More Honor :)

I keep getting surprised with my leagues.  I don't even realize the type of awards they have!

Check out what I won from my Monday night league, the day I got back from ACS Nationals:  TOP LADY SHOOTER!  I had NO idea they had that award OR that I had won it, lol.

And a cool plaque to go with our league playoff win, AND my NAME on both!  :)

Vegas May 2013 in Photos

My Vegas trips are focused around pool tournaments, but non-pool things happen too, lol.  I thought I'd share with you some of the other activities and happenings from my ACS Nationals May 2013 Vegas trip:

I was lucky enough to get to see ELTON JOHN in concert at Caesars Palace!  Teammate Janet and I got to have a date with him on my second night in Vegas (his last show until September).  I never in a million years thought I'd get to see this talented showman.

Janet and I.

She found these AWESOME, PERFECT glasses for us!  Yes, we wore them inside Caesar's Palace and at times during the show  :)

I really wanted to hear two songs that he didn't play, but I was impressed with his enthusiasm and stories!  The stage was beautiful and he still is a major performer for sure!

I stayed at the Planet Hollywood Casino/Hotel (PH) this time (abt a 20-25 minute walk to the Tropicana) because I got a good rate.  I LOVED staying there!  The atmosphere and abundance of table games and eateries was awesome.

I am not shy to admit since I normally stay by myself, the rates at the Tropicana where ACS was held were WAY too expensive when I can stay at PH for $20 night because of my players card.

I heard they were filming Think Like a Man Too ( the second installment of Think Like a Man) for a couple of days and so Courtney (my roomie and teammate) and I stalked the taping's for a few hour, lol.  Actually, we just watched the filming at the table games. 

But I noticed at one point that someone was taking a pic with Michale Ealy while he reviewed one of the taping's.  I told Courtney and she ran up to him to ask him also and she snapped this pic:

 Michael Ealy and Courtney 

Then we stalked Kevin Hart so she could get a pic with him, too.  Turns out these two are her Mom's favorites!  When we sent her the pics of her favorite actor and comedian, she literally was screaming with delight through the cellphone's speakerphone!  It was so super super cool.

 

Courtney and Kevin Hart

Teammate Angel picked up Courtney from the airport, in STYLE:

(Courtney may not ask for a ride again, lol)

I ate at a few new places this time! 

Munchies with teammate Janet at Caesar's Palace before we saw ELTON JOHN!

The PH buffet where I saw this sign:

It sounds really cool and a good deal, except all drinks are free if you are gambling, so why pay for this during the buffet?   FURTHER, I went during the champagne brunch.  Yes, where they give free champagne with your meal, lol.

 I ate at Fatburger fur the first time, since a friend recommended it.  It was tasty!

And also ate at Del Taco for the first time (which is real funny since they have them in Texas and had never been, lol). 

I also had Steak and eggs for the FIRST time in my life.  For $6.95, yes, it's worth a try AND a pic for you all, lol:

I also sat by two pools - PH and my FAV at the Mirage:

  

Ironic Meeting held in one of the conference rooms, since the IRS was all in the news, I thought the topic was hysterical:

Hit a few slot machines, mostly because Courtney played them.  Hit this mini jackpot at the Mirage on a 5 cent machine:

 

 Played Poker at the Mirage and Planet Hollywood.  Did much better at the Mirage.  Here's a pic from my view the last day:

Meeting People Through my Blog

My blog is my own personal pool diary.  I used to have a written diary for my pool tournaments, but when the internet came along, I starting blogging my thoughts.

At first, I kept my blog private. 

Then, I opened it up, but just became careful what I said or how I said things or didn't use real names as I had when it was private.

Then an acquaintance suggested I open up more. 

"What did you mean by 'My Mom was sick,'" He asked me.

"With what?  For how long?  Why be vague?"

I slowly opened up more because of his suggestion.  Now I truly love being more open and "honest."  And it turns out, being more open has led to other players resonating more with my experiences.

I also learned along the way that if I don't have the balls to say something directly to someone, I will either NOT write about it at all, or I will try to disguise who I am talking about. 

But what has been most rewarding about writing down my experiences is: (1) it helps me mentally in tournament to review past articles, (2) my blog has helped others or they can relate, and now (3) I'm meeting new people because of my blog! 

I have heard so much over the past few years players saying they can relate to what I write about.

I go through SO much at tournaments and league, I literally have a current list of topics I still have yet to write about.

I write all the time because I love to get my thoughts down in my pool diary (journey).

What has been super cool is, for the past 6 months, people have introduced themselves to me because they have read my blog.  Not everyone comments on the blog entries online and for the longest time, I never even knew if anyone else read it, lol.  That was okay as the blog is for me anyway, but when about 6 people recently approached me saying they like my blog and look forward to my posts, it really made my day!

Just the other day a friend of mine who I hadn't seen in a couple of years said he looks every morning to see if I've written a new article.  I was like, "wow, really?"

It really meant a lot to me when he said he can relate to most of what I write about.

And to meet new people all the time who love the game of pool as much as I do, and now we are connecting because they read my blog, HOW COOL IS THAT?? 

I sometimes wish I would have started blogging about pool when I was just beginning entering the pool world - talk about learning experiences!  But, I already feel like I kinda started "back to playing" a couple of times already in my life.

It tickles me to know I have "readers" and when YOU come up to me say hello and mention my blog, it means the world to me.

To all my online friends, yes you, THANK YOU!!

And just recently I received two emails about my blog.  Here's me sharing again:


"I found a link to your blog off the AZ Billiards website. I'm glad I did.

Just like to let you know I enjoy your blog. I mostly keep up with your current stuff but have went back and read some of the older material too.

I recently got back in to playing pool after about 20 years off (kids and all). Playing in a competitive league and enjoying it.

Keep up the writing."

And:

"I rarely look at your blog but stumbled over to it today. We think alike on some of the stuff you blog about. I would never have the guts to be so open about it. That is probably the M/F thing, dunno. Keep on keeping on, I'll bet many people get a lot from it. How is the table playing? I read about it in the blog."