And I sang happy birthday to me

At 8:23 AM today (2/19) I turned 40 years old. It can't be possible, but it certainly is. The dark side of the moon; cresting the mountain; preparing for the (hopefully) long downhill slide. In any terms, it is a milestone. A sick and demented milestone.

I had thought about taking some time off and going somewhere I hadn't been. My procrastination won out and I simply decided to go to work and pretend like it was just another day. A lot of people would love to spend their 40th birthday in Las Vegas.....and I didn't need an airline ticket to do that.

Yesterday Linda springs it on me that she and a few friends were coming to the Palms to play poker today. I implored her to not make a spectacle out of it. Yes, come play poker and share my birthday with me, but let's not go the singing/balloons/cake route. Vivienne, in her own special way, decided to mark the occasion by wearing and "XL" sticker on her shirt. I had no clue what it meant, but she kept pointing to the sticker and asking me if I knew what it meant. My only guess was that she was living (extra) large. She laughed and said I must not be into Roman numerals. Indeed XL--The Big 40. Clever, Vivienne. Very clever.

I tried my best to get out of the line-up so that I could play too, but it was not to be. The room was busy and there was not an abundance of dealers. So deal I did. I opened table 6 which was the table that included Linda, Vivienne, Marie and Greg . I high carded for the button and Ms. Linda received the As and the button. On the first hand Linda came out firing, kept firing and took down the pot. She looked at me, said happy birthday buddy and pushed the entire pot to me. That's about the best gift a poker dealer can get. Linda, I would still love you if you hadn't done this, but it was a nice gesture and I appreciate it immensely.

When I finally got off of work, I went looking for Linda. I found her and we headed for dinner. After dinner we parted ways. I stopped to wash my hands on my way to the employee exit. When I exited the washroom, a strange and mysterious force guided me to a Keno machine. As usual, I got buried....and then.....Eureka!!

And you thought the swings in poker were bad? The keno machines have been my evil mistress for almost a month now. I have had some nice hits, but the long, dry spells in between have been brutal. In any case, the dreaded machine decided to give me a sweet birthday present.

Happy Birthday to Me!