Tao of Pauly

On Assignment

I fell asleep on Grubby's couch. I was in the middle of editing something that I wrote and passed out from exhaustion. The partying at Red Rocks last weekend caught up to me. I crawled into bed and got five straight hours of sleep. I would have slept more but the damn landscapers and gardeners were out in force trimming hedges and mowing the lawn in the apartment complex. It doesn't matter if they are not right in front of our building unit because they can be three or four units away and you can still hear the echoes of their machines and leaf blowers.

Lots of people in Las Vegas work nights, like me. Sleeping in is difficult when these idiots come by twice a week to trim the lawn. The sad thing is that we pay for that service. It's built into our rent. Bastards.

Anyway, I spent my first full day at work yesterday at the Rio Casino. Stop by the Tao of Poker to read my updates that includes pictures.

My first day went somewhat smoothly. Before I even got to work, I got my first "flame" of the WSOP. Last year it got out of hand. There are a lot of bored inbred dipshits out there who have nothing better to do than anonymous flame me. I don't care if you think my writing sucks. Just don't read me. But I have zero respect if people don't have a spine and flame me anonymously.

Like Tony Pierce said about anonymous comments, "Everyone agrees that anonymous negative commentors are pussy ass bitches whose opinions are not even worth the milisecond that it will take to delete them. If you have the nerve to come into someone elses house and talk shit, have the backbone to identify yourself. I wouldn't accept a check without your signature, so fuck your pissy comment without a real email address."

That instance didn't upset me because I know I'm doing good stuff. Like Trey Anastasio said in Bittersweet Motel, "What's the deal with critics? Maybe they can't stand that so many people like something that they don't. Maybe what I'm playing is shit, but hey, I think it's great. And so do the people who come..."

Plus I don't care about the haters because I already got paid for the WSOP. That money is now invested in several mutual funds and stocks. As long as the people who sign my checks think I'm great... that's all that matters in life.

Iggy posted this with me specifically in mind:

One thing you notice when you start attending the blog conferences and hanging around the more well-known and respected bloggers on the planet: None of them seem to take it very seriously. They just get on with it. If what they do works for them, it's because it all comes naturally.

He's got a great point there. I take writing seriously. Blogging? Not so much. I try to have fun with it. That's the point, right? And to get paid to do it... wow. That's simply amazing. I guess that's what pisses the haters off the most... that I get paid to do something that I love when they hate themselves, their jobs, and everything in their lives.

I focused on trying to find a good story to write yesterday. I ended up hanging out with my friends and talking, which I didn't get to do too much last year since I was a "live blogging monkey" chained to media row. This year I get to wander around, play more poker, and drink more.

I had drinks at the infamous Hooker Bar with Otis and Grubby. Then Grubby treated me to a free dinner at the Diamond Club Lounge. We ate turkey & cheese wraps and Buffalo chicken wings. I skipped the egg rolls, but the potato salad was righteous. I ate a chocolate eclair and two cookies for dessert. Then I headed back down stairs to go to work.

For breakfast yesterday, I ate at the Sonic across the street from Palms. I'm addicted to their Texas Toaster breakfast sandwiches.

Since I got up an hour ago, I paid two bills and emailed a work assignment. I also read all the crap in my bloglines folder including articles on the lowly Knicks and the Yankees who lost to the lowly Braves last night. The Yankees play a day game today against the Braves and I've had it on MLB.tv since it started at 10:05 PCT.

Time to shower and head out to Summerlin to meet Friedman for lunch. Then it's off to work. I'm going to play one satellite and a couple of cash games.