Looking Up

Although I haven't been writing much, things are going very well for me. I'm winning again, although I'm not on a heater or getting more than my fair share of wins/premium hands.

The Riverside is still the Riverside, warts and all. The good thing about RS is that I can pretty much say whatever I want without fear of it being taken the wrong way (see Belle) or getting booted by some super sensitive dealer.

My health is so much better than I can't even begin to describe the difference between this year and last. Although I may complain about allergies, headaches, spots on my lung, colds, etc, they are a minor inconvenience compared to the hell that I went through post-chemo.

The doctor here thought I should ween myself off of the shot that renders me spayed and masculine (lack of hormonal emotions). At first I disagreed with this idea, knowing the hell I would go through if my estrogen kicked back in and I was saddled with all of that again (pre-cervical cancer, endometriosis, mood swings). The oncologist thought that I would likely go into menopause anyway, given the strength of the poison called chemotherapy. But then I only had two doses of it. So I'm not sure where I stand in that regard. The good news is, I haven't noticed any change yet. It's only been about three weeks, but nada so far. If I have any physical or mental changes whatsoever, I'll be back in the doc's office pronto. I know that it increases my chances of cancer recurrence, but those shots are so awesome that it makes it worth it, for me, if it comes to that.

On the poker front, I've finally cooled off online a bit, and have hit a downswing. Downswings in LO8 just don't happen very often, so when they do, they seem more overwhelming than in other games like Stud. In person I am winning again, and have a good table image. Oddly enough, something Alan said is so relevant to me that I have been saying it for years. I won't go into detail, but I will say that "schooling happens," and when you are a woman, a woman who is crass, rude, dominant, aggressive and somewhat masculine, a type of implicit collusion and/or bullseye effect does tend to happen more often than to most men. It is both a help and a hindrance.

My garden is starting to perk up again. The experimental indoor gardening project failed miserably. I guess that even though I kept all of the seedlings in a warm, sunny, southfacing window, they just never got quite enough sunlight and/or warmth. Yet the cool weather plants never got the nightime drop in temperature that they need to thrive. So everything is going back outside. Some will be put in containers so that they can survive the winter by not being outdoors after the first frost.

I have only one watermelon growing. It is a yellow variation, bred for desert conditions (Desert King Watermelon). No other flowers were pollinated successfully. I don't know why. My Persian Cantaloupe likewise failed to pollinate, even with my manual help. It is a hearty, thriving plant, but has no fruit growing.

On the other hand, the bush beans that I tried to start indoors would not germinate. I got zero sprouting. When I placed one in a peat pot and buried it outside, however, the thing sprouted right up in a day! Go figure. It was like the bean was telling me, "Duh, all you had to do was put me in horrible, harsh, windy, 110+ sun scalding conditions and I would grow right up for you!"

Now I'm getting read to start carrots, lettuce and radishes outside. If they won't grow in favorable conditions, maybe they, also will sprout right up in desert conditions with all of the "wrong" elements.

Gardening is odd, so hit and miss, just like any individual poker session.

I've always loved a challenge. I'll take it!

Felicia :)
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Last night:

+$225 (2/5 NLHE)
+$60 (4/8 HE Kill)
-$65 (NLHE Tournament)
=220 Net winnings for Tuesday, September 5, 2006

(Total saved for new car pre-August 15 $2500. Current total $2120)