The Bash trip report - Part 1

So here I am doing a quick trip update... I am sitting in this fine cafe in Phoenixville, PA after a great breakfast (pictures to come later) because even though my hotel claims to have an internet connection, the wireless signal is so weak that my laptop just doesn't pick it up. After a great breakfast at Irish Joe's Cafe, I decided to sit here with a cup of coffee and set my fantasy football line up, check the news, and of course... blog. (BaconMary and Alceste just walked in... man, do I feel like a dork). At least I'm not playing online poker right now... though I did seriously consider it...

So, yesterday, I left Richmond around 3:30pm, hoping to make it to Phoenixville, PA, the site of the Bash by like 7:30pm... of course, stupid google maps direction made me take I-95 to I-395... where I got totally lost in the DC area... man, the roads there get so confusing, as does the directions... Anyways, I eventually find my way back on track and when I get to PA, I am thoroughly confused. Now, the directions were surprisingly awesome but the roads here are weird in the sense that a lot of street signs are really hard to see and there would be like two right hand turns (one sharper than the other) so when the directions say to turn right, it's really hard to tell which "right" I'm supposed to go to... having said that, I eventually found my way to the MainStay Inn in Phoenixville, PA where I was staying.

Earlier in the day, my friends, who were trying to decide what to do on a Friday night, were giving me a hard time (good naturedly) about going to a bloggers gathering. One guy asked if we were just gonna stay in our hotel rooms and IM each other with the awesome internet acronyms... LOL, LMAO, WTF, All in, Bad beat!, FU! I thought it was funny.

Well, once I checked in to the hotel, I realized it was way past the time the poker tournament was supposed to start. The poker tournament was at a place that was about 15 minutes away so I was contemplating catching a cab so that I could drink there and not worry about driving back... when I ran into the legendary Bobby Bracelet. We didn't know each other but he heard the lady at the front desk referring to the poker tournament so he asked me if I were here for Al's gathering. Kindly enough, he offered me a ride there which I gratefully accepted.

Once I got to the banquet hall, the tournament was well under way but they still said that I could buy in if I wanted to... strangely enough, even though I am at a poker blogger's gathering, I wasn't in the mood to play in a tournament... actually, I wasn't in much of a mood to play poker. I might be the total opposite of Jordan... live poker is just ok for me... I feel like the game is too slow, it's not like I can get a better read on the players from the way they twitch or anything... I mean the only reads I have on a player always comes from the betting pattern, the size of their bets, etc... which is probably a trait that I have developed over the several hundred thousand hands I've played online. So, in that sense, live poker is too slow for me. Don't get me wrong. There are aspects of live poker I enjoy but it just wasn't high on my list. So, I just bounced from table to table, greeting old friends, putting more faces to the familiar screennames (like Riggs and Vinnay), etc.

I was also giving Jordan a hard time as he was talking into his phone to recap a hand history... saying that you know it's a poker blogger's gathering when someone is trying to recap a hand by either taking notes on the phone or leaving verbal notes on to the phone. It's all in fun though. I do hope to come up with a list of "You know it's a blogger's gathering when..."

It was great to see a lot of people that I've met in the winter gathering. I'm not gonna lie. It's a bit of a bummer that some of the other bloggers that I talk to/drunk text more often (you know who you are) couldn't be here. Whether it's some gay ass birthday trip to San Francisco to meet up with the #1 waffles fan or you just opened a new business or you live in Hawaii, the excuses are rampant. I guess I will just have to wait 2.5 months until the winter gathering. At that point, I am hoping to meet couple of other guys who I talk to/comment on their blog that I haven't met. You also know you who you are.

Oh and one more thing... Despite what Schaubs or Fuel tries to tell you, I am not Ken. I'm kicking both of your asses next time I see you.

Alright I'm out. Drinking commences in less than an hour.