Kicking around on a peice of ground in my home town...

Once again folks, sorry for the lack of interesting posts lately. The number of visitors that I have to this blog still eclipse a hundred souls on a daily basis. I know that's not much in most circles, but its still rather nice to know that over a hundred of you are clicking on the site daily to see what's up!

The only thing of interest that I can think of to write about right now is the story of my very first stint as a dealer on the roulette table the other day. Unfortunately, it didn't last too long. When I first got to the table, I was just supposed to muck for an hour until my shift ended due to the fact that they had nowhere to put me at that time. I could have taken off an hour early, but I'm still not in that voluntary early out mindset as I can use all the extra scratch I can muster. So when I started mucking, the dealer immediately started complaining about how her hand hurt and she couldn't spin the ball very good, etc. etc. She was obviously trying to be lazy and wanted me to take over, but I responded to her complaints with "sorry, I just don't deal this game." "Now's the best time to learn," was her response. Well, I still wasn't happy about stepping in, but damn it if she wasn't correct. There was only one couple sitting at the table betting with the same color of chips. So I got brave all of a sudden and went right in.

My first spin was a thing of beauty. It had to have gotten about 20 rotations in, one of their numbers hit straight up and I paid out their $35 with ease. It went ALL DOWN HILL from there! I knew damn well that the first spin was complete luck. I had only ever tried spinning the ball on the roulette table once before, and I KNEW I didn't have the skills. But since the dealer and supervisor had never seen my past shenanigans before, they got the impression from that first spin that I was a seasoned pro in hiding. Within the next 10 minutes, I got about one good spin in for every 3 or 4 "no-spins". One ball almost made it out on the strip. One ball skimmed past a player's head. Another somehow found its way through the very small space in the plastic right next to the wheel camera, and multiple balls just chunked around inside the glass like a cousin of pinball. It wasn't pretty!

The supervisor finally had the whining original dealer tap back in and I was relegated back to mucking, which is even more of a subservient role now that the casino has installed automatic mucking machines on 2 out of their 3 tables! Now when I muck, my main job is to punch the side of the mucking machine tube when too many chips get in there and clog up!

When I left the table to go home, the supervisor made a little flippant remark like I "need to practice a little more" or something like that, as if I actually WANTED to deal the wheel at that point. I silently replied to myself that the next time my back hurts on the dice table, I expect little Miss Whines-alot to come over and give me a break, damned whether or not she knows how to deal the game or not (which I assure you she doesn't).

Okay, sorry for the craps elitism creeping through. I am getting more shifts on dice though than any other game, so I feel like I'm turning the corner to finally feeling comfortable dealing craps, no matter what the situation is, even on a jammed up table with 8 players to a side mixed with idiot strokers and slack-jawed tourists.

Other than work, I've just been doing what the title of the post suggests. Last week, I set up 2 Roth IRA accounts at the bank in an attempt to actually start putting away some cash for retirement. Aside from being vested after five years at the university, I've done virtually nothing along the lines of retirement savings. The accounts are ultra conservative, just investing in cd's and money market, but at least its something. I also called the benefits number for my current casino and got started in their 401K plan this morning, which I just became eligible for. That will be a bit more aggressive I think!

I have my first dental appointment in 2 years next Monday. I don't have dental insurance, but I found a coupon in one of those Valpack's that everybody gets in the mail and usually throws away without opening. $38 for an exam, 4 x-rays and simple cleaning. Pretty damn good deal if you ask me. I'll probably go through with it unless I show up and find some dude with various pointy metal things sitting in the back of a non-descript white van. I've never had a cavity and pretty much have good teeth, but 2 years without a cleaning doesn't set well with me. When I made the appointment, they sounded on the up-and-up, but I'll know for sure once I show up.

I can't think of anything else going on right now, at least nothing that tops the thrilling excitement of retirement savings and oral hygiene! Have a happy hump-day!