lifting the housing

So in a matter of days we lost the loan and then we got another loan. All happening in the middle of the turnaround, 10 days from close of escrow on the house. Ugh. It all is working out now though (allegedly) and the turnaround is finishing up. So that's good. I'm soooo excited for this thing to be finally done. I can feel alive again. I've been so out of touch with everything for two weeks straight and so much has been happening. I will finally be able to think everything through, to spend time with my friends and family, to handle all the issues that have been and continue to come up. It will be great, finally. I can't wait to play poker again. I can't wait to golf. I can't wait to play guitar and video games (veiled sdre reference). I can't wait to go on dates with my wife and walks with my dog. Aaaaaahhh. A sigh of relief.

I was able to play a little poker last night and I'm on the other side of variance right now. It was a rough session and I dropped one and half buy ins. I think I played ok though. I tried a couple high variance plays that were probably +EV overall, but didn't work out last night. Oh well. I feel like I'm improving and I showed some good patience last night, not paying off in frustrating spots and not trying to force the action with bad players. So I think I'm slightly encouraged, despite losing. I'm really excited for Vegas, to see how these things I'm learning translate to that setting. Another thing I can't wait for is a poker lesson.

life tilt

fuck.

uncock my shit

Its so hard to blog during the turnaround. Really, its hard to do anything during the turnaround. It is void that consumes my whole being and turns me into a zombie. I bet it gives me cancer.

I'm pretty tired, but I do have a day off tomorrow. I'm not sure what I'll do, just relax and be with my lady I guess. I would like to golf some but its supposed to rain sometime. So I'm not sure that will happen. I would also like to play some poker. I haven't played a hand in well over a week, which is the first time that's happened in a long while. I love poker and I miss it.

Speaking of poker, the WSOP final table starts tomorrow. Kevin wants me to not pay attention to any of it and just watch the ESPN show on Tuesday. But I'm not sure I'll be able to do that because that would mean I couldn't go on any poker websites for three days and probably couldn't listen to any new poker podcasts in that time as well. I'm not sure I could do that. I will probably pay attention to the first day when they play down to the final 2. Then I'll not pay attention and just see who won on Tuesday, like everyone else. I'm not sure yet though.

more stuff

So the meeting between my wife and her parents went reasonably well. Actually, it went about as well as it could have. They basically came to an understanding on how to make their relationships better, which is good. We then spent the rest of the weekend with them, which was good but weird. To go from a state of distrust and bitterness to a state where we hang out and have fun all day is just too weird. And that has been hard on Catherine. She's been really stressed out as a result of that and other things that are happening.

Things with the house are progressing slowly. We (hopefully) have given all the documents and info to the loan company that they need in order for them to decide if they should give us half a million dollars. The whole process has been very frustrating though, as whenever we think that we have given them everything we have to provide a few more documents. Oh well.

Only in California can we simultaneously deny law enforcement additional funding, but vote to add a speed train. We strike down the right of parental notification if their child wants an abortion, take away the rights of gays to get married, but overwhelmingly pass a law that forces farmers to allow a chicken that will eventually be slaughtered to have room in their cages to walk around. We barely pass legislation that allows for funding for childrens schools, and deny victims of crimes the right to be aware of criminal hearings but pass by a 2-1 margin proposition 2. My state has the political views of a 13 year old girl.

seriously, now this is getting ridiculous

So I have so much going on that I should be blogging about it all every freaking day, but I just can't find the time. Then I get to the point that there is so much to tell about what happened that its too overwhelming, so I don't want to write about it anymore. So I just have to tough it out and do what I need to do.

Still, I don't have time to write everything. Hopefully, as I get time I can write little snippets about what's happening.

Right now, the turnaround has started. For the unaware, a turnaround is when a chemical plant, or probably any plant, shuts down in order to perform maintenance that can't be done while operating. Since plants don't make money when they aren't operating there is a lot of pressure to get things done quickly, which means long hours and hectic pace. Yesterday was the first day and I worked over 14 hours. Today is looking the same. Its good money for our company, and the work is somewhat interesting, but I am already very tired. Still, once I get in my flow I will do fine I'm sure. I just have to find my flow.

Anyways, I need to go take care of something. More later.

wat

Sssooooooooo we got a house. I am a home owner. Weird. Not even really sure what happened or what to say about it. I guess though that I can say that this is pretty clearly a gift. The circumstances surrounding us getting a house suggest that this is more than random chance. We didn't deserve to get this house. But we did and now I must say that this house is a promise. A promise of a new chapter in our lives. A promise of hope.

And we need it now because Catherines parents are coming this week. This can go a number of ways, but I think that most of them are good. I think I will share more later though.

I golfed this weekend and totally KICKED KEVIN'S ASS! He was weeping like a beaten little girl. It was sad, yet satisfying.

take a deeper breath

Things have been really busy lately. We have the turnaround coming, which, for those who don't know, is this crazy project that lasts a few weeks which usually has me working 12 hour days 7 days a week. I've been doing a lot of planning for it and things are picking up because its only about 2 weeks away. This turnaround should be easier though, as it appears that I will be working slightly shorter shifts and only 6 days a week. So that should make things easier. After that, it will be my favorite time of the year. I can hardly contain the excitement about that.

In just over a week Catherine's parents are coming. Oi. I'm glad that its finally coming though. Hopefully it comes to a conclusion that is somewhat successful. I am restrainedly hopeful though.

We made an offer on a house. Its a fixer upper in Alamo that's pretty nice overall, but needs a lot of work. Our offer was really really low, and they have had 5 offers total so our chance of getting it is a snowball's in hell. But I guess it was worth a shot, and also worth it to see how the process goes and see how involved everyone is.

A lot more going on, but I don't want to make this too long. So, alas, I will save it for another day.