Move Progress

Yesterday (the 28th) was the first day of the move. I packed up a few computers, various odds and ends, and the cats, for the drive down to Houston in the XTerra. I got some “kitty valium” from the vet before the drive, and the cats were quite baked during the trip. This is good, because Grapenut does not handle the car well.

I got the cats settled, the gas hooked up, and set up DSL. Now I just need to wait for the rest of my stuff to arrive (part 2 of the move is Monday) before I figure out what to do with all the extra space I have now. I’ve got an office and a guest room. I’ve got a huge area next to the kitchen that I’d think was a dining room, if it weren’t for the actual dining room. I’ve got a “game room” on the way out to the back yard. I have absolutely no idea what I’m going to put in all of these places. We’ll see.

Vegas in a Nutshell

First and foremost, no, I didn't cash in either of the WSOP events I played. But, I'm quite pleased with my play, and on the 2nd event, I came very close before my pocket Kings fell to pocket Aces ... held by two people at once! (At least I had outs and they didn't!) The other games (craps, blackjack, pai-gow) were choppy, but I came home not down too much.

The first poker tournament was a bust ... I busted out after about 75 minutes of play. I don't think this was due to hangover (which I most definitely had; thanks Steve), I just got unlucky. I got my money in with the best hand (J's with a Q kicker) and got drawn out on by an inferior hand (J's with a T kicker). Sadly, my early exit all but guaranteed a hangover the next day too.

The second poker tournament also took place during a hangover. We went to Voodoo, which is the lounge on top of the Rio, and drank wayyyyy too late. But, I played good solid poker for 12 hours before running into the KK vs AA vs AA scenario.

Outside the poker room, I had a great time hanging with Steve & Laura, Haley, Robert, Rainbolt, Durb (when he was around!) and, briefly, Kirk and Brian. Gotta love Vegas!

WSOP 2007

It's that time again, my friends... time for the World Series of Poker. This year I'm making the trip without Jeff (the bastard decided LASIK was more important than poker and craps!) and without my new-found poker buddy Robyn, but I'm going with plenty of great friends. Many, like Steve & Laura and Durbin, made the trip last year. Some, like Haley, are new to the annual pilgrimage. But all of us will have a great time. I plan to play in events 35 and 38 [schedule]. Most of the group will only play in 38. I'll post trip updates here as I can. Wish us luck!

Washington, DC

I just got back from DC, where I spent 4 days with Beckie and the kids. Ok, technically, I'm not back, I'm on the plane, typing this up on my new OQO model 2. But, only the geekiest among you (and there are a few) will be following the OQO link right now, and most will be wondering how our first vacation together went. In a word: Great!

Beckie had to go to Baltimore for 2 days for work last week, which meant she was being flown up and had a hotel room, so she figured why not pay the additional money to fly the kids up and stick around to see DC? After a little schedule rearranging with my client, I decided I could join them, so on the 3rd day of their trip, I met them in Baltimore. I rented a car, and after a trip to the aquarium (always a great place) and dinner, we drove down to our hotel in Georgetown. Getting there was a challenge, due to some crappy directions from both Avis and whoever answered the hotel phone the 1st time, but the 2nd person got us there.

By the way, to follow along in pictures, see kyleandbeckie.com.

The first day (Wednesday) was monument day, and was particularly hard on Katie who, at 12, doesn't really give a rat's ass about all the history we saw. First we went to the Lincoln Memorial, which is at one end of the mall. After taking in the views there and at the reflecting pool, we hit the Vietnam Memorial. This time it was just as sobering as the last time I saw it, but not as depressing, because there weren't crying vets sitting on the ground every 30 feet. Next up was my favorite of the trip, the WWII memorial. I had never seen this one before, and it has an appropriate nickname: the jewel of the mall. Very cool memorial. Next, we hung a right at the Washington Memorial and went down toward the Jefferson. We rented a 4 person paddle boat and took in the sights of "The Jeff" from the tidal pool where the cherry trees are (they weren't blossoming). After that, we did our first museum... the Holocaust museum. I did that one years ago when Joyce visited me while I was living in Alexandria, and it was just as shocking and depressing as I remembered it. By this time we were damn tired so we headed back to the hotel for a rest before dinner. Unfortunately, by dinner time we got a hell of a thunderstorm so we were stuck eating dinner at the hotel's shitty restaurant. The food was expensive and awful. Don't bother eating at the Georgetown Holiday Inn. Trust me.

Thursday was museum day. We picked up where we left off on the mall by taking the metro to the Smithsonian stop. From there we walked to the Air & Space museum, which is still my favorite stop in DC. Leaving there, we walked the rest of the mall down to the Capitol building, then circled back to hit the Museum of Natural History. Unfortunately, the line there was very long with lots of kids on school trips, so we decided to hit the National Archives. Yeah, so much for that plan... the line was just as long. So, we skipped it and hit my new 2nd favorite: the International Spy Museum. Very cool. I highly recommend it, and it was even interesting to Kate. Leaving there, we went back to the hotel for the kids to swim, then ate at a so-so mexican restaurant.

With museums and monuments out of the way, what does that leave for a Friday in Georgetown? You guessed it... shopping. In this case, it was window shopping, because no one found anything to buy. After walking all over G-town, we took a much needed nap before taking the car out to the Arlington National Cemetery. Every half hour at the Tomb of the Unknowns, they do the changing of the guard ceremony, which takes nearly 10 minutes itself! After that, we did a driving tour of some of the DC sights we had missed before heading out for dinner. We had a great meal at Cafe Romeo's on Wisconsin Ave in G-town (check it out!) before collapsing into bed exhausted.

Saturday -- departure day -- we went to the National Zoo. I was actually pretty disappointed with the low number of animals present, and the number of exhibits that were closed. We intended to stay there until 3 o'clock, which is about right to catch a 6 o'clock flight from BWI, but we ran out of things to look at and decided to go to the airport early. Bad idea. Our flights back (me to Dallas, them to Houston) were delayed for 2 hours due to severe storms in Texas. Actually, their flight was pushed to 8, so we went to the bar for a drink... and at 7, the screen suddenly updated to show their flight leaving at 7! And we weren't even through security! They barely made it. My flight finally left around 8:30.

It was a great trip, and an important milestone. Not only was it the first vacation together for Beckie and me, but it was with the kids and I survived!

Movin' On

So, it's time to bring up a topic I haven't wanted to write about until now... not because I'm not excited, but because I didn't want to jinx anything. Since March, I've been seeing someone new. Her name is Beckie. She's got 2 great kids (Josh,16, and Kate, 12). She's smart and beautiful and sexy. and unfortunately she lives in Houston.

Yeah, I know. Another long distance relationship. I didn't want that either. In fact, when we met on a pseudo-blind-date, I was very guarded because I didn't want a long distance girlfriend. She didn't either. As a result, we describe that date as "the date that did nothing for us". But, it didn't take long (exactly 1 week of IM and email) for us to decide to see each other again, and that next date (2 weeks after the first) sealed the deal... we've been together exclusively ever since. If you're curious and would like to see pictures of her, check out kyleandbeckie.com.

Which brings me to today's topic. I hate being long distance. I also don't want to be long distance for years before moving in together, only to have the relationship fall apart quickly after that, as it did with my ex-wife. If it can't survive day-to-day life and close proximity, I want to know now. So, I'm taking advantage of the fact that my consulting gig is portable, and my expiring apartment lease, and I'm moving to Houston. I rented a 3 bedroom house with a 2 car garage and a fenced yard, 4 miles from Beckie's house, for a whopping $7 more per month than my Irving apartment.

July 2nd starts the adventure. Movers show up that morning to pack and move me. It's a 4 hour drive, and they'll unpack me that night. I don't have all that much stuff, so I should be able to set up the whole house well before I need to go back to OKC on the 9th.

I'm leaving behind a lot of friends, and that part sucks. It's the only thing that made this a difficult decision. I will miss being able to spend time with you, but at least Dallas isn't so far away that I can't visit. And, of course, since I have 3 bedrooms, there will be a place to stay when you visit me.

Wish me luck!