Tough Tournament This Week!

How’s this for an all-star lineup?  I’ll be playing against one of these guys in the West Coast Challenge 10 Ball Tournament.  I’m getting my game face on for some SERIOUS pool!!!

This week at California Billiards:  John Schmidt, Alex Pagulayan, Francisco Bustamante, John Henderson, Scott Frost, Stevie Moore, Amar Kang, Rodney Morris, Santos Sambajon, Raj Hundal, Dan Louie, Billy Palmer, John Morra, Jerry Matchin, Jose Parica, Rafael Martinez, Manny Chau, Brandon Shuff, Louie Ulrich, “Preacher” Ron, Oscar Dominquez, Marc Vidal…

Reunited Last Night!

The metal and glass doors squeaked behind me as I entered the room.  I paused to let my eyes adjust while my olfactory nerves were assaulted by an intoxicating mixture of vodka and cigarette smoke.  I wondered if she would be here.  Around the room guys had already made their moves and had hooked up for the night.  A clock above the bar indicated it was 10:30 pm.   Was it too late for me?

Then I saw her sitting there alone.  She was as beautiful as I remembered.  Her legs were shapely and firm.  She was flat in the middle with cushions in all the right places.  I was staring at her as if in a trance but she didn’t seem to mind.  I gave her a slight nod and winked, but she didn’t respond.  She just sat there, the object of my desire, tempting me with her beauty.

I walked over, smiled, and said hello.  I told her that I missed her and missed the times we had once shared.  I recounted our nights together, the countless hours we spent working on our relationship, and I thanked her for how she had helped me develop my physical skills.  I told her I was sorry for my absence and promised her I would never take her for granted again.  But she remained silent.  Although she never said it, I think she really did miss me.  I moved in close and pressed my body against hers.  She didn’t move away.  I put my hand on her and began stroking.  For the next 160 minutes, I experienced what can best be described as pure emotional and physical bliss.  Oh yeah, she treated me very well last night.  I was stroking straight and scoring at will.  It felt great to see her again and to touch her like before.  Don’t worry sweetie, I’ll never leave you alone again.

Rusty

I stopped by California Billiards last night to hit a few balls and start the process of re-immersing myself into the pool world.  My four month sabbatical has not been kind to me…I could definitely see the difference in my playing ability.  My pre-shot routine was inconsistent, my distance control was lax (hitting too hard, of course), some of my cut shots were not dropping, and my mental focus was intermittent at best.  All that bad news aside, I STILL HAD A GREAT TIME!  Now that my personal life and work life are beginning to take on some semblance of normality, it’s time to shake off the rust, dust off the ole stick, and hit the table with a vengeance.  Starting next week I plan to conduct four lunch break practice sessions during the work week and also three or four evening sessions to work on specific parts of my game that need improvement.  Yeah, I’ve got that hunger again.

A Slow Start

Talk about slow starts! It’s now April 2 and I’ve only been able to fit in about three practice sessions all year! Aaaagghh! Life and work have both been very crazy busy since last November, but I anticipate being able to get back to the table again with some consistency around the end of April. At least now I can see a light at the end of the tunnel… let’s just hope it’s not an oncoming train!