Lazy Sunday Means Go Fast

What a great Valentine's Day, and one that even involved no poker whatsoever. Yesterday was the first day in about 19 or so that I did not have to go in to the office, or even spend more than ten minutes reading office e-mail. So the Good Doctor Mondo and I got to run a couple of errands before settling into my favorite Daytona 500 ever. Why was this my favorite? Because after all these years, my favorite, semi-long suffering driver pulled it out. Yeah, this guy:



Why am I a Jamie Mac fan? It's hard to put a finger on it, but I was watching that Charlotte race back in 2002, when Jamie stepped up from the Busch series to fill in for an injured Sterling Marlin, and won in his 2nd ever race. He comes across as bright, not the least bit cocky, and as I'm an anti-hypester...well, I never could stand the Jeff Gordon, Dale Jr. and later, Jimmy Johnson crowd. Jamie's had a career unnecessarily obscure. In the first two years of the Chase, where only ten drivers get to fight it out for the final title, Jamie was 11th and 12th in the standings at the cutoff. After that, they expanded the Chase to 12 drivers. But by then, Jamie had moved to Roush Racing, where he was always the sort of bastard unwanted stepchild of glamor boys Carl Edwards and Greg Biffle, and Roush favorite Matt Kenseth.

And coming in to this year, after Roush was forced to cut back to four teams, Jamie didn't even have a job until the offseason (this after winning at Talledega last year). Anyway, it's fantastic to see him get off to such a great start. No matter what happens going forward, he will always be Daytona 500 winner, Jamie McMurray, may it not be the last time you see the Winner's Circle this year.

Oh yeah, it was only at this point when I realized the Stars $40 entry $1 million guarantee was THIS weekend, and not NEXT Sunday, when I caught up on CK's twitter feed. Normally, that would be an extreme FML moment, but not today. No, not today. One of the things the Good Doctor Mondo and I have learned over the past several months, is that life really is all about love. Having it in your life, sharing it, and who it is your sharing it with. Neither one of us have been much for Valentine's Day in the past. In fact, I really do not like holidays solely manufactured by greeting card companies, ya know?

But this year was different.

The Good Doctor Mondo and I traded presents, as well as with her mom, who has been with us since November, and then we went out to the best restaurant in Longmonth, Sugarbeet. Sugarbeet is a rare find, indeed...sitting nestled into a light industrial area, but serving truly gourmet, interesting, sometimes organic or locally grown, dishes. I could probably bore you all with a recap of what we ate, in my typical way that doesn't really give a sense of how wonderful it actually was. But what made it truly special is simply this. Last night was the first time the Good Doctor Mondo and I have gone out on a date...just the two of us, since before she got sick last June. Eight months. Last night felt like victory. Last night felt...normal.

So okay, I gave up a Sunday of poker, and may not get to play for a couple more weeks, given the mad schedule at work. But you know what? It feels good.

Good luck on the felt ya'll.