December 3, 2006

• This was a very.............different weekend. For starters, I was supposed to play cards Friday night with people from work, but that got canceled because of the snow storm. So, I stood in and watch the Bulls game followed by Clerks 2. Although Dave hated it (which is surprising because he is a big Kevin Smith fan), I loved the movie, I thought it was wonderful. Not only was it funny, but it also found a way to allude to the first Clerks without being just like it. What cracks me up about Dave is that he loves Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, but hated Clerks 2.

  Yesterday was a long day. I have recently suspected that I might need new tires, based on the fact that they have well over 69,000 miles on them, but also because I was having issues stopping in the snow and they were also cracking. So, I went to Discount Tire Co and the guy there looked at my tires and said they should be replaced. He also told me that I could get a ticket for driving on bad tires. Well I'm quite certain that he might have been full of shit about this, I know that if I get in an accident due to my tires, I would get a ticket. And since I've gotten 2 tickets since February and another ticket means my license gets suspended, this made it a no brainer. The only problem was that the place was packed and I was looked at a 4-5 hour wait. But, they told me I could pay for it to hold my spot, go home and come back. Once again, this was a no brainer. I came back about 4 in the PM and was told that they would probably have me "rolling and out of here" by about 5 or 5:15.

  With more then an hour to kill, I decided to explore the area. So, I walked to the new Brunswick Zone and American Sales. For those of you not familiar with the area, its not a really far walk, but far enough when its cold (probably single digits with the windchill) but I was dressed warm. This was my first time at either place, and I have to say, I was very impressed with both. Brunswick Zone even had a 21 and older bar which was, as you might expect, nearly empty at 4:30 on a Saturday afternoon. As for American Sales, it had all sorts of cool shit there.

  I got back to Discount Tire Co about 4:45. As it turns out, they were still very backed up, so much that I wound up not getting out of there until almost 6. I headed over to Scott's in Oswego for our monthly card game. We had a very small game, in fact, the first game we only had 6 people. Paul and I were the first two out and afterwards, we played a game of chess. Paul has been teaching me chess when we have time at these monthly card games. I have to say, I can see how addicting this game can eventually be. Its also very challenging.

  The second card game, we had only 4 people. Just when I think I have done the dumbest thing I have ever done playing cards (see the post about a card game a few months ago...........and actually, read just about any of my posts on cards going back to when I started this Xanga) I manage to do something that is really stupid. In fact, I'm still kicking myself. With all four of us still left in the game, I was chip leader. In a hand that had just Paul and I left, he decided to go all in. In my hand, I had an ace and a 3. During the flop, a 3 game up. I decided to call him and he had an ace and a 10. He  said that he needed to get another spade to beat me. I was dealing and as I flipped up the last card, I looked at it first, it was an ace. I then said "or you can beat me with an ace" and threw it down. He started to clear the board and take all the chips as I cleaned up the cards before I remembered that I had an ace. I said to everybody at the table "wait, didn't I have an ace?" The 2 people that weren't in the hand weren't even paying attention, so they didn't know at all. Paul claimed that he couldn't remember. I don't know if he really couldn't remember, but he does smoke a lot of pot, so maybe he was being honest. I told him to just take the damn pot because if I can't remember what I had just a few seconds ago, than this was just a stupidity tax. What really made me laugh was the very next hand, I was once again dealt an ace and a 3. I just started laughing as soon as I got the cards and didn't stop until the hand was over. Anywho, for rest of the game, though, I was pissed at myself for fucking up that other hand. And after I took Jeff and Scott out, it was just me and Paul left. This wouldn't even be a game if I had not fucked up earlier, as he would have been out of the game. Still, it didn't matter and he actually wound up fucking winning.

  Because we only had 4 of us there for the second game, it gave us more of an intimate setting to talk about things. And soon, the conversation turned to race. Scott has ALWAYS been the most racist person I know, which, to be honest, stops me from actually considering him a friend. Or at least, a closer friend. A part of me is embarrassed to even associate with him because of how much of a bigot he is. He also has a big issue with gays, but that is probably because he is a closeted homosexual. I mean, his thoughts and opinions (he is also a HUGE Republican) go against everything I stand for. Anywho, in addition to the COUNTLESS racial jokes and comments he said, he also said that "slavery wasn't as bad as they make it out to be. In fact, blacks were better off being slaves than staying in Africa. They had security, a place to live, food and good jobs. Slavery was not that bad." Wow. If that isn't racist, than I don't know what is. Paul and I both tried to tell him how wrong this was, that being a slave was worse than being in prison or being homeless. It was shortly after his statement that I told him that he was the most racist person I know. This really bothered him. He kept insisting throughout the night that he wasn't a racist, but also would continue to defend slavery. The sad part is that he really truly believes that he is not racist. And he doesn't seem to understand why I think he is racist. He even went as far as to send me an email today saying that he is not racist. I replied back and said that based on everything that I have read and everything that I know, what he says and what he believes is racist. I let him know that I'm offended by his bigoted views. And this is where my arrogance comes in, because even though I am disgusted by his views, I still play cards with him every month because I think I can have an influence. I think I can open his mind. That is why I continue to associate with him, because I want to help him overcome his bigotry.

  Today we went to watch the Bears game at Scooty's house. I won't get into too many details except to say that with the exception of the Bears win, it was a tough football week.

  • 11:47 pm
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