The long-overdue update

OK kiddos … I know it’s been a long time since I’ve updated you with anything that’s been going on in my life, so here ya go!

Old Friends
A guy that used to work with us at the newspaper came back to Guam to visit his parents a little while ago. Me and R and S hadn’t seen him for years and years, and we used to hang out all the time when he was living here. So me and S took him and his brother out for a day of golf at one of Guam’s nicer golf courses.


Later in the week, R and S and I took him to dinner at one of the better sushi restaurants here, Rotary Sushi (and barbecue). The food was awesome, and I only like certain kinds of sushi. We sat at a table in the barbecue side, where we cooked up our own food on a grill plate in the middle of the table, and ordered a bunch of sushi to go along with it. The four of us managed to keep the bill under $200, which was amazing … guess we weren’t super hungry. LOL


Poker and Money
I was on good roll at the poker table the last few weeks, with four big wins. I suffered a minor setback last Friday, but basically over the last month I’m up a LOT. Let me put it this way — I haven’t had to use my checkbook or checking debit card for weeks. Heh.

And lucky I have been on this roll, as it allowed me to help out a friend who was in a bit of a bind. It always makes me feel good when I can do that for a good friend, especially these days when I’m not putting myself into a deep financial hole by doing so — back before my bankruptcy, I relied way to much on my many credit cards, overextending myself on profligate gifts, self-indulgence and the friend assistance … which led to me having to go the bankruptcy route.

Since then, I’ve been Mr. Financial Smartness. I have no credit or charge cards .. well I think I have a never-used Spiegel account, but it doesn’t count because I don’t use it and never have. I maintain a healthy balance in my checking account, pay my bills on time, make monthly deposits into a savings account that has mostly been left untouched and has enough to be useful in case of some kind of emergency, or for part of a down payment on a new vehicle, perhaps later this year (leaning toward a Scion Xb).

Last 10 days it hasn't gone so well on the poker tables ... lost some, but not more than I won previously. Hoping my luck will improve this week. :)

Women and Sex
Who woulda thought you could get some from someone you meet playing an online video game? Heh. No, not in-person, unfortunately, but it’ll do. ;)

The Work Life
So I’ve been training some new folks for my copy desk, including someone who eventually will take over my position, so I can move up to a higher position in the company. It’s gonna be a big challenge, but I think I can do some good for the company and also further my experience in the newsroom and as a manager. Oh yeah, it also means a bit of a pay upgrade, which is part of the reason I’m thinking of getting a new vehicle.

Still a lot of transition work and training of other people in the company to step up into new positions, so I won’t officially take the new job for several weeks. I’ll keep you posted.

The Godsons
Had a fun Sunday afternoon the other week with the godsons. We went to lunch, together with their parents and the new baby, at a place I hadn’t been to in a while. After that, we went to a new putt-putt kinda place that opened recently. Me, S and the boys played while R sat with the baby.

It was a lot better than I expected, though a far cry from the nice miniature golf courses I’ve been to stateside in the past. Still, much better than I thought it would be.

The kids had a lot of fun, as did me and S … especially me, since I beat him! LOL

I scored one hole-in-one, and on the next to last hole, both boys got an ace as well. They were super happy for that and S was feeling left out, but he hit the hole in the skeeball-type finishing hole and thus won a free round.

We’re sure to hit that place on a regular basis, as it really was a great time for everyone involved.

OK … that’s pretty much it. I’ll try to get back to posting on a semi-regular basis.

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