It's Our 20 Year Anniversary!

Mike Howerton, the brains and workhorse behind AzBilliards.com (the premier online billiards website and the longest-running) and I were chatting today.

You may remember that I interviewed Mike back in November of 2018 (here is the link in case you didn't have a chance yet to read it). In that interview, I mentioned how he and I became friends:

You asked me to become a partner with AzBilliards in the late 90s when you noticed I created a website for my boyfriend at the time, a top pro. Not many people were online then and websites were a new thing so you and I were pioneers (and there were very few of us). Any regrets? Haha, seriously, I have enjoyed helping AzB and while I don’t help out that much anymore, I have enjoyed seeing AzB grow, and also our friendship!

And then I asked him, "Did you worry about the risks asking someone to join you?"

He replied,

"For the longest time, I was the only one who worked on AzB. On top of that, I have been a micro-manager all of my life and have always struggled to ask for help on things. So while uncomfortable at first, asking you to partner up made perfect sense. You introduced me to a number of top players back then. You have also became a great friend over the years. "

The reason I'm bringing this up today is because it's been 20 years that Mike and I have been friends and started to work on AzB together. So, it's our Anniversary!

BTW, the modern gift for the 20th anniversary is platinum. So, we expect some beautiful platinum goodies in the mail soon.

Yes, really! (lol)

Mike has been in Arizona and we've remained long distance friends from when I worked in Florida to now Texas all these years.

While we were chatting about the next issue of Billiard Buzz today, he shared: "You know I wouldn't be doing what I'm doing right now, if it wasn't for us working together many, many years ago. "

I asked him what he meant. He explained:

"AzB wouldn't have gotten to where it is without your help way back when. I tell people that the success of AzB was equal parts working without a real goal and getting lucky with the timing. But you were a big part of the success when it was becoming a success. You brought that connection to the pros that the site didn't really have. 

And you reminded me that they are all just people."

I was shocked! I had no idea about this and it really warmed my heart!  I told him sincerely, "Thank you for the compliment. We made and make a great team! 20 years now."

He replies, "Absolutely."

I've always found it interesting how companies start out. This is another example of things coming together perfectly!

To 20 more years, Mike! 

Just Merely Six Years Ago

Facebook has this scientific algorithm thingy that shows you "memories on this day."  I admit, some memories we may not want to be reminded of (wow, did I really date that guy?), but there are some that are super cool to reminisce about.

Like this one, for example:

I am quite astonished that was 6 years ago!  Six years?  Wowser.

At this point in my pool journey, I had been playing pool in tournaments for about 23 years.

But, I really only started to improve noticeably and consistently about 3 years before that post on Facebook.  A few times over the 20 years I had a good finish here and there, but nothing like the strong, consistent years I had from my "finally" solid pre-shot routine from 2010-2015 and knowledge of the game.  In those 5 years, I shyly but proudly admit I was a super star in the leagues I was on - it was pretty cool to see my own game go up so much people were begging me to be on their teams :)


While this second place win wasn't the initial catalyst into the realm of me earning more titles, it DID help catapult me into the winner's circle consistently more often for the next two years to come outside of league.

That second place finish was a position on a Ladies Tour stop I never thought I could be in.  And then I ended up the year in 2nd place in the rankings of the OB Cues Ladies Tour!  OMG, that was even MORE of a place I never thought I would be in.  Just about a year later in March 2014 I DID finally win the coveted title I always wanted to win - BCAPL Singles Texas State Champion.  And then in May of 2014, I would become a National Champion.  I never, ever dreamed of that possibility!  And to top it off, at the beginning of 2015 I earned the "Amateur Pool Player of the Year for 2014" title by Phil Capelle.

I still finished strong in most events I played in in 2015, but by the middle of the year, that was when the thoughts of retirement started to occur.

My point of this blog post is to share this:  Don't wait 20 years like me to figure out this game.  Start taking lessons NOW.  Start playing in more tournaments NOW.  Start expanding your experience NOW - playing against tougher players, bigger tournaments, more team events, etc.  Start reviewing videos and reading more NOW.

Check this list out I wrote back in 2011 about the Top Ten Things I wish I knew 10-15 years ago, and DO THEM.

Here's what I know for sure:  I LOVE my pool journey.  And I actually love that it took me 20 years to be as successful as I was because I learned so much along the way, went to so many tournaments and met a ton of people, gained great friendships and have amazing experiences and memory-makers.  However, my advice is to not be like me (lol) and take the long route and have fun for years (and years), but instead start to make the changes you need to make NOW to improve your game faster.  :)

(but, if you want to take the long road, I'll be right by your side cheering you on!)

Just A Hop Skip

I'm not on social media that much lately, but I did just check Facebook this morning and one of their features is "on this day" and it showed up for me.

And on this day a mere four years ago, my women's team, Born Ready, received our official photos after we won the BCAPL National Championship Women's Team Title!

I'm absolutely astonished this was only four years ago. It seems like so much longer than that.  I'm not sure why it seems so much farther in the past, but it sure doesn't seem so recent:

From Things to Memories

I'm going through my house with a fine-toothed comb right now.  Sounds easy, except imagine I moved my parents' house into my house over 9 years ago and so combined it has over 40 years of "things" in it.

I'm getting ready for a neighborhood garage sale, even though after the last 2 I told myself I would never, ever do a garage sale again lol.

Last one.  (I promise?)

But, I am going through a phase in my life where I'm moving away from keeping everything to more towards realizing memories are more important.

I collected and kept way too many things all my life (now don't call the cops, I'm not THAT bad, I don't need to be on that tv show Hoarders), and it had not been easy to make decisions on my parents' things all these years, either.

But now - I am realizing that "things" (even from our past) don't provide us inner peace.

But I digress....

So, as I'm going through every inch of my house, I see some items tucked behind a desk. One of the items is a huge piece of rolled up paper.  What the heck is that?

It was the FIRST state title tourney I won!  Wow - look at that!

I actually had to look up the year:  2011.  That's the year I won the ACS Texas State Women's Singles!  Here is my long recap of it.  It was an extremely emotional win for me for many reasons and extremely memorable.  I can picture the last shot and my reaction of falling to the ground as I type this!

The bracket is actually very large.  See a pic of me holding it near the bottom of the recap.

But, after I took the photos of the paper bracket for this blog article, I then placed it snugly in my recycling bin.   

This action shows how things change.  I kept the bracket because it was so dang amazing and memorable for me, and yet I found it dusty behind a desk.  Unrolled for YEARS.  I didn't even realize or recognize what it was.

That amazing win still means the world to me and I enjoyed re-reading the recap today.  However, the physical paper copy of that bracket is now in the recycling dumpster.

I still have my memories.  :)

(and it's cleaner behind that desk)

Music To My Ears

Some songs really hit home with us, right?

Just as music can make us go back in time to when we were little, or think of loved ones who have passed, or think of current or previous love interests, so can certain songs take us back in time to certain pool instances in our lives.

On the way to work I heard Justin Timberlake's, LoveStoned, and it brought me right back to my dedicated practice sessions days.  I had a goal one time to practice at least 1-2 hours every week for one whole year by myself on a 9-foot table.  I had a certain playlist and listened to it every single time.  And the first song was LoveStoned, which is about an 8-minute song.   And very upbeat and "fun," too.

When I hear that song now, I remember vividly the dedication to the game I loved and how the effort and time I spent practicing really helped me become my future-self of a great player.

Funny how just a song can do that, huh?

I saw Justin Timberlake in concert in Vegas 2-3 of years ago.  If he didn't sing LoveStoned, I promised myself I would walk up to him on stage and kick him in the balls.  Luckily for him, he sang the song :)

A friend of mine all of a sudden will start to play lights out when AC/DC comes on while she's competing.   She would be more carefree and happy and had a spring in her step when the AC/DC songs came on.

I like hip hop music and I also get a little spring in my step and play more comfortably being able to sing the song in my head to some great hip hop, happy-to-me songs while I'm competing.

I remember VERY vividly the song that was playing when I won my first Fast Eddie's Tour stop - I was /almost/ singing it out loud, as I skipped around the table (not really skipping lol) and won my first-ever big tourney.  I had no awareness of anything else (I was completely in the zone) and so when I Can Transform Ya comes on by Chris Brown, I smile big and reflect on that awesome win.

Music has an amazing effect on us.   Sometimes it makes me change the channel, lol, other times it makes me turn the volume up!

We’re all familiar with how certain pieces of music can change our mood, get us  motivated, or help our concentration.  Enjoy the happiness is causes you inside when you play pool.  And, enjoy the memories.

Memories This Week

Facebook has this "Memories of the Day" thingy on it, and it shows you all the memories you had that day for every year you've been on Facebook.

This week happens to be the week of the Texas BCAPL State tourney.  Normally I don't like to see the memories of things I've posted that I no longer care to remember or were about my Mom's hospital stays, but I have to admit these memories this week are pretty fantastic!

This week these have come up for me:

• 3 years ago, my women's team won first place! 
• 2 years ago I won the singles! 
• 2 years ago I won scotch doubles with Marty!
• 1 year ago I won scotch doubles with Greg!
• And 1 year so I placed 2nd in singles!

What a great three years for BCAPL Texas State pool hardware for me!

Imma lucky girl!


Several people have called to give me sh!t for not being there this week, or asked me how I felt not playing.  Well, I feel pretty dang good about my decision!  I am working at work this week, not spending money on a hotel room for 6 days, getting rest, not going through emotional roller-coasters in matches, not dealing with drama, not trying to figure out 1099s, and getting things done around the house and in the yard - pretty dang good week for me :)

Sure, a smidgen of my heart imagined me playing in singles and I do miss seeing my cool fellow female pool playing friends that I only see when these tourneys come around, but otherwise, I'm very happy with my current titles that I walk by in the hallway every night as I walk to my room to lay my sleepy head.

Paper Brackets - Goodbye, Mementos

I can tell I'm moving on from my pool playing days.

I recently came across all these paper brackets I had saved from the numerous Ladies Tour Second Chance tourneys that I won:

These paper brackets were proof of the little successful beginner in me. 

Let's face it, the first true steps in moving up the pool ladder are always the first few tourneys you win, no matter how small the field.  These tourneys only had 10-18 players, but your first wins are still so awesome, right?

I recall how after each win, I would be so proud to be able to take these home and save them to remember my accomplishments!  These wins were few and far between and I cherished them so much, and wanted to always remember them!  (so I thought.)

But, I have already delicately placed all these paper memories into my recycle bin. 

I felt funny parting with these large brackets, the proof of my early successes, but I admit the newer plaques and trophies obviously mean so much more to me.

But after I leave this world, who is really going to keep these around because the win column says "Melinda"?

Time to recycle.  :)

First Encounter With a Pool Room

I was on a shuttle bus hitching a free ride between Bally's and The Rio for the BCAPL National Championships tourney back in July (2015).

It was a little wait and there was a lot of people needing that free ride as well between the strip and The Rio.

Got to talking to a couple who saw my pool case and we swapped where we were from, and yes they were heading to watch friends play in matches at the Rio.

When I told them I was from Fort Worth, the females' face all of a sudden lit up with excitement!  She was all smiles and excited to share this story with me:

She went to her first pool room as a child in Fort Worth at a pool room in Montgomery Plaza.  This is what it looked like back then:

 It has since been converted into a lot of restaurants, condos, and shops (that I happen to visit often):

As she told the story, I envisioned the grey Montgomery Wards building I had seen closing down 15 years ago (if you are old enough to remember those stores). 

She said the pool room was near the Montgomery Wards and it was owed by a local mafia-type family, the Matranga Family.

But it was the way she described her "encounter" with the pool room that made me appreciate the affect it had on her.

She was only 4 years old, and this over over 60 years ago she said.

She visited the pool room at such a young age, that her Dad had to lift her above the railing to see the tables, and when he did that....

"all I saw was felt.  And it was amazing!"

She paused and you could see her remembering the moment in her eyes:

"There was no music.  No food.  It was very, very quiet.  They had seven tables.  It was so beautiful, all that felt.  And it was very serious, like church."

"And I've been hooked on the game ever since by what I saw that magical day,"  she shared.

How cool is that first encounter with a pool room she had at such a young age?!