*Gambol: I've had two levels of friends and family that get into gambol. The 1st, which most of us fall in that put $20-$50 on the occasional football or basketball game, and enjoy a quarterly trip to a casino. These guys may play a bi-monthly poker game with friends. Usually everyone ends up on the losing end, but nobody gets hurt too bad.
The 2nd, started out like the first, but minor success prompted them to upping their bets and the frequency in which they operate. It would grow into lying to themselves and spouses about their wins and losses and ultimately chasing small losses that led to bigger losses. Its much more a self control and honesty thing than it is a gambling thing. It's tough to go back to making small bets once you hit a certain level.
It's not the norm but i've seen it cause divorce, a good buddy's dad cashed in his entire retirement to bail his son out of a tough hole he dug himself, and i've seen a friend battle depression and suicide attempts after the realization of a what kind of running tab he'd rang up.
Once I got married and took over both of our finances, I quit even making the occasional CFB Saturday bets.
*NFL games are weird to me since i'm not a die-hard. But i've had a blast at the few ive been too. A few Bengals games, a rand Lions game in Detroit (WTF?) and I went to a Titans game bc we got free tickets for test driving a Tahoe last year.
*Pearl Jam: Live on Two Legs playing right now. My tickets to their show at Fenway that my sister got me... happens to be the same day as my graduation commencement. I don't necessarily want to sit through it but my parents want to come down for it, and I missed my Masters commencement bc it was the Sunday after Derby and I had lost my car somewhere on Baxter Avenue and didnt find it in time to get back to Lexington.
*Helped my wifes grandmother move in to her little apartment over the weekend. Her husband passed away a year ago and she was struggling living in their house without him. They are both 90 and were married at 17. Got pretty disgusted at her children basically discussing which of her belongings they would be taking. I mean, this lady is still alive... what the hell? Is it normal to fight over a rocking chair or a quilt?
*Final interview (#5) tomorrow afternoon. From 90 applicants down to me and another dude... if this doesnt work out, maybe I will go into full-time gambol mode.
*Coffee shops in college towns during finals week :eyes: