A Turnaround?

Well, for those of you who haven't figured it out lately, I have had my ups and downs out here as I've gotten settled. There have been times where doubt has creeped its way into my mind and has kind of pushed away the confidence I gain every day I go to work...but there's something about taking a step like this that makes you realize that for everything you think it isn't, there are many more things that make you realize what it is.

Take Thursday for example. I had a bad Wednesday after I got home from work where I just sat around and I felt kinda miserable. I talked to my Mom about it, and then the next day, two things happened: My buddy Ian told me where the YMCA is out here, and I met a former major leaguer that turned out to be another fun experience in the last week for me.

The YMCA is about 10 minutes south of work, which is good for me because that means I can go there right after. I know that the gym at the complex is for free, but the thing is that starting next week, I won't be able to use it too much thanks to the players arriving, so having a gym I can go to on my own that has so many things available (at a pretty cheap price, by the way) is a great thing to have. Also, they have a basketball court. I've always felt good when I can go play basketball inside and pick up games. I can't wait to get in there. In fact, in a few minutes, I'll be heading over there right now to get started up. Hopefully, I can find my shoes in Mike's storage unit.

The other thing that just came out of nowhere was when I went to Eddie's on Thursday night. I had heard about this Amatuer Poker League that the World Poker Tour hosts, where people can just come in and play on Thursday nights. It looked like they were playing for points, and that you can get some cool things once you accumulate enough points. So I got there and found out you play for FREE. Sign...me...up. Erica, the girl that Mike is seeing, was working bar and told me all about it, so I signed up and then got some dinner. Note to self: I know you love buffalo wings, but the killer sauce just doesn't taste good. Go with hot sauce w/garlic.

So we sit down at the table and I'm obviously the new guy amongst these regulars. They ask me where I'm from and I told him how I just moved out here from Sonoma and that I worked with the Blue Jays. The guy next to me asked how long I had been working there and I told him about three or four weeks. Then he said, "Oh, alright. I used to play for them." When I looked closer, I realized who I was talking to. It was former Oakland A's and Toronto Blue Jays closer Billy Koch!

Now, Koch hadn't really changed too much. He still had the same beard thing going, so it's nice to know that some things never change. On top of that, he's a really laid back guy, and after a couple of normal baseball questions, we were just sitting around hanging out playing poker. He even offered me a beer! That meant the fun was just beginning. I had just won a huge pot with pocket 5's and I was getting ready to try and make my move, but break time came and we had to switch tables. So the two of us went over to a table where his buddy was sitting. Gary never played pro ball or anything, but he was happy to meet me and the beers kept on getting shared. I then knew of his tendency to tell the truth playing poker. Yeah, I got truthed out of over 10,000 chips. I never really recovered from that, but I played well enough that before they got to the final table, I was able to hang on until they made the move. I finished 8th, I believe.

While Billy, Gary and I had shared many a bucket of Bud Light while playing free poker, the night wasn't done yet. They decided to play darts, and they teamed up against myself and this other guy whose name escapes me. They proceeded to whoop our asses for three games, but after the third, Billy was ready for Jager shots. Of COURSE, I'm going to take a shot with Billy Koch! After we downed them, it was about ready for the second go around, but I had to get up the next morning for work and I wanted to get home in time to watch Burn Notice. So I shook his hand and Gary's and that was that. Not sure he'll be coming up to Eddie's anytime soon as that was his first time, but if he does, I'll be damn sure to order a bucket of beers for the both of us.

It was something that allowed myself to view the rest of my situation for what it is instead of what it isn't, and when I received a care package yesterday from the family with a bunch of cool things in it (My Dad's music, a gift card to Starbucks, a Ruth's Chris Steak House gift card, my PS3 controllers, and, because she's my Mom, Goldfish) I realized that perhaps I need to turn around my thinking again. Mike told me yesterday about the house he just put a bid on, and until 5 p.m. EST on Saturday, send positive thoughts, as he'll find out today whether it got accepted or not. If it is, and it passes inspection, then the final step of my move will be complete in about three weeks, which means that for the first time in two months, I might actually be settled in somewhere other than the Bay Area.

Talk about a turnaround...