Weekend musings

Friday night, post-family dinner in an overpacked chinese resto in greenhills, I met up with three total strangers to play poker. I've become a semi-fan of watching poker on tv. After thinking what a waste of time and it's so not a sport so why are they showing it on a sports channel, I've started to see the light of day. When the shows on that cable channel pop up while I'm huffing and puffing away on the treadmill or elliptical machine, I stay on it, and usually find myself 800 calories lighter (1.5 hours of watching tv does help burn the fat!). I don't get all the details yet (some of the flops and combinations or the high card still confuse me), but trying to figure out how people bet and whether or not they'll be put off by bluffers is far more interesting than watching stupid sitcoms.
I found my fellow poker buddies online. M posted on a bulletin board, and by chance I saw it, and offered myself up to a game. We played late into the night; two of the players were far more expert than the other two (I'm in the latter half). By night's end I had won a tidy sum, mostly from getting decent cards, and a few good bluffs. Still have to practice checking and betting though.
Saturday, long and hot day walking around Chinatown, trying to listen to Streetwalker Ivan's tour insights. I think I need to do the tour a few more times so that I can memorize where the food stops are. My favorites are still the authentic Northern Chinese dumplings, and I enjoyed the two airconditioned restaurants for sheer comfort. I'll have to go back to that stall that sold cold Taiwanese noodles and try to find that crispy baozi stall again too. And our last stop to buy fresh amoy lumpia was a refreshing end to the eating tour. Anyone who wants a culinary trek around our town's Chinese enclave, check out Ivan's Binondo tour.
Sunday, too tired and lazy to get out. I had a full day planned: CCP open house to catch the Bayanihan and Madrigals, then a short volunteer stint for PAWS at the Chinese New Year Dog show over at Eastwood. Instead, I wore my jammies, robe and watched cable and a couple of DVDs. Bah, one less day to do nothing.
Monday, it nearly turned into another Sunday, but was saved by my impromptu bathroom cleaning stint. Then caught the SAG awards before heading out to buy supplies. Of course instead of just stocking up on necessities, I ended up picking up some non-essentials (distinctly unhealthy non-essentials; the only bit that I chose not to buy was ice cream as it would have been a puddly mess by the time I finally got home). Walked around the bazaar, found few attractive tidbits among the rabble, and with a headache the size of Mars bearing down on my temples, headed home for some dark, cold quiet. It was a unpeacable end to a lethargic two days.