That day on December 29th when I packed all of my bags, said goodbye to everyone and left Buenos Aires was one of the saddest this year. I looked out the window as the plane took off, as cars and buildings turned into small spots of light. It seemed like only a little while ago that I had seen the city from the air for the first time. I was so excited; it was my first time in South America. And now that stage of my life was coming to an end.
My first taste of the U.S. was in the connection flight in Fort Worth, Texas. I briefly thought about Mario Silvestri and Travis Rice, a couple friends who live there. Hope you guys are doing well.
When I finally landed at home my mom and her fiance were there to greet me, my mom with a giant smile on her face and running mascara from her tears. Seeing them cheered me up.
I felt bad for missing BsAs so much. The first couple days that I was back felt unnatural and empty at times. Suburbia life felt bizarre; outside the windows are nothing but yards, houses, trees, and a golf course. Entirely different from the condos, honking cars, stores, and people walking around.
It's also so quiet here. In BsAs there was noise from everywhere, cars in the streets, people speaking or yelling in neighboring apartments, the sound of their television sets. One time while I was staying close to Palermo someone was blasting Celine Dion from across the street. It was night time and "A New Day Has Come" was playing as if it were the latest 50 Cent track in an inter-city neighborhood.
A couple of weeks have past and I'm getting back to enjoying being at home. This weekend I'll be going back to Charlottesville to finish my last semester; school starts on Wednesday.
Friday, January 9, 2009
Friday, December 26, 2008
Not the Standard Christmas
It's been an awesome and unique Christmas. It was like 80 degrees outside, the perfect temperature for another grill.
On Christmas eve we put together a dinner menu and went grocery shopping at Jumbo which is a huge Walmart-esque supermercado. As expected it was packed with last-minute shoppers. After we had filled our two carts we proceeded to the checkout aisles. For some reason for the past half an hour we had been hearing random bursts of clapping from customers. After standing in line for a few minutes we realized why. Not a single item was being scanned; their system had crashed. People were clapping out of protest and a couple customers even yelled at the managers.
An hour went by. Still no movement. A store employee had started walking around handing people cups of Coke. Finally they gave up on restoring the system and started counting items manually.
At last it was our turn. The clerks started looking at our gazillion items and asked us if we knew the prices to any of them. No. One by one they looked at each and estimated prices. Jar of honey? Three pesos. Jam? Four pesos. Goat cheese? Six pesos. They were low-balling everything. "Not everything really costs three pesos," one of them said. Our bill ended up being about a thousand pesos which was probably a 20-30% discount on the actual price.
On Christmas eve we had a grill with Daniel, John, John's family, and Veron plus one. At 2:30 am we(minus the parents) went to a big party at Tattersall. The place was empty when we showed up. It wasn't until 5:00 that it filled up and 8:00 that we left.
On Christmas we had a bigger grill. The menu consisted of a huge slab of heavily crusted bife de chorizo(beef), roasted potatoes, fig and goat cheese mesclum salad, and a tray of cheese and sausage. There was about thirteen of us and it was a great time.
After that we went to a club called Lost which is the only place in town that plays hip-hop music. In the States it's the main dance music but here it's techno or reggaeton. It'd really been missing it and it was nice stepping into a similar atmosphere. Too bad the DJ sucked at transition and only played outdated songs. Hip hop in Argentina...take what you can get.
So as you can see, it's been quite an interesting holiday. I certainly couldn't have replicated it back in Virginia. Sigh. Will be missing this place.
On Christmas eve we put together a dinner menu and went grocery shopping at Jumbo which is a huge Walmart-esque supermercado. As expected it was packed with last-minute shoppers. After we had filled our two carts we proceeded to the checkout aisles. For some reason for the past half an hour we had been hearing random bursts of clapping from customers. After standing in line for a few minutes we realized why. Not a single item was being scanned; their system had crashed. People were clapping out of protest and a couple customers even yelled at the managers.
An hour went by. Still no movement. A store employee had started walking around handing people cups of Coke. Finally they gave up on restoring the system and started counting items manually.
At last it was our turn. The clerks started looking at our gazillion items and asked us if we knew the prices to any of them. No. One by one they looked at each and estimated prices. Jar of honey? Three pesos. Jam? Four pesos. Goat cheese? Six pesos. They were low-balling everything. "Not everything really costs three pesos," one of them said. Our bill ended up being about a thousand pesos which was probably a 20-30% discount on the actual price.
On Christmas eve we had a grill with Daniel, John, John's family, and Veron plus one. At 2:30 am we(minus the parents) went to a big party at Tattersall. The place was empty when we showed up. It wasn't until 5:00 that it filled up and 8:00 that we left.
On Christmas we had a bigger grill. The menu consisted of a huge slab of heavily crusted bife de chorizo(beef), roasted potatoes, fig and goat cheese mesclum salad, and a tray of cheese and sausage. There was about thirteen of us and it was a great time.
After that we went to a club called Lost which is the only place in town that plays hip-hop music. In the States it's the main dance music but here it's techno or reggaeton. It'd really been missing it and it was nice stepping into a similar atmosphere. Too bad the DJ sucked at transition and only played outdated songs. Hip hop in Argentina...take what you can get.
So as you can see, it's been quite an interesting holiday. I certainly couldn't have replicated it back in Virginia. Sigh. Will be missing this place.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Started Bad, Ended Good
I haven't run this bad for so many consecutive days in a long time. I'm a fairly optimistic girl so each day I wake up and think "this is when things will turn around! Woo happy happy joy joy."
I sit down at a few 2/4 tables on Cake and quickly stack someone who played top pair horribly. Now stacks are about 170 BB's when we get into another pot.
Preflop:
I have AA and 3-bet him in position, he quickly 4bets. Clearly he has nothing. I call.
Flop:
7 10 3 rainbow
He checks. I bet small, he min-raises. Umm wtf? I call.
Turn:
Blank with a flush draw
He ships another half-ish pot, I call.
He shows 7 10 suited, gg my two stacks.
A few minutes after I got stacked again AA vs. KK.
Yesterday I got stacked KK vs. AA twice. And then I got stacked KK vs. QQ as the sesh was winding down.
I was almost ready to make a sacrifice to the poker gods. But I won a few stacks grinding out Stars full ring so today was a net positive!
Also, the three of us decided to give the Sunday Million a try. It's been ages since I'd played it but figured "hey when you're running bad in cash, try the donkaments!" I cashed 412th out of 8K people for like $600. It's not much but enough to give me a little emotional boost.
I sit down at a few 2/4 tables on Cake and quickly stack someone who played top pair horribly. Now stacks are about 170 BB's when we get into another pot.
Preflop:
I have AA and 3-bet him in position, he quickly 4bets. Clearly he has nothing. I call.
Flop:
7 10 3 rainbow
He checks. I bet small, he min-raises. Umm wtf? I call.
Turn:
Blank with a flush draw
He ships another half-ish pot, I call.
He shows 7 10 suited, gg my two stacks.
A few minutes after I got stacked again AA vs. KK.
Yesterday I got stacked KK vs. AA twice. And then I got stacked KK vs. QQ as the sesh was winding down.
I was almost ready to make a sacrifice to the poker gods. But I won a few stacks grinding out Stars full ring so today was a net positive!
Also, the three of us decided to give the Sunday Million a try. It's been ages since I'd played it but figured "hey when you're running bad in cash, try the donkaments!" I cashed 412th out of 8K people for like $600. It's not much but enough to give me a little emotional boost.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
But Life is Still Good
Last night we were all at an asado held by some Finnish poker players when Veron told me that he had read my last post and was concerned. I laughed.
Things haven't been going well the past week but none of it is foreign. In the past I've certainly lost much more in a week, in a day on many occasions. This is kind of a "oh here we go again. yaaaaay variance." type of moment. Sometimes when things aren't going according to plan you just want to vent.
Beyond poker swings life is still great. I'm surrounded by really great people, am living in an incredible city for the next couple weeks, and have more wonderful people to go back in the States.
Sometimes it can be difficult to keep an objective outlook on life when certain things aren't going perfectly. It's hard to lose money for consecutive days and still convey an upbeat energy around your friends.
For the sake of sanity I think it's important to perhaps become even more social during difficult times. Being around friends, meeting new people, and generally going out is good for recharging your energy and clearing your mind.
Even though this is an emotionally tough time the negativity doesn't go much past the tables, or at least I try to not let it. Daniel has mentioned that do I seem a bit down lately. Hopefully that is just from small moments. I really don't want to be the girl that carries emotional problems around and let them interfere with her life. When I'm around other people I want to still be "super-fun-ready-to-do-whatever Thuy" and not "whiney-omg-I'm-so-miserable Thuy."
This is one of the moments when I'm thinking it'd be kind of nice to be in a relationship. We seek what is scarce so I guess when things are unstable we seek stability. Do guys go through this too when they're losing?
So anyways, hey don't worry! Life is good and I'm keeping my chin up. I'll be spending a fair a mount of time sweating the guys to fix my leaks and learn how to run good. And of course I'll still be totally livin' and up for running havok around town.
Things haven't been going well the past week but none of it is foreign. In the past I've certainly lost much more in a week, in a day on many occasions. This is kind of a "oh here we go again. yaaaaay variance." type of moment. Sometimes when things aren't going according to plan you just want to vent.
Beyond poker swings life is still great. I'm surrounded by really great people, am living in an incredible city for the next couple weeks, and have more wonderful people to go back in the States.
Sometimes it can be difficult to keep an objective outlook on life when certain things aren't going perfectly. It's hard to lose money for consecutive days and still convey an upbeat energy around your friends.
For the sake of sanity I think it's important to perhaps become even more social during difficult times. Being around friends, meeting new people, and generally going out is good for recharging your energy and clearing your mind.
Even though this is an emotionally tough time the negativity doesn't go much past the tables, or at least I try to not let it. Daniel has mentioned that do I seem a bit down lately. Hopefully that is just from small moments. I really don't want to be the girl that carries emotional problems around and let them interfere with her life. When I'm around other people I want to still be "super-fun-ready-to-do-whatever Thuy" and not "whiney-omg-I'm-so-miserable Thuy."
This is one of the moments when I'm thinking it'd be kind of nice to be in a relationship. We seek what is scarce so I guess when things are unstable we seek stability. Do guys go through this too when they're losing?
So anyways, hey don't worry! Life is good and I'm keeping my chin up. I'll be spending a fair a mount of time sweating the guys to fix my leaks and learn how to run good. And of course I'll still be totally livin' and up for running havok around town.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Things Are Not Going Well
Poker for the past week has been an absolute slaughter. I'm down a huge amount of money and can't seem to make a recovery. I sit down at every session with the intention of playing solidly and making a comeback. But each time I end up getting coolered, losing flips, or making marginal decisions that never seem to be correct.
I'm incredibly unhappy right now. I feel a need to be winning more, to prove something to myself. Earlier this year I had seriously considered quitting poker. The emotional swings are so difficult. But I wanted to test myself further, to push myself. I felt that if I couldn't discipline myself into being good at poker then I wouldn't be able to succeed in anything. Opening your own business or obtaining a high-profile job within a company require the same amount of intelligence and work ethic. If there is any place to test one's character it is in poker.
So I stuck it out and kept grinding, learning, growing. And it turned around. I made a couple decent cashes in the live tournaments over the summer, was playing well in the live cash games, and online things were gradually getting better.
And now I'm back to the place where I feel like I'm looking up from the bottom of a pit. Above is the sky and I just want to feel the breeze against my skin again, breathe in the fresh air. But it seems like miles away.
These downswings are what make poker so emotionally difficult. Right now I would love to have the stability of a 9-5 job and to not have to stress over all the money I've been losing. With a 9-5 you're never booking a loss on the day. With poker it is every few days, or for a few straight days, or for weeks at a time.
Right now I don't know if I have the brains or the emotional stamina for this game. I question and hate myself. Things should be different. I should be so much better than the donkeys at my tables. It's been almost three fucking years. I should be winning so much more.
And also I do not know if I can override my stubborn nature and quit. Persistence, my grandfather-in-law, told me was the critical factor in determining one's success. In this industry you certainly need a lot of it.
For those of you who believe that poker is all glory and glamor...it isn't. This job is a god damn roller-coaster ride.
I'm incredibly unhappy right now. I feel a need to be winning more, to prove something to myself. Earlier this year I had seriously considered quitting poker. The emotional swings are so difficult. But I wanted to test myself further, to push myself. I felt that if I couldn't discipline myself into being good at poker then I wouldn't be able to succeed in anything. Opening your own business or obtaining a high-profile job within a company require the same amount of intelligence and work ethic. If there is any place to test one's character it is in poker.
So I stuck it out and kept grinding, learning, growing. And it turned around. I made a couple decent cashes in the live tournaments over the summer, was playing well in the live cash games, and online things were gradually getting better.
And now I'm back to the place where I feel like I'm looking up from the bottom of a pit. Above is the sky and I just want to feel the breeze against my skin again, breathe in the fresh air. But it seems like miles away.
These downswings are what make poker so emotionally difficult. Right now I would love to have the stability of a 9-5 job and to not have to stress over all the money I've been losing. With a 9-5 you're never booking a loss on the day. With poker it is every few days, or for a few straight days, or for weeks at a time.
Right now I don't know if I have the brains or the emotional stamina for this game. I question and hate myself. Things should be different. I should be so much better than the donkeys at my tables. It's been almost three fucking years. I should be winning so much more.
And also I do not know if I can override my stubborn nature and quit. Persistence, my grandfather-in-law, told me was the critical factor in determining one's success. In this industry you certainly need a lot of it.
For those of you who believe that poker is all glory and glamor...it isn't. This job is a god damn roller-coaster ride.
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Hello Palermo (De Nuevo)!
This past week I moved out of my home stay in Recoleta to a five-bedroom house in Palermo. I'm staying with Daniel Bjarby from Sweden and John "HugoBusto" Ferguson from the USA who are two poker players using the benefits of having an online career to travel the world. I've met over a dozen like them through the 2+2 community. There have been so many people coming and going. Some are using BsAs as a temporary home for a few months before hopping to the next destination, others have chosen to stay longer. It's always sad saying goodbye to people as they gradually venture away. In a few weeks it will be my turn.
Our house is spacious and has a lot of privacy. The king-sized bed is an upgrade from the twin. It's located in a loft above my room and the air conditioning doesn't travel upward as much as I'd like. But for now it's manageable. The furniture in our house is a bit dated and randomly gathered. In the living room are two white sofas that appear to have been sat in by two generations of families. That's pretty standard for a rental place.
It's great being here. I've always loved being in Palermo. Recoleta is nice but Palermo has so many posh restaurants, bars, clubs, etc. It's also great being back in the atmosphere of a poker house. I've been fortunate enough to have always been around mostly kind-hearted and intelligent poker players. In Vegas that was the case, and here also in BsAs.
Today we are having our first asado which is an Argentine-style grill. Great cuts of meat are cheap and easy to find here. There are few nights where you walk the streets without the scent of a family asado in the air. Afterwards we will probably head out for a fun night and enjoy the city.
Hasta luego chicos!
Our house is spacious and has a lot of privacy. The king-sized bed is an upgrade from the twin. It's located in a loft above my room and the air conditioning doesn't travel upward as much as I'd like. But for now it's manageable. The furniture in our house is a bit dated and randomly gathered. In the living room are two white sofas that appear to have been sat in by two generations of families. That's pretty standard for a rental place.
It's great being here. I've always loved being in Palermo. Recoleta is nice but Palermo has so many posh restaurants, bars, clubs, etc. It's also great being back in the atmosphere of a poker house. I've been fortunate enough to have always been around mostly kind-hearted and intelligent poker players. In Vegas that was the case, and here also in BsAs.
Today we are having our first asado which is an Argentine-style grill. Great cuts of meat are cheap and easy to find here. There are few nights where you walk the streets without the scent of a family asado in the air. Afterwards we will probably head out for a fun night and enjoy the city.
Hasta luego chicos!
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
To Iguazu Falls
It was 4:30 am and pouring rain outside. Dan, who is a Swedish poker friend, and I had just finished watching a couple movies. The rain had made us too lethargic to go out with everyone. Besides I had a flight to catch later on that day.
Veron, a Dutch poker friend, and I had made plans to go to Iguazu Falls. It's on the border of northern Argentina and Brazil and is the 3rd largest waterfall in the world. I was really excited to see this. Come to think of it I didn't even know what time we were flying out. It had been a week since we had spoken about it.
I opened my MSN message history and read "7:10 Jorge Newberry to Iguazu." Is that 7:10 am or pm? Dan tells me that he had seen Veron earlier that day and he was planning on a big night out. He wouldn't do that if the flight was at 7:10 am. But this is Argentina and they usually go on military time. If it was 7:10 pm it would've read 19:10.
I dialed Veron's number. No answer. I texted. No answer.
What to do...
I grabbed my computer bag and headed outside. It was still pouring. Down the block was a street where there would usually be plenty of cabs. Not tonight. Within view there were no taxi's. A cop car drove up. I tapped on the window and asked for the closest location.
"Cuatros cuadros a la izquierda a la avenida Santa Fe."
I walked the four blocks holding on to my computer bag and hoping to not get mugged. Petty crime is common and it is a safety precaution to not walk around at crazy hours, alone, and carrying anything that displays value. Such as a computer. Finally I found a cab at Santa Fe which is a major street.
Upon arrival at home I threw things into my bag and within fifteen minutes hoped that everything had been packed. I called Veron again. He should be awake and packing also if the flight is leaving soon. Still no answer.
I took a cab to the airport, checked in, and was reaffirmed that the departure was indeed at 7:10 am. An hour passed and still no calls. It looked like I was flying to Iguazu alone.
Finally at 6:30 Veron called. "I might be stupid, but does our flight leave in 30 minutes?"
~"Yeah."
~"I just got home from the bar and still need to pack. Do you think I can make it?"
~"Just get over here."
He showed up at 7:25, red in the face and still very drunk. Luckily there was a delay due to the rain and we both made the flight. Whew close one!
We spent the next day in the park going through the different paths to catch views of the waterfall. It was absolutely amazing. So far it's the most magnificent piece of nature I've ever seen. There is a place called "La Garganta del Diablo" which means "The Throat of the Devil" where you look down and see nothing but a bottomless pit of midst.
My favorite part was going on the boat tour. They drove us around the falls and a few times got us close enough to be pelted in the face. We couldn't even keep our eyes open. In the end everyone was soaking wet and cheering.
Hito Tres Fronteras: Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay separated by a river. Paraguay is on the left, Brazil on the right, Argentina in the center.
One part of Iguazu Falls
Video of La Garganta Del Diablo
Veron, a Dutch poker friend, and I had made plans to go to Iguazu Falls. It's on the border of northern Argentina and Brazil and is the 3rd largest waterfall in the world. I was really excited to see this. Come to think of it I didn't even know what time we were flying out. It had been a week since we had spoken about it.
I opened my MSN message history and read "7:10 Jorge Newberry to Iguazu." Is that 7:10 am or pm? Dan tells me that he had seen Veron earlier that day and he was planning on a big night out. He wouldn't do that if the flight was at 7:10 am. But this is Argentina and they usually go on military time. If it was 7:10 pm it would've read 19:10.
I dialed Veron's number. No answer. I texted. No answer.
What to do...
I grabbed my computer bag and headed outside. It was still pouring. Down the block was a street where there would usually be plenty of cabs. Not tonight. Within view there were no taxi's. A cop car drove up. I tapped on the window and asked for the closest location.
"Cuatros cuadros a la izquierda a la avenida Santa Fe."
I walked the four blocks holding on to my computer bag and hoping to not get mugged. Petty crime is common and it is a safety precaution to not walk around at crazy hours, alone, and carrying anything that displays value. Such as a computer. Finally I found a cab at Santa Fe which is a major street.
Upon arrival at home I threw things into my bag and within fifteen minutes hoped that everything had been packed. I called Veron again. He should be awake and packing also if the flight is leaving soon. Still no answer.
I took a cab to the airport, checked in, and was reaffirmed that the departure was indeed at 7:10 am. An hour passed and still no calls. It looked like I was flying to Iguazu alone.
Finally at 6:30 Veron called. "I might be stupid, but does our flight leave in 30 minutes?"
~"Yeah."
~"I just got home from the bar and still need to pack. Do you think I can make it?"
~"Just get over here."
He showed up at 7:25, red in the face and still very drunk. Luckily there was a delay due to the rain and we both made the flight. Whew close one!
We spent the next day in the park going through the different paths to catch views of the waterfall. It was absolutely amazing. So far it's the most magnificent piece of nature I've ever seen. There is a place called "La Garganta del Diablo" which means "The Throat of the Devil" where you look down and see nothing but a bottomless pit of midst.
My favorite part was going on the boat tour. They drove us around the falls and a few times got us close enough to be pelted in the face. We couldn't even keep our eyes open. In the end everyone was soaking wet and cheering.
Hito Tres Fronteras: Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay separated by a river. Paraguay is on the left, Brazil on the right, Argentina in the center.
One part of Iguazu Falls
Video of La Garganta Del Diablo
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