Ken Einiger ain't got nothing on me...

Who is Ken Einiger, you ask? He's the 2005 Blackjack World Champion; it's a fun fact I learned over the weekend, thanks to the 2 days I spent in Atlantic City. I will admit I was just a tad nervous about this trip. Casinos have always intimidated me and the only other time I'd been to Atlantic City waaaay back in college, I lost $50 in less than 20 mintues on the slot machines. So, I wasn't sure what to expect, but I did have something going for me: my gambling-savvy boyfriend. Seriously, I've seen him play, and he's good. Ok, I actually know little to nothing about poker, but he seems to know what he's doing. Anyway, so I had my very own gambling etiquette tutor, which took some of the intimidation out of Atlantic City.

I started the weekend with $100 and spent quite a bit of time on the slot machines. My personal favorite was 'Sherwood Forest', where I made $130 off of a $20 bill. Ohhhhh, yeeaaaah. It wasn't until the 2nd day that the real fun began. The first night I watched my boyfriend play blackjack. It didn't look too terribly complicated, so I cashed out when I hit $150 on the 2nd day and headed for a table. I spent the next FIVE HOURS (yes, five) so completely engrossed in the game that I had no idea that much time had passed. I nearly fell over when I asked the dealer what time it was and I heard the answer. Casinos suck the daylight out of everything--literally, so you have no idea if it's day or night. I was up big--almost $400 when they raised the minimum at the table I was playing. This is where my super-sized gambling ego came crashing down. I quickly lost most of the money I'd made and stopped playing when I finally broke $200 again. So, all in all, I ended the weekend with $210--the $100 I started with, plus $110 extra. It was bascially a free weekend. Not too shabby. I had a good time, and I met my boyfriend's brother and sister-in-law, who were not only fun, they were the perfect yin to our gambling yang (only about 25% of the family left to meet. One of these days, I'll get him home to meet my parents).

Let's all celebrate because I am no longer homeless! Wohoo! Oh, first, my one complaint about this blog: they seem to lose all of my brilliant compositions. No, really, sometimes I do write them. Last week I wrote a great introspective post while I was sitting in the empty living room of my now-former apartment that reflected over my first home without roommates, how I ended up there, what I'd learned, etc....It was great. Then the damn blog lost the post when I tried to publish it. Aurgh. I didn't have the patience to type it all over again. Anyway, so to catch you up without all of the gory details, I moved out of my apartment last week. I bounced around from place-to-place (it really wasn't a big deal since I spent the weekend away), and yesterday I finally got to settle down in my temporary home. I'm living at a friend's house and taking care of her pets while she's out of the country with her husband and son. It's a sweet deal: no rent, no household bills, built-in exercise (the dog)...and it's in one of Baltimore's more popular neighborhoods, so this should be a fun 2 months. I'm just happy I have a 'home base' again.

Tomorrow is my last day at my job. I thought I'd be more nostalgic than I am. I cleaned out my office today and said good-bye to some people I won't see tomorrow. I emailed my students, and wrote letters to others--that was sad, and left instructions for the person who will eventually take my place. Tomorrow I turn in some things to my organization and that's it, I'm done. I've had this job for four years--a long time in my eyes, so it is a little strange to think I won't have to worry about certain things anymore. It was pretty damn cool to read the email about the next staff meeting and know I wouldn't be there, though. I hated staff meetings. Anyway, I am excited for the new job. I spent an afternoon this week taking care of personnel stuff at the new job, and I loved every second of it. I'll let you know how things go next week. For now, it's time for me to get something to eat and talk the dog for a walk.....