Whiny Pool Players - The Cueist Project

The Cueist shared with me once that he really doesn't like to compete against whiny pool players.  He shared an instance when he was playing a match against a guy named Oscar.  I don't live in the same town as him, but I immediately asked him, "Does he have a regular day job?"

He replies, laughing, "LOL, no. How did you know?"

The one thing I can say that I don't miss about playing pool anymore is the pool players who play pool for a living, who look to place in tournaments as their sole income.  I'm not talking about pros, I'm talking about the guys who have been only pool players their entire life, with no other source of income.  

Those players are THE TOUGHEST to play.  Not because they are good, everyone can play good, it's because when they start to lose, they cause a fuss, vent openly during a game, and/or bitch and whine, which of course can sharks us.

Most players look at tournaments as simply extra income. One friend of mine, every time she got an envelope, she would put it into a jar and at the end of the year she added how much she had and then went and bought herself something sweet!

Some players, when they finally maybe place in the top three and for the first time dip into a few hundred dollars, they might buy themselves something special with that extra cash.  When I won the Women's 9-Ball Singles at ACS Nationals, I took that $800 first-place-prize-money and went out and bought myself a tablet!

A majority of people use their winnings as extra money. Yes, we may use it to pay some bills, but we're not solely dependent on how we finish to pay the bills.

While I understand the frustration to need to pay your bills if pool playing is your sole income, but they take it out on us day-job-peeps if we start to beat them in a match or defeat them in a match.

I saw this in another way one time as well. I played scotch doubles in Vegas a long time ago with one of the local guys in San Antonio (where I lived at the time). He is a pretty even-keel guy, but he got onto me pretty badly when I made mistakes in our matches.  Of course back then I didn't even know what shape or patterns were, lol. Turns out he got mad at me because he was relying on us finishing well to pay his flight and hotel bills.  Damn that's a lot of pressure!  No wonder he got mad at me.

But, I just think it's unfair to us who play pool for fun or because we love the game, to have to play against players bitching, whining, cussing, slamming cues, whatever because they are losing. Yes, they are losing lunch money, bill money, etc. and so it is a pretty big loss when they depend on the win to pay their bills.  But, it's not our fault they decided to play pool for a living. But, they sure take it on us, huh?

Cueist said he got into it with Oscar.  "I got out of line when I lost my cool w/ him...but, I'm actually glad I stood up to him. I usually try and avoid conflict especially in the poolrooms b/c we see everyone so often. And plus, it's totally unnecessary. But at the same time, I felt like I needed to stop him and say something that a lot of guys wouldn't have said. "

Extra Money for Bills from Pool?

I don't talk about my job very often on my pool blog, but I think most of you know that I am a meteorologist and that I work for the National Weather Service (NWS).

I've been with the NWS for 26 years as of this month, actually.  Pretty proud of my career :)

The NWS is a part of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) which is within the Department of Commerce (DOC).  This means, during the past 3 weeks, I have been directly impacted by the "government shutdown."  Technically referred to as "lapse in appropriations."  AKA - no money.

I am deemed an "essential" employee (we can't just stop issuing forecasts and warnings!) and so I am required to come to work.  But we aren't getting paid.

I have worked for 3 weeks now with no pay, because of the "government shutdown."

If people who work for the government are affected by the shutdown, but are not deemed "essential," they are "furloughed."  Which means they aren't coming to work, and they also aren't getting paid.

One of my coworkers told me I was lucky I at least have a fall back:  I can give pool lessons and bring in some cash.

I just kinda laughed because I don't even charge enough to pay my light bill, lol!  But it does bring up an interesting point that if the shutdown goes on much longer and we aren't getting paid, we will all have to find other ways to make some money to pay our bills.  We all have talents and are smart and could find creative ways to earn cash.  Heck, a lot of us had summer jobs before going to college, and I even know how to flip burgers!  One guy is thinking about tarnishing address plates on houses for $25 each to bring in extra money.  Several are talking about maybe being Uber drivers.  Many of us are cutting out bills that we can live without during this penny-pinching time (like cable/netflix, magazine subscriptions, landscaping, etc).

The people that are furloughed (who don't come to work) could get another job during the shutdown.  For those like me who still need to come to work (which I am glad, btw!), I suppose I could get a part time job at night and on weekends while working full time if this goes on for a long time (well, I would HAVE to).

There are others (like me) who aren't married and therefore I am relying on only one income.  At least some other folks have a second income with their spouses.  But, many of us aren't sitting at home on a nest egg and we do live mostly paycheck to paycheck, which this shutdown will interfere with very soon with our car payments, house payments, electricity, etc.

Hmm....Maybe I should "up" my coaching appointments.  I'm just kidding!  I wouldn't do that; I would work in retail if I needed to start making side money to pay my bills if the shutdown lasts for months.  Pool doesn't bring in money - whether giving lessons, winning tournaments, or running tournaments - there's just not enough money in our sport to make a living.  And we all know this, so it isn't new information.

I gotta go - burgers are burning on the grill!

Asking to Brag

I have been a COOP (Continuity of OPerations) class all this week for work.  It's a fantastically-run class about how to prepare for the "What If" scenario. 

You know, if your office building is no longer standing due to a natural disaster or human intervention, what would you all do in that situation?  How would the essential functions of your business continue?

We need to prepare for these "What If" scenarios.  This can include doing training, exercises, preparing plans, what are your notification procedures?, etc.  Finally, do you have an alternate building your staff could work out of until you get to return?  If so - those type of situations should be planned out BEFORE an event.

It was a great class and it made me think of things I hadn't thought of before and gave us a lot of resources to get a plan in place.  Loved it.

Anyway, back on the topic of pool...

The week was separated into two classes.  In the first morning of introductions, we were to stand up and say our name, where we worked, title, and then something we were passionate about. 

I don't normally share what I'm passionate about.  I kinda keep quiet it.

Yet here I was EXCITED!  I was being ASKED to share.  :)

I shared with the folks in the class that my passion is pool and I'm kinda a top player in the area and I also run one of the largest billiards tour in the state of Texas right here in DFW (Dallas - Fort Worth area).

No one seemed to care, honestly, lol.

In the second class of the week, sure enough the morning of we do introductions again b/c it's not all the same people.  THIS time we had to share not our passion, but something we are kinda famous for. 

Hmm... I don't normally talk about myself.  Even in the pool room, usually a friend will mention first I've got a certain title - I don't like to talk about myself too much, especially to strangers.

While most people said they went to school with a famous person, I stood up proudly and said, "on my work side, I implemented the Southern and Eastern United States Tsunami Warning Program and on my personal side, I am a National 9-Ball Champion and a 3-time Texas State 8-Ball Champion."

People said, "ooooooh" and the instructor joked no one should play me in pool, and I quipped as I sat down, "yea, keep your money in your pockets please."  As we all laughed.

It was actually a nice way to brag a little.  Like I said, I don't normally talk about myself (prolly why my resumes aren't very stout, lol).  But in this case, I kinda had to brag and a small piece of me was proud to do it.  :)

Sharing More at Work

I noticed something the other day.

I actually was SHARING with coworkers I was either running a tournament or going out of town to play in a tournament. 

I usually NEVER do this.

Many of the reason why are listed here.

I think I'm being more open because I won the BCAPL Texas State Tourney.

I know that sound silly, but that is a huge accomplishment to me. 

I no longer have to be embarrassed to say, "I only placed 9th."  Or, try to explain why $150 for 5th place is still worthy of my passion to continue compete.

Now, I'm a little proud, "Going to Vegas for a big tourney."

Of course they don't know I just won the Texas state tourney so they still retort silly and unrealistically, but also sincerely, "Gonna win it, right??"

OMG people.  It's not that simple.

But, still, I've noticed I'm being more open because I've been more successful lately.  Interesting twist I never thought would occur in my workplace.