick me up at noon. We braved the road conditions to drive to Philippine Grille. I was craving some sinigang na baboy. It is perfect for cold weather.
We had planned on staying out and just going straight to poker. However, we could not confirm that the Blue Collar Poker Tournament was not canceled so we decided to go home to check the Wichita Poker Review web site (it is the ultimate source of local poker info; where to play, what time, the best places to play, that sort of thing). The web site did not say that the tournament was canceled but the weather still had us concerned. We made a few phone calls. No one knew but the consensus was we’d all still planned on going.
Apparently, Brian and I aren’t the only two hardcore poker freaks in Wichita. The turnout was much smaller than usual but a lot larger than expected given the weather. Over 80 people came to play. A good thing for us because that means we have to battle fewer people for the prize.
I did pretty well, I think. I didn’t win any money, though. I finished 11th and only the top eight places pay. Disappointing but it gives me motivation for next time. If there is a next time. It will be challenging to squeeze in poker time considering that school has started again.
The good news is our friend April (Corey’s girlfriend) took third and won $70. I have to tell you about April and Corey. I have to wrap this up for now, though. I have to get ready for class. Until next time.
2 Comments
Blue Collar Poker
Posted on January 7, 2007 by Ching under Flickr, Food and Drink, Poker, Reviews.
We returned to APL HQ yet again for another try at the Blue Collar Poker Tournament. We must be gluttons for punishment you say. Well, it’s not like it’s a real long, long shot. I did find out Friday that Micheal (aka Phantom2 at Doyles Room) took first place and won $300 at last Sunday’s tourney. It’s ironic that I was the first one out of that tournament while he was the last one out. We had a good laugh about it. I think I’m a pretty good sport when it comes to poker. Despite the embarrassment, I wasn’t really too upset. After all, the only losses I suffered were $10 and a bruised ego. It’s not like I lost my first born or anything.
Anyway, Brian and I returned today with a backup plan. We figured that if we both got knocked out early this time we’d just go watch Casino Royale. We’d both been wanting to see it, but haven’t had a chance to.. Now would be the perfect opportunity.
It’s funny because while we were in the shower Brian asked, “What if we don’t get knocked out by seven? Do you want us to just bail?”
I said, “Baby— if we are still playing at seven we’re nixing the movie because there is a great chance that we are winning some money!” As much as I am a movie buff, I think I’m a bigger poker addict because when it comes down to it, I’d rather be playing poker. Of course, I can watch movies anytime. I only get to to play poker once in a while. (more…)
1 Comment
The Way We Were
Posted on January 6, 2007 by Ching under Flickr.
I’m posting this photo for Jen. I recently gave her two more huge trash sacks full of clothes. Jen has made a few trips to the house to collect clothes over the last year. I think, after several trash sacks, I’ve finally unloaded 50% of my closet. I can’t believe what a huge clothes horse I was.. Even more amazing is the fact that I couldn’t care less about clothes now. What a 180!
Anyway, I had given this dress to Jen in the last batch. It is very old (I had bought it from Spiegel—years ago when I worked for the company and got a 30% discount on everything) but this style of dress doesn’t really go out of fashion. There is a greater possibility of one getting too fat to wear it, than it going out of style—which is what happened in my case. It had been hanging neglected in the back of the closet for several years. I’m hoping Jen can revive it. It’s a nice fun dress. You can wear it with sandals in the summer or with boots and a nice comfy cardigan sweater in the winter. It’s very versatile.
I was quite surprised that Jen didn’t recognize the dress considering I used to wear it all the time. I had worn it to Shiela and Andrew’s wedding (which is where this photo was taken) and also on one of my birthdays. I really liked this dress. I owned several dresses that had only been worn once. This was one that really got a lot of wear. But I guess it has been a long time since I wore it last. Too bad it no longer fits or I would still be wearing it.
I hope Jen takes care of my lonely old clothes. May they have a long, vibrant life with you.. And may they never get neglected. (more…)
4 Comments
