I Destroyed you on the Flop, not the River

In general, Poker players are big babies! They never do anything wrong. They make all the right moves, and when they do they have to blame someone and it's usually the dealer. Barry Greenstein in his book, "Ace on the River" described dealers as the messenger of the cards...that's precisely who we are. Believe me, if poker dealers can truly control what cards come out we'd be rich and every stiff would be broke in less than a day. Here's a quick story of something that happened yesterday:

The hand plays out to the river. The board ended up

J 5 4 8 Q

Both players flip their hands...One player has J 5, the other player has A J...As I'm pushing the pot winner, the guy with A J who lost, says to me, " You destroyed me on the river"

I quickly responded, "Actually I destroyed you on the flop!"

No one laughed although I thought is was pretty funny.....



On the eBay front, sold 3 things yesterday, so packed them up this morning and dropped them off at the post office. Listed a few things...Love the grind of eBay..This poker dealing gig is not going to last forever, but I need to protect myself..I'm write a future blog about trying to grow my eBay Business...

Till then..have a great day...

YouTube Can Be Awesome -- Meet LIZZIE VELASQUEZ

There's alot of crap on the internet. More negative than positive...then you come across something that makes you believe there is good in people and good hearted people. Sometimes you come across someone who pulls your heart strings. Someone who makes you believe.

I found Lizzie Velasquez randomly through another video I was watching and came across this video:

Lizzie Velasquez is  25 year old who suffers from a rare condition that only two other people have suffered from. She has 0 body fat and has never weighed more than 64 Lbs. She is unable to gain weight and must have small meals and snacks throughout the days just to get through. She's been bullied her entire life because of her appearance and has suffered so much from the hatred and the meanness of this world. 

Watching this video your heart breaks for her. She seems to have her share of good days and tough days but she keeps her positive attitude.

Her story has been become an inspiration to people who believe in oneself inside to have inner beauty. She's turned her syndrome into a positive by become a public speaker. Her story is going to be made into a movie and you can see the happiness when she talks about it.

I guess the moral of her story is it doesn't matter what you look like. If you're a kind person the inner beauty will shine through.

Thanks Lizzie for inspiring me...

Random Thoughts of a Poker Dealing Blogger -- March 8, 2015

Today is the beginning (which I believe) of something special...I think anyways. For the past few months I've been very bad about updating my blog, because basically, I really have nothing to talk about it...This blog was mainly about poker, but I don't play much anymore. That doesn't mean I should be blogging despite not playing much poker. Maybe I've been over thinking this blog. Maybe I want this blog to be to perfect! It shouldn't be...I should just sit here and express my random thoughts about life and events I've observed in a day.

So starting today, I'm going to making a conscious effort to update my blog every day...yes EVERY DAY! Even if I think I have nothing to say, I'm going sit in front of his computer and type in my thoughts and observations of my day. Some days will be interesting and fun, others will be bland and boring, but I have to write something.

The past two days, I've been listening to Anthony Robbins Mastery of Life on YouTube (It's amazing the information you can find on YouTube), and one of the principles concepts is CANI!, which means Constant and Neverending Improvement. Today I've been trying to apply this concept where I can improve my life in small forward moving steps. From here on out, I'm gonna to use the CANI! Concept every day. So we'll see how this works out.

Now some random observations for today:

-- Sold 2 items on eBay..Been an incredible week and looking for another great upcoming week
-- Didn't list anything on eBay today cause I've been trying to catch up on WWE Smackdown
-- Won my sports bet today (Manhattan -2.5)
-- Was in a very good mood for most of the day despite having a spotty day @ work.
-- A reader of my blog was playing in our room today and didn't even know it. He actually said, "Are you, Ron B." of Internet Blogger fame??" Was kinda shocked that someone would ask me about but felt good at the same time that someone was reading it.
-- It's 22 days until Wrestlemania 31! I'm counting down the days!! Can't believe I'm gonna be there!

Well, that's a start. Just wanted get things written down and hopefully this is a start of many blogging days.

2014 SUMMER POKER SERIES -- PART II and III (BINIONS AND PLANET HOLLYWOOD)

I know I was supposed to describe my Binions and Planet Hollywood tournaments but I'm sitting in front of my word processor and can't remember a damn thing about either tournament! It's probably because old age is creeping on me or the fact these tournaments were long ago, that I don't remember of the key hands. I know the hands I played, how I played them, and what happened, but I get lose on key information like chip stacks, blind levels, what I bet. In the future, I need to utilize my "NOTEPAD feature on my Iphone:

And start writing notes on the hands I played cause I know I'm going to forget!! 

Geez!!! All I know it I had a ton of chips in the Binions tournament, but lost a ton of chips in the blind vs blind confrontation again with J7 clubs with 4 tables left then busted with JJ vs AA vs KK! I know I played very well the entire time, and made a questionable play with J7 when I flopped a pair and flush draw...probably overplayed it..

As for the Planet Hollywood tournament, I mid-cashed but it took me 10 hours the get it. I love the chips and blind structure but it was pay so TOP heavy that by the end, I had an empty feeling...like it wasn't worth my time. I'll definitely the Planet Hollywood PHamous series again, but I'm going to be more willing to play to win rather than midcash. One of the reasons, I played so cautiously was because my wife played as well but didn't cash, I was more worried about getting my money back rather than playing to win. Also the fact my wife was sitting behind pressuring me to cash, I didn't play optimal poker, especially during bubble time. I'm happy I cashed (and get my name in the poker listings) but I'm not happy of the way I cashed. 

In the future, whenever I play a cash game or tournament, especially when I know I'm going to blog about it, I'm going to write down every hand, every detail, and every move as soon as the hand is over. So when I'm ready to start blogging, I'll know exactly what I'm going to say.  

TALES FROM THE BOX: THE FURTHER ADVENTURES OF BROTER "THE POSER"

Once again, I bring another tale from the behind the felt of a Las Vegas Poker Dealer...as I present

 

THE FURTHER

 

ADVENTURES

 

OF

 

BROTER "THE POSER"

 

 

For those want to understand the story behind Broter "The Poser" please click this link for a past blog post I wrote about this piece of work.

 

So I'm standing around, waiting for my turn to get into the dealer box to make or shatter the poker dreams of the young and old alike, our hero BROTER strolls into the poker room wearing his typical phony plain looking suit. Top two buttons of his white collared shirt unbuttoned. BROTER begins his typical sprint around the poker room, with a shit-eating grin plastered to his face, trying to make sure all the poker dealers, poker players, cocktail waitresses, and anyone within eyesight that the "Great, and almighty" BROTER has graced us with his presence.

 

The first thing BROTER does is to try and get a seat in the poker game, but alas, there are two No Limit games running, but the game is full and there is a small list. So a dealer puts BROTER on the list, at the same time, BROTER is staring at his phone...I guess trying to see if the president of the Poser Associations of America send him a text proclaiming his awesomeness!

 

So BROTER stands around by himself for a moment, stunningly surprised that no one from the poker room is doing him a favor by asking about his life. BROTER begins milling around to looking for someone to talk too...he sets his radar on the nearest person...which happened to be...YOURS TRULY, RONALD VELACION BALTAZAR

 

Unsolicated, he shows me a woman on his iPhone, a very attractive woman I must say and begins his rant...the way only BROTER can do, and without a single salutation, the rant starts, "I got this girl's phone number yesterday, but I'm not sure I'm going to call her. Because I have another girl I've been talking too. I know I can get this girl in bed, but I don't know if I want too cause I have this other girl I've been talking too."

 

Of course, I'm nodding my head putting up my best "customer service" smile, but all the while, I'm thinking, "Are you being fucking serious??!! Why would tell me about all this unsolicited? Does this fucking douchebag think I'm going get down on my hands and knees and bow to the feet of this clown?

 

Finally, BROTER gets his seat, and I'm spared anymore crap from his bubbling idiot. I walk over to another dealer and tell them the story of BROTER blaring at me...we share a laugh....

 

This was the latest, but it's definitely won't be the last...

 

SO STAY TUNED FOR MORE ADVENTURES OF

 

 

BROTER "THE POSER"

 

 

 

THINKING OUTLOUD!

I saw this on the internet about two weeks ago and it got me thinking about my spiritual being:

I've had a lot on my mind lately -- my mind is always racing with different topics going in and out of my head. Many of these thoughts are fleeting to the point that sometimes I don't remember ever having them. Then there are thoughts that stick to the mind like a desperate fly trying to wiggle away from flypaper -- it becomes exhausting. I've spend nights laying in bed, staring at the ceiling, trying to figure things out.  There are times at work where my mind wanders, and I'm staring at nothing in particular, with all these random thoughts shooting through my head. Sometimes I don't realize where I am or what I'm doing. It's the same when I'm driving home where I keep the radio off, and I get hypnotized by the highway - my mind races a mile a minute.  It takes a me a few seconds to gather my thoughts.

Please don't get me wrong, I'm not depressed or anything...in fact, I'm very happy, but even the happiest person has an ounce of doubt about how they're lives have gone or is going to become. I'm 40, which is young by today's standards, so I've have plenty of time to pave the road I want to create -- to avoid the pitfalls of getting boggled down in the day and day grind that is my life.

Maybe I just need to think more outside the box, become a complex thinker, and maybe I won't have so many of these random thoughts racing through my mind.

ALBUQUERQUE -- THE DARKEST TIME OF MY LIFE -- PART 1 (INTRODUCTION)

Albuquerque, New Mexico...I lived there from 1997-2000. It's a time of my life I try to block and never talk about. It was a time of frustration, confusion, bad decisions, and most of all a lot of heartache. It's been 13 years since I left Albuquerque and haven't really talked about my time there to anyone: Not my acquaintances, not my friends, not even my wife...My wife and I have been together for 11 years, and she has been trying to get me to open up about my 3 years in Albuquerque for a long time, and each time, I've shunned answering her. I didn't want to open Pandora Box. I didn't want to believe of the things that happened there happened to me. I've been trying for so long to erase my memories of that time of life for 13 years. Because every time I think about those "Albuquerque" years, I get depressed, sad, and always shed a tear. I always have a myriad of emotions every time I think about those 3 years

Lately though I've been doing a lot of remising about my life...or the good times and the bad times. I believe my time in Charletson, South Carolina was some of the best times of my life. I believe my time in Las Vegas, NV was some of the best times of my life, but in between I lived this Southwestern state and became the worst time of my life.

So this blog entry will be more therapeutic for myself. To finally open up about Those Albuquerque days...I'm about to opened up Pandora's box and reveal every detail of those 3 years, and why it scarred me for a long time...I'll probably be crying a lot as I type these words in because it will bring huge emotion and I hope you, my blog readers, will bear with me as I pour my heart into this blog entry. It something I probably don't want to do, but something I NEED to do:

I will divide these blog into 3 parts representing the 3 parts of my Albuquerque time:

PART 2: YEAR ONE (Adjusting to my new life and Meeting Gina)
PART 3: PROFESSIONAL (How a Group of military people treated me like dirt)
PART 4: PERSONAL (My First Marriage -- Scarring my heart)

THIS IS A POKER BLOG -- LET'S TALK POKER

It's been awhile since I wrote about my favorite leisurely pastime: the great game of poker, so let's talk about this game shall we...

I used to play a lot of online poker when it was readily available, and I used to make pretty decent money at it. In fact, I hate to pat myself on the back (but I will), I made some very supplemental income. According to number of websites, I've made over 35K in tournament winnings, not to mention I've carved my teeth in the 2-4, 3-6, 5-10 Limit cash games on Paradise Poker and Poker Stars. The best part about playing online was these ridicously high prize pools for micro buy ins. You can play a $5 tournament on Pokerstars and if you can navigate through 5,000 people, there a huge pot of gold at the end..usually between 3K-5K. It was insane how much money you can make playing online poker. Although I never made "life-changing" money, I did pretty well, that was able to withdraw $100 here, $300 there, $900 here. Checks would come in a week or so, I never had a problem cashing them..it was the ultimate "second job". It was lucrative, addicting, and fun, then every online poker players with dreams of playing poker a living in the UNITED STATES shattered when this happened:

BLACK FRIDAY (And I'm not talking about the busiest shopping of the day), I'm talking about Apr 11, 2011.

I remember I had just cashed in a $2 tournament on PokerStars, ran some errands, and when I went back on my computer to log onto PokerStars, I got this:

Of course when the reality of not having online poker set in, I had major withdrawls. For weeks, I logged on to PokerStars and tried to get on hoping this was just a bad dream, but everytime I would get, it would tell me I couldn't play online poker....it sucked!!

FAST FORWARD to Apr 30, 2013...The day Ultimate Poker opened it's legalized, regulated online poker in the state of Nevada. Funny, I wasn't rushing to my computer to make a deposited because something unusual happened on my way to online poker riches...I didn't have the desire to get back to online poker. I began to play a lot of live poker, not that I didn't play live poker before "Black Friday", but I concentrated my efforts into being a decent live poker player...that by the time poker was legalized in Nevada I was conditioned by the "live" poker way and initially I was stubborn to get back into the online poker. I'm lucky enough to be a resident of Nevada, therefore online poker is legal, and thus I can play.

My wife deposited money into WSOP.com, the other online poker site and began playing small sit and go's. I watched her for weeks having no desire to play myself, but as the days and weeks passed, I began to get intrigued (mainly because my wife was cashing a lot). Finally, I set up an account and played a freeroll. I played for an hour, busted out, and smiled because I felt the juices flowing through my blood and began to remember why I loved online poker so much. It was the convenience and the addiction of the thrill that hooked me again.

So, two weeks ago, I made a small deposit on WSOP.COM and started at the VERY BOTTOM of the ladder, 2-tabling 1c-2c No limit....NOT 1 DOLLAR-2DOLLAR NO LIMIT, 1 CENT-2CENT NO LIMIT!

Although I'm playing at below micro limits, I'm trying to look at it as playing for real money. Trying to play my "A", and making the right decisions. The thrill of winning (even it's it's 30 cents, 14 cents, or $1.26), is back and I'm loving online poker again.

From here on out, I'm going to blog about some of my sessions trying to grind from the bottom. Not thinking about money.

Yes, online poker is back (In Nevada) and loving every minute of it.

"The Poser" Broter -- A Las Vegas Tale

Kids, parents, interested parties, and anyone who wants to listen..


I HATE POSERS!!

According to the Urban Dictionary, one of the funniest websites I've ever come across, a POSER is defined as "One who pretends to be someone who's not" or "someone who tries to someone with exaggeration."

In Las Vegas, you come across a lot of posers. Most do it because they're visiting and just want to have some fun, so I don't fault them. Then, you come across people, who live in Vegas, and do their best to become someone they're not...and what makes it worst, they'll always tell you about it. And, it's always unsolicited.

There's a young poser, who I've played poker with around town...we'll just call him "Broter", Broter would always play in a cheesy gray suit (similar to the one worn by the Dos Equis guy), always with the collar unbutton, hair greased up, cheap lofters, and walking in talking on this cell phone. Convinently, Broter would end his conversation when someone in the poker room approached him.

Broter started ranting about how he was just talking to girl, and she wanted him to take her to fancy restaurant or how he had sex with all these women..The funny thing was all this was unsolicited -- Not one time, did a player, dealer, floorman, cocktail waitress, porter ask him about his "exploits" with women. Here's a example of a dialogue I had with him about a year ago:

Me: What's up, Broter

Broter: Hey Ron...just got back from seeing this girl. She said she wanted to meet me for lunch, but I told her I was too busy (Insert goofy laugh here). I told her I wanted to play poker.

Me: That's cool

Broter, Yeah, I mean she keeps calling me and saying she want to meet me and that I should take her to Bellagio for lunch, but I'm so cheap that I couldn't. (TO THE DEALER: I'll buy in for $300, give me 20 in ones so I can tip the cocktail waitress). Yeah, I could have sex with her anytime, but man I got all these other women I need to get with that I have no time for her.

Me: Really

Brother: Like today, she asked me to meet me for lunch, but I told her I'd rather play poker, so consider yourself thankful.

Me: (Sarcastically) WOW, aren't we the lucky ones.

Then Broter becomes the poser poker player.

He tries to comes across as this loose aggressive player capable of making bluffs, but playing with him for years, I can tell you he is the most transparent player you'll ever face. He's the tightest nit, unwilling to gamble when it's warrants, then sits there folds and folds while getting up from the table to answer or text his phone. I'll tell you, I've won some nice pots, by always reraising him preflop because 99 percent of the time, he'll make some wimpy, pussy 7 dollar raise and I'll make it $20 and he'll make a speech about how he has a big hand (He always has a big hand when he raises), then he'll fold 99 percent of the time, saying he'll find a different spot. Although the different spot is always the same one...Broter raise, I re-raise, speech, then folds. When faced with aggression, my poser friend, Broter will usually shy from it.

I've played with Broter a lot, and I've never seen him have a big stack. I can honestly say the most I've ever seen him win was maybe 200 bucks, and that's because the deck totally hit him in the face.

Another one of his favorite lines always came when a beautiful woman passed through the poker room: "Look at tits on her, I'm going to get her number." Alas though, he would never leave his chair, he'd just sit there fold his 15th straight hand, and go back to messing with his phone.

Another thing I noticed about Broter was he would always ask the dealer if he tipped them, which he rarely did, as if he did something extremely noble. As a dealer, I noticed this cause he would be condescending to the dealers as if it a "pleasure" and his "honor" to toss a buck their way.  He was one of those "obnoxious" tippers..guys that toss the toke up on the air so the entire table could see..one of those, "I'm a tipper, everyone look at me. I'm the best."

Let me say this, I don't think Broter is not a terrible person. I think he has some self confident issues always from the poker room, and he uses poker as a way to become and try to become something he desperately wants to be. He tries and craves the attention that he comes across as a total douchebag...again, not a bad thing, but damn when you hear and see the same shtick repeatedly, you want to take his head and pound it against the wall....ONE TIME!!!!!!

I'm sure the next time I'm playing poker and I see Broter stroll into the poker room, you can assure two things: 1) he'll make sure everyone knows he's in the room 2) one of the nittiest players will sit with you, so ask for a table change

From The School Bus Driver to Tonya Baltazar -- The Journey to my 40th Birthday!

6 Days ago, I started a Facebook/Twitter daily post reminiscing about moments of my life leading to my 40th Birthday, but I wanted to blog about the meaning behind each post, and maybe give a slight anecdote behind each one. The purpose is it give you, the reader, an insight of the events, people, lives, loves, heartaches, mistakes, decisions, and happiness that lead me to what I am today approaching a milestone in my life....my 40th birthday....Enjoy the journey....hope it will trigger an emotion as it did with me.....

Posted on Facebook/Twitter Sept 20, 2013:

Looking forward to celebrating my 40th birthday this weekend with my beautiful and wonderful wife Tonya Baltazar. As the big day approaches, I wanted to reminisce about my 40 years on this earth...like my earliest memory of a child living in Washington when I was 5 when I got on the wrong school bus and cried, but the bus driver went out of his way to get me home

My father was in the Army, stationed in Fort Lewis, Washington. I don't remember much about this time of my life. I remember a patch of fruit patches I rode my bike through (I think it was raspberries or blueberries) and getting lost.. Yes I cried. I remember a public water hole... Not really a swimming pool crowded with kids in a Tacoma park. But most of all I remember my first day of school, how tough it was. I remember being completely confused searching for the right school bus. The buses were identified with animals but I couldn't for the life of me couldn't remember what my animal was...I think I ended up on the giraffe bus. I remember sitting there being driven to an unfamiliar neighborhood and little by little, kids emptied until I was the only kid left.. I cried and cried as i had no clue where I was. But this very nice school bus driver (wish I knew his name or what he looked like) comforted and ensured this scared little boy that he would get me home...and he did.. I got home late, most importantly I got home...I reminisce 

Posted on Facebook/Twitter Sept 21, 2013:

 

As my 40th birthday approaches, I reminisce about my middle school days, Went to a school called Piedmont in San Jose, CA for 3 months... I remember finishing second in the mile and a half run... I peeked athletically.

When I was 12 years old, my father got orders from Schofield Barracks, Hawaii to Ft Benning, Georgia. While my dad got things settled in Georgia, my mom, brother, and I lived with my Aunt in San Jose, California. I went to a school for three months called Piedmont Middle School. Not sure if the school is still around. Whenever I visit San Jose, CA, I always tell myself I have to at least drive by to see if it still exists, but never got around too..someday I will. Didn't really make any friends, but I remember my P.E. class, we had to run a mile an a half every day. I usually finished in the top 10, and every day I improved...My best finish was second, I could never beat this guy who always finished first..this guy was a freaking speed demon. Seems like he would finish his run 5 minutes ahead of us. I did have this major crush on this gal who lived in the neighborhood, Michelle Fernandez, was her name, but that quickly faded when she was being a bitch to me on the bus for no reason...lol. I reminisce...

Posted On Facebook Twitter Sept 22, 2013

As my 40th Birthday approaches, I reminisce about my high school days, I really don't have a great memory of this time of my life, but I do remember how awkward I was...didn't really fit in with any group, but was never felt like I didn't belong...guess I was lucky it that aspect

High school was a weird time. We had an interesting high school, because of it's close proximity to the Army Base, we had a diverse student body, something Spencer High School was proud to tell everyone. It made our school rather unique. I remember one of my good friends, Mario Juestel, we had a good time hanging out. High school was an awkward time for me as I never fit in with any of the cliques, but I never was felt like an outsider. I was extremely shy especially socially. In fact, I had a huge crush on this girl for two years, and I don't think I said two words to her the entire time despite the fact we had classes together. I won't reveal who she is, because ironically, I'm facebook friends with her and still never revealed my crush to her....and probably never will :) Overall, despite my awkwardness, I enjoyed my high school years, got to go to my prom with a gal who was out my league but she was nice enough to say yes when I asked her....Lilian Pelegreen, I'm talking to you. Got to play a team sport and worked on the school's yearbook during my senior year. I thinking the best part of those high school years is I sometimes get to relive those moments on Facebook as I'm facebook friends with many of them. I reminisce


Posted on Facebook/Twitter Sept 23, 2013

As my 40th birthday approaches, I reminisce about my time in the Air Force.. Had some awesome times... Some of my treasured memories was my 3 years at Charleston AFB. On the other side, the darkest times was my 3 years at Kirtland AFB, NM

My Air Force time had many ups and downs. The majority of the ups happened when I was stationed at Charleston AFB, SC. First of all, the city was beautiful: beaches, great architecture, great people, incredible food, and a small town without a big city feel to it. I often tell people my time is Charleston, South Carolina was some of the best 3 years of my life, because it came at a time when I had so little worries, where I would go to work, have fun, learned about myself both personally and professionally. If I would to ever move from Las Vegas, the first place I would look into moving too is Charleston, South Carolina. I met so many good people, had so many fond memories, and had so many great stories I could tell (But that's for another blog). The experiences in those 3 years are memories I will treasure for the rest of my life, and the friendships I made will last the rest of my life.

As incredible as my time was at Charleston, it was just as awful at Kirtland AFB, NM. I got married for the first time to a woman I had no business marrying because we weren't ready. Professionally, it nearly wrecked my Air Force Career. I worked with the worst group of people who only worked for themselves, and treated me like some second-rate citizen. It was so miserable that for a while, it jaded my outlook on the military. I was so happy when I left that duty station. If I stayed any longer and I probably wouldn't have made it. I want to mention a man named Donald Ortiz, who was the worst of the worst. He was a civilian who treated me like I was a punk, a child, and sometimes not human. I hated this man so much, the sight of him always made my blood boil to the point where I wanted to punch him every time. He conspired with my supervisors to give me the worst performance report I ever had. Mr. (and I use the term lightly) Donald Ortiz is the only human in this world that if I saw him falling off a cliff, I'd look the other way -- yes cruel, but at the time, this human treated me a like dog shit and hated him for it. Someday, I'll blog about my time in New Mexico -- it should make for an intruging entry. I reminisce

Posted on Facebook/Twitter Sept 24, 2013

As my 40th Birthday approaches, I reminisce about receiving one of the greatest gifts ever... When news of my daughter Anastacia was going to be born 9 months later

I cried with joy. I cried with laughter. I cried with happiness. I cried tears of joy. I was going to be a daddy, that was the first set of emotions I felt when my then-girlfriend, Tonya Baltazar told me she was pregnant.  My daughter Anastacia Marcelina Baltazar is a bundle of joy I never thought would make me love someone unconditionally. Having Anastacia taught me the value of love, selflessness, and sacrifice. Today, my daughter is the beacon to my happiness. Whenever I'm having a bad day at work or something awful happens in my life, I can always look into my daughter's beautiful browns eyes and those negative emotions just wash away. "Nothing is as bad as it seems, when your daughter runs into your arms after a bad day and yell DADDDYYYY!!" It happens every day I come home and it never gets old. If that could happen every day for the rest of my life, I'd be a happy man. At this point of my life, every thing I do, every important decision, every motivation is with Anastacia's well-being in mind. I'm hoping that feeling never goes away. I reminisce

Posted on Facebook/Twitter Sept 25, 2013

As my 40th birthday arrives, I reminisce about the years gone by, the good and the bad, the ups and downs, the incredible highs and the unfortunate lows, and events and people I've met through my life...I'm truly blessed. The best part is having my beautiful and loving wife in my life. She's my best friend and the absolute love of my life. Here's to the rest of my life

Life is not a straight line...it has a lot of crazy zigzags, diagonal, and winding roads we have to navigate to get to the destination we truly want. I've had many windings roads in my 40 years on this Earth. I haven't regretted too much in my life...maybe I've made some untimely decisions that put a fork in my path, but the journey has been amazing. But the road has not stopped for me, until I take my last breaths in this world, I will continue this journey I started back in 1973 in San Jose, California. I'm sure they'll be bumps in my path, but I know they'll be packets of pure joy in my life...I'm going to make sure to stop and smell the roses when I get the chance.

One last thing...I'm so happy to have my soul mate and best friend, Tonya Baltazar to be my partner in my journey to the rest of my life. I truly found my inspiration, my heart and soul. 11 Years and counting, baby, I've every second of our time together and looking forward establishing more memories with you. I don't where I've been if Tonya Baltazar hadn't entered my life, so for that, I'm truly grateful

Thank you for everyone who's touched my life....Thanks for being part of my life as I reminisce...


















 

MY PRETTY PONY....WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN??

One of my favorite short stories was an obscure Stephen King short story I read when I was a teenager, called "My Pretty Pony". I believe it was part of his collection called "Nightmares and Dreamscapes" It's a story about a dying grandfather who gives a watch to his grandson, and explain the concept of time. According to it's wikipedia page, "My Pretty Pony" was actually a flashback scene of working Stephen King novel that was scrapped; it was to be published under his Richard Bachman pseudonym.

In my opinion, TIME is the most important commodity we have because it's the element in our lives that we can never get back. When we're young, time seems to run at a snail's pace: we want to grow up fast...lazy summer days sitting on a beach..that fun summer job life guarding checking out the cuties from the opposite sex.

Before you know it, you're an adult, then you get caught up in the hustle and bustle of your life, and forget to have the fun you had when you were a carefree child. You make excuses for not pausing to smell the roses (as they say) to savior the good moments of your life. Time starts to accelerate and passes you by without even noticing it. Before you know it seconds becomes minutes, and minutes becomes hours, hours becomes days, days become weeks, weeks become years, and years become decades. 

Chunks of time melts away, and sometimes you have regret: things you wish you've done before you got older. Things you should have said. Little things add up before one day, you're sitting in a rocking chair when your hair becomes grey, and with the wind bellowing through your face, you remember all the good memories of your life. 

Time is merciless...it doesn't wait for you. You can sit around the play the "What if" games, but as you're wondering about that...those seconds are ticking away....tick tock tick tock...

So do I have a moral to this....of course...take advantage of every second you're in this earth, and make it the best time of your life. 

Whenever I think of the concept of time, and it's importance, I always go back to that obscure Stephen King story.....

The Best Advice I ever got!

It's funny how life works sometimes. In my pursuit of being a successful poker player, I've read a lot of stuff that's aimed to stimulate the mind, and the best piece advice I ever received from the many self-help books and articles I've read is..."If you want to be successful in your endeavors, you need to follow someone who's had the level of success you want."

Tiger Woods is someone I truly admire..Here's a guy who's won 69 Titles including 14 Majors and is still not satisfied...He continues to work and work and work...he accepts anything less than the best out of himself, and when he doesn't do well in a golf tournaments, he figures out what he did wrong, and tries rectify it in his next tournament.

His persistence and strive to be the best is something I try to incorporated in my life....You can't be satisfied with what you have...you have to go beyond and keep climbing that mountain to success. Cause the moment you "Settle" is the moment you give up....