Do I look like I drive a jeep cherokee and shop at abercrombie?

I've decided to pause my Pandora obsession for at least a little while. Instead, I'm going to stream the Current, mostly because I've now been listening to the same 10 or so albums for the last 3 years and am in desperate need of something new. That and Pandora is seemingly obsessed with the idea that I love jam bands and Jack Johnson, two things I quasi-enjoy but certainly not at the level Pandora expects. Reminds me of the kids I went to high school with, who referred to Dave Matthews Band as simply "Dave" and talked pretentiously about music with "soul." Barf.

In other news, I'm researching for two professors which is actually pretty fun. It's also an excercize in concentration and time management, which are two areas that could use a little refining. I just realized that it's less than a month until school starts, which is embarassingly exciting. I remember a couple years ago when Snoobs would talk about how much she wanted to go get her textbooks as soon as she could, and I'm in that exact spot. I don't know what I'll do with them once they arrive, but I'll be ordering them soon so that they can rest peacefully in the garbage dump we like to call "the office."

Also, I'm sure you all know this, but cable and internet is effing RIDICULOUSLY expensive. I'm trying desperately to save money, so cable was the first to go, and it has been all good, but the lack of internet is something that I cannot deal with. When I looked up Comcast's "deals," I was met with 6 month "promotional" pricing, followed by at least double the price after that. What really pisses me off is that my stupid apartment building wont allow satellite dishes (because it apparently ruins the aesthetic, a hilarious notion for anyone that knows the place) so its either Comcast or nothing. Fascists.

Okay, I'm going to go research unfair trade practice now. Gooooood times.

Blackjack, Biscuits, and Betting

I promised Wanda probably a week ago that I'd write a new blog, but then promptly forgot in the whirlwind of coffee aroma and online scrabble. Shoot.

Last weekend we went to Turtle Lake for Polkey's birthday. We decided on that casino for the sole reason that they serve alcohol, but I think our reasoning was misguided and I doubt that I'll patronize that place again. Not because we were treated poorly or anything, actually the people were really nice. This one guy we were playing blackjack with actually made a sort of affirming, "I know you're all lesbians and I'm okay with it" joke, so that ruled. Especially considering his Cabela's hat and marlboro reds. Not usually the kind of guys that take a liking to me...

Anyways, the only reason that Turtle Lake is a ridiculous place to travel is that its less than half the size of Mystic Lake and is farther away. Granted, it has craps and roulette while Mystic does not, but I'm sort of a die hard blackjack gal anyways so it makes little difference. I did, however, call the bet on the first roulette number that we saw, so I made a 35-1 return on my first action at the casino. So, you know, that ruled.

So you all know that I get obsessed with playing things correctly, so all week before we were going to go I read blackjack strategy books trying to get the exact balance between smart betting and playing the odds. I even handmade a chart which I synthesized from about 10 charts that are available, making the one TRUE strategy chart that I will stick with from now on. It seemed to work pretty well once we got there, as all of us were up at least double at some point. Sadly, we did not follow the one rule that EVERY strategy book pretty much plasters on its cover: leave when you're ahead. I still made a little money in the end, but jeez could I have made out like a bandit if I was just a bit more frugal.

In that same obsessive vein, I've become obsessed with the idea of playing golf. Most of you know that I enjoy really anything that makes a person pretentious or high brow, so I feel like golf and I would be great friends. This obsession is compounded by the fact that I don't have golf clubs, so I don't have to actually do anything except dream about how great a golfer I would be if only I got to practice.

I'm so weird.

I did have biscuits and gravy at the Louisiana Cafe before we left for the casino, and while they were good, they're certainly nothing to write home about (especially to my home, where the biscuits and gravy made by my mom and grandma would win any contest in which they were entered, hands down). Still, worth ordering again if you're ever in the mood for 28 grams of fat in one sitting.

Okay, I'm going to research some stuff now.