As the creature says, “Because [I’m] a faggot”.

I’ve been kicking around the idea of owning a tablet pc for a while, but as of today I’ve decided I’m actually going to do it. The dilemma becomes what model and operating system to buy. I’ve decided strongly against getting a Windows 7 tablet, and that leaves either the iPad or any one of the number of Android tablets on the market.
The iPad is apparently the best on the market, and I can see why. However I really love the flexibility of Android at the same time. It’s a hard choice. If I can find the “perfect” Android tablet that is light, runs Ice Cream Sandwich (Pretty sure non-existent at this exact moment) and can give me a hand job, then it will be the clear winner. Otherwise, probably iPad.

I’ve had this portable clothes hanger thingy for over a year, but have only just gotten around to buying new coat hangers and actually using it.
For a long time I’ve had no room for half of my clothes and as such had small piles of t-shirts I’d simply pull off the top and wear when needed. With a new house, I’m looking to be a bit more organized.

Today, myself and the two housemates spent a considerable chunk of time moving our bedrooms around, as it turned out our previous situation wasn’t working out. The house has turned out to carry noise exceptionally well, leading to obvious problems with my night shift work. On one hand, I’m kept up during the day by people moving around, which sucks for my level of alertness at work. On the other, at night if I so much as breath, the others are woken up. We were all losing in that situation.

Now, I have the back rooms, meaning my computer and squeaky chair are far away from the others in the house. Paul is furthest away from me meaning I don’t disturb him while he naps, and Ali continues being Ali. It looks like it’s a good arrangement, and we’ll see how well it works out when we all fall asleep.

On the note of the house, I have to say I’ve been saddened by the quality of many areas of it. You’d expect a house you move into to be cleaned and presented well, right? Well I just had to removed a whole heap of curtains that were caked in cobwebs (CAKED is not an exaggeration here.) and will be washing them tomorrow. Half the lights don’t work, and there are many damaged items. I’ve taken photos of some and am continuing to take photos of them so we have dated proof of their existence, but honestly I expected better, especially since the house is run through an agent this time.

Oh well.

I quite happily got to see my housemates perform music at a retro themed event tonight. Ali played an awesome selection of music and Paul showcased music he’d been making¹.

Also, made out with my partner.

1. Paul’s music is awesome, I might add.

We’ve gotten the majority of things over to the new house, and slept there last night. It seems there are going to be a few adjustments to make, but apart from that its a nice place.
Unpacking will be slow, but we’ve moved the hard stuff, and that’s good enough ((See how the above image is actually in context? AMAZING.)) for now.

On a down note, there’s no internet in this house yet. We’re forced to entertain ourselves through more…traditional means. Oh the horror.

This is one thing I will miss. It made my bedroom something special.

A photo of me in my bedroom in our new house.

Did I mention we have a new house?

I enjoy my job. I really do. My workmates probably don’t realize this given I’m always getting out early, but that’s just because while I love my job, I also love free time.

The job isn’t exactly glamorous or morally rewarding, but there’s a level of skill in it that makes me feel proud.
In fact, I’m always trying to improve. Before shifts, and sometimes during shifts, I’ll slip into the (usually) empty training room and practice my chip work. This involves simple things from proving stacks¹, and chipping².
The act of doing these things is simple enough and any dealer can do it, however being able to do them quickly and neatly is another thing.

My main focus in my practice time is that of chipping. Talking to people who have been in the industry for years and years, they’ve commented that when they used to chip up “back in the day”, dealers were able to spin the roulette ball, and chip up five stacks (100 chips) before the ball dropped. Trying that myself, I can only get three stacks done.
I’ve begun timing myself chipping up four stacks of chips, as that feels like the best way to track whether I’m actually improving or if all this work is for nothing. I’ve only been tracking it for three shifts, but there has been significant improvement. At first it was taking me roughly 30 seconds to do all four, but now I’m getting must closer to 20-22 seconds.

I don’t know why this entertains me so much, as I’m sure anyone merely reading about it here is already immensely bored. I’ve never felt a need to succeed in any other job like I do here, and it both scares me and makes me happy.

1. Proving a stack: Splitting a stack of chips into groups of five to prove there are twenty there.
2. Chipping: Picking up chips and arranging them into stacks.

Brand new year. I could go ahead and list a whole heap of resolutions for the year that I will not be able to fulfil, but I’m not going to. Well at least, not yet. I’m probably going to do some more realistic ones in the next few days.

Last night I actually got to go out and have fun. This is a rarity in my job as it’s the busiest  day of the year for our business. I got out of work early and was able to go out and enjoy the new year with my partner and two of my friends.

I spent the first half of the night looking like I do in the accompanying blurry picture. It was awesome being SPIDERMAN, but unfortunately when we went back to the Casino to drink, they made me wash it off.

I enjoyed being able to spend time with some of my friends, and it’s got me wanting to do it more often now. I’ll have to endeavour to do so more often this year. Oh god, did I just set a goal for this year? A resolution of sorts? Shit.