Envelopes

I'm having a few back issues and went to my back doctor earlier this week.  I hadn't been in a while, and had forgot how much my co-pay was.

I took out 2 twenties from my wallet, as I recalled the amount was somewhere in that area.

Turns out my co-pay was $35 because it was a speciality doctor.

I was the first patient that morning and sure enough, they didn't have change yet.  But, they could go in the back to the safe to get change.  Because I was running late for work, I told them I would see if I had the exact 35 dollars to save a lot of time.

However, after I looked in my wallet, I see I only had a few one dollar bills and those 2 twenty dollar bills.

BUT!

I remembered I had my envelopes in my purse from my women's league payouts. 

I take out one of the envelopes and start to open it in front of the two ladies at the front desk.  They look at me real funny, like, "Why does she have money in an envelope?"  lol

Of course the first envelope didn't have any denominations less than a $20, so I pulled out another envelope and started to open that one in front of the ladies, too.

I finally offer, "I play pool in a league and we got paid at our award ceremony last week."

The two ladies still looked at me funny; I don't think it sunk in what I really said, lol.

Luckily the second envelope had the denominations I needed to make $15 (plus the other $20 I have) to make exact change for the $35 copay. 

I gave the Janette exact change and go on my merry way, kinda laughing to myself at the look on their faces that I was taking cash out of envelopes, lol.

The Hill Hill Handshake

This is something I wish I would see more.  Hell, wish *I* would do more.

I only do this when my opponent initiates, so I should start initiating this more myself, but I really like it when the players shake hands when a crucial match goes hill-hill.

I saw Dylan Weinheimer, a GREAT player from the Fort Work, TX area, and Tony Sulsar, a FANTASTIC player from Sherman, TX, go hill-hill the first set of the finals of the Omega Billiards Tour last Sunday (June 23rd).  And before they started that final game of that first set, they shook hands. 

It was pure joy to see that!

I don't know who initiated it first, it just seemed to happen naturally with these two awesome guys.

Admiration from both players; both players respecting each others' game.  It was a true, generous, genuine moment and I wish I saw it more in our sport. 

Dylan

Tony

Forfeiting Is Part of the Game

I had a very uncomfortable situation on Sunday.

As many of you already know, I created and help run the Omega Billiards Tour in the DFW-area (Dallas-Fort Worth).

We had our 4th stop of the 2013 season last weekend at Rusty's Billiards in Fort Worth, TX.

On Sunday morning, as the Tournament Director (TD), I made announcements and called the first round matches of the day at 11am.

The other TD (my boyfriend), Brian Anderson, was in a match at 11am so he was warming up and then played his match, so I was doing most of the TD duties at this time.

At 11am, two players are missing in action (absent).  I check my phone; no texts.  One of the other players who arrived close to 11am happened to mention the traffic was bad on I30, so I wondered if these other two players were stuck in traffic.

I kept checking the time, and after about 5 minutes (11:05am), one of the late players comes running through the door and I tell him quickly as he passes me, "Table 9" as he rushes to the table and grabs his cues from his case to begin the match.

The other MIA player still hasn't shown up, and myself nor the pool room has received a call from him.  While I am not suppose to do anyone a favor, if it turns out traffic is the reason, then I would give them some wiggle room.

As the digital clock on the wall says 11:14, I make an announcement and announce "MIA" is now on the clock and has only 5 more minutes.  That means he has until 11:19am.

At this point, he should have already been forfeited at 11:15am, but I decided I should announce he has 5 more minutes.  I honestly thought if he was this late, he wouldn't be coming at all anyway.

At 11:20am, I mark "MIA" down as F (for forfeit) and move his opponent over on the bracket for his next match.

At 11:22am, MIA walks in the door!  He walks in real slow, looks kinda tired, moseys on in.

I turn to his opponent and say incorrectly, "It's up to you if you still want to play or not."

He turns away from me and walks away from the TD table.  As soon as he did that, I knew I was in the wrong.  I was the TD and had to make the decision. 

My heart has to go out the window and I have to follow the rules.

I was honest and told "MIA" I even gave him 5 extra minutes, but I had to forfeit him.  I asked why he didn't call, and he said he didn't know our numbers.  I suggested he could have looked up the pool room's # and/or called one of his friends who has my #.

He never said there was traffic, he never argued, he never showed that he was upset.  He just kinda "took" the info.

He went to the other side of the room and I got his envelope for 17th place monies (a whole thirty dollars) and walked over to hand it to him.  I apologized again and felt super bad the guy drove prolly an hour to get here and then he gets forfeited.

But, I had to do what was right.

His opponent would tell me later that everyone else got there on time and busted their butt to get there and it wouldn't be fair to let him play.  He also added IF I had let him play, that would be a worse repercussion for the Tour's image (looks like playing favorites).

I DID apologize to his opponent for saying "it's up to you." I never should have said that.

I was going by past experience when I distinctly remember playing two matches in my life that should have been a forfeit.  I was given the choice to play or not.  Both instances were very clear in my mind.  Ironically, I lost BOTH of those matches.  But I admit I didn't have enough strength to TAKE the forfeit. 

I never should have said that to that player.

About an hour later, it suddenly hits me that the clock was "bar" time!  I wondered how much off it was from the "real" time.  I grabbed my phone quickly, but luckily the time on the wall was spot on.  Whew.  I would have felt REAL bad had the "bar time" been ahead 5-10 minutes like most are.

I felt bad for making the right decision, but that's sometimes what TDs go through to run an equitable tournament.

The Handshake

A few weeks ago, I subbed for a friend of mine on Monday night for her league, because they have to have at least 2 female players play each Monday night out of the 5 players on each team.

Ironically, I have been asked to join this league by 3-4 different female friends over the past few years.

I enjoyed the night so much, I'm no longer a sub - I'm ON the team! 

The timing was perfect as my other Monday night league doesn't start back up til August.  Everyone keeps talking about the end-of-season tournament and how much money is in it, so I felt I shouldn't pass it up right now because I happen to have the time to play and get enough weeks in to qualify for that.

This past Monday on the new league, I played a cocky player my very first match.  He's always strutting around the table, sometimes he makes sarcastic comments at other players in the heat of the battle, and he is very protective of his girlfriend.  He has always been nice to me and I have no problem with him at all.

I walk up and shake his hand before I break, and it was a nice, firm, friendly shake.

I don't make a ball on the break. 

His very first shot at the table, he goes for a 9ball combo, but misses.  I see I can kick the 9ball in if I hit it correctly off the rail between two other balls.  I get down to shoot, and even though I aim to make it, I am wishing on a hope and prayer, as I really don't think I will make it.

Well, I DID!

My teammates clap loudly for me, as this was our first win of the night and I got us on the board.

I went to shake my opponents hand and all of a sudden he gives me a wimpy handshake!  Like a dead fish.  You know, the weak hand shake like you don't want to shake hands, or like you have cooties or something.  No longer firm, no longer cocky, he's not happy this chick beat him; beat him like that.  Even though he tried to combo the 9ball first.

I should be thankful he even shook my hand at all, but it really caught me off guard he acted like that with this wimpy handshake after losing.

It's Not All Good

For those that might read my blog enough, you might think, "man, she has a lot of successes and doesn't really write about bad things."  Well, I have written about some pretty tough things I have been through - lost friendships, people accused me of sharking, dealing with rude opponents, etc.

However, I have been playing well lately and therefore have come away with many great wins in league and placed high in a several women's tourneys the last year or so.

So, I have written a lot of "feel-good" blog entries lately.

But, it's time to share that it's not all roses.

It's not all peaches and cream.

It's not all successes.

Sure, I have been playing well, but it doesn't mean I don't have off days or go through tough situations.

So, I wanted to share one of my "bad days of pool" with you, my online friends.

At the end of May, I played in a mixed bar table tournament.  I felt fairly confident, as I have been playing well, even though I knew the competition would be tough.  I didn't think I'd place in the money, don't get me wrong, but I still thought I could get a few wins under my belt and have a decent showing.

As we walk into the pool room, I see someone I hadn't seen in a while and asked him if he was gonna play on the Tour I am now running in the area.

I don't even know how to tell you that his response caught me extremely off guard.  He chewed me out!  He pointed his little pointy finger at me while he yelled at me with so much anger, it scared me.  He yelled at me that he was never playing on the tour again; and that it was my fault.  I stood there in awe, trying to defend myself, but instead, found myself back to being 13 years old being verbally abused as a child.

I did TRY to speak up, but he yelled OVER me; and AT me; and cussed me out.

:(

As he walked away from me, I started to shake with embarrassment, anger, confusion, and raw emotion.

I walked over to my boyfriend who didn't know this was going on and I reacted.  I started to shout and shake in my voice and yelled, HE JUST FUCKING CHEWED ME OUT!" as I tried to explain what just transpired while holding back tears.

Friends started to walk in and they would try to say hello and get a hug but I could only stand there very upset. 

The few people I confided in tried to calm me down; told me he was wrong; told me that what he was upset about wasn't my fault (even though he blamed me); told me he shouldn't have treated me that way; told me he was an asshole; etc.

It didn't help.

I was deeply affected and mortified I had just been chewed out for something I had NO idea he was upset about it.  He blamed me for something that happened SIX months ago at a tournament, that I had no idea he thought was my fault.  Everyone told me he was wrong, and that actually it was HIS fault he lost.

It doesn't matter; the damage was done.  I was done.  I was a mess.  I had to go outside and cry because it was too emotional what just happened to me.  My boyfriend came out to console me but of course I would take it out on him and yell at him.  He wants to confront the guy but I tell him not to, just let me and him both cool off.

But I kept telling him, "You weren't there, you didn't hear and see what he said and how angry he got."  His reply, "He never would have treated me that way."

:(

(for the record, he got upset at something and walked out of the tourney in the middle of his match) 

After about an hour and a half, I get to play my first match.  I am physically and emotionally drained.  I can tell.

I play a guy that my boyfriend banters a lot with and I hear my boyfriend say to him from across the room, "Want to bet $10 on the side, Doc?"

I'm like, "Really, Guys?"

Then another friend says from the next table, "You aren't going to take that bet, Doc?"

Then I start thinking too much.

Why would he say that?  He's a friend.  Doesn't he know I can beat Doc?  Does he NOT think I can beat him?  Why would he think that about my game?  I play better than him!  Does he not think that?  How can he not think that?

Yep, I was butt hurt.

I miss 3 shots in the side and I lose the match 4-2.  Doc played real good, and I think I can beat him normally, but those 3 shots in the side cost me.  During the match, while emotionally drained from earlier, I'm also still perturbed my friend didn't have enough confidence in me.  I let it bother me during the match, which was STUPID, of course.  We can't play good pool if we aren't focused on the match at hand.

I walk over to my b/f after I lost and tell him, "I'm sorry I lost."

I asked him how much they bet and he said $50.

I immediately react, "WHAT?!  50?!  Why?  I thought it was $10!"

"Because you should beat him. "

"Well, I'm sorry I didn't," I snap.

"You should have beat him, but it's okay" he tries to tell me reassuringly.

Really???  You gonna say that me?  Now I feel REALLY bad I lost.

"Don't worry about it," he tells me.

At this point, all common sense goes out the window.

Still reeling from earlier, a friend has no confidence in my game, and now I'm being told I "should" have won.

I had to go back outside.  :(

I took everything wrong, can't think straight, super upset and emotional, and just lost $50 for my boyfriend.

THEN!  I heard that Doc and that friend were exchanging money.  So, now I presume that the money was the $50 he won off of me.  Now I REALLY feel like he thought I can't beat Doc.  I'm mortified he doesn't believe in my game - dammit, I play good enough to beat Doc!

(well, I think I do)

It takes me over another hour or two to finally calm down and think straight over being chewed out from earlier in the morning.

I now can see that although I don't agree, the guy really thinks the instance is my fault and he blames me so he's super mad at me and took it out on me.

I have to remind my b/f throughout the day not to say anything to the guy, as my b/f continues to be upset about it, too.  But now that I've calmed down, I am now glad he chewed me out and not my b/f (because it could have been uglier).

I am much calmer and can understand if the guy really is upset, he has a right to be.  Everyone has their own emotional triggers and his was he was upset about that day six months ago.  Now, granted, he should NOT have chewed me out like that, but I can accept he's angry.  I don't understand, but I can accept that those are his emotions.  But, it takes me HOURS to calm down and realize this clearly.

However, I get a little frisky and send a text to that friend, "I can't believe you bet against me.  I'll gamble with Doc any day, any time."

He sends a reply, "What?"

He finally comes over and talks to me, "what did you mean?"

I told him what I meant and what happened earlier.

He said, "What?  No, I was joking with Doc - like, he was scared to bet only $10?  I had no idea they bet $50.  I wasn't in on it; the money I got from Doc was for two calcutta bets, not your bet."

It goes to show that when you are upset, your mind wanders aimlessly, negatively, and stupidly!  Plus, honestly, my friend can think Doc is better than I - I can't be offended about it if that's the way he really feels.

It was a really, really rough start to the day.  Luckily I gambled with someone else later that evening and won $50.  :)

But, not everything is roses.  There are some thorns. 

Women's League Playoff's

My Thursday night league is a women's-only league and we had our playoffs two weekends ago.  My team happened to win the playoffs last year.  Would we repeat?

The top bottom of the teams play in the Best of the Rest the weekend before, but since we were the first place team in the rankings, we played in the second weekend, called the Best of the Best.  We also got a bye first round.  :)

We play our first match at noon against a strong team but we come out on top.

We play our next match at 6pm, against the 2nd-ranked team, and we come out on top!

We then find ourselves in the finals on Sunday afternoon at 4pm.

While we are waiting for our opponent, we have a round of drinks with friends, and of course we captured it somehow:

The finals go kinda slow, but we prevail again!!  And we win!  We won the league playoffs!  OMGosh!

Here are my teammates, Nina, Joey, Courtney, Sandy, Janet, and myself.  Go GBA!! 

I am SO proud of my team for another fantastic win in the playoffs and for capturing first place in the rankings!

Second Queen of the Hill Title

Two Friday's ago I played at Diamond Jim's in Arlington/Grand Prairie, Texas.  On Friday nights, they have a separate ladies event from the men.  I have said this before but it is SO cool to be able to have a weekly ladies-only tourney in the area to play in!

There were only about 12 girls or so in it, but I was still happy to be able to play.  And then it got better.

As I played my very first match, I was ELATED!

I was seeing the table SO well.  The layouts, the runs, how to get on tough balls.  I was almost shocked how well I was playing.

I won the tourney not only undefeated, but not one person got a game on me!  In a race to 2, that's pretty cool.  :)

The next weekend, I would play at the same venue in the Queen of the Hill tournament, which is the end-of-season singles tourney for my ladies Thursday night league.

I won this event last year.  So, this was my second time playing in it.

We were all very disappointed when only 11 girls showed up.  :(  We aren't sure what is going on, but the league has about 85 players in the league.

I figured the calutta would be CRAP.  Instead, I was pleasantly surprised that $505 total would be in the pot after the bidding was complete!  We were all mostly bidding on each other, lol.

Well, I didn't bid on anyone, as I didn't have that much money and plus, I had faith in myself so saved my cash-on-hand to buy half myself.

I could tell ALL morning I wasn't feeling IT.  I could tell I would be struggling this day.  I tried very hard to recall how well I played just the Friday before, but the feeling wasn't the same for some reason.

And it showed in my performance. 

I had 3 or 4 hill-hill matches, including being down 0-2 in the finals.  I somehow overcame being mentally agitated about how long the finals was taking, and won 3 in a row to win the tourney and the title and first place.  But I missed a lot of balls and didn't have much focus except for maybe two matches the entire day.  

But, I held on and won!

Here is my fellow teammate and I, Nina (first and second place):

And the brackets (click to enlarge if you are bored, lol)

So, first place monies ($105), calcutta ($305/2).    Not too bad for a $10 dollar tourney (house matched the pot) and going for $160 in the calcutta.

Thank you to all my friends and supporters!  Means the world to me!

Bantering with Teammates

At the BCAPL State tourney, I along with all the other Open players had to race to 5 in the women's 8ball division.  If one was an Advanced player, then you had to race to 6.  This was noted with the letter "A" next to your name on the scoresheet.

So I play one of my teammates in my very first match of the second day, at 10am.  This is for 9th place.  We are both happy to still be in the tourney, but we also pick on each other because we love being teammates.  :)

She sends me a text and asked if I was awake about 30 minutes before our 10am match.

I replied, "Um, yes."

She replies, "You better bring your game because I plan to kick your ass." 

I said, "Same to you. LOL."

As I finished getting ready, I then sent her another text.

"Hey, they moved our match to noon.  See you then."

She replies, "Really?  Who told you that?  I heard they just moved it to 1pm."

LMAO!

We are both screwing with each other, basically saying we don't want to play each other because it's gonna be a tough match.

Our match had not moved at all and was still planned as scheduled for 10am.

I get there about 9:50am and go to our table.  She already has the score-sheet at our assigned table but she is in the bathroom.

I look down at our score sheet and the bitch wrote an "A" next to my name!!

Funny girl!!

Men, Women, Pool, Equal?

I have alluded a few times in my blog to the fact that I believe that men play better than women when it comes to pool.

Almost every time I hint at it, I get a comment from someone about it.

There are many people who are passionate about the idea that there is no physical difference between men and women playing pool (except maybe the break) and therefore we should be equal competitors in the sport (I often wonder the same thing about poker). 

People get so passionate about the topic regarding pool, that they argue about it.  Either in person, or on forums.

I have seen SO many posts about this topic, that I wont even read them anymore on forums because it's almost like how you shouldn't talk about religion or politics, lol.  People get too passionate about the topic.

Someone asked me after my latest comment about men and women, would I write a blog about that topic?  Would I explain why I think men play better than women.

Sure!

But, it's not the normal blog I write.  Instead, I'm going to point you to a fellow blogger who already wrote about this topic in detail.  No reason to rehash how well she explains why men and women do indeed have differences when it comes to pool and why men compete better and finish higher;  she stated it well already.

In fact, here is an excerpt that sums up my sentiments exactly: 

I agree, side by side I don’t think women are at a disadvantage physically when it comes to pool. It’s the inner workings of our brain that really separate us. Given pool’s more a mental sport rather than reactionary, I think it’s women’s thoughts & emotions that give us more obstacles to success.

Also, please, PLEASE read the comments under the blog entry.  There's some really great thoughts from my friend Jennifer, and others provide links for further reading.

Without further ado, my dear friend, Gail Glazebrook and her blog entry: "Let's Talk About Sex."

Scotch Tops

Brian and I won another scotch doubles tourney on Memorial Day.  :)

Woo-Woo!

We went to The Stadium, near the Dallas Cowboy's new stadium, and played in their inaugural scotch doubles event.  Tom, the owner, had a cookout and everything. 

There were 15 teams and 4 really well-kepted bar tables.

Brain ran the calcutta for them and the Pick of the Litter bid went to our friend Shane, who picked us.  (blush)

In our first match, we should have lost 0-2, but somehow won 2-1.  I made a couple of mistakes and noticed Brian wasn't happy with me, but this time he didn't say a word.  Problem is, he still shows it on his face and in his mannerisms.

Women are so funny, we say, "It's okay" when our partners do something wrong on the table.  Yet when we do something wrong, they don't console us, they get upset (and some guys verbalize it).

Speaking of, one of the ladies who plays in the scotch doubles tourneys in the area with us normally plays with a guy that's gets on to her ALL the time.  She is constantly trying to defend herself or trying to calm him down.  This time, she played with someone else!  They placed further than she normally does with the "verbal abuser" and she obviously looked like she had a lot more fun!

Brian and I got through that first match by our skivvies, and then dominated and went undefeated to win the top prize!

 

I was so happy he didn't offer advice or suggest I did something wrong.  We know we both play so much better together when we are just supportive.  I was glad we practiced this "non-verbalism" because BCAPL Nationals is right around the corner and we need that good reminder going into that important tourney.

Woo-Hoo!

Pool Players and Their Tattoos FB Page

I took a lot of photos at the BCAPL Texas State Tourney back in April and as I was going through the photos to pick the good ones, delete the blurry ones, I noticed I happened to capture several pool players and their tattoos.

I therefore decided to create a FaceBook page just for this combination!

The link is here:  https://www.facebook.com/PoolPlayersAndTheirTattoos

If you have pics of your tattoos showing while playing pool or pool in the background, OR if you have pics you have taken of players with tattoos, pleas post them on the FB page and I'll put them up for you.

Thank you in advance for your help!

Click photo to enlarge the screen capture

Hill Hill Catastrophe

I honestly don't even know how to write this, to share this, to TELL this!

This was the most amazing thing I had witnessed in pool in a long time.  Even as I type this, trying to figure out HOW to write this, I'm still shocked.

It was my boyfriend's Sunday league playoffs.  His team, Beaners and Crackers (don't ask) were in the finals against another good team (HM), and BandC would need to be double dipped by HM.

There were a few really weird things with this leagues' playoff.

First, it's a SIX-man roster, but the matches in the playoffs were a race to THIRTEEN.  13?  Really?  That's ludicrous with a 6-man roster.  My boyfriend was the 6th player and a couple of times he only played twice. 

And the other really weird thing was if any matches went hill-hill, the league operators called another game!

What?

Every league I have ever been on, if it's hill hill, then no more games are played.  None.

That one hill-hill game decides the outcome.

But not on this league.

This weird rule will really "shine" later in this story.

Right before the finals started, HM asked BandC if they wanted to race to 25 for BOTH the 1st and 2nd place monies.  BandC were ALL over the idea, but not all the players of HM wanted to do that, so instead, it would be a race to 13, and if needed, another race to 13.

So, BandC were down 11-8 in the first set of the finals, and they all told each other, "Only 5 in a row, Guys.  Come on; we can do this."

And next thing you know, they win 4 in a row, with the other team getting one more, making it 12-12.

As the hill-hill game starts, the league operators calls another game!  The next game in the line-up on the roster.

When they started the other game (while the hill hill game was going on), I was SO confused (perturbed, even).  It just didn't make sense to me.  And I had never seen anything like it before!

I overheard several new players mumbling about it.

I was told that WHICHEVER game finished first, they would win the set of the 12-12 match.

So, basically, 4 people had a chance to win the first set.

I was told that last season, this same thing happened and one of the guys was running around the table trying to finish his match first before the other team won theirs.

Omg...

So, we are literally watching TWO tables to see who would win first, even though technically only one hill-hill game should be played.

My boyfriend, Brian, is playing on the other table (the not-so-real hill-hill match).

The REAL hill-hill match, everyone is already sweating because it started already.

I look over at Brian and he's rolling his eyes.  His opponent (CM) is taking forever to rack for himself.  CM finally starts to break, then sees something off, and then RERACKS again. 

I think he's doing this deliberately.

Because mind you, on the real hill hill table, his teammate (NewJ) is running out against Brian's teammate (Florida).  So, CM (who is slow anyway), is taking his sweet time.  He presumes NewJ will win the other match and then they get to play another set (because HM has to defeat BandC twice in the finals - at least that part is "normal"). 

Well, Brian's teammate, Florida, gets a chance at the table!  He shoots a few balls, but can't get out - it's too tricky.  NewJ starts to make another run.

On the other table, Brian's opponent FINALLY broke, but again he keeps taking his time.  But he makes a few balls and isn't letting Brian to the table.  But, he's on a run.  I also notice he is intently peeking over at the other table though to see how NewJ is doing in his match.

I didn't understand why he just wouldn't finish the rack off!  But CM had a tricky shot in front of him and he took his time; knowing if Brian got to the table, it wouldn't be good.

NewJ goes for a shot two balls before the 8 and HOOKS himself.  Unfortunately, one of Brian's teammate's yelled out for him to get hooked and we were all appalled and told him he was rude (that's another story).

NewJ took his time, made a good hit with a long rail kick.  Left Florida tough, and no clean shot.

On the other table, MC nails his tough shot nicely!  At this point, we see that unless something really weird happens, Brian's opponent can win.  He has two balls and an 8 ball.

Florida plays safe.

NewJ gets to the table and somehow, amazingly, makes his tough cut on the last ball, even though Florida played a good safe!  NewJ yells with excitement and we are all impressed too!  He gets shape on the 8ball, but still has to cut it in.

CM on the other table, now has a straight shot on the 8ball, but he walks around slowly as he watches his teammate NewJ shoot at the 8ball.  At 12-12, this will be the deciding game.

We are all watching the match, including CM, and NewJ makes the cut on the 8ball.... BUT SCRATCHES!!

We all didn't even know what happened til someone said, "it's over."  And we are all like, "what?" 

What do you mean it's over?

We are super confused.

What just happened exactly?

NewJ LOST because he scratched and therefore BndC WON the playoffs because the score was 12-12!

If CM would have just made his 8ball and not dilly-dallied around, THEY would have won and the second set of the finals would have ensued.

I'm still shocked!

No one can believe they won/lost that way!

I would hear later that CM wanted his best friend NewJ to win the final game for the team; boy did that backfire.

Ouch!

Here's Beaners and Crackers celebratory toast after the weird win:

 click photo to enlarge

Questions From Non Pool Players

I know you can all relate to this, but wanted to get it down in words anyway.

When someone finds out you play pool, and play well, we get the same questions.  Almost every time! 

This happened to me just the other day.  Thought I would blog the questions and maybe get some chuckles from you, as I know you can all relate!

BTW, my answers really weren't this short, but for brevity, I shortened them for this entry.

You play pool?

(yes)

Are you good?

(yes)

Will I see you on ESPN?

(no, just an amateur)

But you're real good?

(yes)

We'll have to play some day.

(okay; but I only pay for money (half joking))

Well, I used to play when I was (younger... or....in college.... or.... in the military....)

(Cool. )

I play pretty good when I've been drinking.

(okay, really can play for money (j/k))

Do you have your own cue?

(several)

Do you have a table at home?

(yes)

So that's why you are good!

(no, just got it a about a year ago and hardly play on it)

Are you a pro?

(no)

How much money did you make in the tournament?

($200)

That's it?

(yes, pool isn't like golf or tennis, but some of the top male players can make a living)

Why do you play, then?

(it's my passion)

You mean 'hobby'?

(no, passion, there's a difference)

Wait, men and women play the same, right?  There is no physical difference.

(no, there is still differences)

Will I see you on ESPN, though, really?

(maybe in the audience)

League Hiatus

Well, both my leagues are over with.  Until August!  Oh my.... What will I do on Monday and Thursday nights for two months?

Maybe get some exercise in?   

But I know I'm going to be craving playing.

I do have tourneys for most of the weekends until BCAPL Nationals, but still - not playing during the week might make me go stir crazy, lol.

I did see our end of season stats for my ladies league on Thursdays.  Out of the top ten players in the league, 7 of them are on my nationals teams! (ACS and BCAPL)  That's two separate teams altogether with different teammates.  The only overlap player is myself.  That's a lot of talent right there!

:)

Specialized Chalk

It's amazing the things you can do with duct tape.  Little did I know that accessorized duct tape is super hip with the teenagers.  They use it on books OR whatever they can find to decorate.

I saw this at WalMart and my boyfriend's daughter (who was 16 at the time) forced me to go back and get it!  I exaggerate, but I did buy her some the next time I saw the display (not empty).

So, it was SUPER COOL when my teammates' daughter decorated my chalk for me!  No one else has this color!

I told her I wanted to blog about it, so she took a pic of ALL the decorated pieces of chalk her daughter created for teammates and friends:

When I played at ACS Nationals, I knew which was my chalk at ALL times.  Only one time did an opponent pick it up.  My teammates were like, "She just used your chalk!"  I quickly walked up and grabbed it since I accidentally left it on the table.  ;)  It was obviously personalized - can't believe she even touched it!  Just kidding!

When my team played, we each had decorated duct taped chalk.  It was awesome!

A BIG thank you to Angel and Jordan for the gifts!  If anyone wants specialized chalk, please let me know via email and I'll get you in touch with Angel.